Emi breathes shakily through the landing, squeezing Sota's hand through the worst of it. 

As soon as they step out of the airport, Emi takes a deep breath, taking in the air of Japan, her home. 

New York was not her home. 

An image of George flashed through her mind. 

No, it was not her home. 

She felt a pang in her chest, but ignored it in favor of climbing on the bus to make her way to the cafe.

She was going to head to her house, but felt like she needed to have a moment to herself before she greeted her mother. 

As soon as she arrived, she went across the street to the large tree, sitting down underneath it. 

She sat there, breathing for a long time, allowing her mind to be empty aside from the recognition of the ground beneath her, and the tree shading her.

For a long time, she simply listened to the bustling traffic, the people passing by, the distant sounds of people going about their business. 

She tilted her head so it lay against the trunk and thought about the sounds of New York. 

It was different, chaotic.

Something she was not accustomed to. 

She began to play with her fingers, taking another deep breath as she allowed her mind to fill with the image of George, but not the one she knows now. 

The one she knew back then. 

The one that would hold her, the one that embraced her with a kiss before he went off to school. 

The one that sang softly to her, the one who loved her drawings, her art.

The one she could draw from memory. 

The one that picked her up when she tripped in the forest. 

She turned her attention to her heart, gently placing a hand over her chest where she knew it to be. 

It's pace did not quicken the way it used to when she thought about him now. 

She longed for the warmth that she once felt in his embrace. 

She wondered if she could ever feel it again. 

She allowed her mind to turn to Sota. 

Though her pulse did not quicken, there was a distinct warmth that she had associated with him. 

She thought about how grateful she was that he and Haru were there with her. 

Without them, the story would have been different. 

Had she no anchor to hold her down, she may have drifted out to sea. 

Suddenly, she thought of riding on Sota's back, him carrying her as she fed him a candy. 

She thought of him offering her his sweater, when she had nothing else to change into at the moment. 

A small smile graced her lips. 

She wondered to herself, how did things come to be this way? 

She was swirling with emotions, good and bad. 

Swirling with thoughts, past and present. 

She placed her hand against the tree. 

Who knows what the future holds?