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Yachi was currently staying in her aunt's place, alongside her mother and her mother's assistant, whom she had been suspecting as her mother's boyfriend; after all, who would bring their assistant to visit their family? Unless, they had an intimate relationship with that assistant which could be explained for her mother's case.
They were staying in the countryside for five days as a way to celebrate her aunt's birthday, which was tomorrow, and as her aunt's request to them. When her mother had told of this to her a week ago, she didn't mind, and wanted to come along as she missed the humidity and the fresh air surrounding the countryside, also she really wanted to see her aunt. It's been such a long time since they've last seen each other. The drive from the city, where they lived, to the countryside was no more than five hours, it was even a quicker drive if they went by car instead of train or not stopping by for stopovers.
Her aunt's house was still the same, the only difference was that it was decorated with Christmas decorations which seemed to be decorations from last year as there was dust forming in the little trinkets hanging above the walls.
The three—her aunt, mother, and the assistant were talking to one another in the kitchen, some topic she couldn't be bothered to eavesdrop on, while Yachi was staring afar in the giant window, seating comfortable in the leather sofa and hugging one of the cushions, looking at the view of her aunt's vegetable garden where vegetables such as the like of lettuces, radishes, and carrots were growing that they seemed ripe enough to be eaten.
Yachi's mother turned to look at her daughter, who seemed to not be doing anything and that bothered her. They took a vacation to the countryside to enjoy each other's presence, eat good meals, and take a look through the place—none of which Yachi was doing. She wanted her daughter to do something other than sit there idly, boring herself out, not doing anything. She knew her daughter was shy and demure, the type to not want to do anything unless being told to, and that tire her out little by little.
She stopped talking for a moment with the other two and kept an eye on her.
“Hitoka, why don't you go outside for a little while? You hadn't come with us just to look at your aunt's garden. I heard there's a lake.” her mother, Madoka, said seemingly more of a declaration than a request.
“Yes, yes, there's a beautiful lake just right at the corner, you'd see it if you pass through my garden. It's lovely! You must come and see it.” Her aunt added.
She had no choice but to follow their requests, she didn't know why they urged her to come out, but she thought that they might have something to talk about where she isn't allowed to join in or hear all about it. She nodded and left her seat, she walked towards the door leading to the outside place, she grabbed her dress shoes, snuck them in her feet and left to walk away.
Her aunt lived in the peaceful countryside, there weren't many people, just overgrown grasses and flowers she couldn't name were the only ones that surrounded her aunt's house. There was a house a few blocks away from it, though it seemed far from where they were at, so basically the house had practically no neighbours.
The lake was very nearby, she could already see it as soon as she passed through her aunt's large garden house. The lake was still and quiet, there wasn't anyone else in there, the only thing that could be heard was the chirping of birds. It was close to night, the sky was darkening, going from light blue to dark orange, the weather was windy, and it was between the climes of sunny and fall.
She grew closer to the lake and found a port, but there wasn't anything else on it. Odd, she thought, as most ports had boats in them and loud fishermen with their buckets where if you take a peek inside, there were different kinds of fishes swarming around it.
Her feet landed in the flooring of the port, she walked closer to its edge and sat down to sink her feet in the waters. It was of the warm temperature, it felt good, if only she had extra clothes that were fit for swimming, she would've dove right in the water. Her feet moved back and forth, like a swing, creating movements, shapes, and small bubbles in the calm lake.
She stood in the position for a while, looking above the skies, the clouds were spread out and it didn't seem like it was about to rain.
Feeling the water growing colder all of the sudden, she shrieked in the coldness and lifted her feet up immediately. The coldness of the water was too much for her to bear. She was confused as to why the water went from warm to cold just within a minute.
Peering slowly down the water, to some degree she bent down in order to see what was going on, if there might have been some sort of creature lying within the waters, however she saw nothing of the unusual.
Crossing her legs, she sat in that position while still observing the sky, it was beautiful, she muttered under her breath, not audible enough to be heard by anyone else aside from her.
