Morning.
The phone was shaking from the incoming notification.
I snatched it out as if my life depended on it.
Miyako: "Please don't write to me yet. I need time."
I scrolled through the message just once.
And I couldn't let go.
"Bye." Not "forever."
But it's like a sharp splinter — this "polite" detachment.
The warm Miyako I was laughing with... where did she go?
At school
Sayo appeared at my desk as usual, with a smile.
But there was a tension in her that hadn't been there before.
"Do you want to go for a walk after school?" "What is it?" she asked casually.
I was silent.
"It's not a date, don't worry,— she laughed.
"Just... to distract myself." To talk.
Really, Kurume, you're not yourself right now.
I nodded.
Without much enthusiasm.
And she smiled too broadly.
Later
We left the school and headed to a quiet square around the corner.
Sayo was chatting as usual, and I was barely listening.
Everything seemed dim, not her voice, not the greenery around her—nothing distracted.
—Wait,— she suddenly grabbed my hand and stopped.
"I wanted something."…
She took a step closer.
Too close.
—Kurume, I know that you don't think of me the way you used to," it's quiet.
— But... Would you give me a chance?
I recoiled.
—Wait.
"I just…
And she abruptly bent down to my face.
Second.
I stumbled back, but it was too late.
Sayo was almost touching my cheek with her lips.
And it was at that moment that a voice rang out:
— ...So that's how it is.
Miyako.
She was standing on the path, a few meters away.
Folder in hand, glass eyes.
—I...— I began.
"Don't," she said coldly.
— Everything is clear.
She turned around and walked away.
It's like there's nothing left between us.
—Miyako! Wait!
But she didn't turn around.
Sayo stood next to him, not hiding her pleased look.