Day 5: Trip to Nagano

Sally closed her suitcase with slow movements, as if each folded item were a thought being placed gently into its spot.

She picked up her phone.
Hesitated for a second.
Then called.

Brr— brr— brr—

“Hello?”

“Kam, are you free?”

“…Sally?”
Kam’s voice sounded surprised, but warm.
“It’s been a while.”

“I know.”
Sally took a small breath.
“I wanted to ask if you have time today.”

There was a small silence.
Not tense—just the pause before a quiet note settles.

“…Yeah, I do,” Kam answered. “What’s going on?”

“I’m going to Nagano.”
Sally’s voice was soft, steady.
“I thought maybe… you’d like to come.
Get out for a bit.
Breathe something different.”

Another silence, brief.
The kind that happens when a thought reaches its shape.

“…I’d go,” Kam said at last.
“But I don’t think I have enough money.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Pack what you need.
I’ll wait for you at the station.

“…Then… I’m going.”

The call ended.

Sally put the phone down.
She didn’t smile, but something inside her loosened—
like a string that finally stopped pulling too tight.

The train station was alive with voices and footsteps.

Sally had just finished paying for the tickets when she heard:

“Sally!”

She turned.

Kam was running toward her, backpack bouncing, breath uneven between laughter.

They hugged with the kind of ease that needs no explanation.
More time had passed than either of them had been willing to admit.

“Did you tell your family?” Sally asked as they walked.

“Yeah. They told me to be careful… and to have fun.”

Sally let out a short laugh—almost just an exhale of relief.

“We’ll have a good time,” she said.

And she meant it.

They boarded the train.

Kam fell asleep not long after, her head resting on Sally’s shoulder.

Sally didn’t move.
She let her sleep.

She watched the scenery through the window—sometimes thinking,
sometimes letting time simply pass.

When they arrived, Kam stretched with a yawn.

“Let’s eat,” she murmured.

“We drop our things first.”

“There’s an inn,” Kam said. “I looked it up before I left.”

“Then you’re leading.”

They laughed.

The inn was simple.
They left their luggage, changed, and headed to the hot springs.

The steam softened voices and edges.

Kam wrapped her arms lightly around Sally, and they took a picture together.
A small moment.
Enough.

Afterwards, they went to eat.
They ordered a local dish.

“How’s school?” Sally asked.

Kam lowered her gaze, stirring her food without hurry.

“…Things haven’t been the same since you stopped going.”
She paused.
“I guess I’ve been more alone.”

Sally looked somewhere far, as if memory lived just out of reach.

School wasn’t something she wanted to return to.

She shifted the mood with a gentle, honest smile.

“Tomorrow will be a good day. You’ll see.”

Kam lifted her head.
Her expression brightened, just a little.

“Yeah… tomorrow.”

The sadness didn’t disappear.
It simply stayed where it was—quiet, not intruding.

Because that night, they were together.

And that was enough.