She then craned her neck to see the water, it was bubbling, there were many bubbles forming at once that the water had turned white, she felt scared by it, so she got up and slowly walked backwards, still observing what was going on.
Then, it just abruptly stopped. Like nothing happened, she went back, looked at it, then sat down a few metres away from the edge of the port.
She inhaled then exhaled trying to not provoke her palpitating heart, she was really nervous. She wondered if she disturbed the peace of some giant fish by swinging her feet, and wanted to go look and observe if there was even a fish, but she recalled her aunt saying earlier, on their way to the house by car, that the beautiful lake didn't had any sort of fishes and that's why fishermen preferred to fish by the ocean instead.
“Are you still here?” An ear-piercing voice suddenly asked. “Please don't be scared, I won't harm you. I'm harmless.” The voice was high pitched, the intonations rising higher and higher, she felt extremely frightened because of it.
Quickly, she turned her neck to the side in search of the voice, but it didn't seem to be coming from anywhere beside her. So, her only option was to look beneath the water from the edge of the port.
She stood up and walked slowly then bent a little for her eyes to meet with the half body of a person, the boy seemed to just be a reflection of someone, thinking it was a ghost that she couldn't see, she felt her heart violently pulsating so rigorously that it seemed to claw out of her chest and run away soon. She covered her mouth to resist a shout.
She was about to pick her feet up to move, and turn from her back to run away when the voice cried out. “Don't leave me! Please stay! I'm just a reflection!” The voice pleaded, but that wasn't enough to console the poor girl who was now quivering in fear.
Her curiosity was stronger, like a fire ploughing to a great extent, rushing and heating ablaze above length.
She walked closely, to take a better look at the speaking reflection of a boy. Her eyes widened, her hands still covering her mouth, and her whole body was still slightly shaking.
Her fear loosened a bit when she saw his face through a better look. She observed him. He has well rounded almond eyes, freckles prickling within his skin, especially his cheeks, and his hair had the colour of dark green. He seemed to wear ordinary clothes— a white shirt covered by a pink wool cardigan.
“W-who are you?” She let out a hiccup out of fear with a mix of confusion.
“I am Tadashi. Tadashi Yamaguchi.” He smiled at her, the feeling of fear subsided slowly once he let out a warm smile for her to see.
She nodded, then looked around, and bent down, her knees scraping the floor made out of thick and strong wood. She reached out to touch him, her fingertips running through the water, his reflection only moved, there was no body in the water as she'd observed.
She leaned in further, grazing her fingers until the water swallowed her whole hand, trying to reach out for his body, clasping through the water that broke his reflection. But he was right, he's just a reflection.
She still didn't believe that though. “Are you okay? What are you? Hold on, I'll get some help and we'll reach you out of the water–”
“I am just a reflection.” He cut her off.
Her hands pushed her hair back as a gesture of her frustrated feeling. “B-but how?! Why? What even are you? I don't understand.” Her throat hitched and she felt that she could not breathe properly, so she took two breaths in and out to calm herself down.
“Some questions are just better left unanswered.” He smiled. “What's your name?”
“Hitoka. Hitoka Yachi.” She felt calmer now, but still couldn't believe her eyes that she was talking to simply a reflection.
“Well, Hitoka! That's a lovely name.” he said in a sing-song tone. “Oh, are you calm now? I'm sorry for scaring you like that, I didn't mean to do that. I just got excited because it's been almost a year since I suppose that someone has last visited me.”
A year? She asked herself, feeling a bit blue. How long has he been there anyway? What is he? Why doesn't he want to answer my question? Frustration built up as she kept asking herself question after question with no pause.
Him refusing to answer her questions already meant that he didn't want such conversation to keep going, so she thought of what to respond, making sure that she'd reply something nice as she didn't want to offend him and for him to storm off leaving her confused even more.
“A year? That's long. You must've been very lonely.” She spoke calmly and he nodded.
