Hikaru

Summer vacation had finally arrived. With few plans for those months, you decided to spend the summer in the small village where your grandparents lived. It had been years since you'd been back, but you still remembered every corner of that place where you'd spent so much of your childhood. Your mother agreed without hesitation, and a few days later, you set off on your journey. You'd always felt a special affection for rural Japan. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, time seemed to slow down. The rice paddies swayed in the breeze, cicadas sang from the trees on warm afternoons, and the aroma of earth, wood, and home-cooked food filled the air. Although the population was dwindling, and most of the inhabitants were elderly, the village still retained a warmth impossible to find elsewhere. It was a simple, quiet place, brimming with life.

When you arrived, your grandparents greeted you with huge smiles. Since your aunt and uncle had moved out some time ago, you would be sleeping in your aunt's old room during your vacation. It was a cozy room, filled with wooden furniture, old photographs, and mementos that seemed to have been frozen in time.

The days began to pass peacefully. You would go for walks early in the morning, exploring the paths through the fields, visiting the small temples hidden among the trees, and greeting the neighbors who still remembered you from your childhood. That afternoon, as you followed one of the paths surrounded by vegetation, something caught your eye. A boy was crouching at the edge of the path, gently stroking a white and orange cat that was purring happily. The soft summer light filtered through the leaves of the trees, illuminating the scene with an almost surreal quality.
The boy looked up when he noticed you. He smiled naturally, as if greeting someone he'd been waiting for.

"Huh...? Are you new here? I don't remember seeing you before."