A park somewhere in Tokyo.
The diffused light of dusk scattered down, tinting the ground, the sandbox, the slides, and the playing children in shades of orange.
A kindly looking woman sat quietly under the shade of a tree, silently watching her grandson playing with his peers.
"As you age, you really start to crave these moments, to escape the hustle and bustle and be with your children and grandchildren, even if just sitting still for an hour or several hours can fly by."
"Is that so?"
"You'll come to understand this feeling eventually, Classmate Ayakoji," the woman said with a smile, turning to Ayakoji Chiyoko sitting beside her, "Just the thought of that tearful Ayakoji now being a senior in high school, and me, an old relic who's retired and no longer working, I can't help but think of the saying 'time waits for no one.'"
"You took care of me during that time, Teacher Chi Wei."
