Perigee Analepsis

"Hello?" Mitsuki answered. "Um... yeah, I'm at the hill. Oh. Yeah, I can go there. Alright, I'll see you in a bit."
She hung up the phone and put it in her purse.
"I'm sorry, I'll be right back!"
Mitsuki bowed slightly and ran back to the stall area. 

It was less crowded than before, making it easier to weave through by herself. She was swimming against the current of people moving to a better place to watch the fireworks.
She felt like she could breathe again. It was just her and the transient world again, like always.

"Enjoying the view, are we?" Riku said, appearing next to her.

"Oh, sorry. I got distracted." Mitsuki shook her head quickly and turned to him.

Her celestial glow was hypnotic. Riku had always known that.

"You look beautiful, Tsuki," he said in a tender voice. "You can definitely compete with that one." 
He pointed at the moon shining above their heads and smiled at her. Embarrassment colored Mitsuki's cheeks.

She cleared her throat. "Thanks, Riku," she blurted. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Was that a compliment I heard?" He leaned closer to her, one hand behind his ear.
She nudged him.

"Why did you want to meet?" She asked with a small chuckle.

"Not here." He grabbed her hand.
"Let's go to another place." 

He started walking further into the festival. The greasy smell from the takoyaki stalls brought back some of Mitsuki's memories. She had already walked through a place like that while following Riku before.
He stopped at an abandoned bus stop near the back exit of the festival. There was only the sound of the leaves dancing with the wind and the grasshoppers hiding in the weeds covering the ground. 

"Are we taking the bus to the ghost town?" Mitsuki asked, focusing on the spider webs on the sign.

 "I feel like you would love that, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to get those tickets. Maybe next time." His smile was softer than usual.
"Instead of that..." He handed her a wrapped item he had placed on the bus stop bench. "Happy birthday, Tsuki!"
She looked at him, speechless, as her hands moved autonomously to take the gift. She had forgotten about her birthday for a moment.

"How did you even remember?"

"You know, most people usually say 'thank you'," he answered with a playful grin.
"But how could I forget such a historical event!?"

"Oh no... please don't say my dad's spe—"

"It was on July 22nd of 2009, 10:56 a.m." He started mimicking her father. "Someone had decided to put a diamond ring around the moon, just as the biggest, most memorable solar eclipse of the century was about to begin." He jumped on the bench, covering his eyes with his hands.
"The world turned to darkness, but my world found a new light." He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Alright, alright, Mr. Wannabe Actor. Get down." Mitsuki rolled her eyes with a caring smile.
"I also can't believe you actually memorized that." She chuckled, covering her mouth.

"How could I not? It's one of my favorite stories from your dad. That, and the time you fell in the pool because you were reading while walking."

"At least I managed to save the book after a few hours of drying it with a hairdryer."

" So... Are you going to keep it wrapped forever, or are you opening my gift?"

Mitsuki carefully unwrapped the paper, unfolding it as if it were as important as what it protected. She was now looking at a beautiful velvety book cover, engraved with silver writing. It was the special edition of Mitsuki's favorite children's book, the one her father used to read her every night when she was younger.

Back then, her father ran a very busy restaurant, working almost fifteen hours a day. As much as he enjoyed every moment of cooking for each client, he always looked forward to spending time with his beloved daughter. He made sure to make her breakfast every day and walk her to school before heading to the market to get supplies for his day's work. And at night, he would always read her favorite bedtime story— even on days he got home after she had fallen asleep. They kept this tradition for eleven years.

On a normal Saturday, their perfect life turned upside down. Mitsuki was sitting on a stool, her legs swinging, as she watched her father work. She had the book open in front of her as she turned the pages. It was weird—she had heard that story almost every night, yet it was probably the first time she actually decided to read it by herself. Her father liked getting creative, making up new parts of the plot now and then. She laughed at the thought of her father's version being better than the original. A burning smell brought Mitsuki back to the moment.
A fire had started, and the flames swallowed the restaurant before she could make sense of what had happened.
She remembered her father's arm holding her tightly as she felt her body being moved quickly to the exit door.
"My book..." She said, her voice fading as she started to faint from the smoke.
She woke up to find the firefighters entering the building and rescuing her father, who wasn't moving.
"DAD!" She tried to stand up but fell onto the ground.

"Don't move. It'll be alright," a paramedic said as she placed a mask over Mitsuki's face.
She saw a little puppy running toward her, holding what was left of her book in its mouth. The burnt pages crumbled as the dog tried to set the book down beside her, and her world went black.

Mitsuki felt a tear landing on the book in her hand. She opened her eyes and wiped her face with her delicate sleeve. 
"I... I don't know what to say, Riku." Mitsuki felt her childhood emotions bursting inside her.
"Thank you." She gave him a smile.
Riku didn't need to hear more words to know exactly what was on Mitsuki's mind.
He got closer, embracing her before her mind wandered to dangerous places. The book stayed between them, and Mitsuki's hand grabbed onto Riku's shirt tightly. They stood there for a moment. 
Seconds turned into minutes. Twelve minutes to midnight.

"You should probably go back to your friends." Riku cleared his throat, taking one step back.

"I probably should. Do you want to come?"

"Isn't it Tominaga's birthday in a few minutes?"

"How do you know that...?"

"The question is who from school wouldn't know," he laughed. "But anyway, it's better if you go alone. I'm not one to ruin birthdays. I'll let this be my birthday gift for him."
He sat on the bus stop bench, looking at the moon.
Mitsuki looked confused, but before she could say anything, Riku smiled at her and made a shooing gesture.

She held the book tightly against her chest as if it were her treasure, and bowed to him.
"Thank you, Riku." Her smile made his heart thump.
He avoided eye contact, as if he was resisting a hidden inner urge.

Seven minutes to midnight. She hurried back toward the group, trying to fit the gift into her purse. She bumped into someone.

"Oh, Haruki!" Mitsuki said, surprised, as she massaged her forehead.