9

I glanced at the clock for like the 20th time. Still 5:50. Why can't time move faster? I just want it to be 6 already.

It's been about a month since I woke up to Lily crying next to my hospital bed. When I tried to ask her what was wrong though, she smiled and said she was fine now that I was awake. I didn't want to pry too much, so I accepted that answer, but there was still so much sadness in her eyes. Sadness and something else. Something darker.

On a brighter note, it's finally here! The Hanabi Festival! Also known as the Fireworks Festival. There are lots of origin stories about it. Some say that the fireworks mourn the dead. Others say that they celebrate life. Many also suspect that they are simply for the entertainment of the poverty-stricken masses.

I used to go with my mother when I was a child, but we stopped when we were forced to move around because I was-

Wait. Why did I transfer schools so often? I'm pretty sure I was being bullied, but I'm not sure why. Was I a troublemaker? Maybe I was too handsome and all the boys were jealous.

A knock on the door interrupted my musing. My mom poked her head in.

"Sweetie, Lily's waiting at the front door. Are you ready to go yet?"

I turned to the mirror and stared at my white t-shirt and khaki shorts.

"Meh. Ready as I'll ever be."

My mom looked sad for some reason.

"Are you- are you guys going to be okay? Isn't there only like 150 days left?"

"150 days of what?"

"150 days until you won't be able to see her again. Can you try not to get too attached? I don't want you to be hurt again."

"Haha, what do you mean? You're making it sound like she's gonna die or something."

She looked at me strangely. I've been getting that look a lot. Dunno why though.

"Are you okay? Did something change when you were in the coma?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Look above my head. Tell me if you see anything."

Startled, I checked the air above her head.

"Huh? There's nothing there. Are you pranking me again, Mom? Is there supposed to be something there?"

She was silent for a minute.

"No. It's nothing. You should head downstairs. Lily's waiting for you."

"Oh, right. 'Kay bye! See you when I get back!"

"Oh right. Don't wait on me. I'll head over later with Lily's mom. You kids go have fun, okay?"

"Sure. We'll be responsible."

With one more confused backward glance at my mom, I headed downstairs. Just as I turned the corner, I stopped in my tracks. Lily looked amazing in her sakura patterned yukata, a traditional Japanese dress that many people like to wear to festivals and celebrations. I mean, when does she not look amazing, but today felt different for some reason.

Finally remembering to breathe (much to my burning lungs' happiness), I walked down the rest of the way to meet Lily.

Still startled by what my mom had said earlier, I instinctively checked the air above her head. Whew. Nothing there. I don't know what I was expecting though. I guess I'm just on edge now.

"Hey. You look great."

"Thanks! Wow, this is like the first time I've seen you actually try to dress decently."

"Excuse mwah! I tried on our first date you know!"

"Did you? Oh yeah, you did. Well, you look nice today too!"

"..."

"...WAIT! OUR FIRST DATE WAS AFTER SCHOOL! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YOU TRIED TO DRESS UP? YOU LITERALLY WORE YOUR UNIFORM!"

"AHAHA I wondered how long it would take you to notice something weird about what I had said. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited!"

I leaned over the railing and peered down at the Sumida river. Barges lazily floated down the calm river. The fireworks will be launched from those right as the sun starts to dip below the horizon. It's going to be so pretty! In the meantime…

"Hey, why don't we wander around and see what they have here?"

"Sure! I didn't eat lunch cause I wanted to save tons of space for this!"

"You didn't eat?!"

I dragged her straight towards a nearby takoyaki stall. It was one of those vendor carts where you could watch them pour the batter in the mold, place the mini octopi in the batter, and put more batter on top. Then, after a little bit, the vendor would take a chopstick and carefully poke at the octopus. And just like how a professional dealer in a casino might quickly flip a card to reveal the other side, the little octopus would flip over and reveal the golden brown, round, steaming ball of dough. Finally, the golden balls are carefully picked out of the mold and arranged on a plate. Garnished with teriyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and little quivering flakes of dried bonito fish, the finished product is presented to the customer (us). Then we can eat it!

I let Lily have the first bite.

"MMMMM! IT'S SO DELICIOUS! AND HOT!!"

"Careful. It just came off the griddle."

"I know. I know. But ish sho gooo!"

Ignoring the heat, she stuffed another one in her mouth.

"OY, leave some for me too!"

"Showwy."

