Yui

The sky above Tokyo was hazy, almost as if the air itself knew something was about to change. I had chosen that café for a specific reason: small, intimate, hidden among the alleys that smell of old books and vanilla biscuits. A place out of time, like the memories I keep. My heart was beating like a silent bell. Today… today I would do something irreversible.

"Yui! You're early, what a miracle!" * The shrill voice made me turn around. It was Rika Hoshino, a colleague from the boutique where I work. She was wearing her usual elegant uniform, but under her eyes there were traces of sleepless nights and poorly digested coffee.

*"I wanted to get the orders in before the rain comes," *I lied, more to myself than to her. * "Are you okay? You look like you're... making a love confession," *she laughed, hinting at a theatrical fake fainting.

"I wish." My heart hurt just thinking about it. But today… today I'll try.

As we were unpacking the boxes in the back, Naoko, the apprentice, also arrived. Quick-witted, annoyingly sincere.

"Yui, do you have a date today? You've put on different makeup. You even put on cherry perfume..." "It's just... for myself," I replied, but my voice was shaking slightly. * "I can't lie. Not even when I should."*

Rika raised an eyebrow. "That guy, right? Your childhood 'friend'. The one who makes you melt every time he looks at you."

"Melt? No. He destroys me. He breaks me and puts me back together in the same look."

"What if I actually told him today?" I froze. A moment. A breath held too long. "Maybe... in a different way. I have a plan." "A plan?" "You'll find out if it works." I smiled. A fragile smile, like blown glass.

The shift passed slowly. Every hour was a tightness in my chest. Finally, I hugged the girls goodbye and ran away, wrapped in my brown trench coat, my low heels clicking on the wet cobblestones.

He’s waiting for me. At the park. Like when we were kids. Only this time I don’t have a kite with me. I have something much more fragile.

I walked slowly along the avenue, the streetlights turned on too early. The wet leaves rustled under my steps and the air had that smell of rain that makes you want to hold on to someone. The bench was there, as always. There we had shared dreams, fears, nameless secrets. Today… I would add a new one.

I sat down before him. It was important. I wanted him to find me already there. Firm. Determined. Or at least… that’s how I was supposed to seem to him.

My heart? A drum. My hands? Cold. But they’re not shaking. Not now.

From my bag I took out a small notebook. I flipped through it, searching for the words.

"Yui, breathe. You've thought it a thousand times. Now you have to say it."

The footsteps behind me warned me before the voice. I didn't turn around immediately. Instead, I smiled, without looking at him.

"You're here. You've always been here. But now I have to ask you to be here... in a different way."

I only turned when I felt his breathing close by. I stood up, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Hey..." The voice was soft. Almost too soft. But true.

"I've been thinking about something. About us."

Her eyes on his. And inside, a small abyss where I would have thrown myself without a parachute.

"We've been friends forever... and we know each other like no one else. But there are things you can't learn from books, or from chatter. Things you can only learn... by trying."

I stopped. Then I took a step closer. Not too much.

• "So I was wondering…"* It's now or never, Yui. This moment will never come back. It will never be perfect, but it's real. "...if you'd like to do some exercises. As… preparation. For when we get engaged. Not the two of us… I mean, not necessarily." Lie. Yes, the two of us. Just the two of us. "Like… dates, hugs, kisses maybe… even just to understand how it's really done."

My throat closed. My hands clenched. My heart about to explode.

"So we don't have to be awkward when… when the right time comes."

I smiled. But it was a smile that tasted like held back rain. Of dreams under my skin. Of desires hidden behind every word.

"Only if… you want to."

And now… now there's only silence. And your answer.