A rooster crows in the distance as he walks her down the hill.
Already there is a weight pressing upon her chest, and her hand feels heavy where it rests in his. She's not ready to say goodbye—not ready to let go. And as Kaede's home looms closer, she tries to ignore the aching hollow that begins to form inside of her.
"I will come back."
Hope twists and coils through the emptiness that threatened. "Today?"
He looks down at her, the sharp spindles of his pupils like a knife's edge cutting through resin in the morning light. "Yes."
