The Things Time Couldn't Erase
The afternoon sunlight slipped quietly through the bedroom window, painting the room in shades of gold.
Nobita stood silently in front of an old cardboard box tucked beneath his bed. A thin layer of dust covered its surface, as if time itself had forgotten it.
"...It's been year," he whispered.
He slowly opened the box.
The first thing he picked up was a crumpled test paper.
0.
A small smile escaped his lips.
"I really was hopeless..."
Beneath it lay an old baseball, its leather scratched and faded from countless games with Gian and Suneo. He gently rolled it between his fingers before setting it aside.
Then came a handful of colorful cookie wrappers.
Shizuka's homemade cookies.
Some had tasted sweet.
Some had tasted... terrible.
Yet he had kept every wrapper without realizing why.
A worn-out volume of Gorogoro Comics rested at the bottom of the box, its pages bent and yellow with age. Tucked inside it was a class photograph.
There they all were.
Gian, grinning confidently.
Suneo, proudly posing.
Shizuka, smiling as brightly as ever.
Dekisugi...
Standing neatly in the back row with the same calm smile he always wore. And there was Nobita...
Messy hair.
Crooked smile.
Looking as if he had no idea what he was doing.
"...Nothing's changed," he laughed softly.
A familiar blue robotic cat walked into the room carrying two cups of tea.
"I knew I'd find you here."
Doraemon placed one cup beside him before sitting on the floor.
"So... you finally opened that box."
Nobita nodded without taking his eyes off the photograph.
"I thought I'd forgotten these days."
"But the moment I saw them...it feels like they never really left."
Silence filled the room.
Only the ticking of the clock echoed between them.
Doraemon glanced at the old photograph before smiling.
"You know..I wonder where everyone is now."
Nobita looked at Dekisugi's face in the picture a little longer than the others.
"...Yeah...I wonder too."
Outside the window, the warm spring breeze carried the scent of new beginnings.
Neither of them knew...
That in just a few days...
Fate would reunite them once again.
Not as children.
But as university students, standing at the beginning of a story neither of them had expected.
Nobita carefully placed every memory back into the box, except for the old class photograph. He stared at it for a long time.
"...We all looked so small."
He couldn't help but smile.
"So many years have passed..."
He traced each familiar face with his finger.
"Gian... I wonder if you're still shouting at everyone...Suneo probably still can't stop showing off...And Shizuka..." he chuckled. "I hope you've finally learned how to play violin."
Doraemon laughed.
"I think your taste buds just became stronger."
"Maybe."
The room fell quiet again.
Nobita's finger slowly stopped on one face.
Dekisugi. The neat hair. The gentle smile.
The calm eyes that always seemed to understand everyone.
"...Dekisugi."
Doraemon noticed the way Nobita was looking at the picture.
"You haven't seen him since graduation, have you?"
Nobita shook his head.
"No...I heard he went abroad for a while."
"Well... that sounds like him," Doraemon replied. "Always studying."
Nobita smiled faintly.
"He was amazing...,The smartest in class ,The fastest to answer every question..The one every teacher praised.....The complete opposite of me."
Doraemon looked at him.
"You still compare yourself to him?"
Nobita let out a small laugh.
"Not anymore...I used to...But now...I think everyone simply had their own path."
He placed the photograph gently on his chest before lying down on the wooden floor.
The ceiling looked exactly the same.
The little crack near the corner was still there.
The afternoon light still entered through the same window.
Even the wind sounded familiar.
"It really feels like nothing has changed."
Doraemon lay beside him, folding his hands behind his head.
"Time changes people..But sometimes...It leaves places exactly the way we remember them."
Nobita closed his eyes.
The laughter from years ago echoed somewhere deep inside his memories. The baseball games. Running through the neighborhood.
The arguments with Gian.
Suneo bragging about another expensive toy.
Shizuka calling everyone together.
Even the endless lectures from his mother.
Somehow...
He missed all of it.
"I used to think growing up would be exciting."
Doraemon turned his head.
"And?"
Nobita smiled sadly.
"It is...But no one tells you how quietly childhood disappears."
The room became silent again.
Only the sound of birds outside accompanied them.
After a while, Nobita spoke again.
"...Do you think we'll all meet again?"
Doraemon answered without hesitation.
"If it's meant to happen...It will."
Nobita slowly opened his eyes.
"I hope so...I want to see everyone again..I want to know what kind of adults we've become."
He laughed to himself.
"I wonder if Gian is still scary ,I wonder if Suneo is still dramatic , I wonder if Shizuka still smiles the same way."
His voice softened.
"...And I wonder if Dekisugi is still the kindest person I've ever met."
Doraemon smiled quietly.
"I think you'll get your answer soon."
Nobita looked at him in confusion.
"Hm?"
"Oh... nothing."
Doraemon quickly looked away, pretending not to say anything.
Nobita narrowed his eyes.
"You're hiding something."
"I am not."
"You definitely are."
"Nope."
"...You're smiling."
"I always smile."
Nobita sighed.
"You haven't changed at all."
"And neither have you."
The two laughed together.
The sunlight slowly faded into the warm colors of evening.
Nobita looked out of the window, watching the sky turn orange.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face.
He closed his eyes and whispered to himself,
"...Nothing has changed...I'm sure...We'll meet again."
