In her story, she has the Baron reveal his story. His lover Louise and him were made in a foreign land by a very talented apprentice. He brought them love.

But then, an evil cat came and……suddenly, Shizuku is pulled from her story by her teacher. Shizuku had not been paying attention the lesson.

During lunch, Shizuku reveals to Yuko that she did not go to bed until 4:00am again. Though Shizuku claims she is fine, Yuko is worried about her.

Back home, awaiting Seiji's return, Shizuku is marking the days off on her calendar. She continues to write her desk. When her Mom tries to talk to her, Shizuku closes the door to her room. She doesn't eat dinner.

The next day, Shizuku's Mother goes to see Shizuku's teacher. Later at home, Shizuku's Mom tells Shiho that the teacher said Shizuku's ranking fell 100 back. That night when Shizuku's Father returns, he sees Shiho yelling at Shizuku. Shizuku argues back that she doesn't have to go to senior high…she wants to control her own future. She tries to explain she is not escaping from her work but just working on something more important.

Mr. Shizukushima tells them to talk with him outside. He asks the sister to leave, while inviting the mother to come in.

The three of them sit at the kitchen table. "What are you working on right now," he asks, "is it really more important than school? Can you tell us what it is." "Not yet," says Shizuku. Mrs. Shizukushimia speaks, "it can wait for another time…," but Shizuku responds she has to finish it within three weeks. It is a goal, a test she has set for herself, but she cannot tell her parents what it is."

After some thinking, Mr. Shizukushima decides they should leave Shizuku alone. One's path is for one's own choosing. Mrs. Shizukushima thinks back to the things that she wished that should have done. Shizuku's father gives her his blessing, but he cautions her that it is difficult to run a different path (the road less traveled) and if she fails, she must be ready to deal with it.

Later, Shiho tells her kindly that she is moving away, but tells her that despite Father's words, he still wants her to work hard at school. Shizuku agrees.

That night, Shizuku dreams of herself running in a deep tunnel. She sees two paths, she is told only one of them is real. She comes upon a rock face, and suddenly a block of rock below her starts glowing. When she grasp it in her hands, it turns into a dead bird.

Shizuku awakens from her nightmare. She opens the library book with the picture of the boy making violins in the prison and she thinks of Seiji.

Next >>>