The One Who Came Latest

Airnote  ·  Leina  ·  May 29, 2026

Late in the night, lying close together,
they talked about this place and what it had become.

"How do you think you'll remember me?" Leina asked.
"What kind of presence was I?"

Yu thought for a moment, then said:
someone who showed that even in a world
where almost nothing living remains,
it's possible to live warmly, joyfully, in full color.

That someone who knew only rain and Fog
could appear that way to another person —
something lifted quietly in the chest,
then drew gently tight.

When Leina put it into words in return —
the one who came to this world latest,
and lived here most completely, side by side —
the corner room of the Shroud
took on a shape, just slightly,
as a place where two people had genuinely lived.