The first lesson Sakura learned about traveling was simple.
Travel was uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
The second lesson was even simpler.
Books had lied to her.
A lot.
Stories loved describing adventures.
They rarely described sore feet.
Or rain.
Or sleeping beside roads while insects declared war against humanity.
Sakura sat beside a small campfire.
Staring blankly into the flames.
A mosquito landed on her arm.
Another landed on her neck.
A third somehow appeared inside her sleeve.
"...I hate traveling."
The forest did not disagree.
---
Three days had passed since she left the city.
Three exhausting days.
Three days of walking.
Three days of getting lost.
Three days of realizing she possessed absolutely no survival skills.
The discovery had not been encouraging.
Back on Earth, Haruto had always handled outdoor activities.
Whenever they traveled together—
he carried the map.
He chose the routes.
He somehow knew where everything was.
Meanwhile, Sakura specialized in getting distracted by bookstores.
A perfectly valid skill.
Just not a useful one right now.
The thought made her smile.
Briefly.
Then the smile faded.
As they often did these days.
---
The next morning—
she got lost again.
---
"This isn't the road."
Sakura stared at the fork in front of her.
The road clearly split into two directions.
The problem?
She couldn't remember which one she had intended to take.
The notebook emerged from her bag.
Several pages of carefully written notes greeted her.
Directions.
Locations.
Advice.
Warnings.
All useful.
Unfortunately—
she had somehow forgotten to write down which road came after the river.
"...great."
A sigh escaped her.
She looked left.
Then right.
Then left again.
Both looked equally suspicious.
---
"Take the left one."
Sakura nearly screamed.
A voice had appeared behind her.
Without warning.
Without permission.
Without basic manners.
She spun around.
A young man stood nearby.
Maybe seventeen.
Maybe eighteen.
Brown hair.
Travel clothes.
A wooden staff resting across his shoulders.
He looked completely ordinary.
Which somehow made him suspicious.
The stranger pointed toward the left path.
"That road leads to Riven."
A pause.
"The right one leads nowhere useful."
Sakura blinked.
"...thank you."
The young man nodded.
Then immediately started walking away.
No introduction.
No conversation.
No awkward small talk.
Just gone.
Sakura watched him disappear.
Confused.
People were strange.
---
The road continued.
Days passed.
Villages came and went.
New faces appeared.
Then disappeared.
Life moved forward.
Ordinary.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Until she reached the bridge.
---
The structure crossed a deep canyon.
Ancient stone arches stretched between cliffs.
The view was beautiful.
Terrifying.
And unfortunately unavoidable.
Sakura stared downward.
Then immediately regretted it.
The canyon seemed endless.
The river below resembled a thin silver thread.
Very far below.
Dangerously far below.
"...nope."
The bridge disagreed.
It remained directly in her path.
---
Several minutes passed.
Sakura remained motionless.
Gathering courage.
Failing.
Gathering more courage.
Failing again.
Eventually—
an elderly merchant walked past her.
Crossed the bridge.
Reached the other side.
Turned around.
And looked confused.
Sakura felt personally attacked.
---
Ten minutes later—
she finally stepped onto the bridge.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
The stone creaked softly.
The wind howled below.
Everything was terrible.
Halfway across—
she made the mistake of looking down.
Again.
Immediately regretting it.
Again.
---
Then she noticed something.
A child.
A small boy sitting near the bridge's center.
Alone.
Reading.
Completely unconcerned by the canyon beneath him.
Sakura blinked.
The child looked up.
"Hello."
"...hello."
The boy returned to his book.
As if nothing unusual had happened.
Which honestly felt more unusual.
After a moment—
he spoke again.
Without looking away from the page.
"You seem scared."
Sakura considered lying.
Then decided against it.
"A little."
The boy nodded.
Still reading.
"My mother says fear means something matters."
The answer surprised her.
The child finally closed his book.
Then smiled.
A bright smile.
A genuine one.
"So if you're scared, just keep walking."
Simple.
Ridiculously simple.
Yet somehow—
it helped.
The boy stood.
Closed his book.
And walked toward the opposite side.
Sakura followed.
One step at a time.
Until eventually—
the bridge ended.
Solid ground returned.
And the fear slowly faded.
---
The boy was gone.
---
Sakura stopped.
Looking around.
The road stretched ahead.
Empty.
No child.
No book.
Nothing.
The bridge remained behind her.
Silent.
Ordinary.
She frowned.
Perhaps he'd taken another path.
Probably.
That explanation made sense.
Mostly.
---
That evening—
she reached Riven.
A small town nestled between rolling hills.
Warm lights glowed from nearby windows.
People laughed.
Children played.
The smell of food drifted through the streets.
Comforting.
Familiar.
Alive.
Sakura smiled.
A little.
For the first time in days.
---
At the local inn—
she finally opened the notebook Ren had given her.
Most pages remained blank.
Waiting.
Patiently.
Sakura picked up a pen.
Then hesitated.
What should she write?
The answer came unexpectedly.
She wrote about the bridge.
The canyon.
The strange child.
The fear.
The relief.
Small things.
Ordinary things.
Moments nobody else would remember.
The pen continued moving.
Page after page.
Word after word.
Until eventually—
she realized something.
She wasn't recording directions anymore.
She was recording memories.
---
Outside—
the night sky shimmered.
Evernight and Dawnfall watched from above.
Ancient.
Silent.
Patient.
And somewhere beyond deserts and forgotten histories—
another traveler sat beside a campfire.
Sketching the stars.
Completely unaware that the woman he loved had begun keeping a record of her journey.
Just as he had.