Sei Ni Mezameru Shojo -otokotachi To Hito Natsu... -

We were hunting for kabutomushi (rhinoceros beetles) in the cedar grove behind the shrine when I tripped over a root. He caught my elbow, and for three heartbeats, we were close enough that I could see the single freckle on his right eyelid.

I never planted it. I kept it in a tiny glass bottle by my mirror. Sometimes, when the ache of that first unnamed longing returns, I unscrew the cap and smell nothing—but feel everything. Sei ni Mezameru Shojo -Otokotachi to Hito Natsu...

"I'm awake," I replied.