“Very much so! But, I'm glad you're here and you didn't go off running like the others.”
Others he said, so there must've been plenty of other people who had seen him and probably talked to him for a short while. She then went even closer to him, as if she were about to fall off. He warned her not to get closer but she didn't listen, and clutched her arm in the border of the port and stared intensely at him.
“Are you…” She heaved a long sigh. “Are you a ghost?” She asked in a shrill quiet voice and it produced a shaky tone as she spoke each word, but he only responded with laughter.
He kept laughing and it got louder, that she felt conscious of the question she asked. She seemed to not offend him just by seeing his reaction, but she didn't know why he was laughing all of the sudden.
“No, silly, I am not! I'm a reflection.” He still kept laughing that the tranquil water was now moving vigorously.
It started being windy. The wind plummeted the whole area, the water started wisping, like it was flattened by a smooth force. The short bob cut hair of Yachi flowed and swayed, some hair even brushed past her face, trickling then painting through her features.
The wind ultimately made the atmosphere colder for a short while, Yachi felt shiver run down through her spine. The wind changed the ambience into a sullen one.
She took notice of her surroundings, the lake wasn't that big, it was rather small, and there were trees that encircled it where its leaves left a mark on the water, however, there wasn't any garbage or leftovers piled up in the lake itself.
She looked at the freckled boy again, his dainty features were pretty and he was looking right at her, his hair was probably the same length as hers, the only difference was it was more sleek than hers and run down, almost touching his shoulders.
Tadashi, she mumbled his name in a soft manner. She wanted to know more about him, where he came from, why he was only a reflection in the waters, and what he truly was. Such an out of the ordinary creature, she thought. He was truly a mystery that she desperately wanted to solve.
Noticing how odd the quietness was, he spoke up, “Hitoka, speaking of which, I haven't seen you around. I'm pretty sure you're a new face, have you moved into this neighbourhood recently?”
Deep into her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that she became too silent, then looked at him as he opened his mouth to talk. The way he moved his jaws as he spoke was normal, only a bit wriggling as the water was moving back and forth, to and fro.
“Uh, yes. I'm visiting my aunt. She lives there.” She stretched her hand to point at the house with a huge fence where the vegetables were located, but realised that it was no use as he wouldn't be able to see it anyway, he was just laid flat on the water.
“I can't see, but thank you for telling me at least.” He laughed and she hadn't noticed but she involuntarily did too.
“How long have you been here?” She asked, but he shook his head.
“No idea.” Was the only thing he replied, she felt quite annoyed but brushed it off.
If he didn't want to answer her questions that's fine, she loved the mystery of his aura anyway. But still, her curiosity was flaring more than ever.
“Will you be here tomorrow?” She asked again, silently hoping for an answer.
“If you will be here, then I will too.” He gave out a mellow grin at her.
She was confused as to what he meant by that, but nodded. So, if she appears, he will as well? What for anyway? What does he want from her? She's bewildered by him.
“Ah, I see. I'll be here tomorrow too. Don't worry, I'll be here for the last 4 days until I go home.”
He smiled and moved so much that the water started trembling as if an earthquake had just passed by and then left.
“That's great, Hitoka! I want to get to know more about you.” His eyes glimmered with joy.
“Me? Well, there's nothing really to share about.” Her voice trailed off, ranging into a more quieter tone, almost like a faint whisper.
“You say 4 days, right? What are you here for?” He asked, now the water has calmed down.
“I am just here for my aunt. Her birthday's tomorrow. Then that's it, she just wanted to see us, and of course, we do too.” She says listlessly.
“Oh! Birthdays! I love them, I used to have them. Tell me more!”
One of her eyebrows rose up. Tell him more about what? She thought. There wasn't really anything interesting to tell, but it seems that he found anything she had to say fascinating. And somehow, she liked that. She liked it when someone listened to her no matter what she said.
“Uhm. It's nothing interesting, really. But would you still want to listen?”
