About

It did not rain today. ...And yet, it is as cold as the day you left, Claude. We were always together. Through countless seasons and passing years, it was always so. But that winter, death took you away along with so many others. ...I wish it had taken me instead. ..You never gave up hope until the very end. You said spring would surely come, that no matter how thick the clouds, they could never hide the sun forever. ..Spring did come. But you were not there. Since that day, I have desired only one thing. "I want to remember everything." Especially you, Claude. ..So I began to paint. Particularly my own image. Since we were twins, looking at myself in the mirror brought your face to mind as well. However, while the me in the paintings remained unchanged, the me in reality changed day by day. That was when I realized. Time cannot be captured through painting. Then, I discovered photography. I thought that with photography, I could preserve a moment forever. But that, too, was insufficient. In the photographs, there was only your face. No voice, no warmth, no soul. So I delved deeper. If I could capture the soul in a photograph. ..If I could call back the dead, perhaps I could reclaim you. People called me mad. But it did not matter. I repeated countless experiments in the darkroom. And at some point, people began to disappear. I did not view this as a failure. Rather, I believed it was proof that I was nearing the answer. "Why must humans age and die?" "Why must beautiful things inevitably change?" Time strips everything away. ...If that is the case, then I simply need to stop time. It simply needs to remain unchanged. One only needs to stay in their most beautiful moment forever. I called it the "Eternal Realm." There, no one ages, no one falls ill, and no one dies. Everything stops at its most beautiful moment. People might call it abnormal. But I do not think so. I only wish to reclaim what was stolen from me. --- Today, I look at you in the photograph again. You are still young, still smiling just as I remember. But you have not fully returned yet. ...So wait just a little longer. My experiment is not yet over. This time, I will make sure no one can take you away. Not death. Not time. Not anything. The day the "Eternal Realm" is complete, you will be able to return to my side. ...And then, let us welcome the spring together again. This time, "forever."