It was Saki playing with her umbrella, her delicate figure still that of a young child’s. But when my gaze landed on her, I witnessed unparalleled beauty.
I slowly came closer and called out, “Can you really catch something with that?”
Startled, Saki paused and turned around to see who it was.
“Whoa, Keiichi-kun. You scared me there.” She relaxed and gave a small smile.
“How long are you going to stay here? Trying to catch goldfish?” I joked while sitting down next to her.
“No, it’s not goldfish,” she corrected, pouting in mock anger.
“Is it stars?” I asked, only half serious.
“Ha! It’s still not cool that you remembered something but guessed wrong.” Despite her playful words, she wasn’t actually mad.
“I’m sorry. Are you mad?” I apologized anyway, just in case.
The coldness of the ground seeped into my body even as a warm breeze blew past us. A few strands of hair fell over Saki’s face, which she quickly brushed away before looking up at me again. Then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she said jokingly, “Ha-ha, gotcha. I was just messing with you. I’m not actually mad.”
She was wearing a pink cardigan with a white shirt underneath. Her skirt was knee-length denim. She had on white socks and sneakers. Her simple outfit was the same as yesterday, but just changing from blue to pink made her look different. The pink cardigan made her soft smile look even gentler.
She carefully placed the umbrella at her feet and looked up at me with an expression of inquiry.
“Do you want to keep playing, or are you done?” I asked her.
“I’m done. You came after all.”
“If I came here, would you stop playing by yourself?”
“Would you play with me?”
“That would be weird, right?”
We both laughed at that. Saki was always so thoughtful and considerate.
“You actually came,” she said suddenly.
I tipped my head in confusion.
“Uh…yeah?” Suddenly, it felt like she had been wanting to say something for a while and finally had the chance. I leaned closer to hear what she had to say.
“Hey, Keiichi, did you hear my response yesterday when you asked me, ‘Do you come here every night?’”
“Oh.”
“I was just asked. So, I didn’t know if you would come tonight or not.”
“Come to think of it, I didn’t say I would come tomorrow.
“Was it bothersome?”
“No, not at all. It’s not like that,” she hurriedly denied. I was just wondering if it was part of our conversation, like asking if you always come here or something. I’m not used to polite greetings. I don’t know what’s true or not, so I was a little confused.”
“Okay, sorry for not being clear. I want to come here every day while you are here.”
“…I see.”
“It’s boring at grandma’s house.”
She laughed and looked up at the sky.
“It’s boring,” she said, laughing.
She laughed when I said, “So this place is boring too, right?”
“Huh?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
I couldn’t wait to hang out with Saki, no matter where I was — Grandma’s house, the town square, or even at the mall. She was always in the back of my mind.
What was it about her that had me so captivated? I came here to discover the answer to that question. It certainly wasn’t going to be dull.
How do I tell her how I feel? My vocabulary didn’t seem sufficient for the task. What words would express my message clearly?
As I contemplated what to say, she grabbed a piece of paper and began writing something with a pen. Then she folded it up and put it under the umbrella before standing up.
“Well then, let’s go have some fun.”
“Huh? But…”
Is it okay?
I didn’t ask Saki why she wanted to come to this spot, but I assumed it was because she wanted to stay here until curfew. I thought spending that time together at this place would be nice, so I was taken aback when she proposed the idea.
“It’s okay. I wrote it down. Don’t worry. I feel like I want to show you around. Maybe it’s because I’m your big sister.”
“We’re the same age.”
“Oh, I see.”
Laughing with a girl who didn’t seem older than me, I walked along the mountain path with her. Her steps were light, and she skillfully pushed aside the trees and grass stretching along the brown path.
She, being a local child, never slowed down or complained when we came across paths that didn’t seem to be paths or when we had to walk up steep inclines. I admired her and thought to myself how impressive she was.
Suddenly, she stopped, and I followed her gaze to a point on the path ahead.
“Are you okay, Keiichi-kun?” Saki turned around and asked me.
I replied with a breathless “I’m okay.”
I played soccer, but did walking on mountain paths use different muscles? Or was Saki just fast?
“We’re almost there.” She showed a cool expression as she spoke.
We soon reached the crest of the mountain. A low peak, it resembled a small hill rather than anything grand.
“Keiichi-kun, look,” Saki said, pointing to the view in front of us.
A cityscape that glittered with a million tiny stars spread out beneath us. The houses and apartments looked like toys on this peaceful summer night. It was a beauty unlike the stars we saw at the spring; this was artificial.
The lights blurred on the horizon, reflecting off the atmosphere of the night sky. We had an incredible view of Kyoto from our mountaintop vantage.
“That’s amazing,” I exclaimed in awe.
Saki smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I love this place.”
The artificial light made her profile clearer than before when she was backlit against the night sky. She stared out into the distant twinkling of lights and swaying neon signs and murmured, “It was such a nice day today, so I thought the night view would be beautiful for sure.”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“And then, I kind of wanted to show it to you too…” her voice trailed off.
The lights in the night sky twinkled and shined in her big eyes; she had seen the view many times before but still appreciated it. Her mesmerizing features — her long eyelashes, cascading hair, straight nose, and pink lips — were alluring to me.
“Thank you,” I mumbled.
“No, thank you for coming with me.” She smiled back warmly.
Her smile was so beautiful that it felt like time had stopped for a moment, and the stars were suspended in the air. She turned back to the sky, and I followed her gaze.