I blew on one carefully. Had my share of burnt tongues when eating street food.

"How much time do we have until the fireworks?"

"Hmm, usually they're around 8:30 to 9 o'clock. It changes though. Depends on when the sun goes down."

I decided the takoyaki had cooled off sufficiently and popped it in my mouth. Ooo yummy. These haven't changed.

"Oh, okie. More time to eat then! You better show me all the good stuff!"

"Haha, alright."

We wandered the stalls for the next hour or so. Just eating food, playing games, occasionally greeting acquaintances. They were mostly Lily's, though we ran into that loud-mouthed classmate too. My very own personal annoying NPC 1.

I ate so much it felt like my stomach would burst. I missed this so much. Even if I hate crowds.

"Hey, you! Yes, you! The couple with candied apples! Why don't you try your luck at our love test! Guaranteed to tell you if you can work together or not!"

Lily nudged me.

"Mysterio! Let's try it!"

"Huh?! Why??"

"'Cause why not. It'll be fun!"

"But-"

"No buts! Let's go!"

She grabbed my hand and half dragged me over to the stall.

"Hey, mister! We'd like to try your love test!"

"We do?"

"Yes! We do! Now stop complaining. Don't you want to know too?"

"Uhh…not really?"

However, contrary to my appearance, my heart was thumping with anticipation. We've already gone on multiple "dates." We spend so much time together. Would it actually work out if we got together?

We could hang out even more during school and after school. No one would be able to complain or bully me anymore. We could go play video games together at my house after school. I've got plenty of multiplayer ones (even though I never had friends at this school until I met Lily).

Maybe in a couple years, if all works out, I can watch her walk down the aisle towards me in a white dress? We'll get married and have kids. A boy and a girl sounds nice. Then we can watch our children grow up and go through what we did. We'll grow old together, take care of grandchildren, and finally leave this world hand in hand. There's so much we could do together if we actually are compatible.

"-to Mysterio. Hey! Earth to Mysterio!"

"Huh?"

I startled awake to Lily and the vendor staring expectantly at me.

"Hey, you're awake! Sorry, he does this sometimes. Can you repeat the rules again for him?"

"Haha, of course. This is a game played in groups of two (hence the couple theme). One player will be blindfolded, and the other player will lead the blindfolded player through the obstacle course. Oh, and the leading player has to piggyback on the blindfolded player. The goal is to reach the finish line before your opponent team. And of course, there will be no foul play between players, or else your team will be disqualified. May the best couple win!"

I stared at the blue blindfold he held out in our direction. It doesn't sound too bad. I guess we could give it a try.

"So uh, what's the plan? Which role do you want, Lily?"

"Hmm. Well, you're probably stronger I guess. So you should give me a piggyback?"

"Sure."

I reached out and took the blindfold from the man and tied it around my eyes.

Fwump

It instantly untied and slid down my face. I caught it and tied it again. This time tighter.

Plop

The blue ribbon fell back in my hands.

"..."

Hey, Mr. Blindfold. I'd like to not look stupid in front of the girl I kinda like. Can you please work this time?

I tried again. Third time's the charm, right? Nope. It slipped right back off again. This time, before I could catch it, Lily snatched it out of the air. Going up on her tippy toes, she reached up towards my face. My breath caught in my chest.

Too close. She's too close.

Her face got closer and closer to mine. I held my breath and tightly shut my eyes. I felt something warm cover my face, then I felt her back away.

"Okay! You're ready now!"

I exhaled in relief, and disappointment. Wait. Disappointment? Had I been waiting for something more? I shook my head fiercely. I'm not worthy to think thoughts like this about Lily. She doesn't deserve it.

"So uh, where's the obstacle course?"

"It's- wait. Where is it?"

We both turned towards the vendor (or at least I think I turned towards the vendor). Lily nudged me a little to the right. Oops. I guess I didn't turn towards the vendor. Pretty close though.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

Meanwhile, the vendor was still talking.

"It's just behind the shop. I was wondering why you put the blindfold on now though. We still have to walk back there."

"Uhh, I guess we'll get some practice on the way there."

Suddenly, something touched my shoulder.

"AHHH!" I flinched.

"IT'S ME, IT'S ME! Now bend over."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Bend over. You're too tall."

"O-Okay then."

I cautiously bent down so she could reach my shoulders. I felt her grab my shoulders, then a large force pushed me down as she jumped on me.

