Scene 1: Sleepless Night

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her in that bed, pale, smiling too hard, clutching her sketchbook like it was the only thing keeping her alive.

It wasn’t fair. She should’ve been at the festival, laughing with her face lit by fireworks. She should’ve been running across rooftops, chasing sunsets, eating too much ice cream, complaining about trains being late.

Not stuck behind hospital glass.

The more I thought about it, the more I clenched my fists beneath the blanket.

If she couldn’t go to the world anymore… then I’d bring the world to her.

Scene 2: Gathering Allies

The next day, between classes, I pulled aside my only two classmates who ever half-tolerated me — Ishida from the baseball team and Aoi, the girl who sat behind me in math.

They looked at me like I’d lost my mind when I explained.

“You want us to help you… sneak festival stuff into a hospital room?” Ishida whispered, his eyebrows climbing.

“Not sneak,” I corrected. “Arrange. Just… smaller. Quieter.”

Aoi tapped her pen against her notebook, frowning. “Hospitals are strict. We can’t light fireworks indoors.”

“I know that,” I muttered.

“Then what exactly do you want to do?” she asked.

I hesitated, then admitted: “I just… I want her to feel like she didn’t miss it. Even if it’s fake.”

Silence hung for a moment. Then, to my surprise, Aoi’s expression softened.

“…I’ll bring paper lanterns.”

Ishida scratched the back of his head. “And I guess I can ‘borrow’ some cotton candy from my uncle’s stall.”

Something in my chest loosened. “Thanks. Really.”

Scene 3: The Surprise

That weekend, I walked into Hikari’s room carrying a bag that looked far too big for me. She tilted her head immediately.

“What’s in there, smuggler boy? It looks suspicious.”

“Close your eyes,” I said firmly.

She pouted. “What if you’re kidnapping me?”

“Then I’m doing a really bad job, because we’re still in the hospital.”

She giggled, finally covering her eyes.

I pulled out the treasures one by one, small paper lanterns that Aoi had painted with bright colors, cotton candy wrapped carefully in plastic, even a cheap festival mask Ishida had thrown in as a joke.

By the time she opened her eyes, the sterile white room glowed softly with color.

Her mouth fell open. “Haruki…”

“It’s not the real thing,” I said quickly. “But it’s something. Our own festival.”

Scene 4: Their Festival

We hung the lanterns by the window, turned off the main light so the room glowed warm and gentle. She nibbled on the cotton candy, laughing at how it stuck to her lips.

At one point, I put the festival mask on my face, pretending to be a mysterious stranger offering “forbidden goldfish scooping.” She laughed so hard she almost spilled her drink.

And for a while, just for a while, the hospital room didn’t feel like a cage.

It felt like summer again.

Scene 5: The Promise

When the night grew quiet, I sat by her bed. She leaned her head against my shoulder, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Haruki… today felt like tomorrow.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Like… even if tomorrow never comes, I already had it. Does that make sense?”

My throat tightened. I gripped her hand. “Then let’s make sure tomorrow always comes. One after another. As many as we can.”

She looked at me, her eyes shimmering in the lantern light.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

And as the lanterns swayed gently, their glow reflected in her smile, I swore to myself I would keep that promise, no matter how much time she had left.

[To Be Continued]