(Ahmed finishes adding the final touches to the drawing, steps back to scrutinize the work that took him minutes but carried the emotions of long hours. He lightly waves the drawing between his hands and then presents it to Misaki, who is sitting in front of him on the school's rooftop, with the cool breeze carrying the scent of a distant spring.) (36)
(Misaki receives the paper shyly, then cautiously raises her eyes to the drawing. Her eyes begin to widen, preceded by her breaths which are about to stop at that moment, for the picture in front of her is not just lines and colors, but a reflection of what she feels and hides within her.)
Misaki (in a trembling voice, as she touches the drawing with her fingertips):
"Is this... is this me?"
(Her gaze deepens into the drawing, and she notices how Ahmed drew her sad eyes that hold a hidden glimmer of hope, and how her hair strands, which she had always thought were ordinary, have turned into a cloud of soft magic that covers her face. The warm colors that Ahmed added are full of life, as if they are giving a new soul to her.)
(Ahmed kneels beside her, looks into her eyes and smiles gently):
"I wanted to show you how I see you... not just a sad girl, but a girl full of strength and beauty, even in the most difficult moments."
(Misaki is overwhelmed with emotions, a rush of gratitude, astonishment, and perhaps a shyness of feelings that she could not express in words, seeps through the veins of her heart.)
Misaki (in a whispered voice):
"No one has ever seen me like this before... Thank you, Ahmed-kun."
(Time passes on the school's rooftop, and Misaki sits with her hands still holding the drawing, breathing slowly as if she is trying to save every detail in her memory.)
In the evening, in her small room,
(Misaki opens the room door quietly, holding the drawing as if it were a precious treasure. She walks to the wall next to her bed, carefully places the drawing, and gently secures it in place, so that it is the first thing she sees when she wakes up, and the last thing she sees before she closes her eyes every night.)
(She looks at the drawing one last time before she closes her eyes, and closes them with a calm smile, as if she promised herself to preserve the hope that Ahmed had lit inside her.)