Dreams and Reality

“Have to find something cute.”, Sakurako said to herself as she was rummaging through her closet. This weekend, she promised Chiharu she would see him again. She told Yumi how Chiharu told her he was planning something for the both of them. Yumi immediately realized that it was a date but Sakurako wasn’t sure if it was.

“He’s planning something just for the two of you, it’s totally a date.”, Yumi told Sakurako earlier this week. Yumi was also the one who told her that she should wear something cute but Sakurako can’t understand what looks cute and what doesn’t.

“How can clothes look cute? Aren’t clothes just clothes?”, she muttered to herself.

“Sakurako!.”, Rena called her from outside her room.

“Grandma, I need help. Come in please.”

Rena opened the door and came inside.

“Can you help me pick out an outfit? I don’t know what looks cute.”, Sakurako sounded desperate.

“Hmm. A city girl like you should have lots of clothes from shopping too much with their friends. Well, look who I’m talking to, a girl who has a hard time connecting with others.”, Rena pushed Sakurako out of the way to rummage through her closet.

“I’ve gotten better now, I think. Yumi and Daiki said I'm more open now.”

“I see that too.”, Rena bought out a pink blouse and a pair of jeans. “How about these two? Go put them on.”

Sakurako went to the bathroom to change and came back out. “Is this okay?”

“I may be old-fashioned but simple is always best.”, Rena was adoring the outfit she personally picked up. “Go make Chiharu happy.”

Sakurako blushed. “H-How did you know?”

“You’re never the type to dress up. I figured you must be seeing Chiharu or something.”

Sakurako was amazed at how her grandmother knew her so well.

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“Don’t run too much. Sweating before your date starts isn’t cute.”, Rena yelled out as Sakurako rushed out the front door.

Sakurako tried her best not to sweat so much in the summer heat. Once she reached the top, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. “This is my first date, don’t ruin it.”, she told herself in case she starts to overthink things. She walked towards the tree and Chiharu was standing there.

“Sakurako!.”, he called out to her.

She smiled, ‘So, what did you plan today?”

Chiharu grabbed Sakurako’s hand, “Come on, it’s a surprise.” They both walked downhill and reached the only bus stop at the edge of the northern village.

“Are we going to the city?”, Sakurako wondered.

“Just wait, it’ll be worth it.”, he reassured her. Sakurako smiled at him, she trusted him and didn't say anything else.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was already setting down below the skyline of the city. The open grassy area was surrounded by families and young couples. Sakurako was confused about what was happening.

“Why are we here?”, Sakurako was kind of scared to be so far away from here, especially in a time period she was unfamiliar with.

“I promise you, just a wait a bit.”, Chiharu found an open spot for them to sit. They watched as the sun set and the stars were filling up the sky.

“Is this the date? Watching the stars together?”, Sakurako didn’t mind it, she would’ve enjoyed doing anything with Chiharu. Something felt familiar though; the setting, the clear, starry, sky, and the image of Chiharu being next to her. As she remembered what it was, the first colors painted the sky. It was the firework festival, just like in her dreams. Sakurako’s dream just came true, only this time, it was her with Chiharu instead. She stared at the night sky with excitement. Sakurako had never seen anything like this before. Even when she was living in the city, she’d never attend a fireworks festival with her parents because she was never interested. She was starting to regret all those times she never went. “Maybe I was supposed to spend my first ever one with him.”, she thought to herself.

When Sakurako turned to look at Chiharu, she saw how happy he looked. This was the happiest she’d seen him. The sadness that he once had seemed to be washed away by the colors of the fireworks. Seeing him smiling like this made Sakurako feel so happy. “I hope he smiles like this forever”, she thought to herself.

Chiharu noticed Sakurako looking at him. “Sakurako, are you okay? You’re crying.” He looked in her eyes and could see that it wasn’t because she was feeling sad; her eyes were expressing genuine happiness.

“Crying?”, she thought to herself. She wiped her face and felt tears. She didn’t realize that tears were coming out. The sight of seeing Chiharu so happy just made her soul feel completely healed. “I’m sorry, it’s just…I like seeing you happy. I want you to smile like that forever.”

“Hello, happy couple, how about a picture?”, a photographer came up to them.

Chiharu and Sakurako looked at each other and blushed at the sound of being called a couple. Chiharu put his arms around Sakurako while she held up a peace sign and the photographer took the picture. The picture came out of the camera and he handed it to Sakurako. Chiharu and Sakurako blushed as they looked at the picture together.

"I guess we do look like a couple." Chiharu said

“Mm. Hey, can I take this with me? I want to show my friend,” Sakurako asked and Chiharu agreed to let her keep it.

Chiharu looked at Sakurako and could feel the happiness in her eyes. He wasn’t just happy because of the fireworks, he was happy because he got to experience this with her. He took her hand and held it as they watched the fireworks together. Throughout the night, the sky was painted with multiple colors as the sound of fireworks filled the silent sky. Sakurako and Chiharu would look at each other from time to time, taking in each other’s happiness. They both knew that they were both falling in love even more with each other.

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After the firework show ended, Sakurako and Chiharu sat at their spot as people were leaving. Chiharu’s happiness turned into a look of uncertainty. Sakurako saw this and wondered what happened to his smiling face.

“Chiharu, what’s wrong? You were so happy before? Is it because the show is over? We can come back next time.”, Sakurako tried to cheer him up.

He gave a slight chuckle due to Sakurako’s optimism. He was hesitant to speak but not telling her now would only hurt her later. “That’s the problem…there can’t be a next time.”

Sakurako’s expression changed too. Hearing him say that felt like something inside of her shattered. “What do you mean? Why are you suddenly like this? Of course, we can see each other next time.”

“Sakurako.”, Chiharu took Sakurako’s hand. “You know that we can’t keep seeing each other right?”

Sakurako didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to come face to face with reality. She was hoping this was just like her dream; she would wake up and it would only be a memory she never had. “Don’t say that, I’ll keep coming back.”

“You’ve told me before that I was gone in the future. I can’t change that. Imagine how things would be if I changed one thing.”

“Things could be better. You can be with Rena and Akira again.”

“I can’t take that chance. You love history, you know that one small thing can cause big changes in the future. Everything happens for a reason.”

Sakurako was tearing up at his words. “He’s right.”, she thought to herself. But she still couldn’t accept it. This was her first time ever experiencing feelings for someone and she didn’t want to end things like this. She couldn’t say anything or try to argue back with him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Tell me one thing,”, she gathered her emotions, “Why did you take me here? Why did you do this to make me feel so happy? Why’d you make me so happy only to make me sad?”

“To see you smile.”, Chiharu answered. “I wanted to see your smile one last time before I told you this. I knew this would end like this, so I thought it would be nice to have one last happy memory."

He was just like her. Both Chiharu and Sakurako felt healed seeing each other so happy, but now they’re broken by seeing each other so sad. Sakurako was sobbing while Chiharu was trying hard not show his sadness

Sakurako didn’t know what to do; she had all of these feelings for him and now she couldn’t even express it because it would only hurt her.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I guess this is goodbye”, Chiharu said as he faced Sakurako under the sakura tree.

Sakurako tried not to cry again so she could give him a proper goodbye. She couldn’t be strong enough and ran to hug him. Chiharu was surprised but hugged her back. They held onto each other for a while. “If this is goodbye, then just let me stay here a bit longer.”

“Mm. Take as long as you need.”, Chiharu said as they held each other under the night sky.