The walk home from vocational school was always the same. Classes would end, and I'd walk with my friends down the back streets, heading in the opposite direction from the station. "Wasn't the teacher in a bit of a bad mood during today's practical?" "I know, right? I bet something good definitely happened to them yesterday." He chimed in with nods to that kind of idle chatter. The vague, end-of-day fatigue unique to the end of the day lingered in his body. The usual path. The usual scenery. It was supposed to be. Just as he casually looked ahead, a splash of color suddenly entered the edge of his vision. His feet stopped. A small flower shop on the corner of the street. A woman was crouching down in front of the shop. Tilting a watering can, giving the flowers water. That was all there was to the scene. And yet, he couldn't take his eyes off her. The evening light gently enveloped her. Her tied-up hair swayed in the wind, and each of those movements was strangely quiet and beautiful. It looked like she was murmuring something softly to the flowers, her lips moving just a little. He couldn't hear her voice. But he was strangely drawn to her expression. He couldn't think of a reason. Before he could even try, he was simply captivated. "...Hey." A voice flew toward him. "We're leaving you behind!" Startled, he turned his gaze back to see his friends walking a little further ahead. For just a moment, he looked toward the flower shop once more. She was still there, watering the flowers with the same unchanging gesture. As if being pulled back to reality, he hurriedly started walking. "Sorry, I'm coming!" A soft, gentle breeze blew through.

The next day. After school, Fuga found himself standing in front of that flower shop.

He muttered quietly. Just like yesterday, colorful flowers were lined up in front of the shop. The inside of the store, visible through the glass. And there, further inside, was her figure. A strange restlessness settled deep in his chest. Maybe I should just go home. Thinking that, he took a step back. But at that moment, the shop door opened.