After she asked that, his expression showed as if she just had asked something silly. “Of course! I find anything you say interesting anyway. Go on, Hitoka. I'm all ears, say your rants, whatever you feel, anything of the like! I'm willing to listen to you all day.”
Hearing that made her happy. As someone who lives in a house where small exchanges were oftenly a custom, and where her mother didn't listen to her opinions which made it hard for her to express her inner feelings, she felt like she could jump in joy when he was willing to listen to her, he seemed like a great listener.
So she went on with how her aunt's house looked like, the pretty but worn out Christmas decors and the renowned vegetable garden that her mom had grown infatuated with, and so she did as well.
He even insisted to her to talk about herself, which she did because of his nagging. At first, all she told to him was basic information about herself, such as her age, birthday, where she's from, her friends, hobbies. Then, feeling more comfortably in talking with him, she went into details about what she usually does in a day, what she did earlier, and even talked about her friends and how joyous she felt with them—namely Shoyo, Tobio, and sometimes Kei.
Then, she went on blabbering to him about her mother's assistant and her suspicion of him and her mother being in a relationship and most probably would be tying the knot sooner.
“If they announced their marriage in front of you, wouldn't you be surprised?” He asked and she replied with a nod.
“I would be. But, at the same time, I wouldn't be that surprised, like ‘how come I didn't noticed it all along?’ cause honestly, they've been way too obvious. I think, however, that if they announced that to me, I'd be quite disappointed, I don't know, it just feel a little too soon. Anyway, it's none of my business, I'm just stating what I feel.” She shrugged and shifted her legs to another position, feeling more relaxed.
She continued rambling and rambling on random stuffs that doesn't seem to interest anyone, however he was keen on listening to her, as if his ears were wide open, only protruding to listen to whatever sound comes out of her mouth.
He didn't felt bored or tedious at her talking, honestly, it made him glad that the once quiet girl was now comfortable enough to share what her heart's been caging up—the topic was mainly of her friends, her school, and also the people she didn't liked, which made him interested than ever on such topic.
Soon, it became quite dark, but their conversation went on. He asked questions and she answered them. She felt hot temperature rushing through her veins, enough to flush her cheeks bright red, she didn't know why, but maybe because she just felt so relieved that there was someone, even though it was just a reflection, who listened to her attentively and seemed to care enough.
The feeling of hot flush running through her body, especially within her arms, was still there. She felt a tingle in her ears and her cheeks causing her to jump a little from her seat, it was the feeling of excitement and happiness combined.
“Can I ask you a question, Tadashi?” She asked and he nodded. “Why are you so attentive? It's not like I hate it, but wouldn't you be bored of what I say?”
He left out a light chuckle. “What? I don't find you or anything you say boring at all. I'm being honest. I'm a great listener, I'll listen to whatever you say all day long as long as you talk to me.”
Hearing him say that comforted her and washed all her worries away, it was like letting out a huge sigh of relief, a sigh that came out from the chest releasing the chains that bound it. This was something she had always wanted to hear from someone else.
She looked at him once again, then looked up at the sky, that was once blue and is now fading into a dimmer colour.
She observed him, his eyes were moving around, looking from his left and right slowly, like he was trying to search for something, she hadn't noticed but her cheeks went up and her lips curved out forming a smile, nearly a laughter just by seeing him. She blushed at her actions and quickly relapsed to her neutral expression.
“Tadashi, I'm really thankful that I met you, but I have to go now. It's late.” She said and added, “Don't worry though, I'll come back tomorrow and the following days where I'll be here.”
“I feel so reassured Hitoka! Go on now, I'm sure your mother is worried. I'll see you tomorrow, take care.” He replied back and slowly dissipated into bubbles.
The next day, and the follow days, Yachi always excused herself from her aunt and mother in order to go visit the lake. At first, the two siblings didn't mind at all, but as days pass, they noticed Yachi's fond for the lake. Sometimes, she would spend more than an hour in that lake, almost missing out dinner, and she'd come back with a bright smile plastered within her face.
