As Yumeko opened her eyes, she saw herself in a strange place. Even though the sky was dark, the streets were bright. The buildings were tall as if they would reach the heavens already. She did not know where she was. It was a very noisy place. People were holding a rectangular object in their hands and they seemed busy with it. Some were black, some where white. Some were colorful. They were in different sizes but in similar shape. Some had it near their ear as they speak of inaudible words. Then she realized she was holding the same thing. 

“Is this a wireless telephone?” she asked herself but even she did not know the answer. 

Across her were many people in western clothings and had different hair colors. They were gathering at the side as some strange looking cars ran in the middle of the road and when they came to a complete stop, some of the people started coming towards her direction. Afraid, she stepped back but she hit something from behind.

It was the floor. 

She just fell from the bed. She blinked her eyes many times.

“Oh, it’s morning.”

Being in pain, she just completely forgot everything about her dream. However, she let it pass as it was Saturday and she would not need to hurry to go to school nor hear Koharu’s nag. 

She stretched her arms while slowly standing up and went near a corner. She decided to open the windows today as she wanted the rays of sun to enter her room and smell the fresh air of summer. She slowly opened them one by one. She carefully pulled the curtains to the side as she welcome the invisible morning breeze. It must be a good day today. She was down to the last window and it was the one on the east.

She finally opened the last window of her room. And as she looked down, she saw a boy across her own. He had just open his own window, too. As the boy looked up, it was not the sky that he first saw but Yumeko who was looking at his direction. Shocked, she did not move. Just like her, the boy was frozen, too. He was wearing some dark clothes and had a black hair. Judging from his appearance he must be at the same age as she was.

The distance was quite close, probably a few meters away. Both of them, just looked at each other’s direction. Was the fresh breeze from the rays of sun caused it?

Yumeko suddenly came back to her senses and remembered how disheveled she was—her hair all frizzy, eyes puffed, and was still in her sleepwear. Realizing what the boy might have seen, she screamed then forcefully shut the window as if it was going to break. She did not really mean it but she was surprised, too.

Koharu who was in the kitchen making breakfast just heard the loud sound and hurriedly came running to her room. 

“My lady! What was that sound!? Are you okay?!” she worriedly asked while checking Yumeko and her surroundings.

“No…I’m not okay!” she cried as she stooped down while forcefully rumbling her hair. 

“My lady, what’s wrong?” 

Remembering all that just happened by the window, she screamed,

“NO!!!!”

A guy had seen her in such a state. What a mess!

***

The days had passed by but the same thing happened over and over. Whenever she opened the window, the boy was also there, at the same time, opening his window. Sometimes she would just slowly open it like a ninja and silently peek at the other side if the boy was there only figuring out he was doing the same. 

Yumeko was having breakfast on her bed. The maid looked at her lady worriedly. Her lady would grab some food with her chopsticks but would not even reach her mouth and would only fall on the table yet she would absentmindedly chew as if she savored some.

“Haaaaa…” Yumeko heaved a sigh. 

“Thanks for the food,” she weakly said then lied on her bed hugging her pillow, facing the side towards the window.

As Koharu thought, her lady must be bothered about something. She wanted to ask but if it was a bad memory, she did not want to be the trigger for her lady to remember it even more and be the cause of another anxiety. She wanted to nag like she would always do but, this time her lady’s mind might have already reached some far away lands.

“Haaaa…” she sighed again.

“This cannot be,” Koharu thought. 

At first, she just wanted to remain with her prior decision but she could not take not ask. She worried of her lady’s health if it would go on.

“My lady, if you are bothered about something and you need someone to tell your worries to, my humble self is here to hear you. No words will ever reach your father’s ears,” Koharu sincerely asked.

Yumeko indeed was just bottling all of her worries up. Since the time she lost her memories, she did not share anything to her maid, afraid she might tell her father. He was her master, after all. But hearing Koharu’s concerned words, she was moved and thought of telling her worries just this time.

“You see...these past few days, I couldn’t enjoy the sunrise from the east in the morning.” She  again sighed, as if it was a problem with no solution. 

“There’s a young man living next to us, who consistently opens his window simultaneous with me. Isn’t it weird? He is weird! Ah! I’m going crazy,” exclaimed Yumeko as she rolled over her bed, hugged her pillow, and remembered the embarrassing moment when he saw her in a messy state.

Koharu smiled seeing how adorable her lady reacting over simple things.

“My lady, may I ask why do you love sunrise and that specific time you want to witness it?” Koharu calmly asked. 

Yumeko paused and thought of it for a moment. 

“The sun rises earlier during summertime, right? I want to express my gratitude to earth, for giving me another day to live in it, for free! And you know what? Sunrise offers never-ending chances, you know! But now, I couldn’t thank the earth properly because of him!,” she said as she rolled over her bed again.

“My lady, maybe that person has his own reasons too, like you do. And I presume that everyone is aware that sun rises early in summer, like we are. So refrain from overthinking for now, perhaps everything is just coincidental. So, my lady, go on and enjoy it again tomorrow, okay?” 

Yumeko was enlightened by every word Koharu had spoken. She started to curiously ponder about that boy’s reason, too.

 “You’re right Koharu. Everything is just coincidental. Who am I to stop him from getting sunlight? Maybe I’m the weird one.” She rolled on her bed again. 

Koharu already got used to not getting rebuttals from her lady unlike the previous years, the current Yumeko never felt strange to her anymore. Maybe her lady had become mature for a bit.

Yumeko suddenly got up and touched Koharu’s face softly, then pressed her cute chubby cheeks on both sides and looked her in the eyes.

“Koharu, do I have an extra comb? If yes, can I have another one, please?” She asked out of frustration and determination. She was hoping that a new comb would solve her messy hair every morning.

“whmnh awre iurer fdoingm, lhmady Yhmneko? Koharu cutely murmured, inaudibly as Yumeko squeezed both her cheeks. She then let her hands go from her maid’s face.

“Oops sorry! So, do I own extra one Koharu?” 

Koharu started to get emotional. Thinking her lady was finally learning how to be a fine woman, the way school taught them to be. She believed that Yumeko wanted to look even more presentable, like her female classmates do at school. In short, she thought her lady was finally getting back to her senses and would study harder. Little did she know that none of her presumptions were correct. 

To be continued.