By A. Z. Arata
Springtime in Tokyo brings a certain kind of sweet frenzy to the air. Along the road beside the Museum of Arts, rows of cherry blossoms—or Sakura—stand tall, casting a magical spell of white and pink. As the light breeze blows, the petals drift down like pink snowfall from the heavens.
Sakura Okada pedalled her bicycle furiously. Dressed in her navy blue school uniform, her shoulder bag thudded repeatedly against her side. She glanced hurriedly at her wristwatch.
"Ugh! Late on the very first day of the second semester!" she muttered, scolding herself under her breath.
As she entered the school gates, she saw crowds of students already heading toward the locker rooms. Sakura hastily parked her bike in the stand and dashed into the main building's corridor. The hallway was long, its polished wooden floors shimmering under the sunlight streaming through the windows.
The accident happened right as she rounded the corner by the library.
Sakura took the turn too fast and collided head-on with a tall boy coming from the opposite direction. Her water bottle and bag went flying, clattering across the floor. The heavy sound shattered the corridor's silence.
"Ow..." Sakura sat on the floor, clutching her forehead. The pain was sharp enough to bring tears to her eyes.
"Are you alright?" A calm, deep, and incredibly elegant voice drifted down from above.
Sakura looked up. A teenage boy was kneeling before her. The sunlight caught his brown hair, creating a strange, ethereal glow. His eyes were as calm as the deep sea, yet they held a hidden melancholy that left Sakura momentarily breathless. His name tag read: Ren Takahashi.
"I... I'm so sorry! It was my fault, I was in such a rush," Sakura stammered.
Ren offered a faint smile. There was no annoyance in it; instead, it carried a strange sense of reassurance. Picking up her bag, he said, "Why such a rush on the first day of spring? The Sakura are falling, but they aren't going anywhere."
Sakura was taken library. She felt a wave of shyness at the comparison between her name and the flowers. Ren picked up her diary and handed it back. His touch was ice-cold, yet Sakura felt as if an electric current had surged through her body.
"Thank you, Ren-kun," Sakura whispered.
"You have a beautiful name. Sakura. Come on, we're going to be late for class," Ren said with a slight, polite nod before heading toward the library.
Sakura stood there for a few seconds, frozen. She didn't know why, but she felt as if she had seen Ren somewhere before. In a crowded city like Tokyo, such a feeling of familiarity felt out of place. As she began walking toward her classroom, the world around her seemed almost too beautiful, too perfect—as if she were walking through a dream.
A flock of birds soared over the school roof. Looking out the window, Sakura let out a long sigh. She didn't know if this beautiful morning marked the beginning of a massive shift in her life, but she felt that from today, everything was going to be different.
From the other end of the corridor, her best friend Aki came running. "Sakura! What are you doing standing there? Class has started!"
Sakura smiled. "Nothing, Aki. I just met someone... interesting."
Aki pulled her along by the hand. Sakura glanced back one last time. Ren was gone; only a few stray Sakura petals danced across the corridor floor, caught in a draft of wind.
Is life truly this simple? The question flashed through Sakura's mind for a fleeting moment before vanishing. She walked toward her new class, her heart full of new hope and a strange, lingering sensation.