Scene 1: The First Drop

For weeks, the sky had been nothing but blue. Even when clouds gathered, they never delivered on their promise. Hikari used to laugh and say, “It’s like the sky is saving the rain for something important.”

That day, the rain finally came.

It began as a faint drizzle while we were walking home from the station. Hikari tilted her face up to the gray sky, spreading her arms wide.

“Finally! Haruki, look — it’s real rain!”

Her voice was filled with awe, as though she were witnessing a miracle.

I only frowned. “We should get inside before you get soaked.”

But she shook her head, spinning slowly with her arms stretched, her hair plastering against her cheeks. “No way. It’s been too long. Don’t you get it? We’ve been waiting for this.”

Her laughter mixed with the rhythm of droplets striking the pavement, bright and fleeting.

Scene 2: Running Through the Storm

The drizzle turned into a downpour. Within minutes, the streets were nearly empty, water splashing up around our ankles.

Hikari grabbed my hand suddenly. “Come on! Let’s run for it!”

And before I could argue, she pulled me along. We sprinted through the rain, cutting across puddles, weaving past shuttered shops. Her laughter rang louder than the storm.

For a moment, I forgot my worry. For a moment, it was just us against the world, chasing nothing, racing the downpour.

Scene 3: The Collapse

But then—she stopped.

Her hand slipped from mine, her body stumbling to the side.

“Hikari—!”

She coughed violently, bending forward, her wet hair hiding her face. The sound of her breath was ragged, shallow.

I reached for her shoulders, panic surging through me. “We need to get you out of this—”

“No!” She shook her head, water dripping from her chin. She forced her voice steady, even as her chest heaved. “Not yet. Please… let me stay.”

Her eyes glistened, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the rain or something else.

Scene 4: Shelter

I didn’t argue. Instead, I guided her beneath the awning of a closed bookstore, the only dry place nearby. She sank onto the step, clutching her knees as the rain thundered against the awning above us.

Her breathing slowly eased, though her skin was pale against the gray light.

She looked out at the sheets of rain, her voice barely audible over the storm. “You know… sometimes, I feel like the rain is crying for me. Like it’s saying what I can’t.”

The words pierced through me.

I wanted to ask her what she meant. I wanted to demand the truth.

But instead, I sat beside her, drenched, and said quietly, “Then I’ll sit here with you until it stops crying.”

For the first time all day, her smile faltered — not into sadness, but into something raw, unguarded. She leaned against my shoulder, trembling softly.

We stayed there until the storm passed, the world washed clean around us.

Scene 5: The Aftermath

When the rain finally slowed, the streets glistened with puddles reflecting the streetlights. Hikari sat up, her hair still dripping, and gave me a weak smile.

“Thanks, Haruki. For not running away.”

I looked at her, my heart heavy, and answered without hesitation.

“I never will.”

She laughed lightly, almost like a sigh. “Good. Then tomorrow… let’s add another thing to the list.”

Her voice was bright again, but now I heard the cracks beneath it.

And as I walked her home that night, I realized: the sky wasn’t the only one that had started to cry.

[To Be Continued in Chapter 13]