“She must've liked it a lot, huh.” said Yachi's aunt.
“What's with that lake anyway? Didn't you say it was abandoned or something?” asked Yachi's mother, currently slicing cucumbers delicately.
“I don't know, but it's beautiful. It has a peaceful sense within it. Maybe that's why.”
Using the days left before she goes back to Miyagi, Yachi never missed out seeing Tadashi. They talked about all sorts of things – nature, Yachi's school, the lake, and hobbies (which Yachi felt perplexed with how a reflection on a lake would even have such hobbies).
Yachi felt comfortable with him enough to share all of her emotions with him, and he understood her, patiently listening to her, and sometimes giving out helpful advices. They grew closer overtime, she considered him as a great friend, and felt quite sad as she would have to leave him behind when it's time for her to go back home.
Yachi knew all about him as he had also discussed himself to her. She knew about his favorite color, favorite animal, favorite food, and all favorites but not the reason why he's a reflection, to which he'd never say to her, and despite her blossoming curiosity, she decided to respect that and leave it as what it is.
Then, the day has come, it was time for them to leave and go back home. Yachi wasn't talking the whole day, she was just staring afar from the window, ignoring everyone who was talking to her. Her mother felt quite nervous with her daughter's peculiarity.
“Mom, before we go, can I go see the lake for awhile?” Yachi finally spoke to her mother's surprise.
“Of course. But be back immediately, alright?” Yachi nodded and proceeded to jump off from her seat and kiss her mom on the cheek.
Yachi scurried her way to go the lake, passing by plants she couldn't name and grasses that were almost as tall as her. But she didn't took notice, she was too busy, and her mind was running with so many ideas.
“Tadashi! Tadashi!” she called out.
As she had arrived, she bent onto her knees, touching her kneecaps while panting loudly. She shouldn't have ran that fast, she thought. She went back to her usual form of standing and stretched out her arms up high. She went nearer the port, and there was Tadashi, bubbles coming together into the color of white until a reflection was formed.
“Hello hitoka!” he said cheerily.
“I am going home today. I might not see you ever.” she said and sat down on the port, crossing both of her legs.
He became quiet, the smile faltered away from his face. His expression made him look like as if he were ruminating deeply. As if he were searching for the proper words to say deep into his mind. Quietness ensued in the atmosphere. Yachi stared at him.
“But, if summer comes, I might come back here. I'll try to convince mom. Just wait a little okay?” Yachi broke the silence.
However, here was still no reply, he was still making the same facial expression as he did earlier. It seemed as though her reply never made any changes at all. She felt down. She pushed herself a little nearer the edge and put out a finger and dipped her finger into the cold water, swirling it around, making out a few different shapes, softly caressing his image.
“Hey.” She said lightly. “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, I'm sorry. I kind of zoned out, I guess.” he said. “Hitoka, I'll wait for you in summers.”
She smiled and nodded at him, still moving her fingers within his range, making his reflection move. It was as if she was patting him, though he didn't seem to mind.
“Hitoka, I have a request before you go. I hope it's alright with you.” He sounded serious, so she nodded and lent him an ear.
“What is it?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. Inhaled then exhaled, and then repeated the process for about three times. Yachi just looked at him, then craned her neck to the left, showing how curious she was at his request.
The lake was still the same as she had first seen it. It was alone, there was nobody, but her and Tadashi. There were still leaves piled and rummaged along the water. Green leaves, red ones, and yellow ones, there were all sorts of leaves around this lake. Because it was uninhabited by nobody, it felt eerie, especially now that the sky was darkening to evening. However, Yachi didn't felt scared or bothered by the atmosphere.
“I– I” Tadashi stuttered. “Can I kiss you?” he finally had enough courage to ask her.
