Morning comes soft, like light through the curtains.
I wake up early, just like always.
Wash my face.
Take a bath.
Put on my uniform.
Then I sit at the table, where Mama's already set breakfast.
Papa's there too, reading the newspaper — but only half-reading, really. He always peeks over it when I sit down.
"Morning, buddy," he says with a smile. "How's school been lately?"
I light up.
I start telling him everything — about Shin, about our paper planes, about the hill behind the school and how we race to get there after class. I tell him about Miss Fujimoto too, and how she taught us kanji this week but let us draw our favorite animals if we finished early.
Papa smiles the whole time, like he already knows what I'm going to say.
(Maybe Mama already told him everything.)
But I don't mind.
I just keep talking.
Because it feels good to say what my heart's been holding.
When I finish, Papa leans back in his chair, stretching a little and chuckling.
"Woaaah, buddy," he says, "your school life sounds way more exciting than Papa's work life. I'm jealous!"
He laughs, shaking his head.
Mama, who's been checking my bag and lunchbox, puts a hand on her cheek and says with a sigh, "Wow, all my brave knights are off having fun… and Mama just stays here in the castle."
She makes a fake crying face — like a sad princess.
I shake my head quickly.
"Nooo, Mama! Hideki is always grateful Mama stays here and takes care of everything while Hideki's at school!"
Mama gasps a little, like I surprised her.
Then she lets out an "Awww…" and walks over to hug me tight.
She squeezes my shoulder gently and says, "Like Mama always says, sweetheart… if Hideki's happy, then Mama is happy too."
She hugs me again — longer this time.
So I nod into her arms and say, "Okaaay… from now on, Hideki will always be happy, so Mama can be happy too!"
For a moment, everything is quiet.
Then both Papa and Mama look at each other — like they weren't expecting that.
They chuckle.
Then they laugh together, warm and loud.
And I laugh too, even though I don't really get why.
But it doesn't matter.
Because this is what family feels like.
Soft.
Safe.
And full of love.
After walking to school with Mama, we stop just outside the gate.
She kneels down to fix my collar and smiles.
"Have a good day, sweetheart."
"I will, Mama!" I say, then wave as I head into the building.
I walk down the hallway and into my classroom.
Shin's already there, sitting beside my seat. He gives me a small wave, and I wave back as I sit down next to him.
Today, Miss Fujimoto is teaching us about numbers.
She draws big circles and little dots on the board, counting aloud.
But my mind… is flying somewhere else.
I lean a little closer to Shin and whisper, "I got an idea."
His eyes widened like I just told him a secret mission.
"What is it, Hideki?" he whispers back.
I grin.
"Later. When we have free time… let's draw our paper planes and color them."
Shin blinks — then his face lights up.
"You're gonna draw Hope?" he says, a little too loudly.
Miss Fujimoto turns around.
"Shin Takamiya!"
We both freeze.
Her voice isn't angry. Just a little firm.
"Eyes on your books, please."
We lower our heads fast, trying not to laugh.
Our shoulders shake from holding in the giggles.
Then… free time comes.
I open my crayon box with a soft click, and Shin slides a piece of paper across my desk.
We both start drawing.
Coloring.
Filling our papers with what we remember — the folds, the wings, the names.
My plane is Hope.
Shin's is Next Time.
We try to draw the names on the wings.
I use my favorite blue crayon, and Shin uses red.
Then we fold the papers into planes.
But…
Something's wrong.
The drawings end up on the bottom.
The names are upside-down.
The colors don't match the wings like we imagined.
We both let out a sigh at the same time.
"Uuughh…"
Then—
We hear footsteps.
Soft ones.
I look up.
It's a girl from our class.
I've seen her before — quiet, always in the back row.
She has short black hair, purple shoelaces, and holds a notebook close to her chest like it's something precious.
She stands near our desks, eyes on our messy planes.
Then she looks at me.
Then at Shin.
Then softly says, "Can I draw too?"
Me and Shin blink.
For a second, we just stare.
Then I smile and nod.
Shin nods too.
She sits with us — carefully, like she's not sure she's allowed.
Then she points at our planes.
"You should fold it first," she says gently. "Then draw. That way the colors go where you want."
Me and Shin glance at each other.
Our mouths hang open just a little.
Then we both giggle.
Shin scratches his head and says, "Hehe… how silly of us not to think of that. Right, Hideki?"
I nod, laughing with him.
We unfold our old planes.
Then fold new ones.
First.
Then we start drawing again — this time with more care, more planning.
Shin suddenly turns to her and asks, "Hey… what's your name?"
The girl looks at him calmly and says, "My name is Emi Harusaki. Nice to meet you."
Shin points his thumb proudly at his chest.
"Me—Shin Takamiya!"
Then Emi says with a small smirk, "I know. You're the one Miss Fujimoto called earlier."
Shin freezes.
"Urgh… yeah. That's me," he mumbles, looking away.
I can't help but chuckle beside him.
Then I wave my right hand gently and say, "I'm Hideki Hoshino. Nice to know you too, Emi."
She nods back with a quiet smile.
Then she looks down at our paper planes and asks, "So… what are you guys going to do with them?"
I puff out my chest a little and say proudly, "We're gonna fly them high—after school! At our secret playground!"
But before I can say anything more, Shin suddenly covers my mouth with his hand.
"Hideki…" he whispers urgently, "it's not a secret anymore if you tell her."
I blink, my head leaning back a little.
Oops.
I lean closer to Shin and cup my hand around my mouth like a spy whispering into his ear. "I'm sorry, Shin… but I think it's okay if we invite her too. She seems like a good girl."
But even though I whisper it so carefully, my voice is still kinda loud… and Emi hears everything.
She giggles quietly, hiding her smile behind her notebook.
Then she asks softly, "Can I come too?"
Shin lets out a small sigh and nudges me away. He turns to her and says, "We only invite people who really wanna play. And who like to fly paper planes."
He crosses his arms like he's being serious.
Emi just nods and says, "It's okay. I'll do it too."
My eyes sparkle like stars.
Now I have another new friend!
I turn to Shin and nod quickly — fast and excited like my head's a bouncing ball.
Please, Shin. Please say yes.
He sighs again, but this time, I think it's not a tired sigh — just a pretend one.
Then he looks at Emi and says, "Okay… you can come with us."
Emi's eyes brighten like sunshine through the window.
She smiles, just a little shy, and says, "Thank you."
Then she picks up a paper and asks, "Can you show me how to fold it? I want to draw on mine too."
So me and Shin scoot closer.
We show her how to fold the wings.
Where the creases should go.
How to make the tip strong.
Then we all start drawing again.
One paper plane… two… three.
One red, one blue, one with little flowers and clouds.
And just like that—
It's not just me and Shin anymore.
Now, it's me… Shin… and our new friend, Emi.
Three paper planes.
Three smiles.
And maybe… three hearts starting to fly.