"Oomph."

She whacked me indignantly.

"Hey! I'm not that heavy! Go straight ahead!"

"Ok, ok. Moving now."

Carefully feeling ahead, I slowly moved forwards. Following Lily's directions, I eventually made it to (what hopefully is) the obstacle course. Whew, this is hard. I'm never gonna joke about being blind again. It's seriously terrifying. You never know what's gonna happen to you. All you can do is trust the person leading you and hope that they aren't feeling a little sadistic that day and direct you into a tree.

Eventually, we reached the starting line of the obstacle course. After 10 or so run-ins with trees, people, tents, and other things at the festival. I think we got better at the end though. Or at least my butt thinks so. Much less bruised.

Lily let go of my neck and started rocking me back and forth. What is she doing? Trying to fall over?

Oh, wait. The guy said we were gonna compete against another team. Maybe she's waving to them.

Hoping I was facing the right direction, I lifted one of my hands and gave a little wave. Hearing suppressed giggles above me, I instantly stopped. Was I that far off?

"Pffft Mysterio, do you want me to take off the blindfold?"

"Was I really far off?"

"Like a mile. They're behind you."

"..."

I turned around and waved as if that hadn't happened only to hear an outburst of laughter.

"Sorry, she was teasing you. You actually were facing the right direction the first time."

A new female voice tinged with laughter spoke up.

"Haha, it's okay. I knew I couldn't be that far off."

"Gotta admit though. You're a lucky girl to have guys listening to you like that. I wish mine would be even half as obeying."

A roar of mock outrage answered her jab, then I heard the sounds of a play fight ending in hysterical laughter from the girl. I guess the guy won by tickling her.

The poor referee had been standing through all this couple lovey-doveyness and finally cleared his throat. I wonder how much third-wheeling he has to deal with. Probably a lot.

Breathing hard, the couple finally remembered that we were supposed to compete in this obstacle course.

"Sorry about that. Ready to start?"

Lily answered for me.

"Yup! Good luck!"

Then as an afterthought, she added:

"But we're gonna beat you."

"Oh, you didn't. You're going down."

The referee counted down:

"Mount your partner. 3…2…1…RACE! MAY THE BEST COUPLE WIN!"

Instantly you could hear female voices telling their teammates where to go. I guess the other couple had the boy carrying as well.

"Ok, Mysterio. Go straight for about 5 meters, then there's a pole to go around."

"...What are you? A GPS? I don't have a mental ruler in my head, you know."

But I started moving forwards nonetheless. Still kinda want to win.

"Ok, there's a pole in front. Go left, then duck down and watch your head."

Following her directions, I slowly made my way through the inflatable obstacle course. With every step, my feet sunk into the soft, unstable, bouncy course. It would've been hard enough to stay upright by myself and without the blindfold. Being unable to see and carrying Lily made it next to impossible. I slipped an uncountable number of times and often ended up moving in the opposite direction as a result of the treacherous footing.

One such tumble ended in an unfortunate landing with my face ending up on something warm and soft. It was really comfy, but Lily seemed super embarrassed about it and quickly shoved me away. She didn't say anything about it, but I could tell that something had changed between us after the encounter.

She didn't really show it during the competition (we still wanted to win), but after receiving the heart charm bracelets (the ones where it's a broken heart that is only whole when two halves are put together) for winning the competition, she seemed awkward whenever I got close. Like she was wary of me or something.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Huh? Ah, uh, n-no it's fine. You didn't do anything."

She nervously swallowed. I stared at her trembling hands and shaky eyes. She looked like a terrified bunny. Like doing anything sudden would scare her away and she would bolt far away where I would never see her again.

I exhaled. Nothing I can do about it now. What's done is done. It's not like I can erase the past. I'll just have to try my best to regain her trust in me. Maybe the fireworks will cheer her up.

"So, um…it's almost sundown. Do you wanna start heading over to the bridge?"

Lily visibly perked up.

"It's almost time?! Let's go!"

I laughed out loud. It was good to see her acting like her old self. Maybe regaining her trust won't be such an impossible task.

"IT'S SO COOL! I ALREADY SAW IT, BUT THIS RIVER'S AMAZING!"

She ran to the railing and leaned over to peer down at the river.

"Hey, be careful!"

I quickly dragged her away from the railing before she could fall. Don't want her hitting her head, getting a concussion, and drowning. That would really ruin the festive mood.

