In that blue world, as the waves swayed and a profound silence enveloped me, I could feel the chilling absence of warmth draining from my body. With each exhale, my breath transformed into bubbles that ascended toward the water’s surface, creating a symphony of soundless movement. I found myself submerged in a spring, the shadow of a magnificent full moon reflecting on the tranquil water.
Suddenly, with a splash, the moon’s reflection split in two, and a girl descended slowly from the space between the halves. I swiftly caught her in the water, cradling her in my arms as I swam toward the shore. Once we reached solid ground, she took a deep breath, coughing slightly.
Supporting her under her arm, I carefully helped her onto the wooden board that rested above the spring. At the center of the spring was a large rock I used as a foothold. Facing the girl before me, I couldn’t mistake her identity — she was Saki. This miniature version of seventeen-year-old Saki possessed the same bright eyes, now filled with tears.
She trembled, her shoulders shaking, as she gazed at the night sky. Eleven-year-old Saki desired to reach her mother on the moon. Placing my hand gently on her delicate shoulder, I uttered her name, “Saki.”
She lifted her gaze to meet mine and questioned, “Do you know who I am?”
Her expression was illuminated by the faint light of the blue moon. But I remained concealed within the shadows, invisible to her. All her features resembled Saki’s, yet they were still immature, resembling that of a child. In my eyes, accustomed to perceiving seventeen-year-old Saki as a cat, this child appeared as a vulnerable kitten.
However, I couldn’t answer her question calmly. Instead, anger welled within me. “Saki… why would you do such a thing?” Even though I should have known the reason behind her leap into the spring, from the seventeen-year-old Saki six years later, I could not bring myself to settle down. The elementary school-aged Saki before me was smaller and more delicate than I had imagined. I never wished for her to experience something like this again.
Saki’s tears poured forth, her voice conveying the anguish etched within her soul. “But I can’t bear it anymore! There are too many sorrows in this world… I can’t bear to live alone. I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to join my mother… Let me go!”
Her words resonated as a desperate plea. In response, I embraced her tightly, diverting her gaze away from the spring. The Saki in my arms was far smaller than the seventeen-year-old Saki I’d held a month ago. Such a fragile life could easily be consumed by the spring’s depths if she were to fall.
“Saki, don’t speak of such things.”
“But…”
I was already aware of the profound sadness that elementary school-aged Saki had endured, a sadness that had driven her to despair. Yet, I wished to voice my thoughts.
Loosening my hold slightly, I gazed into Saki’s eyes. Large tears clung to her face; no matter how much I wiped them, more would flow. I gripped her face with both hands and gently brushed away her tears with my thumbs.
“Saki, don’t give up on life.”
Her tears fell onto my hands, the heat seeping into my being, causing warmth to envelop my throat despite the pain. With determination, I said, “If you keep living, you will encounter kind-hearted people. Saki, I believe you will find happiness in the days to come.”
“What do you know about me?”
Surprised by the sudden halt in her tears, I slowly released her hands. I noticed the little star I carried wrapped in the bandage, now entangled in her hair. In that moment, the image of seventeen-year-old Saki, with a star ornament adorning her head, flashed vividly in my mind.
Oh, Saki, I thought.
“I met high school-aged Saki the other day.”
“Don’t lie.”
“It’s true. The high school-aged Saki was a very beautiful and kind girl. She had friends and enjoyed school. She said she was happy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Saki was trying her best to live. That’s why kind people gathered around her. She had many siblings and lived happily.”
She was so beautiful that boys fell in love with her.
“I know the world you’re living in right now is really hard, but the world will surely change, so if you keep living, the future will be bright and shining.”
Her overflowing tears fell straight down her cheeks, making her vision blurry and her face indistinct. The time of the end must have been approaching.
I held Saki’s small hand and said, “So, no matter how painful it is now, keep on living. Don’t give up.” Her outline blurred, but I continued, “I’ll be waiting for you in the future, always.”
For a moment, her teary gaze met mine. The blue moonlight turned into a thin line and disappeared.
When I came to my senses, my world was pitch black, and only my words were floating in the depths of the spring. Saki had disappeared before my eyes, and before I knew it, I was alone in a forest covered in leaves.
Was it a dream? I denied it in my mind. It couldn’t have been just a dream. I gently unwrapped the bandage on my little finger. The small fragment of a star I had hidden in the bandage was gone. The sensation of holding the little girl still remained in my arms, which made me feel relieved.
Surely, I had traveled to the past. I had saved Saki.
I fell in love with seventeen-year-old Saki when I first stumbled into the past during the blue moon day six years ago. Perhaps I had fallen in love with her to save eleven-year-old Saki in a world where she lived with the premise that future me would save her. I met high school Saki, fell in love with her, and went back to the past to tell elementary school Saki about her. Surely, I was born to meet her.
We were connected by the complex and tangled threads of fate. Even if I couldn’t meet her in the future, as long as Saki was alive somewhere in this world, it would be enough.
Just knowing Saki was alive filled my heart with happiness. My tired eyelids grew heavy.
I’m glad I made it in time.
My consciousness faltered.