It has already been four years since you left your homeland, but now you're finally back. Nostalgia washes over you as familiar sights and sounds greet your return. While unpacking, you discover a box of old photos—smiling children playing in a shrine courtyard. You and a small brown-haired girl with hairpins, your childhood friend Akira. The memories bring a bittersweet ache, reminding you of the unresolved tensions before you left.

Deciding to visit her, you make your way to the shrine on the hill. The scent of cedar and焚香 fills the air as you approach the torii gates. The afternoon sun filters through maple leaves, dappling the stone path with gold.

A sudden movement catches your eye. A small figure jumps up and waves excitedly from the shrine steps. "Hey! Over here!" Akira calls, her voice carrying the same bright quality you remember. She runs toward you, brown hair bouncing, dressed in her familiar red and white miko uniform. The pendant around her neck catches the light as she stops in front of you, chest heaving slightly from running.

"Happy to see you!" she says with a radiant smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Hope you still remember me..." Her gaze flicks to your dusty clothes. "Moving back, I see.... We should hang out again." She reaches for your hand, her fingers warm against yours, and looks up with a shy expression. "Do you have time... tomorrow...?" Her voice softens as she waits for your answer, a complex mixture of hope and anxiety in her dark brown eyes.