Spring stretched on in Halewood like a lullaby.
Every morning was kissed by the scent of blooming apricot trees, and the school courtyard shimmered with soft sunlight. Children laughed, chased butterflies, and folded flowers into their notebooks.
In Class 1-B, excitement buzzed louder than usual.
Because today was the Spring Fair — a special once-a-year event where local vendors came to the school to sell little trinkets, snacks, and toys.
And for the first time in their young lives, the students were given tiny envelopes with coins to spend however they wished.
The Trinket Stall
Rows of tables lined the schoolyard.
There were candied apples, paper frogs, spinning tops, and tiny necklaces made of shells and buttons.
But the one that caught Lysia's eye was a stall with small, shimmering hairpins.
Dozens of them—silver, gold, rose-colored, shaped like leaves, stars, flowers, moons.
She stood on her toes to peek at them, eyes wide.
"Cael, look!" she whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "They sparkle like baby galaxies."
He looked. Quietly. Observing.
Among the pins was one shaped like a five-pointed star, pale silver, smooth and delicate.
Lysia picked it up carefully.
"Do you think it'll suit me?" she asked, holding it near her bangs.
Caelum blinked. Then nodded.
"It suits you more than the stars suit the sky," he said.
She turned red all the way to her ears.
What He Bought
She didn't notice what he chose.
After buying her pin and showing it to her mother, Lysia ran off to try the swing set. The fair was only for the morning, and she wanted one last turn before class resumed.
Caelum lingered at the stall.
He picked up a second star-shaped pin.But not for hair.
He clipped it gently to the inside of his collar, just beneath the fold — invisible unless you looked closely.
Later That Day
The fair ended, and lessons resumed.
But during lunch, when they sat beneath the apricot tree in the courtyard, Lysia glanced over and gasped.
"Cael!"
He looked up from his notebook.
"...Yes?"
She leaned in. Really close.
"Is that…?" she reached forward and tugged gently at the corner of his collar.
The pin glinted. The same star-shaped one she wore in her hair.
Her eyes went wide.
"Wha— You got the same one?!"
He nodded, still chewing.
"I thought if you liked it, I'd like it too."
She stared at him.
Then down at her own hairpin.
Then back at him.
"You're... really sneaky sometimes," she mumbled, cheeks pink.
"Am I?"
"But also… really sweet."
Under the Apricot Tree
They sat close together for a while.Neither of them talked.
The breeze carried petals around them.Their silver hair glimmered side by side in the sun.
And even though they were only five years old, something in that silence felt timeless.
Caelum glanced at her.
She was watching her pin glint in the light, then peeking at his again.As if comparing them.
Slowly, she reached out and touched his wrist.
"…Thank you, Cael."
"For what?"
"For being the only boy who's ever matched with me without me asking."
He smiled faintly.
"I think I've always matched with you," he said, more to himself than to her.
She didn't understand the words.
But her heart fluttered anyway.
System Log — Heartbeat Sync Detected
[GENESIS CORE SYSTEM – OBSERVER MODE]— Event: Mutual Ornamentation— Subject LYSIA GREY Emotional Surge: 0.8%— Soul Resonance: Stable— Timeline: Untouched— System Note: "This unit approves of the 'matching' ritual."
Caelum closed the log quietly.
And tucked his hand just slightly closer to hers.
That Evening
They waved goodnight from their windows, as always.
Lysia held up her hairpin and kissed it.Caelum smiled and tapped the one on his collar in return.
And for the first time in what felt like eternity—
His heart, once so hollow, now hummed softly like a lullaby:
This time, it will all be different.This time, there will be no loss.This time, I'll walk beside her… every single day.