Once upon a time, there was a girl.
Her name was Manaka, and she was very happy. She had nice friends who never lied to her, and played with her, and hung out with her. She could’ve almost said that it was the best life she could’ve had, but there was some sad things too.
Two things, to be exact. One of her very close friends had some difficult troubles and had to move away to another city. She didn’t want to see him leave, because see, he was one of her very precious childhood friends, but she couldn’t do anything. So she bid him farewell, promising to keep in touch as much as she could - maybe even everyday!
The second part? Well, her parents had been fighting a lot lately, and she really hated it. They were arguing over money, and there didn’t seem to be enough for her anymore - what would she do? She couldn’t fend for herself out there, could she? She barely started high school.
But the solution they found not only fixed that problem, but the first one too. Her grandparents lived in Brieve, and apparently, they could afford to house her while her parents tried to sort things out -- and her friend lived in Brieve, too, so it was a win-win situation, right?
Manaka packed her belongings and said bye to her parents for now, heading off to Brieve, where her grandparents would welcome her with open arms. Although sad about leaving her friends, she was determined to make new ones -- but first, Hikari.
It was strange, though, because no matter where she searched, he wasn’t there! But it was only a matter of time when she did, bumping into him on a desolated street. It was particularly windy that day, she remembered.
“Ahh, Hii-kun! I’ve been looking for you for ages!” Manaka was so excited, she could barely contain it - it was such a long time since she had seen him, and she couldn’t wait to catch up on news, and maybe he would give her a tour of the city, and they could have fun like the old times --
“Manaka. Look, can I...c-can I ask you something?”
It wasn’t strange for Hikari to be stuttering - he was always angry, embarrassed, or both, but that was the best quality about him! She hadn’t yet taken in his strange behavior. “Yeah, of course, Hii-kun!”
“I... really liked you. Maybe even love, but I’m not sure. I just wanted to let you know that.”
Manaka blinked once. Twice. “W-wait...”
But Hikari only continued: “I loved you, Manaka. That’s all. Thanks for listening to what I have to say -- see ya around.”
Before Manaka could say anything, he had already left, and her last words were whispered instead to the wind.
“Hii-kun, I never realized..” But it was never really meant to be, she thought - he had said liked, not like. Loved, not love.
And she had never loved him. She wished she did, but it just.. never came. And she was so, so sorry about that.