Haruki suddenly opened his eyes.
His breathing was fast.
For a few seconds he just lay there, staring at the ceiling of his new room.
His chest rose and fell quickly, as if he had been running.
A thin layer of tears had formed in the corners of his eyes.
"…What was that…?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
Haruki slowly sat up on the bed and rubbed his face, trying to calm himself.
The morning sunlight quietly slipped through the window, filling the room with a soft golden glow.
He stood up and walked toward the window.
When he opened it, a cool breeze flowed inside.
Haruki closed his eyes for a moment and exhaled deeply.
Then he stretched his arms slightly, letting the warm sunlight touch his face.
Somehow…
This morning felt different from any other morning.
He rested his arms on the window frame and looked outside.
The town of Sakuragawa was waking up slowly.
The streets were quiet, and the soft wind moved gently through the cherry blossom trees.
Petals floated through the air like tiny pieces of pink snow.
Haruki watched them quietly.
Then suddenly—
a memory from yesterday evening appeared in his mind.
The garden.
The lake.
And the girl standing beneath the sakura trees.
"…Aoi Hoshino…"
He murmured her name softly.
For some reason, just remembering her made his chest feel strangely calm.
Haruki didn't understand why.
But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.
Not at all.
Yet something else was still lingering in his mind.
The dream.
His expression slowly turned thoughtful.
He tried to remember it.
In the dream…
he was standing in a familiar garden.
The same garden he had visited yesterday.
But the scene felt different.
There were two small children running across the grass.
A young boy and a young girl.
They were laughing.
Running.
Chasing each other around the large sakura tree.
Their voices were filled with pure happiness.
The wind moved through the blossoms above them, sending petals falling everywhere.
The children were playing without a care in the world.
But Haruki couldn't see their faces clearly.
Everything was blurry.
Distant.
Like a memory buried deep in fog.
Then, just before the dream ended—
a soft voice echoed through the air.
A girl's voice.
Faint.
Yet strangely familiar.
".. promise me."
And at that moment—
he suddenly woke up.
Haruki frowned slightly as he thought about it again.
"…A promise?"
He couldn't understand it.
Why had that dream felt so real?
And why had he woken up with tears in his eyes?
Haruki shook his head slightly.
Maybe it was nothing.
Just a dream.
He left the room and walked downstairs.
Breakfast was already prepared on the table.
But the house was quiet.
Just like yesterday.
His parents had already left.
Once again, he was the only one left to eat.
Haruki sat down and ate silently.
After finishing, he stepped outside the house for a moment.
And the moment he did—
he stopped.
"…Whoa…"
The scene in front of him looked almost magical.
Cherry blossom petals were everywhere.
The wind carried them gently through the streets.
Some petals danced in the air.
Others slowly drifted to the ground.
The entire town looked as if it had been covered in soft pink snow.
It felt like stepping into another world.
Haruki watched the petals floating through the sky.
"…What's going on…?"
Just then he heard people talking nearby.
Two elderly neighbors stood outside a small shop, whispering to each other.
"Did you hear the ancient shrine bell ringing at midnight?"
"Yes! I heard it too… but no one was at the shrine."
"And the lake looked strange last night."
"I heard the water was glowing."
Another person joined the conversation.
"And these sakura petals… they started falling suddenly even though there wasn't any wind."
The people around them seemed confused.
No one understood what had happened.
Some looked curious.
Some looked slightly uneasy.
Haruki quietly listened to their conversation.
A strange feeling slowly crept into his chest.
It was odd.
He didn't understand anything they were talking about.
But somehow…
everything felt strangely familiar.
The dream.
The garden.
The sakura tree.
The shrine bell.
He couldn't explain it.
But something about all of this felt connected.
Haruki shook the thought away and returned inside.
After getting ready, he left for school.
Just like yesterday, he walked alone.
The streets were more lively now.
Students were heading toward school in groups.
Some were laughing.
Some were talking excitedly about the strange events from last night.
Rumors were spreading quickly.
Some students were even making up their own wild stories.
But Haruki walked quietly through the crowd, listening but not joining the conversations.
Soon he arrived at school.
When he entered the classroom, the usual morning noise filled the room.
Students chatting.
Chairs moving.
Books opening.
Haruki paused near the door for a moment.
Then his eyes moved toward one particular desk.
Aoi Hoshino was already there.
She sat quietly by the window, reading a book.
Just like always, she looked calm and composed.
For a brief moment—
their eyes met.
Aoi gently lowered her book and gave him a small, soft smile.
Haruki blinked slightly, surprised.
Then he nodded faintly.
Not saying anything.
He walked to his seat and sat down.
He opened his textbook and looked at the pages.
But he wasn't really reading.
His mind was still wandering.
The dream.
The strange morning.
The falling petals.
All of it felt strangely connected.
Yet he couldn't understand why.
—
Far away from the noise of the school…
in the quiet garden of Sakuragawa…
the wind moved softly through the cherry blossom trees.
Petals drifted gently across the calm lake.
Near the old sakura tree…
a shadow stood silently.
The same tree.
The same trunk.
And the same engraved symbol carved into its bark.
The stranger slowly brushed away a few petals covering the carving.
Their fingers traced the old mark carefully.
As if remembering something.
A faint smile appeared on their face.
And in a low whisper carried by the wind, the figure said,
"…Even nature remembers."