Muzashi Temple – Kyoto, Japan – 7:00 A.M.
Reina stood still. She had been in front of the temple's entrance for more than fifteen minutes... Her previous resolve had been consumed by a thousand thoughts, as if the cold of dawn—or something deeper—had cowed her, keeping her from taking that step.The murmur of the wind barely mingled with the distant toll of a bell.
Then, a car pulled up smoothly near the place. Kaede stepped out. Their eyes met instantly.
Reina's eyes now reflected a restrained pain, as if she were struggling to keep it hidden. Kaede's, on the other hand, showed anguish, but also a quiet determination.
—I thought you'd already gone to Tokyo —said Reina, her voice barely a whisper, trying to sound casual though it trembled slightly.
Kaede walked calmly toward her.—I still have a few days off. —She paused briefly, as if testing the air—. How long have you been here?
—I just got here... —Reina replied quickly, averting her gaze for a moment.
Kaede stopped beside her, facing the majestic temple gate. She allowed herself a short smile, almost nostalgic.
—Why are you smiling? —asked Reina, puzzled, unable to hide her discomfort.
Kaede turned her head toward her.—On the way here, a lot of memories came to mind.
—You too?
—Yes...
—About Brian? —Reina raised an eyebrow slightly, waiting for an answer.
—About everything.
There was a brief silence. Kaede still tried to hold her smile, though nostalgia already weighed in her eyes. She turned toward Reina and said:
—Hey... do you remember?
—Remember what?
—Have you forgotten the time we discovered it?
—Discovered?
—Right here... we went in together.
Reina's eyes opened wide in surprise. Immediately, as if a memory had been torn from the depths of her mind, everything came back...
FLASHBACK – March 2017
Muzashi Temple – Main Entrance
The Muzashi family had gone together into the city, while Brian chose to stay alone in the temple.The silence outside was almost absolute, until, upon reaching the gate, Reina ran into Kaede. Both froze, staring at each other as if fate had played them a trick.
—And you... what are you doing here? —they asked at the same time.
A second of tension turned into awkwardness and then into stifled laughter.—I came to visit Brian... —said Reina, crossing her arms.—And I... came to share a classic of literature with him. The Tale of Genji. —Kaede replied with solemn air.
Without another word, the two entered together...
And there was Brian. The blond, headphones on, playing Moves Like Jagger from 2015, wielding a broom improvised to pile up dry leaves. But he was doing anything but silently:
He danced with fluid, flamboyant movements, taking the broom as if it were both microphone and dance partner at once. He was in such a natural flow that he choreographed every gesture to the beat of the song in his ears. His voice rang clear, tuned, and energetic.
A sidestep, a hand flick, a footwork full of rhythm, and a voice tying it all together—an absurdly graceful private performance from a Brian confident in his solitude.
Reina and Kaede froze, hands covering their mouths to keep from laughing or startling him. One clutched the other, trembling with the laughter that threatened to explode. Brian, oblivious, kept going, fully immersed, spinning with style, singing, sweeping with absurd flair.
When he finally finished piling the leaves, he raised his left arm and sniffed his armpit. The girls managed to hear:
—Shit, I overdid it... Well, time for a bath. Cue Sinatra.
He walked naturally inside, whistling and pulling out his earbuds, as if nothing had happened.
Silence weighed between the two. Their eyes met.—We won't talk about this, agreed? —they said at once.
Back to the present.
Reina let out a short, stifled laugh. Kaede lowered her gaze, with a mix of nostalgia and embarrassment. Reina raised a hand to her mouth, trying to hide it, while her eyes shone with the memory.
—No way... how could I forget something like that? —said Reina, shaking her head as an involuntary smile formed on her lips.
Kaede arched an eyebrow, still with the shadow of laughter on her face.—You came to see Aoi, didn't you?
—I came to see Makoto... —Reina replied, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Kaede stepped closer, tilting her head slightly toward her.—Then... shall we go in together?
Reina stared at her for a few seconds before softly nodding.—Sure.