Upon hearing those words, Yachi felt like the earth swerved in a circular motion, making her feel dizzy and paralleled. She felt her heart bursting and she could hear its beating along other parts of her body, but she could feel it the most in her hands. It was throbbing. She touched her cheeks and it was warm, she thought that maybe her cheeks were now in the tint of light pink. She didn't expected him to ask such question or even request of something like this.
It was such an unexpected thing of him to say. She froze for awhile before making her decision. She nodded in response to his request. She gripped onto the edge of the port to balance herself, leaned in, making sure she didn't fall off.
As she got closer to where he was, she closed her eyes, and felt her lips touch the misty cold water. However, she felt life, a human contact rather, that he personified himself and kissed her lips.
She quickly opened her eyes, then saw him, still the reflection in the water, but a tint of pink was visible in his cheeks and he was averting his gaze sheepishly. She retorted back to where she used to be sitting.
It was quiet for awhile. The rustling of the leaves on the trees could be heard. The croak of some frogs around were also heard. Yachi looked afar the sky before looking back into Tadashi. She smiled at him, and did he too. She slowly got up from her seat and is now standing. She waved at him.
“Goodbye Tadashi, let's see again soon. I'll really miss you.”
•
When they arrived home, she immediately ran to her room, then locked it. She was on a quest to find her journal. It wasn't on her desk, which was unusual as that was where her journal resided.
So, she looked through her drawers. The top one didn't had it, the second drawer was just full of crumpled paper, and the third was bare. She decided to check if it was under her bed. The bottom of her bed had a narrow opening where she could hide random items that she didn't want her friends to see.
She reached beneath, sensing some of the objects placed in there: failed crochet works, her old Barbie dolls that are balding, a plastic wrapper of a biscuit she ate before, and there it was!
She felt the texture of her journal. It was a simple notebook that had a glossy cover and a yarn attached to it, which keeps the journal binded. It was given to her by Shoyo. She loved it and always had it with her during school, in case that she'd be bored or had nothing else important to do.
She turned on the lamp that was situated on top of her desk in order to see what she was about to write. She flipped her journal open, grabbed a ballpoint pen, then began scribing: “I met a friend while staying in my aunt's house. People might think I'm crazy, that's why I won't tell anyone, not even my friends. He's cute. Goodlooking. His voice is pretty. He also loves listening to me. I like listening to him too. I hope to see him again. That won't be soon, but I'm sure I'll see him some time. I won't forget about him.”
She then clutched her journaling box to begin designing. She pasted some stickers, added some doodles in the corners, and stuck washi tape as the borders. With her memory of his features, she drew him. She was heavily concentrated, making sure to be precise in sketching how he looked. After some erasure, she was satisfied with her output. She coloured his hair, skin, and eyes, even his clothes. Feeling giddy, she beamed at the finished product of her sketch, and thought how marvellous it was that she would have a piece of his memory with her.
•
“You good?” Tobio asked, handing her a small milk carton.
Caught up with her own daydreams, she flinched a little by surprise, then nodded.
“Thank you.” She poked the opening of the carton with the plastic straw.
“What are you thinking of?” He gazed at the sky out from the window. “The sun's pretty when it's afternoon.”
She smiled then nodded in agreement, staring at the ethereal sky that looked like an abstract painting with orange hues and mild yellow gradient colouring the surface.
Upon staring intently, she didn't know if it was just her eyes, but the clouds began to swell, slowly move in a circular motion, then twist and bend into an unfamiliar shape. She had to shake her head and rub her eyes, thinking that she might've just been really tired. However, as she looked once again in the sky, the clouds contorted to form the face of Tadashi. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was it really him? Or were her eyes just fooling her?
“What the heck? That cloud looks like a guy's face.” Tobio snorted, then shook his head.
Okay, her eyes weren't fooling her. She looked at it for a long time. It was really his face. She didn't understand what kind of phenomena was this, but it gave her a feeling of intense happiness.
•
It was a long weekend and that implied that there won't be any classes for three days. Yachi, her mother, and her mother's assistant, decided to go to the beach. She felt excluded in the two adult's conversations, but she didn't seem to care.
