Guilty caretaker

It was just a simple date.  Both you and Towa were hanging out at the local shopping centers, seeing what new clothes or food were up for sale.  It was a day off for the both of you, so you two wanted to spend the day together exploring every floor, every department of the center buying whatever interested you.  You two made your way all the way up until both of you were resting on a bench on the rooftop, enjoying the snacks and candy from the stores down below.  “This bag’s empty and so is this one and that one.  Aww, I think we ate everything,” you told her, shaking each bag for any leftovers.  You look up from the scattered leftover bags and see her munching her the last bag of sweets.

“Not this one,” she said, stuffing another handful into her mouth.  You reached for her bag, but she evaded every lunge you made at her, stuffing every piece into her mouth before you even had the chance to grab a single piece.  Your disappointed look made her giggle as she was enjoying every last piece of the candy.  The moment passed when she looked out in the distance.  You joined her to see the city of Tokyo spread out as far as your eyes can see.  You both admired the scenery from the roads sprawling past every skyscraper down to the small housing communities that you could barely make out.  Far away in the distance, you can see the sun resting on the horizon, slowly setting for the evening.

Towa poked at you with her phone which you held onto, “Hey, let’s take a picture of this place,” she asked you before she pushed you to the back.  You turned on her phone’s camera and angled it to show Towa and the sunset.  Towa posed by sitting on top of the rooftop railings and giving you a big smile.  You took several shots of her from varying angles.  She made a different pose for each picture until she let go of the railings to wave at the camera with both hands.  However, she lost her balance and began to slip off.  “Towa!” you screamed for her.  You dropped her phone and ran after her.  She flailed and reached out for you before slipping off the railings.  You jumped over the railings and managed to grab her hand before she fell any further.

Towa was panicking and clung to your hand for the sake of her own life.  “Oh god, please, pull me up!” she cried out.  With one hand holding onto Towa and your other hand holding onto the railings, you were under too much physical stress to respond.  You pulled her up as hard as you can, but it took nearly all your strength just to lift her up with one arm.  Slowly and painfully, you brought her up, but you felt your own grip loosen in exchange.  Regardless, you focused your strength on lifting Towa until she was able to get both hands back on the railings.  She let go of your hand, but you no longer had the strength to hold on and in exchange for saving Towa, you fell instead.  Her shock and her screams for you grew more distant and unable to recognize as you fell, making her the last thing you could recognize before hitting the pavement.

...

“Come on, over here, you can do it,” Towa called out to you.  She was only a few steps ahead of you, but it felt as though she was so far away.  You could barely walk, each step sent shockwaves up your spine, and every moment spent standing was a constant effort to maintain balance.  Regardless, you made your way closer to her, and she cheered for you for every step.  By the time you reached her, you couldn’t hold up for long and collapsed into her arms.  Despite being a few steps, you were gasping for air and no longer had the strength to keep yourself standing.  “You did great!  I’m so proud of you!” she told you.  Despite such a menial task, her smile showed she was genuinely happy for you.

This is what your lives had become 3 months after the incident.  You were still recovering from the fall, requiring braces just to keep your composure intact.  Towa, on the other hand, became much thinner, more frail compared to before.  She became more hesitant to eat anything, blaming her weight as the reason for letting you down.  She lowered you back into your wheelchair, allowing you to finally relax.  “Do you want to go anywhere today?” she asked you.

Of course, you did.  You wished you could take her anywhere you wanted.  You wanted to take her shopping and see the old department stores, you wanted to take her to the beach to enjoy the ocean, you wanted to take her to any ramen shop to encourage her to eat more, but you don’t want her to be seen like this.  Wherever you go, you see everybody’s eyes on you and her.  They look at Towa with pity for having to push you everywhere, someone young, thin, and frail having to care for you.  “Home…Let’s just go home,” you answer.

“Oh, again?  If you really want to go anywhere else, you can ask.  I-I don’t mind, really,” you can hear the disappointment in her voice, but you figured that it's best not to embarrass her.

“I’m just a little tired.  You can go on your own if you want,” you offered.  Towa only shook her head and pushed you back home.  Ever since the incident, she became too scared to leave you alone as though you might drop dead if she looked away for even a moment.  She never left your side ever since then, putting all her effort and focus into overseeing your recovery.

She took you home and carried you back to your room.  She picked you up and lowered you down onto the bed as slowly as she can.  “There you go.  Let me check on you again,” Towa runs her hand over your body to check if she didn’t injure you on accident, slowly making her way down your head, arms, and torso.  When she confirmed that there was nothing wrong, she put the blanket over you and checked to see if the pillow is soft enough for you.  She rubbed your cheek with her hand.  The comfort and tenderness made you slowly lose focus of your surroundings, slowly drifting into sleep.  As you fall asleep, you hear Towa muttering to herself repeatedly, “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”