The night was quiet. The festival's glow had faded, leaving only the soft hum of crickets.
Hikari sat on the balcony, hugging her knees as she gazed at the stars. The cool breeze lifted her hair, making her look almost like she had that night… back then.
"Papa," she said softly, her voice almost swallowed by the night, "do you remember the promise we made?"
My chest tightened. "Which one?"
She turned her eyes toward me, glimmering with both innocence and maturity. "The one under the stars… when you said you'd marry me."
The world around me fell silent.
---
A memory washed over me—
A summer night years ago. She and I were lying on the grass, side by side, watching the constellations.
She had whispered, "If we get separated somehow… if life plays a cruel trick on us… promise me that when we meet again, you'll marry me."
I had laughed nervously back then, calling it childish. But when she looked at me with teary eyes, I held her hand and swore,
"I promise. No matter what happens, I'll find you again. And I'll marry you."
The stars had been our witnesses.
---
I blinked, returning to the present. Hikari was still watching me, her eyes filled with the weight of both past and present.
"You kept your promise," she whispered. "You found me again. So… will you keep the rest of it too?"
Her hand reached for mine, small but trembling with hope.
I pulled her gently into my arms, holding her as if afraid the universe might take her away again.
"Yes," I murmured, kissing her forehead tenderly. "I'll keep it. No matter what form you take, no matter how many times we're reborn… I'll marry you."
Her arms wrapped tightly around me, and she buried her face in my chest.
"Then this time… let's never let go."
And under the eternal stars, our promise was reborn.