The Encounter in Spring

Prologue

The flames roared upward, blazing into the moonless sky.

The smell of the burning wood entered my nostrils as I stood there, completely stunned. I inhaled unknowingly, then exhaled without feeling anything besides the tightening around my chest. It felt hard to breathe.

An overwhelming bright light assaulted my vision, etching the image into my retina. Then the heat started to spread through the atmosphere, through the air, until it touched my skin.

However, my eyes were glued to the fire as if absorbing me, and my body remained motionless, not even for a single inch. I knew that something was burning. The flames were consuming something, yet I was not afraid nor unsettled. How could I? An unknown emotion was welling inside me, a strange feeling that kept my heart from beating.

The scenery of the flickering flames that contracted, danced, and swayed along with the night breeze. It radiated like the sun, setting fire to my heart. 

It was burning… burning brightly. It was as if the fire itself had cast aside its past and future for this very moment and shone with everything it had.

The one that was burning was a house…

And it was beautiful.

My foot stepped forward as my hand stretched out, trying to touch the fire. But at that moment, a silhouette suddenly moved, falling to the ground. It stayed down, gazing at the magnificent flames.

Amidst the crackling noise of the wood, a whisper entered my ears and brought me back to my senses.

“What…the hell…is…this?”

—Someone was kneeling before the fire.

I gasped for air, realizing what had happened. My chest was beating rapidly, my feet were shivering, and then as if I was possessed, I bolted away from the light, and dived into the darkness.

- --- ----- Burning in the Spring ----- --- -

Chapter 01 – The Encounter in Spring

“Hmm…hmm-mmm.”

Strolling down the long, concrete pathway, Kawada Sakura passed through the mist as she hummed gleefully, taking light steps on the ground.

She was going to a particular destination that had been special for her since childhood. She had barely been able to sleep the last night because of her excitement for this day. And just this morning as well, she simply grabbed whatever clothing she thought was presentable and headed out, not considering the weather.

It was April 1; early morning and the atmosphere was fairly cold.

Sakura wore a bright-colored cardigan over her blouse but unfortunately, it was paired with a knee-length skirt. She slightly regretted it as chilly air occasionally brushed her bare legs but still, she didn’t want to return home to change again. Also, it wasn’t that bad to feel the cold with her skin sometimes. And her skirt looked cute, so where’s the harm?

On her left side were rows of plowed and irrigated rice paddies as a preparation for planting. Down on the right side was the creek, which was visible if she looked through the gaps between the trees. However, it was not the creek that she was eagerly looking for.

The path was curved, and once she passed the trees, she saw that place. Not able to contain her excitement anymore, Sakura's long indigo hair fluttered along with her movements as she started skipping the rest of the distance.

Standing alone on the slope leading to the creek, away from other trees was a single cherry blossom. It had been several days already since it started its full bloom but witnessing it in April made the presence of spring more evident. She looked up at the countless pale pink petals clustered together, admiring their beauty.

"They are really pretty," she muttered, entranced by the flowers.

A spring breeze came, swaying the thin branches, and carried some petals with the wind. Suddenly, an idea sprang into her mind. There was a perfect branch with enough thickness and since the tree grew on the slope, the pathway where Sakura stood was higher.

“No one will pass here this early in the morning so no one would see me,” she convinced herself. “My shoes wouldn’t slip, right?”

Although she would seem weird talking to herself, that didn’t even register to her as she smiled and held the trunk with her left hand and used her right to balance. She stepped on the branch and in one swift motion, she drew herself up.

Finally standing on the branch, she looked down on her footing, and then above—some flowers were directly touching her hair and nose. She closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the moment, then gazed at the stream below.

The water was probably cold, but it was also crystal clear that Sakura could see the white rocks beneath. Although she would not try swimming even if there were no witnesses, just touching the water or dipping her feet in the water seemed like a nice idea.

There were sets of concrete steps leading down…

“Eh…?” She was shocked.

