Unexpected Turns
The final day of the festival arrived draped in gold and orange, like the sun itself was reluctant to say goodbye. The school buzzed with excitement for the evening's main event—the fireworks show, followed by the traditional Wishing Lantern ceremony.
Stalls began to close early as students gathered near the sports field where paper lanterns were laid out, each glowing faintly in anticipation.
Naoto and Rika found themselves sitting on a quiet bench, a little apart from the others. Between them, two unlit lanterns and a pair of black ink pens rested silently.
"Wishes don't come true," Rika said, arms crossed. Her eyes followed the others—students laughing, couples smiling, dreams being scribbled across thin paper like they were magic spells.
Naoto gave a soft shrug. "Doesn't hurt to pretend."
He nudged a lantern toward her. She looked at it for a moment before sighing and taking the pen.
They wrote in silence.
Neither asked what the other was wishing for.
Naoto's face was unreadable as his hand moved steadily across the surface of the lantern. Rika hesitated halfway through hers, staring at the blank space with too many thoughts and no words strong enough to hold them.
When the time came, they stood together and joined the others at the release point.
Dozens of glowing lanterns floated skyward, filling the air with light and breathless wonder. For a moment, it felt like time had paused—like every hidden feeling and every unspoken word had found its way into the sky.
Rika looked up, her lips slightly parted.
Naoto didn't look at her.
---
More Than Friends?
As the fireworks show began, Naoto and Rika drifted away from the crowd, wandering into the quieter part of the school grounds—the back garden, dimly lit and almost forgotten.
The first firework burst in the sky, bathing the garden in colors that bloomed and disappeared too quickly.
Rika kicked off her sandals and stepped onto the dewy grass barefoot.
"You're different when you're not being annoying," she said suddenly, not facing him.
Naoto smirked faintly. "And you're softer when you're not trying so hard to hate everything."
Another firework lit the sky. The silence between them thickened.
She turned to him, her voice quieter now. "Are we… friends?"
Naoto blinked.
"Do you want us to be?" he asked.
She didn't answer right away. Her voice barely carried over the fireworks. "Maybe."
But before anything more could be said, Naoto's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He looked down.
A message.
And everything changed in his expression—just slightly. Enough for Rika to notice.
"What is it?" she asked.
"…Nothing," he said, slipping the phone away.
But even as he stood beside her, his eyes were somewhere else.
And she felt it.