"I think my parents noticed I was unhappy when he was gone. I'd keep visiting the shrine every day, and I'd leave a flower there. It helped me deal with the wait, somehow, made it easier… But the longing to see him never really went away."
Sometimes she'd catch herself just before calling out his name as she approached the shrine, and she'd find herself standing in silence for a while before she could bring herself to move again.
Other days she'd feel certain she caught a speck of orange in the corner of her eye and she'd turn around only to realize it was only a trick of the light and he wasn't back yet.
One of her friends kept asking her if something was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. Because if she began to speak of him, she'd end up telling her friend everything, and she wasn't sure Nishiki would be safe to return if she did.
"I'm fine."
But not happy.
But if she kept pretending she was, maybe she would be again.