The years had been hard on Takaki Tohno. He had been in several relationships, but he never found himself in love. He had been working for a software development company, but couldn't trick himself into happiness any longer. So he quit.
He questioned what was wrong with himself—What happened to those far-fetched dreams of long ago? Those innocent dreams of science; making space ships and spacecraft to reach those stars which seemed only as far away from their fingertips as the cherry blossoms which had bloomed above themin spring.
Takaki lingered on that thought.
Them.
He sighed.
Takaki was puzzled.
He had been blue for weeks. But, for some reason, this day seemed different. No, no, it wasn't just the sun, as it had been sunny in the days beforehand. Was it his clothes? He did feel good when he dressed up. No, no, he dressed up most of the time. Continually thinking, Takaki didn't realize petals were landing on him—cherry blossom petals. Perhaps that was it. Cherry blossoms.
Inspired by those beautifully pink petals, Takaki, walking to the 7-Eleven where he always purchased his latest science magazines, began to reminisce.
"Hey, they say it's five centimeters per second."
"Whad'ya mean?"
"The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, five centimeters per second."
He chuckled to himself. Childhood. After moping so much about what could have been, remembering the joys that were was refreshing. Soon enough, he found himself near a familiar crossing: a pair of train tracks that they had used to cross together. It put a smile on his face, remembering the good times of long ago. A woman crossing at the same time with chestnut hair a shade similar to the girl of his past supplemented Takaki's wistful mood.
Her chestnut hair.
Her light-brown eyes.
Her gentle smile.
And as Takaki continued to walk beyond the tracks, his thoughts muddled by the ringing of the warning signal, he realized—those things described the woman he had just passed; could it be?
Was it her?
The train continued on, its horn announcing its presence to the neighborhood surrounding. And on the other side of the tracks, in front of that very train, he believed.
Takaki believed. He believed that she would be there. How was he sure? He wasn't, entirely. He just had a feeling. It was something inside of him, pulling at his heart, telling him. That there, standing in front of him, would be one girl. That girl of his blissful bygone past. Akari Shinohara.
His heart aflutter, Takaki's mind searched for the words to express that which had escaped him that snowy morning the last time he had saw her. Yet, he couldn't quite find the right words as the last cab of the train moved past the tracks, revealing the other side. The cargo train had taken minutes to transport itself fully past the crossing. Yet, to Takaki, who was both searching deep within and eagerly waiting, it felt as if it was only five seconds.
But she was not there.
In truth, Takaki was not expecting much. He wasn't even sure if the woman whom he caught a glimpse of was her. Regardless, he felt as if he should be deeply disappointed. After all, what could have been his first love had nothing to say to him.
Yet, Takaki did not feel despair; rather, he felt lighter, as if a burden was lifted from his shoulders. Surely, he realized, the past has brought him sadness; however, it has also brought him great happiness as well. He would just have to live with both the bitterness and sweetness of what life would offer him.
Turning away from the crossing, holding those memories in his heart, Takaki took his first steps into the future.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading. I like to think that Takaki then promptly got back in touch with Kanae and made beautiful surfing babies. The end.