Short Story: [Color Fantasy Tale] The Flaxen-Haired Girl

The early summer breeze blew.

Soft sunlight filtered through the trees, carrying the scent of grass and light.
On the tree-lined path leading up the hill, Amane stood still, catching the wind.

Her flaxen hair swayed gently.
Her profile was bright, yet seemed to be looking at something far away.
Her figure was so ephemeral that it seemed as if it might melt into the early summer air.

"This breeze feels somehow nostalgic, doesn't it?"

The words, murmured to no one in particular, rode the wind and drifted down the hill.

She had a memory of running down this hill with someone, long ago.
Laughing, holding hands, innocently almost falling.
Even though she couldn't remember their name or face, strangely, only the 'warmth' from that time remained deep in her heart.

Amane had grown up just a little since those days.
Now, she was able to hold someone's hand, and also to gently let it go.

"I suppose we won't meet again, will we?"

Thinking that, her heart tightened just a little.
But she, as she was now, understood that this too was a 'gentle pain'.

The wind blew.

The leaves of the trees swayed, and the blue of the sky shone through.

Amane closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the wind.

It was surely just one page in the story of her life.
But it was bright, and kind—
And an ephemeral, beautiful day in early summer.

She would not look back anymore.
But she would not forget.

That wind, that sky, that smile.
Because everything remains here, even now, as a part of 'me'.

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