“Hey, let us get married someday!”
Yuzuki said that while sitting on a swing in the park.
As the sunset dyed her back, her voice was completely innocent and direct.
“Yeah! I promise!”
Yuto answered right away without any hesitation.
Even though they were young, this promise felt very important to him.
Yuto and Yuzuki intertwined their small fingers tightly and made a pinky swear.
“If you lie, I will cut off your finger!”
Yuzuki said that and smiled playfully.
“Scary!”
Yuto laughed without thinking.
However, she puffed out her cheeks and stared at him with serious eyes.
“Because promises have to be kept!”
“Okay, okay. I will definitely keep it.”
Satisfied at last, Yuzuki got her smile back and started swinging again. Just looking at that smile made Yuto feel somehow happy.
The two of them were always together back then.
Since their houses were close, they were together from nursery school to elementary school—in the mornings, on the way home, when playing, and doing anything else.
“Hey, look at this!”
Yuzuki talked happily while showing him her favorite book and stickers. Every time, Yuto’s routine was to nod along and say, “Whoa, that is amazing!”
“Today’s bento has the tamagoyaki my mom makes because I like it!”
“Nice! I want to eat some too!”
“Then, I will give you one!”
When he stuffed the tamagoyaki she offered into his mouth, it was slightly sweet and delicious. The two of them shared each other’s things as if it were natural and kept laughing.
He honestly thought those days would go on forever.
However, the surroundings changed the two of them little by little.
When they became middle school students, their classmates started saying things like this to them:
“Are you two dating?”
“No, we are just childhood friends!”
“Yeah, yeah! Just childhood friends!”
At those words, the two of them shook their heads frantically. However, because of that, Yuto started becoming aware of Yuzuki.
Before he knew it, the time he spent with her started to feel more special than ever before.
What is Yuzuki thinking?
Even while thinking about such things, the two of them kept their relationship just like before.
The winter of their third year in middle school. The two of them went to the park for the first time in a while between studying for entrance exams.
“Hey, do you remember? We made a marriage promise here a long time ago.”
Yuzuki said with a small smile.
“Yeah, I remember.”
Yuto smiled too.
—Were you serious back then?
—Of course.
Yuzuki nodded softly while looking into the distance. Yuto’s chest pounded loudly.
—Then, if we can go to the same high school, let us make that promise properly again.
After saying it, he was surprised by his own words. But after looking a little surprised, Yuzuki smiled happily.
“Yeah!”
In the cold air, the two of them quietly stacked their hands.
That was a new promise.
The day of the high school acceptance announcements.
“Yay! I passed!”
Yuzuki jumped into Yuto’s arms. Yuto could not help being happy either.
“We can be together again!”
The two of them laughed while making victory poses. The promise they had made in the park back then was still living on inside the two of them.
“Hey! When we become high school students… let us really make that promise one more time.”
—Yeah. I was planning to do that too.
Yuzuki smiled as if relieved. Because of this, the two of them would move forward into a future together again.
I will definitely keep my promise, Yuto swore strongly in his heart.