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Hikari went into the living room and she saw Mahiru on the couch, staring into space.
“Hikari-chan, what would you have done, if Karen found someone else to do Starlight with?”
Hikari, somewhat taken aback, thought for a moment.
“Well, I was the one who left, after all, and people can change over time. I would have had to find my own Starlight, on another stage. If Karen had found someone else, I shouldn’t blame her for it.”
Mahiru smiled, but it was the kind of smile that you made when you were happy for someone, but also deeply sad for your own sake. Like a late winter’s sun, bright but without warmth.
“You know, when I was in middle school, I had this friend. We were in the baton club together. But, something happened and she got hurt, and I wasn’t there to support her. I haven’t talked to her since.
Sometimes, I end up thinking about her, on summer days with not a cloud in sight, and the sun is shining. Its light isn’t warm, but harsh, and burning. A light that would blaze through everything in its path.”
Hikari approached the windows. It was late afternoon, in July, when the shadows were long, but the sky not yet the warm colours of sunset. The chirping of cicadas had started, incessant, as each one looked for a mate.
“Why don’t you reach out to her? Even if she’s now going in a different direction, some closure would still take some weight off your shoulders.”
“I’d been meaning to, but, I’m scared. What if she..”
Mahiru clasped her hands together, looking down at the floor. Her knuckles white with unspoken worry.
“Well, you still have everyone here at Seisho,” Hikari took Mahiru’s hands in her own, easing them apart, “and I will make sure that you are never alone, Mahiru.”
• • •
The next day, Mahiru wrote a letter to Suzu, and mailed it to her address in Hokkaido. Hikari accompanied her to the mailbox.
The morning sun was bright, but it had not yet reached the brightness and searing heat of noon. Everything was lit in a cool light. Hikari by her side, Mahiru thought she looked even lovelier than usual, gold hair pin catching the light and giving off a radiant sparkle.
“Hikari-chan, I’m glad I met you.”
Hikari looked at Mahiru, seeing her eyes that shone whenever she sang or danced and her bangs that had gotten just a bit too long. She held Mahiru’s hand, warm and calloused from all her years of baton twirling.
“I’m glad to have met you too, Mahiru.”
Mahiru smiled again, this time without any sadness. It was warm, like the spring sun, one of flowers and regrowth.