The cold Kyoto air wrapped around them, but thanks to that shared memory, they regained—if only for a second—the complicity of other times.
***
Tokyo, Japan — 7:00 A.M.
The city was beginning to wake with its usual mix of silent chaos.The sun, still timid, filtered its light through tall buildings, and underground trains already rumbled beneath the feet of the modern world.
Inside a discreetly elegant apartment, Yukina remained motionless.
Aiko had left just minutes ago.The soft echo of the closing door still vibrated against the walls.
Yukina, standing by the window, clutched her necklace tightly, as if her heartbeat were chained to that silver thread.Her eyes fixed on the distance, but her mind... at war.
"Aiko-san is right, I know she is, but... this has given me so much, all those songs, all those lyrics. What guarantee will I have if I lose the soul behind my words?"
Her breathing was heavy.Her lips parted, just enough to let out a trembling exhale.And inside her chest, a strange pain built up.Not sharp, not unbearable... but warm, soft. Like a memory refusing to die.
A mix of tenderness and heartbreak.An emotional storm disguised as nostalgia.
"I need to get this out of me... like... like he told me."
Flashback – Kyoto, Old Library. March 10th, 2017.
Stillness was the soul of the place.Dust floating in shafts of light, endless shelves, and a sacred silence only books seem to understand.
She was seated, still with the echo of her own voice lingering among the walls covered in paper and ink.
—Hey, were you the one reciting that poem just now?
She nodded timidly, without lifting her gaze.Her fingers brushed the spine of an open book, but her mind drifted far away.
—I don't know much about Japanese literature, well... a little, but I'm not sure.
He didn't seek her eyes, but his presence unsettled her.She stepped back half a pace, as if preparing her retreat.
But then...
—Hey, where are you going?
She froze.Her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, discomfort painted across her face.
—You don't like to talk, do you?
She nodded several times, a nervous gesture, desperate to vanish into the aisles of books.
—Well, I think you truly have a beautiful voice.
Her cheeks flushed lightly.Shame tried to cover her face, but curiosity betrayed her.
—H-how do you know? —she whispered, almost as if her words feared to be heard.
—Let's just say I know... ah, and I'll go. I don't want to be the reason you run off.
She shook her head.Her eyes, dark and bright, met his for a second.And then, he smiled.With a calm gesture, he turned his gaze toward a nearby shelf, and said quietly:
—Poetry is the refuge of artists. Art is the expression of life... And life is the incomprehensible canvas we interpret through emotions.
Her eyes widened.Instinctively, she looked where his gaze rested: a low shelf, where the worn cover of a children's tale stood out.
—In your emotions lie the answers, for the art you want to convey.
That was his last message.And as he walked away among the shelves, without turning back, she remained there.Motionless.Feeling, for the first time, understood.
End of flashback – Back to the present. 7:01 A.M.
Yukina sat down at the small table in her apartment.The air still held the murmur of her thoughts, and in her hands, a blank notebook waited as if it were a confessional.
She pressed the pencil to the page, lifted it, pressed it again.Humming softly, almost whispering, while words flowed, crossed out, rewritten, until at last they took shape:
"And to think that one day I doubted...that I saw you and didn't know what I'd found."
"Trapped in a senseless equation,that life chose to call destiny."
"Surrounded by books and poems,among old shelves and a thousand dilemmas."
"You arrived, with that smile...to change everything with your quirks,captivating me beyond appearance,and shaking my heart."
"In my silences I was too shy to speak,and in your poetry you inspired me to dream."
"You shook everything like an earthquake,and then you left, leaving my heart broken."
"And so it was... that our story ended,without a chance to say: goodbye.And growing in opposite directions."
"And in April... when the rain finally ceased,the memory of you endured,wounding my soul without mercy."
The last word was written with an unsteady stroke.The pencil's graphite trembled as if carrying the full weight of her heart.
Yukina closed her eyes, let out a sigh, and rested her forehead against the notebook.She was no longer composing a song... she was bleeding onto paper.