"Hey, Rikaa!" Hirofumi yelled out, his voice loud enough for everyone in the school yard to hear. Rika looked up from the book that she was reading, a small smile spreading across her face as she saw him walking towards her. The sound of each step of his approach to her. He stopped a few feet in front of her, slightly out of breath.

"Mind if I sit with you?" he said to her smiling

Rika nodded, "Of course," she said, moving her bag to the cold ground to make room on the bench for him, her voice soft. She felt her cheeks red as he sat down beside her, the sides of their bodies touching on the short bench . They had been friends since they were kids, but she felt almost something different about him, something she couldn't explain.

"Whatcha reading?" Hirofumi asked, peeking over at her book.

lovers separa... the rest covered by Rikas hand.

Rika closed her book, feeling a heaviness in her chest. "It's just a short story," she replied, trying to keep her voice light. "But it's a beautiful one "

He didn't say anything back, all he could do was nod, his gaze on her. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the sun lowering in the sealike sky, painting the surrounding mountains a warm shade of orange. The air was thin, the coming winter making the air colder.

"Rika," Hirofumi began, his voice speaking as if he had to get something off his chest "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at him, her starlit eyes searching for his.

"What is it?" she asked calmly, trying to hide the hope from her voice.

Hirofumi took a deep breath, he looked up , his eyes meeting hers.

"I've been thinking a lot about the future," he said, his voice steady. "And I know that no matter what happens," pausing for a short period. "I want to be with you." Rika felt a rush of emotions, mostly happiness, but had some fear as her eyes shifted back to her book.

The war on the horizon. Every day, more young men from their town were called to fight for Japan, leaving behind their world. She knew that it was only a matter of time before Hirofumi had to leave too.

"But what about the war?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "What if..." She couldn't bring herself to say the rest.

Hirofumi took her hand, his grip firm. "We can't know what will happen in the future," he said gently. "But we can decide how we live until then. I want to spend every moment I have with you, making these memories that will keep us warm even on the darkest days."

Rika looked into his eyes, feeling the heavy weight of his words. She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Okay," she whispered. "Always." as her eyes went back to his.

In the following days, They spent every spare moment they had together, sharing stories and dreams as they walked hand in hand along the river's path that cut through the town's heart, the water's gentle flow mixed with the birds light song, bringing a soothing sound as They watched the seasons change from the hilltop bench where they had first met. One evening, as they sat on the bench, Hirofumi pulled a small wooden box he carved.

"I made this for you!," he said with excitement. He flipped the latch open, and a soft melody filled the air, a sweet tune with his humming and a soft piano that seemed to capture the essence of their love. "It's a music box," he explained. "Whenever you hear it, think of us."

Rika took the box, her eyes shimmering with joy.

"It's beautiful, Hirofumi," she said. She turned it over in her hands, tracing the intricate carvings of the mountains and a river that represented their hometown. "I'll treasure it..... Always." she said softly

April-6 1945 the days grew shorter and the air colder, the inevitable news arrived. Hirofumi as well as many other young men were called to protect Okinawa against the US , his youthful dreams put on hold for a cause that weighed heavily on his heart. The town gathered for a somber farewell, families clutching each other tightly as their loved ones disappeared into the horizon,

swallowed by the dark clouds in her heart. Rika watched him go, her hand clutching the music box tightly, the melody playing in her mind like a lullaby of hope for their love to return .

The days dragged on, each one a silent battle that Rika had fought, waiting for the first letter from her lover, a sign that he was safe and still loved her. And there it came, His words, scribbled on yellowed pages, brought warmth to her lonely nights. They spoke of love, of home, of the life they would build together when he returned. The music box became a sacred relic, a symbol of their unbreakable bond, and she would play it each evening, closing her eyes and imagining him beside her.

But then one random day, the letters stopped coming. The silence each night grew louder than the ticking clock that had once marked the passage of time. Rika's heart clenched with fear, her days a blur of worry. And then, one fateful afternoon, the dreaded news she hoped would never arrive, a letter from the Japanese military that shattered her world like a mirror reflecting a tearable nightmare.

Her grief was a monsoon, drenching everything in its path, leaving her house echoing with the silence of his absence. The music box, once a comfort, now taunted her with the melody of their love, a melody she could no longer bear to hear. She pushed it into the furthest corner of her room, covering it with a white cloth, a mournful shrine to a future that would never be.

Years later, Rika found solace in the company of Hakuryu, a white cat that had wandered into her garden one spring morning. Its eyes, as yellow as the daffodils that lined the path, became her silent companion, her furry confidant in a world that had gone gray. One evening, as the shadows grew long and the crickets began their chorus, Rika felt a small nudge against her leg. Hakuryu had carried a letter to her, its edges worn and yellowed.

Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized Hirofumi's handwriting. How had she missed this? With trembling hands, she opened it, and the words flooded her with a love so potent it was almost tangible.

The letter was unlike any other she had ever seen. The paper felt fragile, as if it had been through the worst of storms. The ink, once bold, had faded to a faint whisper, each word a testament to the passing of time. Rika's hands trembled as she unfolded it, her eyes scanning the page for the words she had hoped for.

"Love," the letter began

"My heart is with you as I write this, I fear the day will come where I can no longer carry you in my arms, when the war takes from me the right to call you mine. But know this, no matter the time that separates you and me, my love for you is as constant as the river flows."

Her eyes filled with tears as she read, feeling the weight of his absence more heavily than ever before. Each word was a treasure, a piece of him that she could hold onto in the vast emptiness that his departure had left behind.

"I've watched the sun rise and set too many times to count, each day a struggle without the warmth of your smile," the letter continued.