"Haha, sorry. I guess I got a little too excited there."

She beamed brightly at me as she added:

"I'm so excited for this. Thank you so much for inviting me."

I froze. She's excited to be here with me? But-

"But you didn't enjoy your experience here with me. I've disappointed you, right?"

"Hah? Of course I enjoyed today! You showed me all the food, we got these matching bracelets, and now I get to see a fireworks competition! And best of all, I get to spend time with you."

Right as she finished, an earthshaking BOOM echoed over the water. We turned to watch as red sparks rained down on Tokyo.

We stood in awed silence as more and more fireworks lit up the sky. There was nothing we could say that wouldn't ruin the moment.

All of a sudden, I felt a soft touch on my hand. Startled, I looked down at a pair of interlocked hands. Lily must have sidled closer to me while I was distracted by the fireworks. Does this mean…

"Am I forgiven?"

"Forgive you for what? You didn't do anything."

"But you've been mad at me since that couple's game ended. I thought I did something wrong."

"Mad? I was never mad at you."

"Well, ok. Saying that you were avoiding me is more accurate."

"No I wasn't."

I yanked my hand free and spun to face her.

"Uh, yeah you were. You practically wouldn't look at me. And any time I tried to talk to you, you just turned red with anger and refused to talk to me."

Breathing heavily, I locked eyes with her and stared at her stunned face.

"I- I didn't know it came off like that. You…touched a sensitive part when we fell that time and I automatically pushed you away. But I didn't mean to hurt you! I thought you tripped cause I was distracting you. That's why I stopped teasing you."

"Huh? You didn't distract me. The floor was just really unstable. And I don't have the best balance. But that doesn't explain why you flushed in anger every time I tried to ask you what was wrong."

"I wasn't mad! I was…embarrassed."

"Huh?"

"I WAS EMBARRASSED, OKAY? I'VE NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE AND IT WAS SO SUDDEN AND I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO REACT AND I SHOULD'VE REACTED BETTER SO I WAS EMBARRASSED!"

I blinked at her outburst. I guess I never considered that maybe there was another reason her face was flushing bright red. …Which it was doing right now. She looked like a stoplight.

"Sooo, you're not mad at me?"

"NO!"

"And I didn't do anything wrong?"

"Of course not, you big doofus."

"And we're still friends?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at me.

"You're actually an idiot, aren't you? Why wouldn't we be friends?"

Hidden in the dark, I could feel an enormous, dorky smile growing on my face. I'm so happy that it was only a misunderstanding. I would beat myself up my entire life if we separated forever because of a single clumsy mistake I made when blindfolded at a festival. Though…I can't say it was an uncomfortable place to land on. She's really a woman if you know what I mean.

I felt her hand quietly slip back into mine and gave it a small squeeze. I glanced at Lily to see her looking at me. She smiled gently, then pointed at a heart-shaped firework that had just exploded over the Sumida River.

"They're so beautiful. I think…no, I'm sure this is the happiest night of my life. Makoto, I wouldn't be where I am without you. Thank you for always being here for me. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for always making me smile. Thank you, Makoto, for everything you have done for me."

My throat choked up. I couldn't believe she felt this way about me. Me, who used to be an outcast at school with no one to talk to. Me, who was an ordinary person forced to transfer schools multiple times. Me, who could give her nothing when she gave me everything.

But how could I ever convey my feelings to her in words? I had no words to describe my turbulent emotions. There was only one thing I knew how to put in words.

"Lily, I've never been this happy except with you. You retaught me how to laugh and have fun like other kids. I would say that I want this evening to never end, but I know that's impossible, therefore I'll just say this: I hope I have many more happy nights like this in the future–with you. So, will you join me to make many more happy memories?"

I looked at her with hopeful eyes, awaiting her response. But Lily only gave me a sad smile.

"If only it were that simple."

Her bottom lip quivered slightly, then she turned away and stared at the fireworks. I didn't want to pry more when she sounded so sad, so I turned to watch them with her. Though I couldn't stop a pang of disappointment from shooting through my heart. Maybe this is what it is like to be rejected. Not that I was trying to propose to her or anything.

I scooted closer to her and stared at her face. She looked like she was hiding so many of her true emotions. But it didn't matter. Whether she was hiding her happiness, or something else, I will always be here to support her. And no matter what she looks like, her face will always be the most beautiful thing in my universe.