"Have you ever heard of Adolescence Syndrome?"

"You've been so happy since you got yourself a girlfriend."

"It's like a fairy tale, isn't it?"

"What are you to her?"

Disembodied voices filled my mind, as I floated in a black void.

Where was I?

What was this?

I tried recalling how I had ended up here, then remembered the acupuncture. I had thought I would simply wake up in my own bed again, but it didn't seem like it would be that simple.

I could see pulses of light around me, like I was floating in space staring at the stars. I drifted close to one, and I could see myself walking with Sakuta along the Shichirigahama beach.

Was this all the memories of the past few days?

"Someone once told me, the three favourite phrases of her life are: Thank you, You did your best, and I love you."

I knew these words, I had imprinted them into my mind after that day, determined to remember them for the rest of my life.

But why was I seeing this scene again? Was there a lesson I had yet to learn?

I tried to keep watching, but as Sakuta and I continued walking, I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. I continued to drift in the void, spotting another light close by.

I could see Sakura now, the day where we ended up at the beach in Takaoka.

"If I said that I felt like making a boyfriend, would you do all you could to help me?"

I remembered being flustered by that question, unsure of what she was really asking me. But before I could hear my response, I was already headed towards the next light.

"Does this mean you still want to eat my pancreas?"

This time I could see Sakura’s face, tears silently falling as we held each other in that tight embrace.

Was she really this moved by my words, my actions? I felt a tightness in my chest, as I looked upon her face.

But soon, that scene too drifted away from me, and I once again wandered the void. I could see more scenes as I passed by more of the lights, the time I spent with Sakura dominating most of them. Yet, some of the scenes I could see nothing, only hearing voices.

"We've heard so much about you, it's nice to finally meet you."

That sounded a lot like Mai, and I couldn't recall ever hearing her say that. Before I could ponder it for long, I was drifting along once again.

"So you're actually going to man up? I'm surprised."

Now I could hear Kyoko, yet still I couldn't see anything.

What was this? Were these events that were going to happen?

Once again, I drifted on from that light. I noticed that despite appearing randomly scattered, there was a sense of order to the lights. I could see that there was only a handful remaining on my path, so I continued onward.

"It's an experimental procedure, but there's a chance it could work."

That sounded like Rio, but what procedure could she be referring to? Was it for me?

No, she must be referring to Sakura. I tried to stay and hear more, but found myself drifting along involuntarily.

I soon found myself at the last light on this dark path. I could hear Sakura once again.

"I have a request, but you don't have to say yes. I want you to decide if it's something you really want."

What I want?

"Ask me anything."

I heard my own voice, surprised that I was getting more than just one line.

But my time was up, and I never heard her question. I could see all the lights in the distance, shrinking into nothingness as I drifted further away from them. Soon, all I could see was the darkness. But above me, the scene began to lighten as I felt my body drift upward.

The sound of an alarm clock dragged me back to reality. I reached over, eyes still closed, and turned off the alarm. Slowly, I cracked open my eyes to see my surroundings. Piles of books lined around the room, the familiar walls I was used to. I was finally home.

I was home. I jumped out of bed, pinching myself to make sure this was real. I looked down at the nightstand, seeing my phone, my real phone, sitting atop it. I flipped it open, noticing I had a few messages. I scrolled down and opened the first one.

"Hey! I know our time was a little short yesterday, but I'm excited to see you today! Let me know what you want to do!"

It seemed like Sakura didn't waste any time.

I opened the second message, also from her.

"And since I forgot to say this in the last message, good morning!"

I smiled, quickly typing out a text back to her.

"Good morning. Shall we meet up for some lunch? You can pick where we would eat."

I pressed send, then backing out to the other unread message.

"Hey it's Sakuta. Hope things worked out, let us know when you want to meet up."

Before I could respond to his message, I received a text back from Sakura.

"Do I really have to wait that long to see you? Why don't you come over at 10 am and we can make our plans for the day. I'll be waiting!"

