7:55 a.m.
The convenience store on the way from the station to school was where Yuu and Saki met every morning. Saki would always buy a hot milk tea, and Yuu, a melon bread. With those in hand, they’d spend a short while on a bench near the library close to school. Just about fifteen minutes—but to them, it was a “special” part of every day.
“There’s a vocab quiz in English today, right? Did you study?”
“What? That’s today?”
Saki widened her eyes dramatically, and Yuu laughed, tearing off a piece of his melon bread and handing it to her.
“They say sugar helps your memory, you know.”
Saki accepted the bread with a grin. These little exchanges flowed so naturally, like a continuation of yesterday’s conversation.
The bench in front of the library was surrounded by street trees, and morning light filtered gently through the leaves. It was quiet, with the rustling of wind and the chirping of birds making the perfect background music. Sitting side by side in their school uniforms, there was no need to force conversation—the silence between them felt just right.
“Well, shall we head off?”
Saki stood up, and Yuu followed. Walking from the library to school before the bell rang was part of their daily routine, too. Nothing particularly special ever happened. But sometimes, Saki would say:
“Hey, I bet we’ll remember this kind of time in the future.”
“Yeah… probably.”
Yuu gave a short reply, but inside, his heart skipped just a bit. Because these ordinary mornings were more than special enough for him.
One morning, Yuu arrived at the convenience store and noticed Saki wasn’t there. She was always the early one. He checked his phone a few times, but there were no messages. Just as he started to worry, he heard a voice from behind.
“Sorry! I forgot my wallet and had to run back home.”
Saki came running, slightly out of breath, flashing an embarrassed smile. Yuu let out a quiet sigh of relief and held out his melon bread.
“Here. Let’s split it today.”
“…Thanks.”
Just that small thing made the usual morning feel a little more special.
On the bench in front of the library, Saki pulled out a small notebook. In tiny handwriting, it read “Good things from today.”
“It’s kinda embarrassing, but I thought I’d give this a try.”
Yuu nodded without saying anything, and quietly wrote something on his own page:
“After the convenience store, before the library. Today again, you were beside me.”
And like that, their quiet days began to shine a little more brightly in memory.
