Dandelion Swing and Cherry Blossom Tree

Soft snow crushed between my boots, each step making a therapeutic sound that I could easily fall asleep to. The tie around my neck was too tight, a little suffocating. I grabbed the tie knot and gave it a tug and a few wiggles to loosen it up. Wait, I’ve never worn this before. Looking down, I was wearing a white shirt with a badge on my chest pocket with symbols? Or letters I didn’t recognize. A black wool coat on top for warmth and a pair of dark blue pants.

~ "Psst…" ~

A whisper came from up ahead, but it was too faint to know which direction it was from. The houses and buildings become more unfamiliar the further down the road. A dark alley stood out, no light came out or reached it, like it was a void to nothingness.

~ "Over here!" ~

Curiosity got the better of me, and I went forth and peeked my head in. A hand grasped my wrist and pulled me in, almost tripping on the snow and toppling me over onto her.

~ "Ehe… Was that too sudden? But besides that, you want to skip class together?" ~

She was wearing the same wool coat and white shirt with that badge on her chest, along with a skirt with checkered patterns and winter pants under. Long brown hair flowed over her shoulders, and fog was covering her eyes, just like the girl from those dreams. Those dreams? Am I in one right now? Usually I would know I was in one by the overly bright lights, but this time there weren’t any.

~ "Don’t keep me waiting… Do you want to or not? I’ll just go without you if you won’t answer me." ~

It’s not like I could even speak in here. "What class are we even attending?"

Those words left my mouth and came out as speech. I covered my mouth, confused at what just happened. So I can speak now… Then I saw my hand over my face. And I can move as well…

I might have weirded her out, the smile on her face flattened. Then, like nothing had happened, her smile came back.

~ "See! Even you can’t remember what class it is, so it can’t be that important. It should be a snow day today anyway!" ~

She gave me a light pull to get me to start walking, spinning around with hands behind her back and kicking her leg up before the next step. Not knowing how else to proceed, I followed her, and tried using my voice again.

"Where are we going?"

~ "Hmm… How about the place we first met? Since it’s not too far from here, it’s a nice place as well!" ~

She turned back over to get my response, a slight blush on her cheeks. Still not used to this voice and with her sudden stop, I just nodded instead of asking where that is. But that might have been a blessing in disguise, I should just go along with whatever happens. Asking questions I was supposed to know probably isn’t the best idea, even if this was only a dream.

We stopped at a park, a yellow swing sat in the middle under a leafless cherry blossom tree. She circled around the swing, dragging her hand over it, like she was reminiscing about something, probably a memory we used to share. Hands on the chains, she climbed onto it and swayed back and forth.

~ "That cherry blossom used to be a little smaller didn’t it, and you were always under it, reading a thick and heavy book." ~

She slowed down, let go of one of her hands, and gave the chain on the swing next to her a shake, making it rattle and telling me to get on it.

Putting one foot on and pushing the rest of my body up, it might be just because I wasn’t used to moving myself with this much deliberation while I was in a dream, but this body felt way heavier or weaker.

She let out a soft giggle.

~ "There you go." ~

And she resumed her light swaying, and I pushed with my legs, trying to follow her movement.

~ "Ah! Isn’t there a test tomorrow? Or is it the day after tomorrow? I still haven’t studied yet, hehehe…" ~

"Shouldn't you be studying then?"

~ "Why would I skip school just to study… So don’t even mention school, alright? I brought some snacks as well, you want some?" ~

She jumped down, hopping over to the tree where she left her bag.

"Weren’t you the one who brought it up first, saying you still haven’t studied even when the test is coming up in just a few days."

Kneeling over and searching through her bag, she snapped her head back, glaring at me. Even with that fog covering her eyes, I could feel her stare piercing into me.

~ "I thought I already said no talks about school… So do you want this or not? After I went out of my way to pick some not as sweet just for you," ~

Her face was slightly pouting, waving a shortcake over her head, and padding the ground next to her under the cherry blossom tree.

~ "Don’t just wait there, come sit down. I’m not coming back out into the snow." ~

I unwrapped the cake she gave me, it was white and fluffy, springing back into shape after poking down with my thumb. She pulled out a pastel pink ball of dough, pressed slightly flat by its paper wrapping. She took a small bite, red jam with pieces of strawberry was inside, almost flowing out.

~ "Do you want my strawberry mochi? I thought you really didn’t like sweet things. You should have told me earlier, I would have gotten two if you had." ~

Giving it another look, she handed it over to me.

"Thanks…"

~ "Just don't eat it all, alright!" ~