The next morning, my phone vibrated.
Saki
good morning
morning
are you ready?
almost
i think I'm going to miss my bed more than university
that's not even a little surprising
š
I smiled.
My bag was already packed and sitting by the door. The room was quieter than usual. Most of the others had gone home early that morning, and their desks had already been cleared.
I looked back at the screen.
There was something I wanted to ask.
I typed it.
Deleted it.
Typed it again.
Then finally sent it.
before you leave...
Three dots appeared.
hmm?
I stared at the screen for a moment.
Then,
can we take a picture together?
The typing indicator appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
together?
yeah
like a selfie?
if you're okay with it
A few seconds passed.
okay š
where?
same place as yesterday? near the walking path
yeah
I'll be there
I put my phone down.
For some reason...
I was looking forward to it more than I wanted to admit.
I picked up my bag and left the room behind.
The university grounds were quieter than they had been the day before.
The last morning before winter break had emptied the campus almost completely.
A few students crossed the main walkway with suitcases.
Someone stood near the bus stop with a large duffel bag at their feet.
A bicycle passed through the gate.
Then the campus fell quiet again.
I walked toward the old path behind the main buildings.
Saki was already there.
She stood beneath one of the bare trees, holding her phone in both hands.
When she saw me, her face lit up.
"You're early."
"So are you."
"I didn't want you waiting."
"I wasn't."
She gave me a look.
"You were."
"Maybe."
She smiled.
We started walking.
The cold air made every breath visible for a second before disappearing.
Neither of us seemed in a hurry.
During the semester, students usually filled this path between classes.
Today, there were only a few footsteps somewhere in the distance.
"So," Saki said.
"So?"
"What are you going to do at home?"
"Eat."
She laughed.
"That's your plan?"
"Sleep too."
"Very ambitious."
"I survived finals. I deserve it."
"Fair."
"What about you?"
"Probably the same."
"Everyone says the same thing."
"Because it's the correct answer."
I laughed.
She looked toward the trees.
"I'm glad we met before leaving."
"Me too."
The words came out naturally.
She looked at me for a second.
Then smiled.
"Me too."
We kept walking until we reached the small courtyard near the edge of campus.
The bench we'd sat on the previous day was empty.
Saki stopped beside it.
"This place is going to look completely different in spring."
"Probably."
"There'll be flowers."
"Maybe."
She looked at me.
"You sound unconvinced."
"I'm bad at imagining things."
She laughed.
"You're a Computer Science student. Of course you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
She sat down.
I sat beside her.
For a while, we watched students in the distance dragging their suitcases toward the station.
It was strange.
Yesterday, the semester had ended.
Today, it already felt like it had happened a long time ago.
Saki looked at her phone.
"Should we take it now?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
She opened the camera and held the phone out.
"Come closer."
I moved slightly.
"Closer."
I moved again.
She laughed.
"You're still too far."
"It's a selfie."
"I know."
She moved closer instead.
Our shoulders touched.
She raised the phone.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
The first picture was terrible.
Half of my face was cut off.
Saki stared at the screen.
Then burst out laughing.
"What happened?"
"I told you I'm bad at this."
"You're supposed to look at the camera."
"I was."
"You weren't."
"I was looking at you."
She paused.
Then smiled.
"Okay."
She adjusted the phone.
"One more."
This time, we both fit into the frame.
The bare trees stood behind us.
The pale winter sky filled the space above them.
Neither of us smiled too widely.
It looked...
normal.
Just two students taking a picture before going home.
Saki looked at the screen.
"That's nice."
"Yeah."
She kept looking at it.
Then, almost casually, she saidā
"This is my first selfie with a boy beside me."
I looked at her.
"Oh."
She turned toward me.
"That's all?"
"I don't know what I'm supposed to say."
She laughed.
"You don't have to say anything."
She looked at the photograph again.
"I'll send it to you later."
"Okay."
"So you can't lose it."
"I won't."
We stayed there a little longer.
We talked about winter break, about classes starting again, and about how much easier second semester might be.
We both knew it probably wouldn't be.
Eventually, the sunlight began to fade.
Saki stood up.
"We should go."
"Yeah."
We walked back toward the station.
The distance felt shorter this time.
Maybe because neither of us wanted to talk about the part where we'd have to say goodbye.
At the station entrance, we stopped.
"My train is this way," she said.
"I'm going the other way. My grandma's place first."
"Then home?"
"Tonight."
She nodded.
"Have a safe trip."
"You too."
"Message me when you get home."
"I will."
She took a step toward her platform.
Then stopped.
"Hey."
I looked at her.
"Have a good winter break."
"You too."
She smiled once more.
Then turned and walked away.
I watched her disappear into the crowd.
Then I turned the other way.
My grandmother's house was only two stops from the university.
She had made too much food, the way she always did.
She asked about my exams.
Whether I was eating properly.
Whether I had made any friends.
"A few," I said.
She looked at me like she didn't believe me.
I didn't explain.
By the time I left, it was already dark.
The last train home was almost empty.
A man in a suit was asleep near the door.
Two seats down, someone had left a coffee can standing on the floor, rolling slightly every time the train turned.
I sat by the window.
Outside, the city lights thinned out until there was only my reflection in the glass.
Then my phone vibrated.
Saki
A photograph.
I opened it.
It was the one we'd taken.
Both of us standing beside each other.
The winter campus behind us.
Her small smile.
My awkward expression.
Nothing special.
Just one photograph.
I stared at it for a while.
Then another message appeared.
you look so serious š
I smiled.
you told me to take it seriously
i did not!
too late
hahaha
I looked at the photograph again.
My fingers moved before I really thought about it.
Love you 3000
I stared at the message after sending it.
It was a line from a movie.
A joke, if she wanted it to be.
That was probably why I'd sent it.
The typing indicator appeared.
Then disappeared.
Thenā
ā¤ļøā¤ļø
I looked at the screen.
She didn't explain them.
Neither did I.
I placed my phone face down on my knee.
The train entered a tunnel.
For a few seconds, the window went completely dark.
When we came out the other side, I turned the phone over again.
The photograph was still there.
I zoomed in slightly.
Then looked at it normally again.
I don't know how many stations passed like that.
It was only a photograph.
Two people.
One winter afternoon.
A quiet university path.
Nothing had really happened.
At least...
nothing I could explain yet.
But somehow...
I knew I would remember it.