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Mahiru had a pretty regimented sleep cycle. She’d be in bed by eleven, lights out by eleven thirty, she’d wake up around 7:30 after a healthy eight hours of sleep, and be ready to face the world by eight. Most days, she didn’t even need to set an alarm to wake up.
Then again, most days Mahiru wasn’t woken up by her phone going off in the dead of night.
Frantically pulling herself out from her blankets, she snagged her phone to see what was so desperate for her attention that it made her get up at, what, four in the morning? Opening her phone to the notification scene, she looked at her most recent text.
--
5:08 AM - Rantaro :)
Hey, are you up? If so, come outside, I need to show you something
--
Mahiru considered putting her phone down and returning to bed, but she grumbled as she gradually got out of bed. Was Rantaro going to show her something worth waking up before the crack of dawn? Probably not. But would it be worth it to see how his eyes lit up as he went on an excited rant about whatever he found interesting that day? Definitely. She snatched her phone from the charger and typed out a quick response.
Give me five minutes
Standing up, she stretched her arms before getting dressed, deciding on a hoodie she “borrowed” from Rantaro a month or so prior, and a pair of leggings she had lying around. They’d keep her warm enough in the brisk early morning cold. She quickly brushed her teeth and grabbed an apple just in case, rushing out her room.
After exiting her dorm hall, Mahiru looked out and saw a familiar silhouette waving at her. She chuckled, waved back, and jogged up to the familiar face of Rantaro.
“Hey,” he said, brushing his hand through his hair. “Sorry for the early wake up call, but I really need to show you this.”
“It’s fine, but the surprise better be worth it,” Mahiru giggled. “So what was so important that it couldn’t wait until morning anyways?” she asked, trying to peek behind Rantaro’s back.
Rantaro held up his empty palms. “Nah, I’m not hiding anything from you, but uh,” Rantaro trailed off. “You ok to go on a quick trip?” he shrugged out.
“Well, because I’m already up… sure, why not? And where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise, about an hour away. My car’s right there,” Rantaro gestured towards his Camry.
“Geez, you could’ve told me about this earlier if it’d be that far,” Mahiru half-joked as she started towards the car. “You want me to navigate and keep you awake or can I catch up on sleep?”
“You should catch up on sleep, I can make it there fine,” Rantaro said as he sat in the driver’s seat.
“Ok good,” Mahiru turned on the seat warmer and leaned back her seat.
Mahiru passed out by the time they left the parking lot.
-—-
Mahiru woke up to Rantaro’s gentle calling and the car’s clock blinking 6:32. “Hey, looks like we made it just in time,” Rantaro smiled. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Mahiru leaned forward, blinking herself awake. Looking out the window, she realized Rantaro drove her to a forest. “So is this it?” she asked, taking in her surroundings.
“This is the place,” Rantaro proudly smirked. “Well, the entrance to it, at least. The real place I want to show you is a little further in. Let’s get going, we only have a minute until sunrise, and you need to see this.”
The couple got out of the car, and took a deep breath of the fresh, pine infused air. “It’s just down this trail,” Rantaro pulled out a flashlight as he took Mahiru’s hand.
The two walked through the forest, entirely silent besides the crunch of the leaves and soft sounds of waves crashing “Is that a lake?” Mahiru asked.
“That’s right, and that’s exactly where we’re heading! I’ll tell you about this place after we sit for a moment.”
After a minute more of walking, the passage broke open to a gigantic lake. While its true size was concealed by the darkness, it was obvious that the lake was larger than any body of water Mahiru had ever seen besides the ocean.
“Let’s sit, it’ll be here any second,” Rantaro said, pointing towards a bench. The two sat and looked east towards the horizon. And after a moment, it came.
The sunrise finally poked out over the tops of the trees, the warm rays glazing off the soft blue waves of the lake. The brilliant oranges and reds of the sunrise contrasted beautifully against the lingering black of the dying night. And just as the sunlight broke against the dark, the sounds of wildlife broke the silence of the sleeping forest, bursting to life with the sounds of chirping birds and a gentle breeze blowing through the trees.
“Wow, Rantaro, this is just… wonderful,” Mahiru awed at the natural beauty of the landscape.
“It’s great, isn’t it? I was the same the first time I was here, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
Mahiru let herself get lost in the morning sky. As the sun continued to rise, she noticed how more and more of the green expanse of trees lit up in sunlight. How deep did the forest go? Half a mile? A mile? Mahiru tried calculating in her head before getting interrupted by the telltale sound of a camera shutter.
She looked over her shoulder and saw Rantaro laughing while looking at the photo he just took. “You know, for all the times you say I look goofy on camera, ”
“Oh geez, let me see that,” Mahiru blushed as she snatched the camera. “Ugh, you are NOT showing that one to anybody.”
“Aww, but that was a good one! You’re centered, I adjusted all the colors right, and not to mention I have the cutest subject ever.”
“Geez, you don’t need to say sappy stuff like that… hey, weren’t you going to tell me how you found this place?” Mahiru quickly changed the subject.
“Oh yeah,” Rantaro drew in a sharp breath. “Well, you know all about my hunt for my sisters, and how poorly it’s going. Once, when I ran through all of my reads, I just needed an escape. I just couldn’t be sitting in my dorm feeling sorry for myself, so I went driving. I just drove for hours, and ended up here. I got out of my car for a while, and after an hour, I was fine. There’s something about this place that just centers me. So whenever I need some time, I come here. I just wanted to show you this place as well.”
“Well, it’s wonderful, just like you,” Mahiru smiled. “Thanks for showing it to me,” she gently kissed Rantaro on the cheek.
“It’s even better with you,” Rantaro said, ruffling Mahiru’s hair.
“Jeez,” Mahiru fixed her hair. “But speaking of being better with you...” Mahiru quickly squeezed next to Rantaro, turned the camera towards the two of them, and snapped a picture.
“Now that,” Mahiru smiled, “is one worth showing off.”