++Not losing to the gal, not losing to my friends, not losing to my parents or even my little sister, not losing to anything that could take away my precious smile—without hesitation, without ever losing my cool, always studying in quiet—that’s the kind of person I want to be.++

I scribbled this down on the back of a bookmark and tucked it, along with my pen, into the pages of my book. I then lay on my back with the book resting on my chest, turning my head to gaze at Takamatsu Pond. The calm surface of the lake mirrored the towering beauty of Mt. Iwate.

Takamatsu Pond is famous for the swans that migrate here in winter. I was stretched out on a bench near the water, looking up at the sky through the branches of cherry trees. The green leaves rustled softly in the breeze, much like my heart, ever since I met that gal. It’s been fluttering the same way.

I wonder if she’s home by now. Has she dropped off her luggage and is resting? Maybe she’s taking a bath. What’s she thinking about right now? What’s she looking at?

Once I start thinking about her, that’s all I can think about. Even though I just wrote, “without ever losing my cool,” my heart’s already in a mess.

“++Sigh…++”

A wistful sigh escaped my lips. As I pictured her face onto a white cloud floating in the sky—

“Yuki, found ya!”

“Eek!”

I was startled by the sudden appearance of the real thing. Standing behind me with her hands clasped behind her and looking down at me with mischievous eyes was the gal from my class—Shibusawa Mikane. 

Her long bluish-black hair, which reached her waist, curled elegantly and shimmered like the Milky Way in the light. She wore a stylish, slightly revealing outfit, but somehow, it never seemed vulgar. Maybe because her expressions and every gesture were so bright and lively.

“D-don’t do that… I thought my heart would stop.”

I sat up, making a face like I’d eaten something bitter.

“Sorry. But, like, what were you thinking about, lying here like that?”

“What… well—”

There’s no way I could tell her ++she++ was the one occupying my thoughts. That would be way too embarrassing.

As I hesitated, she said, “Want me to guess?”

The confidence in her voice was terrifying. But I couldn’t run away. Running would be like admitting defeat. And besides, there’s no way she could guess what I was really thinking. Even if she did, I could always deny it.

“Go ahead,” I said, feeling safer with that thought.

Mikane crossed her arms with enthusiasm and looked up, saying, “Hmm…” After pondering for a bit, she snapped her fingers.

“Got it! You were thinking about what color to dye your hair next, weren’t you?”

++Wait, what? Hair?++ I blinked, completely thrown off.

“No, I’ve never dyed my hair. I don’t plan to, and I’ve never even thought about it.”

“Wrong? Hmm… then maybe you were thinking, ‘I should hit the tanning salon soon’?”

“Where did ++that++ come from?! I’ve never thought about that either! And can high schoolers even go to tanning salons?!”

“Ahahaha!”

She laughed gleefully.

“Haha, just kidding! I know you’d never think about that stuff, Yukki. Buuut…”

She began folding her fingers one by one, saying, “Knowing you, it’s either this… or that… or maybe even that…”

“I can think of about three things. Judging from how surprised you were when I found you—”

Pointing to herself triumphantly, she declared, “You were thinking about me, weren’t you?”

“—!”

++Oh no…++ I instinctively looked away.

Was she aiming for this, or was it just a coincidence? After throwing me off with the hair color and tanning salon, she landed a direct hit.

Mikane looked at me with a smug expression.

Feeling embarrassed, I hurried to change the subject.

“M-more importantly, why are you here? You should have arrived home by now, right?”

“Oh, about that…”

She straightened up and stretched, hands clasped behind her back.

“I came directly because I had something to report. Mao-chan told me you were here.”

“Report? Oh, I see…”

There was a large Duffle bag at her feet. She must have gone straight from the station to my house, and Mao, my younger sister, told her where to find me.

What could be so urgent that she had to come all this way? Something that had to be said “directly?” The fact that she used the word “report” instead of “talk” also felt strange.

“…So, what is it you wanted to report?”

“Well, it’s—”

Just then, the breeze grew stronger, stirring the rustling leaves, swaying the grass, and causing the branches above us to creak. Mikane’s mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear her words.

I held down my ruffled hair with one hand, narrowing my eyes to avoid getting dust in them.

⠀

Come to think of it, the wind was blowing like this on that day too…

!next

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