Standing on the steps, looking upward with an open mouth and a dumbfounded look on his face was a young man around her age.

The wind blew, rattled the branches, fluttered her hair, and possibly her skirt.

Immediately, Sakura’s face grew hot and she jumped down to the path, looking down while holding her skirt. Her voice refused to come out as she was overwhelmed with shame. As a 16-year-old girl, being seen climbing a tree was embarrassing! And what's more…

Steadying her breath, she glanced at the steps again but he was gone. It was then that she noticed that the boy had already climbed and arrived at the same pathway as her. He was still looking at her as if waiting for what she was going to say.

“…Y-you didn’t see anything…right?” she asked.

“…Uh.” He looked away as he continued speaking, “I did.”

Sakura’s face flushed even redder as she crouched and held her head in shock. “…Uwah… I’m done for.”

“I’ll be going then, and sorry for the inconvenience.” The young man slightly bowed down and then started walking away. Waiting for her embarrassment to abate, she watched the figure retreat in the distance. The boy wore warm clothing, suitable for this cold weather, but what caught her eye was the bag he was carrying.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him before. He was fairly handsome, and his neck-long black hair would immediately leave an impression, there was no way she would forget about him. He was probably not from this town.

She looked again at the tree and whispered to herself, “Today is a lucky day… Today is unlucky too. Which do you think fits better?”

The branches rattled and swayed but it didn’t answer. Satisfied, Sakura smiled, stood up, and stretched her back. Despite what happened, that person was just a stranger and the view that the tree had shown her was beautiful. She already knew her answer.

Not long, she started walking back home.

Spring breaks usually took two routes for Sakura. First, to study and prepare for the next grade or entrance exams. Or second, take it easy and enjoy the break. This spring happened to be the latter. In just several more days, she would become a second-year student in the local high school she attended but she didn’t see the need to prepare this year.

She spent most of her time inside the house reading books or playing games on her smartphone. Sometimes when her friends would invite her, she would head out with them. This day passed again in a blink of an eye and then the evening came.

Sakura entered her room upstairs after eating dinner with her father and mother. She took the novel she left atop her desk earlier and then sat on her bed. Having changed her position many times in several hours, she was now lying on her bed as she gazed blankly at her room’s ceiling.

“Ah… It ended.” The story had been exciting and she was touched by the ending. It was worth reading all day.

Finally getting over it, she got up from her bed. She wondered if she should take a bath already and go to sleep but when she looked outside her window, seeing the bright shine of the moonlight, she was convinced that she would take another one of her night strolls. Not bothering to change her clothing, she pulled the same cardigan she used this morning and put it over her blouse. She went out of the house.

She only walked around the town late at night and in all instances, her parents were already sleeping.

“Now, where should I go tonight?”

She looked up at the moon for a moment. In the same direction, there was the hill where a shrine was built, and she set it as her destination for the night. She took out her smartphone and then played one of her song playlists.

This town had a place where most of the houses were built or the so-called main residential area. It was situated at the base of the hills and had a thousand residents. The most direct route from Sakura’s house to that community would be the concrete road that stretched between the rows of rice paddies. She still needed to travel several hundreds of meters, but it was better than tripling that distance if she would walk by the creek where she visited this morning. Few residences were built with no nearby neighbors around them, Sakura’s house just happened to be one of those.

Going further along the concrete road past the residential area was a long stairway surrounded by a dense growth of trees that led to the shrine. Although the climb up the stairs was long, she slowly made her way until she arrived at the top.

She took one look at the shrine in the darkness before she turned around and sat on the highest step, gazing down the long stairs she just climbed. There were insects and birds that she could hear, and there were no other sounds besides the music and her breathing. She felt soothed in this quiet place, completely alone atop this hill.

She closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for the song to end. When the next music started with its instruments, she bolted straight up and then jumped down, passing three steps on the stairs. She leaped every two seconds, matching the lively song.

“I wanna be a moon, I wanna be a moon, I wanna be a mooooonnn…" She sang along to the music, skipping the steps all the while. "I wanna be a…moon….”

