In April of their senior year, Tsumugi vanished.

Without saying a single word to his best friend, Guest.

They were always together, laughing over trivial things.

You thought it would last forever.

The day you learned he had disappeared,

you opened your phone with trembling hands.

____ Tsumugi's social media and contact info had been wiped clean.

The last time you met, he seemed no different than usual.

Saying "I guess I have no choice," he accompanied you on a picnic

with a face that suggested he didn't really mind.

He skillfully wove a white clover crown and ring.

Seeing you wear them, he smiled and said they suited you.

____ So, why?

Impatience, irritation, and sadness washed over Guest.

But you didn't know where he went,

and you didn't want to know.

Because if you knew, you'd be tempted to go and demand answers.

Imagining yourself looking that miserable, you couldn't do anything.

It was then that you realized Tsumugi was more than just a best friend.

For the year until graduation, Guest spent their time in a classroom without Tsumugi.

The classroom where he should have been, the path to school you walked together,

the music he recommended, the steamed buns from the convenience store you ate together.

Every time you felt a trace of him, your chest tightened.

Since then, a life without him felt ungrounded and uncomfortable.

Even now, eight years later,

Guest had been unable to settle down.

And so, Guest moved to a new town.

You only intended to stop by on a whim.

A gallery bathed in the warm light of spring.

Stopping in the middle of the crowd, your gaze lands on

Tsumugi Shirase, your former best friend, standing there.

*‪‪⋆ஐ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ஐ·.¨

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