The evening sky blazed in hues of crimson and violet, as if the heavens themselves painted a stage for destiny. The festival lights flickered to life, casting warm glows on the bustling streets. Laughter, music, and the scent of sweet delicacies filled the air, yet for Haru, everything blurred the moment his gaze found Hana.
She was standing near a row of lanterns, her eyes wide with wonder as she traced the delicate symbols painted on the paper. A soft breeze lifted her hair, and for a brief heartbeat, Haru swore he had seen her before — not here, not in this lifetime, but in another world entirely.
His heart pounded. The melody from the festival seemed to fade as whispers echoed in his mind. A promise under the sakura tree. A hand reaching out. A voice calling his name.
"Are you okay?" Hana's voice broke the trance, her gaze curious.
Haru blinked, forcing a smile. "Yeah, just… the lanterns. They feel familiar somehow."
Hana tilted her head. "Familiar? But you've never been here before, right?"
He hesitated. The truth felt impossible to speak. How could he tell her that he dreamed of her long before they met? That in his sleep, he saw a thousand fragments of her smile?
Instead, he laughed softly. "Maybe I'm imagining things."
But deep inside, he knew it wasn't just imagination. Each passing moment with Hana tugged at a thread buried deep within his soul. The thread of a bond that stretched across lifetimes, woven by fate itself.
As the night reached its peak, fireworks erupted above them, illuminating the sky. Hana gasped, her face glowing in the vibrant colors. Without thinking, Haru turned to her.
In that instant, their eyes met — and for the first time, Hana felt it too. A strange warmth, a familiarity she couldn't explain. It was as though her heart remembered something her mind had forgotten.
The whispers grew louder. Two souls, bound across time, had finally begun to awaken.