The song continued, but Sakura stopped singing.

She stood on one of the stairway’s landings, shifting her vision to her right where there was a straight path between the trees that led to a clearing.

She slowly walked towards it.

The weeds and grasses on the path had grown thick and tall as it wasn’t used for several years, but she didn’t mind them even if some brushed her thighs. Her gaze was focused on the fire at the center of the clearing that brought a reddish-orange illumination to the dark forest. The air was thick with the scent of earth and decaying leaves, mingling with the faint aroma of burning wood.

Like she was enchanted, she just continued forward, turning off the music of her phone, and stopped when she was near the fire. The cold spring wind blew, making her shiver for a moment, but the flame swayed, turned larger, and kept her warm soon enough.

Branches of dried trees, small twigs, and some leaves were used as fuel to emit such a warm embrace and the soothing, gentle light. The smell of the wood burning also felt comfortable, its faint crackling filling the air with a rhythmic, comforting sound.

“…” It was as if the fire was welcoming her. She had been unable to utter any words.

Glowing small embers leaped as the fire crackled, bringing her back to her senses. The flames would die down soon since the reasonable lump of the leaves and wood was quickly being consumed. However, this meant that someone had put them all there together.

There was a fire burning beautifully amidst these dark woods. There had to be a burner.

“Do you like watching the flames too, miss?”

She was surprised by the sudden voice and immediately turned to the left. There was a young man, dimly illuminated by the fire but she could see that he sat on a rock. His smooth hair had been tied in a short ponytail now and his mouth was curled up, showing a mild smile. He wore a jacket over his clothes and still carried his bag.

“…You.” Sakura recognized the boy as the one she encountered this morning. The memories of the happenings struck her mind, making her uncomfortable to continue speaking. “…Uh… What are you doing here?”

The boy raised his right hand which he had kept low all this time and brought something—a white stick—into his mouth. The end was glowing, and Sakura could tell immediately that it was a cigarette. He inhaled, causing the end of the stick to brighten, and then exhaled soon after, releasing a white smoke.

“To reminisce, I guess. What about you?”

“…To take a stroll.” Sakura thought that the boy might be a weirdo for being himself here, so she answered quickly. She considered ending the conversation soon and bidding her goodbye. However…

“What are you reminiscing, and why did you think of making a flame?”

Her curiosity won her over.

He had an astonished look, perhaps not expecting those questions. “It’s really cold tonight so when I saw a few twigs on the ground, I thought of making a campfire to warm myself. Besides, the flames shine brighter in the night, don’t you think so too?”

"Yes, I think it's nice too," she said as she glanced at the fire.

“It would be nice if there is something else that would be great burning.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“As for what I’m reminiscing,” the boy continued and she listened carefully, intrigued about it. “It’s about my memories in this place four years ago.”

—Kawada Sakura shuddered at that statement.

“You know that ruined house over there? That’s ours.” The boy pointed behind her.

Sakura was fully aware of what happened here four years ago. Past the campfire was the remains of a house built of wood. Although the darkness kept most of the details hidden, she knew it had been burned to the ground.

“…….” She was unable to make any sound for a minute and her body froze. She forced her neck to turn slowly toward the boy. He was looking down at his phone, his face was eerily lit. His mouth curved into a smile, and his eyes widened a bit.

He stood from his seat.

Sakura wanted to leave now. She wanted to run, to escape, to jump into all those stairs at once and hide in her room while clutching herself into her bed. However, she could not move her feet.

The person who made the campfire approached her, the light of the fire dimmed but she could see his face clearly. He was smirking.

He was nearing, slowly, gradually.

Sakura stepped away, and she was about to run.

—But her hand was caught.

The boy used his deep green eyes to look directly into hers, peering down into her soul. “I was just talking earlier if there would be great things around here to burn right?”

The fire crackled again, the cold wind blew, the trees rattled.

And then he said, “I would like to burn you.”