Chapter 43: The Festival of Forgotten Lovers

Yuki came back three days later.

She walked into the café quietly, almost shyly, like she wasn’t sure if she belonged there. Ren had been mid-sip of his coffee, but the moment he heard the door chime, his attention snapped toward her.

She froze when their eyes met.

He didn’t cry this time.

She didn’t either.

But something soft passed between them—like a gentle pull neither of them could explain.

Yuki bowed slightly. “Um… sorry about last time.”

Ren gave a small smile. “No… it’s okay.”

She ordered tea, sat at a corner table, and stayed for an hour reading a book she barely touched. Ren kept glancing her way without really meaning to. Yuki kept pretending she didn’t notice.

Haru leaned in behind the counter. “She’s cute.”

Mina elbowed him. “Don’t comment on customers like that.”

Haru rubbed his side. “Ow. I’m appreciating the ambience.”

“Just do your job.”

But when Yuki left, Mina whispered to Ren, “She looks comfortable here. That’s rare. Hope she comes again.”

She did.

The next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

Soon, the café felt strangely incomplete when she wasn’t there. Yuki always ordered the same thing—warm jasmine tea—and always sat by the window. Sometimes she read. Sometimes she stared outside. And sometimes she glanced at Ren when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Haru teased, “You two look like characters from a slow romance manga.”

Ren nearly choked on his latte. Mina dragged Haru away before he could make things worse.

Still, something gentle was forming. Not memory. Not recognition. Just… familiarity without explanation.

One evening, Mina burst into the café waving a flyer.

“Guys! Obana Festival is next week!”

Haru lit up. “Finally! Fireworks, food stalls, couples everywhere—wait, ignore the last part.”

Mina rolled her eyes. “Every year you say that.”

Ren took the flyer. “What’s special about this festival again?”

Haru raised his hands dramatically. “The Tale of the Sun Goddess and the Moon God.”

Ren frowned. He’d heard it before, but the details slipped away like half-remembered dreams.

Haru cleared his throat and narrated, badly but enthusiastically:

“Once upon a time, the Sun Goddess and the Moon God fell in love. But their duties kept them apart—day and night. Their love threw the world out of balance. So the God of Time stepped in and erased their memories of each other.”

Mina sighed. “It wasn’t that dramatic. And it wasn’t erasing everything. Just… enough to make them strangers.”

Haru continued, “But every hundred years, under the Obana Festival’s lanterns, the Sun and Moon meet again. And sometimes… even without their memories, they fall in love all over.”

Ren felt something cold run down his spine. A chill. A familiarity.

He didn’t know why.

Yuki, who had been listening from her seat, lowered her book slowly. Her expression softened with curiosity.

Mina clapped her hands. “So! This year we’re all going.”

Haru pointed at Ren. “You too. No excuses.”

Then Mina turned to Yuki with a smile. “You should come too. It’s really pretty.”

Yuki hesitated, looking at Ren for a second.

Then she nodded. “I’d… like that.”

Haru pumped a fist. “Great! A group trip.”

Ren tried to act calm, but his heart felt too full. Too heavy. Too something.

Because a strange thought crossed his mind, uninvited:

Is this how we met before?

Under lanterns?

Under fireworks?

Under a night where two people who shouldn’t remember… found each other anyway?

He didn’t have the answers.

But the Obana Festival was coming.

And something inside him whispered:

This isn’t just a festival.

This is a crossing point.

This is where destinies meet again.

Even if neither of them remember why.