"Hey, Hajime."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna' go to the park?"
"Mommy will yell at me if I don't get home."
"Please?"
"Okay, fine."
The two children sit on the swingset, balancing.
"This isn't any fun. What are we doing here?"
The other child waits a bit.
"Hajime, I want to ask you something."
"Hm? What is it?"
Hajime starts to rock back and forth.
"What do you want to do when you grow up? I wanna' be an astronaut!"
"Hm…I don't know'. We just started elementary school. I don't know what I'm good at yet."
"Really? Don't you aspire to be something? A baseball player? A musician? An actor? You don't know unless you try!"
"…I don't really have anything like that. I want to be smart, yeah, but I don't have anything like that."
"Have you heard of Hope's Peak?"
"It's a high-school, right?"
"Yup. If you're really good at something, then they train you and you get even better. They call the kids who go there 'Ultimates'. I want to be the Ultimate Astronaut, so I'm going to learn all about space!"
"Hm…Really."
He swings up into the air, without a care in the world.
"They say that if you go there, you're set for life! Everyone will love you because you're the best of the best! All your friends will be proud, and you'll always be happy. It's an amazing place, really."
The swingset creaks. Hajime doesn't respond.
"The people there are really one-of-a-kind. Honestly unique."
Hajime plants his foot in the sand to stop the swinging.
"It sounds wonderful. Being loved for something that you, yourself love."
"Yeah."
…
"Dear Hajime,
I know it's been a while, we went to different middle schools after all. Well, it's time for high-school this time around. I'm really excited, honestly. I'm going to a nice place in Tokyo. It was the most affordable option for us. My family isn't very rich, you know.
I heard you're going to Hope's Peak. I remember being kids talking all the time about that school. I'm sure you'll have fun, even if you're just in the reserve course. Even if you're super amazing at anything now, you can work up to it later!
Actually, I was scouted out for Ultimate Astrophysicist. They chose someone else in the end, though. Haha, I wanted to be an astronaut, remember? Well, physics are really my thing, after all that.
Well, I know you'll have fun. Make some friends! I heard the Ultimate Princess is going. Get a picture for me, okay?
You gotta drop by when you have break or something. I haven't seen you for ages. Still got that ahoge?
I wanted to just send this in an email, but my mom absolutely refused. She said that I should be more formal.
Well, have a good time.
Sincerely,
—"