𝗯 𝘆 : 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 [[𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗼]]
𝗳 𝗶 𝗹 𝗲  𝘁 𝘆 𝗽 𝗲 : 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁, 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗨
𝘄 𝗮 𝗿 𝗻 𝗶 𝗻 𝗴 : 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲

He smelled like flowers on the first morning of spring, creeping through your doors and filling your room with the sweet scent of daffodils—laced with green nuances and the feel of unrequited love.

Sometimes you watched him from the window of your apartment, running around in the snow with a happy look on his face. The red Hane* flew back and forth between the blond and the black-haired boys, more often than not thudding onto the ground (that was white with thick snow).

He looked like the falling autumn leaves, meeting your bashful eyes with a glance of enigma. You would gulp and hide in embarrassment when the both of you locked eyes, heart racing and face a dark shade of ruby red.

Sometimes you would see him by the bakery with his sister—who was equally as pretty as he was—buying whatever it was they wanted. Maybe it was the sugary-sweet melon bread. Maybe it was the delicious red-bean stuffed taiyaki**. Maybe it was even a log cake for the Christmas season. Whatever it was, you believed it could never be as sweet as he was.

Looking at him made you feel like those freshly baked pastries from that bakery, all warm on the outside and inside. He was almost like a mug of hot cocoa on the nights the blizzards wouldn't loosen their tight hold on Japan—turning your palms slightly hot but very comfortable.

Sometimes, you would replay his voice in your head over and over again. He had only talked to you once. But that was enough. Enough for you to love him even more. Enough for you to remember his voice for life.

"Er, I saw you staring at me just now, is there anything you need...?"

Oh, how you got lost in those beautiful turquoise orbs. They twinkled and shined, clear as a stream by the shrine. So clear that you could see your reflection in them.

"Excuse me...can you hear me?"

Yes, you could. So very well.

"I love you," was what you wanted to say. However, all you could muster was a "S-sorry, it's nothing."

It wasn't nothing. It was more than just nothing, and you knew it.
But what could you do?

The both of you exchanged a few polite bows, and with a last unsure glance, the boy turned and walked away. You stood there, staring at his figure that was becoming smaller and smaller, not moving at all. You were too focused on committing every moment of that small exchange to your memory, to care about anything else in the world.

His pale skin, slightly bruised in places and pink around the cheeks. His white-blond hair, with snowflakes tangled in the strands. His eyes which captivated you and pulled you in, and his tall, lanky figure.

So melancholic. Like a last goodbye.

You knew nothing between you would change, for the better or for the worse. So all you could do was look from a safe distance, watch as he slowly forgot about your existence. Watch as you became nothing to him, but him even more to you.

Watch as he changed like the seasons, while your feelings for him were still stuck on that winter you first met.

* Hane : shuttlecock used in the Japanese version of badminton called Hanetsuki, where players hit the Hane back and forth with a paddle called the Hagoita.
** Taiyaki : a Japanese snack that is shaped like a fish and is normally stuffed with red bean filling.