She looked out of the window, her earphones plugged into her phone, as she pretended she was the actress in the music video of the song she's currently listening to. The car came to an abrupt stop, which made Yachi wake up from her senses.
“Are we here?” She asked.
“Not quite. I think someone got into an accident. We might be delayed for a few minutes.” Her mother replied.
She sighed, then continued her daydreaming while staring mindlessly in the window, coming to view the beautiful scenery appearing in front of her.
A person's shadow caught her eye. Her eyes were unfocused, but she still remembered catching a partial view of the person. They were wearing green, that was all. She didn't know what drove her to become intrigued, but her heart was keeping her stimulated to curiosity.
She rolled the window down to check sideways if the person was still there. However, there was no one. Feeling quite disappointed, she spun the handle so that the window would be back to its original position.
They've finally arrived at the beach. Yachi, wearing a yellow sundress that reached her knees, was sitting on the sand and building a sandcastle that would soon be washed away by the waves of the water.
There weren't that many people around. Some children were sculpting a perfect sandcastle that was at least taller than them, catching Yachi's attention and astonished her with their talents. There were a few people surfing along the tide and most were swimming or taking pictures.
Her mother was taking numerous shots of the scenery, even requesting her assistant to capture a ‘stolen’ picture of her while she's sunbathing. She craned her neck to view her dispirited daughter looking lifeless while playing with the sand.
She let out a sigh of disappointment. “Hitoka, don't you want to swim?” She asked, but her daughter only shook her head while still focused on the sand in front of her.
She gave up on the sandcastle and resorted to burrowing a hole instead. When she was younger, she remembered digging underneath the sand for such a long time, that she had smelled something awful, which turned out to be a flailing fish, and it scared her that she quickly pushed the sand back down.
“Yellow is a great colour on you. I think we match since I'm wearing green. Don't yellow and green go together?” She instantly looked up and saw Tadashi, who was gleaming at her. Automatically, she stood up and was unable to form any coherent words to say. Is this real?
He was wearing a simple plain green shirt with linen beach shorts that had the same colour. He also had a bucket hat, that was also green, and slippers that were, of course, green.
“Hi, Hitoka. Long time no see!” She felt so ecstatic that she wrapped her hands around him tightly and jumped in joy. “This is real, right? Even the clouds? They're real, am I right?” He hugged her too, as she kept jumping and emitting radiant energy due to her ebullience.
“Yes! I'm glad you noticed. I'm so happy to see you.”
“I am not dreaming, right? I kept thinking about you, like how you were doing, if you felt lonely, how were—”
“Hitoka?” It was her mother's voice, she walked towards them. “You've never told me you had another friend?”
She stopped hugging him to turn around and look at her mother with a rueful expression.
“Hello. I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi. I'm Hitoka's friend, and we met–”
“–When we stayed at aunt's house! I saw him then we rapidly became friends. He's really nice to talk to.”
Yachi's mother seemed pleased. She nodded in response. Then told Tadashi that he's welcome anytime if he ever wanted to visit Yachi. The two looked at each other and smiled.
She placed her hands on his shoulders then started to swing him back and forth, trying to shake some answers from him. She had so many questions, but she only wanted to enjoy this fleeting moment with him.
“How did you even become human? From reflection to a person, how did you do that?” She asked, knowing that he'd only say something vague.
He shrugged then smiled at her. “I wanted to see you, that's why.” A colour of pink slowly became visible in her cheeks.
He gently held her hands, clasping it with his, and intertwining their fingers together. “Hitoka, do you want to run in the waters with me and see who could reach the farthest distance?”
She laughed at the request, but nodded. “Game.”
While still holding each other's hands, they ran towards the blue ocean, its waves were ebbing and rushing forward continuously. It looked like they were chasing the sun that was about to conceal itself amongst the valleys. A picturesque scenery of pure delight. A moment of reunion that they'd always recall when they are away from each other.