“Our snowman is finished!” she shouted with a joyous voice. Her excitement rang across the otherwise silent park. There was only one thing that could catch her eye at that moment—the finished snowman that they had both worked so hard to build.
“Looks good to me. Very good,” Asahi added.
“Indeed. I’m quite satisfied with how it turned out,” she agreed.
They had used some buttons that Fuyuka had brought from her place to serve for the snowman’s eyes and nose. As for its mouth and arms, they had made use of some branches they had picked up around the park. It had been worth all the time and effort Fuyuka had spent fussing over the smaller details—the final result was perfect, pure and simple.
“So what are you gonna do with it now?” Asahi asked.
“I wonder... I would’ve loved it if I could take it home with me...” she replied with a hint of remorse.
“Uh...huh... Unfortunately, I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon.”
Fuyuka stood in place, seriously contemplating the logistics of making a miniature snowman that could fit into her freezer. Her train of thought was soon interrupted by a noisy set of footsteps that approached them. Eventually, the ones responsible for the din appeared right in front them. It seemed that a group of kids who lived in the neighborhood had come out to play—three lively young boys surrounded the snowman and admired it.
“Wow, it’s a snowman!”
“Whoaaaa, it looks AMAZING!”
“Let’s make one ourselves!”
“Hey, hey! Did you guys make this?” one of the children asked the pair.
“You bet. We just finished it a second ago!” Asahi exclaimed with vigor.
“Can I touch it? Maybe punch it too?!” another one exclaimed.
“L-Let’s be nice to Mr. Snowman, okay?” Fuyuka pleaded.
Asahi was surprised—he had imagined the children would be more wary of strangers, but these three had warmed up to him and Fuyuka in no time at all. It seemed that making such a large snowman had impressed the children, and Asahi and Fuyuka were like heroes in their eyes.
The boisterous boys informed them that they were waiting on a friend. Before long, they could hear an extra set of footsteps getting closer.
As the girl came into vision, Asahi felt a sudden pang of recognition. “Hm? Wait... Isn’t this the same kid who...?” he muttered—mostly to himself—under his breath. Asahi waved at her. The girl looked to have recognized him as well, because she quickly trotted over to him after she’d finished talking to her friends.
“You’re the ribbon guy, right?” the girl asked.
Asahi responded with a wry smile and a nod.
Fuyuka was confused by their exchange at first, but it appeared to have clicked after she’d heard the word “ribbon.” The girl also sighted the blue ribbon tied around Fuyuka’s silken black hair and heaved a sigh of relief. Fuyuka squatted down to the girl’s eye level and asked, “Were you the one who picked up my ribbon?”
Her trick must’ve worked, as the child grew visibly more relaxed. “U-Uh-huh...” she mumbled. “Sorry I took it when it wasn’t mine.”
“No need to apologize. If anything, I’m grateful that you found it,” Fuyuka assured her.
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“Of course not. It was my fault for losing it in the first place. Besides...” Fuyuka trailed off as she stood up again and gave Asahi a fond glance, “‘The ribbon guy’ was here to save the day.”
Fuyuka’s bright smile and kind words spawned a feeling of warmth within Asahi. The girl seemed to have noticed that there was something special between them, because she asked in a sing-song voice, “Are you two dating or something?”
“Wha?!” “Huh?!”
The dreaded question. It was so unexpected that they both looked at each other in complete shock and disarray. Their faces were beet red, and they ended up turning away in embarrassment.
“Nonono! We’re not dating or anything. You see, we’re just friends...” Asahi panicked as he turned his attention back to the young girl.
“I-I-Indeed! It’s just as he says. There’s nothing special between us...” Fuyuka frantically denied.
The children seemed to be genuinely disappointed by their response, but—fortunately for the two friends—they left their queries at that.
Asahi and Fuyuka left their snowman and exited the park.
“I suppose we look like lovers to other people,” Fuyuka remarked.
“Seems that way, yeah,” he replied. He inadvertently began to walk faster to match the pace of his pounding heart.
It had been an eventful few months—Asahi had had to endure Chiaki’s suspicions, Hinami’s distrust, Kazuaki’s assumptions, Touko’s teasing, and, finally, the children’s misunderstanding. His relationship with Fuyuka had only gained an official title just recently, and it seemed like it would be a while yet before they turned into anything more. However, none of that seemed to matter when he looked over at the beautiful girl stood next to him. One glance was all it took for him to be overly-conscious of her.
“Lovers, huh...” Asahi whispered as he came to a standstill.
Fuyuka noticed that he had stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. The radiant sunlight was growing stronger, melting the snow and ice around them. When she spoke, her breath came out in a white fog that mingled and combined with his.
“Hehe... Maybe we could be called that someday,” she let out a playful chuckle. Much like her name suggested, she was a charming and elegant flower who had finally bloomed beautifully in the winter.