I suppose I don't have a reason to delay seeing her. Smiling, I headed to the bathroom to get ready, the memories of the dream already fading as my excitement grew. I left my bedroom, only to run into my mom heading up the stairs.

"Oh you're up, I was just coming to get you up."

She smiled.

"Someone is in a good mood today, just don't forget what I said yesterday. I'd really love to meet your friend sometime."

I smiled back and nodded.

"Maybe I'll bring her over some day."

She looked surprised, but smiled.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

She gave me a quick hug, and headed back down. I got cleaned up as quickly as possible, and made my way down stairs.

On the TV, the reporter read the news.

“Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Breaking news. Authorities have apprehended a suspect in connection with a chilling series of crimes. A man, believed to be responsible for multiple murders of young girls, has been taken into custody following an attempted murder that occurred late last night.”

“The incident unfolded in the downtown area of Takaoka when police received an emergency call reporting a violent assault. Officers responded swiftly, managing to intervene before the situation escalated further. The perpetrator confessed his crimes to the authorities. Fortunately, the victim wasn’t harmed and is under police protection. Further investigation is still ongoing for the search of more eye witnesses.”

I gave a sigh of relief after hearing that.

As the reporter continued with other news, they were discussing a parade that was supposed to be happening later in the day. At the bottom of the screen, I could see the date, time, and venue.

August 20th, 8:40 A.M.

I had finally done it.

I sent Sakura a text, letting her know I was on my way. I had her copy of The Little Prince with me, I still had yet to read it but I decided that maybe reading it with her wouldn't be such a terrible idea.

I then remembered the other text from Sakuta, and quickly sent out a response, letting him know things did work out and that I would talk to Sakura about when we could all meet up.

It was a pleasant walk, and I found myself humming to myself as I made my way to Sakura's house. I turned the corner on her street, and could see her house. Sakura was already waiting outside, and once she spotted me she ran towards me.

Her arms reached out and pulled me into a hug, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"You made it, I was starting to get bored waiting."

I laughed.

"Sorry I ended up sleeping in a bit."

Her only response was to hold me even closer, and I simply enjoyed the moment.

After what felt like an eternity of bliss, we pulled back from each other.

"Do you want to come inside? I know my mom is interested in talking to you some more."

I nodded, ready for whatever was to come.

Her mom was in the kitchen, making some tea for the three of us. We took a seat at the table, and she soon joined us, placing a cup in front of Sakura and myself. I thanked her for the tea, and mentally prepared myself.

"So you mentioned that you know about my daughter’s condition, I wanted to thank you again for being there for her."

Beside me, I could feel Sakura staring at me. I shifted uneasily, realizing I should have mentioned that to her.

"So much for being able to keep a secret mister."

Her teasing tone made it aware that she wasn't really angry with me, but I made a mental note to make it up to her later.

"Don't be upset with him dear, he was quite respectful about it. You did a fine job, finding someone that was willing to keep it a secret for so long."

Her mom flashed a smile toward me, perhaps trying to ease my conscience. I looked over to Sakura, who was now trying to avoid my gaze as her cheeks began to flush with embarrassment.

"I couldn't find a reason to be upset with someone who was brought so much joy to your life, and I don't think you will be that upset with him either."

Her smile now seemed to have some mischief behind it, as though she was thinking of a joke that only she understood. I seemed to be the only one left out, as Sakura turned even more red. Laughing lightly, her mom stood up from the table.

"I do hope you'll come by again, after all you're always welcome here."

Now I felt myself becoming embarrassed, but I simply nodded and hoped the embarrassment wasn't too apparent on my face. That hope was quickly dashed as she let out another small laugh, before waving to us and walking up the stairs, leaving the two of us alone. I looked over to Sakura, noticing that she was trying to avoid me.

"She seems very nice, the tea was very good too."

Slowly, her gaze reached mine.

"Um yeah, she's really nice."

Clearly she was distracted, probably by whatever her mom had said. She shook her head, trying to clear up her mind.

