Chapter 6 – Small Things

Monday came quietly, The clouds hadn’t cleared since last week, but the rain held off, leaving the air cool and a little damp.

Haruki sat at his desk, chin in hand. His eyes flicked from the window to Reina’s desk. She had just finished arranging her pens, each one in a straight line above her notebook. Her hand hesitated briefly before reaching into her bag. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and slipped something inside. Then, without looking back, she slid it to the far edge of her desk, where the corner pointed towards his desk.

He waited a few seconds before taking it.

Inside was his old bookmark. Neatly pressed, with no crease or smudge.

Tied to it with a thin red string was something small. it looked like a soft oval made of red thread, no bigger than a thumb. The loop at the top made it easy to attach to a bag or keychain.

Looking closer, the thread was braided tightly, coiled into shape, with a tiny gold stitch in the middle. Not a symbol just a neat little pattern, sewn in careful lines. The kind of detail that took time, even if it wasn’t perfect.

It was handmade, clearly. A little uneven. But the effort showed.

There was no note this time.

He turned it in his fingers once, then looked up.

Reina was already reading. Her face gave nothing away.

Haruki tucked the charm into his book. It didn’t need an explanation.

Later, at lunch, he went to the courtyard again. The bench was dry. The tree above them had started losing its leaves, a few scattered at their feet.

She was already there.

Reina had her lunch open, and her thermos resting on her lap. Haruki sat down without saying anything. They had stopped needing greetings by now.

His own bento was simple today. Leftover rice, egg, a piece of grilled chicken he had overcooked.

They ate without speaking.

Halfway through, Reina reached into her box and lifted a piece of simmered pumpkin with her chopsticks. Without looking at him, she set it gently onto the edge of his container. The gesture was small, like she was moving a crumb off her own desk.

Haruki looked at it, then at her.

She didn’t react. Just kept eating.

He picked it up and took a bite.

The flavor was mild, just sweet enough. Cooked until soft but not mushy. Like the ones he remembered from before.

“…Thanks,” he said quietly.

She gave a small nod but didn’t look his way.

After they finished, Reina placed her chopsticks back into their cloth wrap and reached into her bag. She pulled out a thin sketchbook, the cover slightly curled from use. She opened it, flipped past a few pages, then stopped. Her eyes stayed on the paper for a moment.

Haruki caught a glimpse of lines in pencil, Nothing much. Just soft outlines and shading.

She turned the sketchbook toward him, holding it loosely in both hands.

The page showed a tree, The one they're sitting at. The one behind the gym, branches with no leaf, with two shapes on the bench beneath it. One figure leaned forward slightly, book in hand. The other sat straighter, hands folded in their lap.

He recognized the angle. It was from behind them?
maybe drawn from memory.

“…You drew this?” he asked.

She nodded.

“You’re good.”

She said nothing. Just watched him as he took the sketchbook, He flipped to the next page.

More drawings, A lunchbox on a desk, A folded note, A pair of thermoses side by side.
Things that had happened. Quiet moments, of us.

He handed it back.

“They’re all from here,” he said.

“They’re just sketches.”

“They’re honest.”

She seemed to pause at that, Her fingers tapped once against the edge of the page, then she closed the book.

They sat a little longer after that, not in a hurry to return to class.

When they finally walked back together, their steps fell into the same rhythm. Not too fast, not too slow.

Near the shoe lockers, Reina spoke.

“Did you keep them?” she asked.

“…The notes?”

She nodded.

“I kept all of them,” Haruki said.

Reina looked down at her shoes and gave the faintest smile.

He didn’t need to say more.

And she didn’t need to hear it.

That afternoon, Haruki visited the literature club again.

Akari was already inside, waving a book at Aoi, who looked unimpressed.

Haruki stayed by the back shelf, scanning titles without reading them. He wasn’t here for a reason, not one he could name.

After a few minutes, Reina stepped in quietly and walked to the same corner as him.

She didn’t greet him.

She just opened her bag and placed something on the shelf beside him.

A small paper box.

Inside was a packet of roasted chestnuts. Not homemade. Just something from the convenience store, wrapped in clear plastic.

Haruki looked at her.

She shrugged lightly.

“For later,” she said.

He smiled.

“Alright.”

When he walked home that evening, he kept the charm tucked safely in his pocket. He hadn’t decided where to put it yet.

But he knew he didn’t want to lose it.

Not that, or anything else she had given without asking.