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The voice is distant but painfully familiar.
“Wanna skip…”
Waka’s body feels light, as if she’s floating on a puffy cloud.
At least, that’s until someone mercilessly shakes the entire world and suddenly - she’s fallen down from the skies with a crash.
“Earth to Waka!” Shion shouts in her ear and Waka has to come to terms with reality. Which is, it’s yet another unbearably boring day at school. And it’s only lunchtime at that.
It doesn’t take a lot of convincing for Waka to follow Shion. They quickly gather their belongings and are a few streets away from their school in the blink of an eye.
The air is heavy with the scent of lilac and the sun shines bright; its warmth - exactly what had lulled Waka to sleep when she was supposed to study. Now, she feels the rays land directly on her skin.
Something in the corner of her eye reflects the sunlight and she glances to her right. Shion’s hair reminds her of honey, dandelion fields and the hot sand of her favourite beach. A gust of wind carries the sweet fragrance of her shampoo.
“What’s with you today? You still dreaming?”
Waka’s heart skips a beat. For a brief moment she has no idea what’s going on; the world feels surreal.
Then, Shion laughs and the spell is broken. The world is no longer a warped, soundless place.
“Let’s go take a nap in the park then!” Shion suggests with a grin.
But… there was something…
Before Waka could react, Shion has removed her own cap and it’s now adorning Waka’s head. The latter is snapped out of her thoughts, worries vanishing into thin air. Shion grabs her hand and pulls her forward. Waka stares at the back of her head, blonde waves swinging with the wind, and cannot tear her eyes away. The scenery changes so fast yet Waka doesn’t feel tired. They must be running at that point but it’s rather as if they’re gliding...
There’s no one outside. Shion chooses a route that goes through a quiet neighbourhood and Waka knows exactly why - her friend is hungry. Waka’s glad because she is as well; it’s lunchtime but neither of them has had lunch yet. So, of course, they’re headed to the street food market.
Once they’re there, Shion hurries ahead with a spring in her step, humming a tune which Waka won’t be able to get out of her head for hours.
And she really can’t - she furrows her brows, absentmindedly munching on the takoyaki she’s just bought.
Out of the blue, Shion grabs her hand and pulls her toward a tanghulu stall. Without bothering to ask, she gets one for Waka as well and they finally head towards the park.
“You’re kinda out of it today, you know?” Shion says once they’ve found a nice place to sit down. Waka leans back against the tree and shrugs. Her mouth is full of candied fruit and she can’t really answer.
“You can nap if you want to,” Shion suggests and flops down on the carpet of cherry blossoms beside Waka, laying her head on the latter’s lap. She looks up at Waka. “I’ll wake you up, don’t worry.”
Waka snorts and her hand moves on its own, reaching for the mess of golden hair, fingers threading slowly through it lazily removing the few blossoms that have fallen atop it moments ago. Shimmering rays of light make their way through the tree leaves and illuminate Shion’s head, creating a bright entrancing halo.
Blue eyes well up with tears; the glow is too intense yet Waka’s unable to blink nor tear her gaze away. She pulls down the cap until it covers her face and the world is plunged into darkness.
The time flows by; the silence of this remote spot in the park is interrupted only by the chirping of birds and the rustle of tree leaves. The breeze grows colder and Waka shivers. There’s no trace of the burning sunshine from earlier. Perhaps she had really fallen asleep and it’s already late.
Waka pushes the cap back and looks down at Shion. She’s still laying on Waka’s lap, a steady weight bringing a certain comfort.
Something’s wrong though. Waka’s gaze follows the bright red lines flowing down Shion’s hands, down her legs; crimson, a stark contrast to her friend’s snowy white skin. Traces of melted candied strawberries can be seen on her hands; Waka knows it’s the fruit’s fault but her heart's still pounding loudly in her chest. The initial shock is still affecting Waka’s body. Shion must have been really tired to fall asleep so fast , flashes through Waka’s mind.
Her friend’s name slips out of her lips as she tries to wake her up. Shion doesn’t even stir so Waka shakes her harder, calls her name louder.
The wind picks up and Waka feels the first raindrops land on her cheeks. The air carries the scent of rotten leaves; it’s suffocating. Waka brings her hand to wipe the rain from her face. There’s no response from Shion yet. Waka is not sure if she can even see her anymore through the thick curtain of pouring rain. Her heart is beating too fast; she gasps for air-
Waka wakes up drenched in cold sweat, opening her eyes only to see the dark ceiling of her room in the Tsurukame Villa. Hot tears are running down her cheeks. Waka doesn’t know why. The last memories of her dream fade away into nothingness.