"So would you want to, um, come upstairs?"

I had never seen this side of her before, it was almost cute seeing her so flustered. I nodded, then remembering what I had brought in my bag. I pulled out the book, placing it on the table.

"Oh, you finished reading it? Did you like it?"

Immediately, her tone changed, sounding excited to hear my thoughts on her favourite book.

"Actually, I haven't had a chance to start it yet. But I was thinking we could read it together."

At first, she looked a little disappointed but then perked up as I finished.

"Yes! That sounds like a great idea!"

Her smile in that moment made everything I had endured worth it. I followed her up the stairs, and once again found myself in her room. I expected us to sit where we had when we had played video games together, but instead she sat on the bed.

She patted the spot next to her, pointing out where she wanted me to sit. I hesitated, but followed her instructions. She leaned over immediately, excited to read the book together. The scent of her shampoo filled the air, and I soon found it difficult to focus on the book.

After we had made some headway into the story, I looked over to her. I typically finished the pages faster, so I left it up to her to flip the page once she was finished. The look on her face was a peaceful one, the last time I had seen that look was when we had seen the fireworks together.

She finally noticed I was no longer looking at the book, and looked up.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

She looked a little embarrassed, as though I was doing something bad.

"Just your face, but I don't think there's much we can do about that."

She gave me a light tap on the arm.

"You should be nicer to me, after all I am letting you have the pleasure of reading this with me."

I rubbed the spot where she had touched me, acting as though I was in pain.

She rolled her eyes, then looked as though she was trying to work through a problem.

"There's something I want to do, if it's okay with you."

Behind her voice, I could tell she was almost nervous to ask.

"What is it?"

I asked, wondering what she could have in mind now.

She scooted closer to me, leaning her head until it was resting on my shoulder.

"Is this okay?"

Her voice was almost a whisper, I had no choice but to lean my head on hers.

"It doesn't seem so bad."

She had slightly jumped when our heads touched, but she simply sighed and somehow leaned in even closer. Her soft hair formed a pleasant pillow, still smelling as wonderful as before. If this wasn't what heaven felt like, I wasn't sure if I was very interested in going.

We silently kept reading, constantly aware of one another as we leaned on each other. The sound of her breathing was the only other sound besides the turning of the pages, and I found myself staying in her rhythm. It was as though we were simply two halves finally fitting together.

The last page flipped over, and she closed the book. I expected her to move away, but she simply stayed as she was. I wasn't going to complain, perhaps in the past I would have hated this contact for this long. But now I treasured it, hoping to make it a memory that would never fade.

"Did you like it?"

Sakura spoke up a little bit after we had finished reading, her voice quiet as though she didn't want to break the spell that was at work.

"I'm glad I got to read it, and even more glad that I waited to read it with you."

My response, just as quiet as hers, came without any hesitation. I could almost feel the warmth rising from her face as she blushed.

"I'm sorry I'm not a very fast reader, you could have finished a lot faster by yourself."

I smiled, and I was sure she could feel it.

"You're probably right, but then I would have missed out on this."

The words again came without hesitation, though now I realized what I had said. Feeling that same burning sensation, I was grateful we couldn't see each other’s expressions.

But only for a moment, as Sakura pulled away and looked away. Had I said the wrong thing? I began to worry, and tried to think of what to say to fix things. But Sakura spoke up first.

"I have a request, but you don't have to say yes. I want you to decide if it's something you really want."

Those words sounded so familiar, yet I couldn't quite place where I had heard them.

"Ask me anything."

Something compelled me to say those words without hesitation. Sakura, however, did hesitate.

"You know I won't be around forever, so I can understand if you say no. I may have been interested in you long before the hospital, if you ask me I can neither confirm nor deny that."

She paused for a moment, clearly nervous about her request.

"I've come to cherish all of our time together, both the good and the bad. I know we promised to be friends until I'm gone, but I think I want more than that. I want more with you."