“Where the light of the blue moon leads… there lies an entrance to the past,” she said slowly as if testing each word on her tongue.
With a deep sigh, I looked back up at the magical blue moon and whispered almost wistfully, “Oh, no.”
The surprise was evident on my face. Grandma had just said something strange. Did she have dementia?
“Sorry, Grandma. Are you cold? You’ll get sick if you stay outside in this cold” I said as I stood up and gently held my grandmother’s arm while she sat on the veranda.
“What? Why so suddenly?” She tilted her head curiously and eventually got up to follow me.
“It’s too hot to be cold, Grandma. Come on.”
“I don’t need to be treated like an old lady,” she said with a scolding tone but soon softened with her familiar and ever-present gentle smile.
“Alright, alright. I understand. Let’s go back to your room and rest,” I replied quickly before supporting her tiny arm with one hand and placing the other on her frail back as we walked toward her room.
The blue moon shined brightly from the corner of my eye as we moved through the veranda.
When I entered the kitchen, my mother was busy preparing miso soup.
“Good morning,” I greeted her.
She glanced up from her stirring and responded, “Keiichi, you’re up early today.”
My little sister, Akane, who was helping our mother, looked at me in surprise and rather than return the traditional greeting, commented, “Wow, you’re right. Big brother is up so early during summer vacation.”
“That’s rude. I wake up early sometimes.”
“Well, Kyoto nights are hot. I’d be surprised if you could sleep in.”
“Yeah… you’re right,” I answered vaguely, not wanting to reveal that yesterday’s encounter with Saki had kept me awake all night. Her round eyes and long eyelashes were burned into my memory. Her fair skin and voice, slender fingers, and the words she spoke kept repeating in my mind in bed until my chest felt like it was about to burst.
My insides churned with a mix of emotions, but I didn’t have time to reflect on them much. Instead, I’d go to meet Saki again that evening.
“Keiichi, can you put the rice on the table?”
“While you’re at it, also take the chopsticks.”I heard Akane’s voice coming from the kitchen, scolding me while I daydreamed on the couch. She was always bossing me around like that when we were at home.
“Oh, sure. No problem.”
After eating breakfast, we were relaxing in the living room when my phone buzzed in my pocket. Akane noticed it first and motioned for me to take the call quickly. Did she really want to watch TV that badly?
“Alright, alright,” I said as I headed to the veranda. It was Yuuya Murata from Tokyo — an old friend of mine. My curiosity was piqued as I hit the answer button and greeted him with a warm “Hello.”
As we talked, I took in my serene surroundings; the fresh spring leaves rustling in the breeze and the earthen scent of the soil. Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
Someone yelled “Kei-kun!” on the other end of the call, shocking me back into reality. It was a girl’s voice.
“Uh… sorry, who’s this?”
“It’s Sakura, silly.” She giggled.
“Oh, hey, Sakura-san. What’s going on?”
Sakura was Yuuya’s girlfriend, and we’d hung out with them a few times before. She was always so energetic and adorable — I think she was one year older than me.
“Hey, don’t call without asking first. Sorry about that,” Yuuya intervened in a low voice as he snatched the phone from his girlfriend. “Are you feeling better now, Keiichi?”
I couldn’t help but question his slightly annoyed demeanor. “Hey, is everything alright? What’s up?”
“Keiichi, you’re in Kyoto, right?” he asked abruptly.
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“When are you coming back?”
“I’m not sure yet. Why?” His questions were starting to bother me.
“Okay, got it,” he said simply before getting straight to the point.
“Huh? What’s going on?” I could tell something was up and prodded him further.
“Well, Sakura’s friend wants to meet you.”
Even though I had no clue who this mysterious person was or why they wanted to meet me, I already knew Yuuya must have been quite irritated at having to make such a request. That was just like him.
“Why, though?” I asked again, hoping for an answer.
“Well…” he sighed heavily. “Remember the school festival we had in the spring?”
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“She was there with Sakura that day.”
I recalled Sakura visiting our class, but I couldn’t recall her friend. When he mentioned that there was a girl next to Sakura, something sparked in my memory, though I still couldn’t quite place it.
“She saw you, and it was love at first sight.”
Love at first sight?
“I didn’t say you could spill everything!,” Sakura’s voice sounded irritated on the other end of the line.
“Then you talk to him.”
“I told you from the beginning that I was going to call him.”
An argument could be heard through the phone. Such disputes should be handled after hanging up. After all, summer days in Kyoto were already sweltering enough.
“Keii-kun?” Sakura answered the call.
“Yes?”
“It’s like what Yuuya said earlier.”
And she summed up what he had said. Despite that, I felt nothing had changed, so I chuckled lightly.
“My friend wants to meet you, Keii-kun. You don’t have a girlfriend now, right? When you get back from Kyoto, why don’t we all hang out together, including my friend?”
“──wants to meet you?”
The words “love at first sight” and “wants to meet you” flashed through my mind. Could meeting someone be the same as falling in love? My thoughts drifted to Saki, with whom I had shared beautiful star-gazing moments back in that spring. Was I falling for her right now?
A sense of relief spread through me as I firmly said, “Sorry, I won’t go.”
“Huh?”
“Sorry. I’ve got someone I’m interested in.”
My chest felt lighter; a weight seemed to have been lifted from my body.