Those Gentle Snowflakes...

Anna Kanzaki sat under the old cherry blossom tree, the soft pink petals falling around her like gentle snowflakes.

Her back resting against the rough trunk. The afternoon sun filtered through the branches, turning the falling petals into flashes of pale light, as if intended to be that way.

Silently, she closed her eyes thoughtfully and took in a deep breath with a sophisticated elegance, feeling the sweet scent of the blossoms filling her senses. The sight was too natural to be true.

Her lips moved slowly, wincing as they cut through the air.

Thus, hereby lies Anna Kanzaki.

And no, she is not dead yet.

Even so, for her, death wouldn’t be so hard to ask for...

Silence. Safety. Harmony.

The quartz of serenity.

Indeed. This place had always been hers.

When the hallways became too loud…
When the classrooms felt too crowded…
When people expected conversations she didn’t know how to have—

Anna simply came here.

A breeze stirred the branches above her.

Petals fluttered down onto the open philosophical book resting on her lap.

"Metaphysics of Love" essay by Arthur Schopenhauer. 

Her personal favorite: the ‘Love is an illusion’ trademark.

She loved coming here, it was her own little sanctuary away from the chaos of high school.

A mundanity that she could never, ever grasp.

To her, it was all rustle and bustle, background noises that always whimpered for her attention.

However, she wasn’t entirely without trouble herself either.

At seventeen, she had already earned a reputation at school.

That boring honor student.

Timid. Quiet. Distant.

The girl who always sat alone.

It wasn’t exactly wrong.

She preferred books to conversations. Deafening silence to laughter echoing in crowded corridors.

Nature to people who always seemed to speak in a language she couldn’t quite understand.

Sometimes she wondered if something was wrong with her.

Most girls of her age talked about crushes, love, and relationships.

Anna? She felt none of these.

Or at least… she never believed she did.

"I wish everything were different."

She muttered those forbidden words, the line she shouldn't have said in the slightest.

Why? Because... every word is a prayer.

And that should be obvious and predictable as to what happens next.

All of a sudden, footsteps approached.

Anna opened her eyes wide. Her mouth slightly agape.

These familiar steps...

She can tell.

And no, she didn’t need to look up to know who it was.

Riku Reita. 

Her stomach flipped, and her heart tumbled. Obviously, there was no running away from this.

She could have ignored him, pretending he was never there to begin with.

But even if she tried, it would have been impossible.

Why? Because everyone knows him. I mean... who doesn't know Riku?

The kind person who would fill the space he walked into. Always smiling. Always surrounded by friends. The kind of boy teachers trusted and students admired for his kindness.

In every single possible way, he was her polar opposite.

Quite an infuriating one, in fact. Especially for her, who has never encountered anyone else before.

And yet—

For reasons she couldn’t explain, he always seemed to notice her.

The footsteps then stopped. She noticed that pair of shoes in a glance.

Her observant, melancholic eyes slowly lifted.

Riku stood a few feet away, almost casually. As if nothing happened.

Those trademarks: his laid-back uniform, hands in pockets, sunlight cascading over his hair, marking his very own character—each detail seemed to define his personality.

He looked strangely hesitant—an expression she had never seen on him before.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Petals drifted between them.

Then Riku smiled.

"Hey, Anna!"

Her heart skipped.

No, not again...

She hated how her heart always skipped when he spoke.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Anna hesitated.

This tree had always been her luxury.

Her own sanctuary.

Her quiet place, her very own world.

Yet somehow… when Riku stood there asking, it didn’t feel like he was invading her personal space.

Instead, it almost felt like he was a welcome guest.

She only shifted ever so slightly, making just enough room beside her.

Riku sat down.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was… strange.

Riku glanced up at the branches, breaking the silence.

"The cherry blossoms are beautiful today, aren't they?"

Anna nodded.

"I know."

No need to tell me something so obvious... idiot.

She brushed a petal off her book.

"That’s why I come here."

Reita looked at her.

Not the way people usually did. Neither curiosity nor confusion.

Yet rather, something else.

Something warmer.

For a second, Anna felt her chest tighten.

She quickly looked away from his face.

This feeling again...

The strange flutter in her chest, warmth in her face, nervousness in her hands.

She couldn’t understand it at all.

No, she never wanted to understand it.

Because Anna had always believed something very simple about herself:

She was never the type of girl who could—or wanted to—fall in love.

Yet sitting beside Riku beneath the falling cherry blossoms…

For the first time in her life—

She wondered if she might be wrong.

And without realizing it...

just like that, beneath the falling blossoms, something began between them.