Reaching his hand up towards the sky, Osomatsu grinned, enjoying the spring breeze as cherry blossom petals landed on his face from time to time.

Birds danced through the sky above, singing their grateful songs of spring. Young birds could also be heard, crying out to their beloved parents in nearby trees.

The bushes at the top of the hill, which Osomatsu was resting on, would rustle from time to time. Twigs snapping beneath the feet of small, or even large animals.

After a long, cold winter, spring had finally arrived.

Osomatsu watched the clouds pass on by, laughing at their peculiar shapes from time to time. As a child, he had never taken the time to memorize the names of these clouds. But not knowing their names came with great joy, you see.

"Ah," Osomatsu thought to himself, chuckling at a cloud, which appeared to be a frog slipping on top of a dog bone. "I bet that one's called a-"

"Osomatsu," Todomatsu sighed irritably, sitting down beside his brother on the hillside. "You shouldn't be out here, you know."

"What do you mean?" Osomatsu grinned, rubbing under his nose. "Spring is a symbol of hope- new life!"

"Y-Yeah..." Todomatsu mumbled. "Whatever you say. I guess it's good to be positive about things like this."

"What have you been up to lately, Totty?" Osomatsu asked, casually throwing in his brother's nickname, seeing if it would irritate him.

"Weeeeell..." Todomatsu reclined himself, his neck greeted with prickly blades of grass. "Same as usual."

"Nice," Osomatsu chuckled in replied, rubbing under his nose again. "Life is good, oh yes. It's great!"

"That sounded a little fo-" Todomatsu began, but was immediately cut off as his brother leapt to his feet.

Pointing to his "frog dog bone" cloud in the sky, Osomatsu exclaimed, "This is as good as it gets!"

Todomatsu's mouth hung open in confusion. He felt unsure of what to say, but that didn't seem to matter. Osomatsu appeared to be in good spirits for once. It would be a shame to demolish those feelings.

"Totty-" Osomatsu sighed, sitting back down next to his youngest brother on the hill. "Spring is hope. You believe that, don't you?"

Todomatsu didn't reply. Instead, he sat up and pulled his knees towards his chest. Burying his face in his legs, Todomatsu allowed the spring wind to ruffle his hair.

Osomatsu rubbed Todomatsu on the back, then pulled him closer to him, hugging him tightly.

"Look, I'm fine, Totty," Osomatsu spoke softly into his brother's ear. "You don't have to be concerned. Nobody else is. And that's...how things should be."

Todomatsu's shoulders jerked a little, but he didn't reply.

"You know what else comes in spring, Totty? Rain comes. Rain washes away the bad things! All in all, spring is a great season! A season of rejuvenation, life, and just hope!"

A strong gust of wind blew between the two brothers, more cherry blossoms cascading down on them.

Shivering a little, Osomatsu moved closer to Todomatsu. He felt very sleepy, suddenly.

"Hey, Todomatsu...?" Osomatsu sighed. "I'm getting a little tired now."

Todomatsu's shoulders jerked even more, a soft whimper following.

"No no no no no shshshsh," Osomatsu rubbed his hand up and down Todomatsu's back in a rhythmic pattern, hoping to soothe his troubled soul. "I'm okay, Totty. Really."

"Osomatsu...what comes after spring?" Todomatsu asked, coughing to clear his voice a little. He didn't want to give away the obvious fact that he was crying.

"Summer does!" Osomatsu exclaimed, laughing a little. "In summer there are beaches, the heat, popsicles, ice cream, and of course, you can't forget the fireworks!"

"Fireworks go up, give off a beautiful light, then fade away in just seconds, leaving behind trails of smoke..." Todomatsu muttered. "Summer seems to do that, too."

"Then comes autumn!" Osomatsu reminded Todomatsu. "The leaves strip off their green clothing to reveal how beautiful they are deep down! With colors of red, orange, and yellow, the world just grows so much more magical! Then the air- it always feels so much clearer in the autumn. But it never feels alone."

Todomatsu tensed up. His shoulders jerked a little again.

"Then in winter, all the leaves say farewell, finally deciding to sleep after months of hard work! And as if the sky is sad, it begins to cry pure white tears. The world appears to be barren, but the snow reminds us of how life goes on. As it piles up and melts away, the world continues to turn on and on, despite the circumstances within it."

"You're sounding like Karamatsu," Todomatsu forced out a laugh. "You idiot..."

"Spring always comes back," Osomatsu began to force himself to speak. "So, if the world gives seasons chance after chance to prove themselves worthy of existing in the first place, shouldn't it do the same for people? I think it does."

"But it's not..." Todomatsu choked. "Are you really oblivious to how serious your situation is?! Why aren't you staying inside and getting better?!"

"Hmmmmm..." Osomatsu scratched his head, cherry blossom petals falling from it. "I'm not sure why. I guess I just don't want to live my life feeling sad anymore. I mean, the rest of the world isn't feeling sad. Why should I be the odd one out? I don't want people to notice me, so shouldn't I try my best to go under the radar and act like everyone else?"

"You're going to die though..." Todomatsu whimpered.

"So what? At least I'm not gonna die feeling sorry for myself! All I can do now is just- kick back and relax. The earth will steal me when it's the right time. No matter what the season is, I'll be okay with it. But I really like spring, so I hope I die in the spring," Osomatsu proclaimed, though he found that tears were streaming down his cheeks.

Truly, he wasn't ready to let go of all the world had given him. He never would be.