The Beauty of Small Moments

The days were passing incredibly fast—way too fast for Satoru’s liking.

Sure, those days were filled with joy, and the longer he lived there, the more comfortable he felt despite not understanding even half of what was being said around him in German.

Still, the Japanese teen was proud. He didn’t need to check every single word in his online dictionary—especially when it helped him understand more of what Silke was saying. His motivation to learn more of the foreign language grew every time he saw Silke’s excited reaction whenever he managed to use a German word in the proper context.

“Okay, so alcohols are all ‘der,’ so it will be... Der Bier!”

“Das Bier,” Silke corrected and started laughing out loud upon seeing her Japanese friend’s frustrated reaction.

“That makes no sense! Why have all these rules when there are so many exceptions?” He slammed his head onto the table. “I give up...”

“Oh, great,” Miho's voice reached the boy’s ears. “It looks like you’re bored. Go get us some bread, will ya? We have none left.”

Satoru raised his head. “We literally have toast bread right over there,” he pointed to the kitchen countertop, where an entire loaf of toast bread lay.

He quickly realized that was a big mistake.

“Das ist kein Brot, Toru!” Silke reprimanded him with full seriousness.

He tended to forget how serious the bread topic was here in Germany. Though, to some extent, he understood. The bread he was used to eating in Japan was closest in taste to toast bread. Baked goods here were on an entirely different level.

“Okay, okay!” He put up his hands in surrender. “I’ll go and get the bread, sheesh.”

He got up from the chair, leaving the chattering girls behind, to put on his shoes and take a walk to the bakery. He was about to leave when he heard shuffling beside him.

It was Silke putting on her shoes as well. Miho must have noticed the confused look on her brother’s face because she quickly explained, “She’s worried you’re going to return with more toast bread, so she’s tagging along.”

“Brot Quest! Let’s go!” The blonde jumped up, shouting cheerfully.

Having small trips with Silke was always a highlight of his days, so Satoru decided to ignore the fact that this time, she was accompanying him due to a lack of trust in his bread-buying skills.

This time, neither of the teens said anything on the entire way to the bakery. They walked along the dimly lit pavements in comfortable silence, with the German girl occasionally humming a tune from Rainbow Sun.

Satoru felt as if he were on a date—or just simply walking hand in hand with his girlfriend.

But he wasn’t.

Because Silke was not his girlfriend.

And he didn’t mind her being only a friend. Definitely not.

Shaking his head, he decided to focus back on the route. It was just an excuse for his brain to keep busy with something else. The truth was, he had memorized this path many days ago, so even blindfolded, he could turn on autopilot mode and arrive at the bakery with no issues at all.

This time, though, it seemed like Silke had another place in mind as she gripped his hand and pulled him toward a street that was quite unfamiliar to the black-haired boy.

Satoru tried his best to focus on his surroundings. That was why he had come all the way to Germany—to explore, to enjoy every nook and cranny of the city that still held many secrets from him. And yet, it seemed impossible to do that when all he could think about was how much smaller the girl’s hand was compared to his, how pleasantly warm it felt. So smooth and soft to the touch.

She probably uses some nice hand cream.

Much to his dismay, the experience was soon taken away from him as Silke let go of his hand to show him they had reached their destination.

It was a bakery, all right—just not the one they usually went to. This one was much smaller, but it oozed a traditional atmosphere. Silke must have heard about it from a local. There was no way a simple tourist or newcomer would be able to spot this place. It was so well hidden that he wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t even registered on online maps.

The blonde girl pushed the door open without hesitation. The traditional doorbell rang as Satoru followed after her. The smell of fresh bread filled his nostrils, and at that moment, he realized—there was no way someone could step in and not buy any of the baked goods.

Usually, bread was made in the morning, so it was a surprise to see and smell a fresh batch coming out of the oven, which was visible even to the customers. It made the boy’s mouth water.

“Ein Walnuss-Sesam-Brot und zwei Zimt-Kardamom-Schnecken,” Silke ordered as the man behind the counter started packing a loaf of bread and two buns that looked like cinnamon rolls.

At that point, Satoru finally came back to his senses. He was here for the bread. He needed to pay for it.

“Silke, ich kann—” he started, vigorously waving his credit card, unable to remember how to say pay in German, but the girl just shook her index finger left and right as if he had made a major mistake.

In a way, he had. Right by the counter, there was a sign with clearly written letters forming Cash Only.

Damn Germans and their love for banknotes and coins…

With no other choice, he let the girl pay for their things, and with that, they left the small yet majestic traditional bakery.

Satoru wasn’t happy with how things had gone. He should have taken some cash with him. A girl paying for him felt wrong. He wanted chances to impress her, yet every time he got one, he failed.

He couldn’t dwell on it much longer, as he was suddenly presented with the cinnamon-roll-like pastry right in front of his face.

“Für dich.”

The black-haired boy gratefully took it from her hand and took a bite. It was heavenly.

The crumpling sound confused him, though, as he saw Silke throwing away the paper bag that had held the buns.

“None for Miho?” he asked, surprised.

“Toru and Silke’s quest prize only!” she proudly exclaimed.

Just theirs...

Satoru had no idea how much longer he would be able to be so casual about everything, because time and time again, the blonde-haired beauty kept making him feel special. And the thing was...

He wanted to be special to her—no matter what.