Just finished The Red Scarf I Forgot to Return… I wasn’t ready 😭

[Emma]

okay so i just finished The Red Scarf I Forgot to Return by Emiko and… i actually had to sit in silence for a bit after.
it’s only 43 pages and somehow it felt like i lived a full emotional cycle in one sitting. it starts so soft and peaceful and then it just… wrecks you slowly. not in a loud or chaotic way, but the quiet kind of hurt that sneaks in.
the little things broke me. the candy ritual. the scarf. the awkward small talks. the way he watched her read and she doodled little drawings of him. like ??? why was that so intimate.
and when she left and he kept the scarf for ten years?? yeah no i was done. i physically paused and just stared at the wall.
lines like:
"She used to read books, and I used to read her."
“Some people grow up and fall in love. But me? I grew up and stayed in love.”
they felt personal?? like someone opened my old journal.
and the ending… with the snow and the airport… i was really holding it together until he said
“But I think… you dropped this ten years ago.”
😭😭😭
i didn’t expect to feel this much. it’s such a quiet little book but it hit so deep.
if you’ve ever had a goodbye that didn’t feel like one, this story will absolutely find you.
has anyone else read it?? i need someone to scream softly about it with 😭