[Creative Award 2026 Entry][Short Story with Video][JACK] - Strange Tale: Updated Eden / Spring Schoolyard (93)

The veil of night had fallen quietly.

In the room at the Hikarigaoka housing complex,
the raindrops from just a moment ago left only a trace,
gently wrapping the damp darkness around it.

The space where three beds were lined up side by side
was as silent as a soundless water surface,
and as if measuring each other's shadows,
it simply maintained its silence.

Misaki's breathing swayed like a faint wave.

Every time Saori turned over, the sheets touched the night with a soft sound.

Only Jinguji was tracing the whiteness of the ceiling.

Before closing his eyes, there was a distance he wanted to keep between himself and the darkness for just a little longer.

Before long, the contours of his thoughts unraveled,
and his consciousness slowly sank to the deep bottom of the water.

--It was a spring from some time ago.

The schoolyard.

Cherry blossoms were flowing as if melting into the wind.
Each petal let the light pass through, shining in a pale pink, and danced down slowly, more quietly than snow.

The entire schoolyard was wrapped in soft, pale crimson snow. White clouds drifted slowly,
and the afternoon light scattered golden particles even onto the dust.

The familiar chime echoed in the distance.

Jinguji stood there, still in his school uniform.

"You're late."

A voice said.

He turned around.

Junko was there.
With a convenience store bread roll in one hand, she was looking at him with a look of annoyance.

"...What's with that face?"

Jinguji couldn't say anything.

The wind blew.
Cherry blossom petals slowly filled the space between the two of them.

Junko frowned.

"That's strange."

The two of them began to walk side by side.
At the edge of the schoolyard.
The sky beyond the fence was endlessly blue.

The sound of someone kicking a ball in the distance melted into the spring air.

"You look like you've aged a bit."

"...Shut up."

"And you're making a difficult face."

Jinguji gave a small laugh.
Junko also smiled, looking satisfied.

For a little while, they walked in silence.

Every time the spring breeze passed through,
countless cherry blossom petals danced into the air,
as if time itself were breathing slowly.

Before long, Junko said quietly.

"Hey."

"...Yeah?"

"I actually had quite a good time."

Cherry blossoms danced.

"The convenience store bread, too."

She smiled a little.

"And the pointless conversations."

"...They weren't bad."

The chime rang.

The world began to blur into white.

Junko slowly drifts away.

Jinguji reaches out instinctively.

Just a little more.

A distance my fingertips could reach.

But the moment I touch her, Junko's outline melts into the spring light, turning into countless cherry blossom petals that scatter in the wind.

My fingers grasp at the air, slipping through silently.

Only the wind remains.

The cherry blossoms continue to dance, soundlessly and mercilessly.

Junko did not look back.

She just melts away into the light.

Jinguji did not follow.

It was then.

I felt like I heard Junko's voice from beyond the wind as she drifted away.

"Live properly."

The wind blew. I was gently pushed from behind.

Jinguji turns around.

There is no one there.

Only spring remained.

--It was morning.

Hikarigaoka.

Thin light streams in through the gap in the curtains.

The scent of coffee rises from the kitchen.
Saori's small voice.
Misaki's faint laughter.

Jinguji exhaled slowly.
Deeply, long,
replenishing the air deep within his chest.

And then, he sat up.

Beyond the room, the morning had already begun.

--Strange Tales / Spring Schoolyard

(Video)

*This is an original image soundtrack created with Mureka. Please enjoy it as an aftertaste after reading.
(Also used as background music in the video)