The sky was overcast, and a light rain began to fall.
To bury their dead, the residents of Third Village could only cremate the bodies, then carry the urns together to a place where they could bury them.
Misato no longer cried. She stopped weeping for the dead Kaji.
Because Misato knew that crying would solve nothing.
Standing before the little mound over the newly buried urn, Misato's face became utterly calm, but she radiated an unsettling air-resignation and despair.
"Huang Zhetian, thank you for bringing Kaji back. And thank you for staying with him in my place until the very end."
Misato crouched down, a smile of heartbreaking sorrow appearing on her lips.
She slowly stroked the ground. Sleeping beneath it was the lover she had only just reunited with.
In a world now shattered everywhere, Misato's hopes had broken and been rebuilt.
When Kaji died, Misato's hope was gone.
When she gave birth to her son, the extinguished flame was rekindled.
Huang Zhetian looked up at the drizzle falling from the sky and spoke in a subdued voice. "It's raining. We should go."
He turned and walked partway away, then stopped without looking back, quietly waiting for Misato to come over.
The villagers sheltering beneath the eaves all looked at Misato.
"This is the last time I'll cry. Let's go."
Misato stood up, and Midori Kitakami hurried out from beneath the eaves to support her as she slowly headed back.
Huang Zhetian sighed, picked up an umbrella, and followed, holding it over Misato.
They no longer had the means to hold funerals for the dead as they had in the past.
Cremating them and laying them to rest in the earth was the final farewell they could offer.
The dead were also laid to rest within those who