"The battles are fierce, the nights colder than any winter we've ever known, but the memory of us is my flame on the walls, guiding me through these dark hours."

Rika's heart felt as if it was being squeezed in a vice. She knew the war was harsh, but she had never allowed herself to imagine the hell Hirofumi was enduring. She read on, her voice cracking as she whispered the words to the empty room.

"When the guns fire over my head in the trenches, I close my eyes and think of the hill we would sit on. The sound of the river, the leaves falling around us, and your laughter. it's all I have to keep me going."

Her eyes fell upon a small stain on the paper, a crimson blot that seeped into the fibers. Her breath hitched, and she realized it was blood... his blood. A tear fell onto the page, blending with the crimson and smearing the ink. She felt a shudder run through her.

The silence in the room was absolute, the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall, which seemed to echo through the emptiness like a mournful metronome. Rika's eyes remained fixed on the letter, the paper trembling in her hands as she tried to absorb the weight of Hirofumi's words. The room around her faded into the background, the only thing real was the love that seemed to pulse from the page, a living, breathing entity that filled the air with a poignant ache.

And then, a soft sound, almost imperceptible at first, began to break through the quiet. It grew louder, more insistent, and Rika looked down to see Hakuryu, the white cat that had become her silent confidant, meowing at her feet. The sound was a gentle intrusion, a reminder that life went on, even when it felt like everything had stopped. Hakuryu's yellow orbs stared up at her, as if urging her to keep going.

With a deep breath, Rika wiped away her tears and cradled the letter to her chest. Hirofumi had given her a gift, a piece of himself that she could always carry with her.

under dust and a white cloth, called to her from the corner of the room. She walked over, her feet feeling heavier than ever before as she gently lifted the cloth. The wood was cool to the touch, the carvings still as intricate as she remembered, Hakuryu's meow grew softer, almost in tune with the melody that played in Rika's head.

Rika sat down at her desk leaving the box next to her, not ready to open it yet, the letter from Hirofumi still clutched in her trembling hand. The candle flickered, casting shadows that danced on the walls as she dipped her quill into the inkwell. She took a deep breath, willing her hand to steady as she began to write.

The paper was a canvas, and her words were the brushstrokes that painted a picture of their shared past and a future that she desperately hoped was not lost to the ravages of war.

Her reply was filled with the warmth of their shared moments, the gentle teasing from their childhood games and the tender whispers of their secret confessions. She described the sakura trees that had bloomed again since his departure, the way their pink petals had fallen like confetti in the spring breeze, a silent celebration of the love they had found.

When she finished, Rika placed the letter on her desk, her eyes lingering on the words she had poured out. It felt as if she had given a part of her soul to the paper, and she hoped it would find its way back to him, bringing with it the warmth of her love. The candle burned low, casting a soft glow over the room as she lay in bed that night, the music box tune playing in her mind like a soft lullaby.

The next morning, she awoke to find the letter on top of the box. something was different, she saw that the once pristine back of the page now bore a single word.

"Always." It was in Hirofumi's handwriting, but she had no recollection of writing it.

Confusion swirled in her mind, as she looks over back at the box to pick it up.

She opens the box to find the music playing as beautiful as she remembered, a tear dripping off her rosen cheeks.

A figure appears in the windows light, her lost lover, she looks at him with oddity, she goes up running to hug him, with the music in the background playing louder than ever. When she finally reached him. The music stops as she falls to the ground, her lover nowhere in sight, only the white cat, laying by her side.

"Hakuryu." she says as tears pour down like the most powerful waterfall. " He was right there, I could almost grasp him." the hopelessness filling her heart.

After a long quiet moment, Rika stands up to go back to her desk, the music boxes latch shut as if she never opened it. She sits down to write another letter, hoping for Hirofumi to write back, she writes and writes, writing down all of her love she felt for him, writing all of the pain she felt during his absence. She writes letter after letter till the sun drops down through the mountains , writing until all of the letters are filled from edge to edge. but she leaves the back blank in hope for Hirofumi to reply.

She lays in bed, with a subdued look on her face, not being able to fall asleep. She awakes as the sun is already above the tallest trees, as she goes to the letters she's written, looking at every blank back she left, but finds nothing, no reply from her lover.

"Click.." "clock." "Click.." "clock." the only sound being left from her room as she sits looking defeated the more the time passes.

 Then , she looks down at the floor, to see one more letter, she grabs it in a instant hoping that this is the one, the first letter she wrote, she looks at the back to find some scribbled words as if there was no time to write

"Im wait-ig for you where are love began" she could barely make out the words.

she jumps out of her chair putting the music box in her pocket as she runs out into the raining storm, she runs and runs, not stopping for a second, she runs up the hill to see a figure on the bench, barely being able to see with the water falling down her hair into her eyes, as she approaches the bench the storm calms down, she finds the figure to be the white cat.

"Why is it always you, why can't I have him once more, just one more time I want to hold him in my arms" she screams out into the air but directed at the cat

The box slips out her pocket and crashes open playing the melody that Hirofumi had made for her, the music growing louder and louder, playing faster as the storm comes back pouring rain down onto Rika, then after a few seconds, the storm passes and the music returns to its regular tempo, then, there he was, Hirofumi was holding Rika in his arms tightly.

"Why did you leave me?" Rika said. "Why couldn't you have stayed here with me." as tears go down her face falling onto Hirofumi's wounded shoulder

"I will always be with you, Rika, I promise to never leave your side." Hirofumi says as he slowly Loosens his arms around her. "I will be here." "Always"

Her hands fall down as Hirofumi disappears, leaving only Hakuryu on her lap.