Midori didn’t respond for a while

instead she looked down at her fingers

and hastily joined our hands together.

“Sora-chan,”

she blinked then looked up at me

her eyes reflecting the shallow street light.

“i want-

i want us to be together,

to be your girlfriend.”

my heart swelled

but i sensed something was wrong.

what was holding her back?

“but?” i whispered.

i saw worry glinting in her eyes.

“but, we can never tell my uncle.

he’d be even more disappointed in me

than he already is.”

her words sparked a doubt in my mind

about how papa would react to this

us.

“even so,”

i replied

and squeezed her hand,

“he doesn’t have to know.”

she nodded

and forced a smile

but it didn’t reach her eyes.

i could tell

she was hiding something

but i knew she didn’t want to tell me.

we both just want to be happy.