The much-awaited day had finally arrived for Ken. It was the 11th of July, the day of the Hanabi festival. Ken had started preparing since early morning. He had already washed his navy- blue yukata the day before and he ironed it neatly. He went out for a summer haircut and asked his hairdresser to make his hair a little stylish. He had a long relaxing bath and he brushed his teeth thoroughly, waxed his hair, and tidily wore his yukata. When it was time for him to leave, his mom made him stay for a photo-shoot, when he asked her why was she doing that, her reason was, "You're excited for the festival for the very first time, so it must be special, huh?", Ken was embarrassed his mom had noticed.
He reached the station 10 minutes before the given time and was practising how he would complement Hana.
"A little early are we, eh?", said Kai while sneaking up at Ken
"Ohhhhhhh..", Ken screamed nervously
"So, you decided what you'll say to Hana?", teased Kai
"It's nothing like that", said a flustered Ken. Ken looked at Kai, he was wearing a light brown Yukata, his hair was fresh and neatly styled and he had brought bento for all of them
"Oh, there they are", Kai pointed towards the two girls
Ken looked and kept looking at Hana. She was wearing a light-pink Kimono with sakura patterns and a pair of pearl earrings to match her outfit. Her hair neatly done into a bun. She had a little pouch with her. Ken was glad this festival existed.
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Hana had met Saichiba on her way to the station and they made their way to the station together. When they reached the station, they heard Kai calling out to them. When she saw Ken, she was a little flustered. It was her first time seeing him outside school uniform. He had a different haircut and he had neatly waxed it, the navy-blue Yukata suited him and in the Yukata, she could see his collar bone, which she found very attractive.
"Yosh, looking good boys", complemented Saichiba
"Thanks, you look lovely too", complemented Kai in return
Saichiba was wearing a light blue Kimono with floral pattern and she had tied her hair into a ponytail
"Th-th-ankss....", Ken was not good at receiving compliments nor was he good at giving them, "Hana you look extraordinary"
"What?"
"I meant to say you look good"
"Thank you, you look good too", said Hana cheerily
Ken turned away he didn't want her to see him blushing.
"So, let's get going", announced Kai
As they kept moving, Hana and Saichiba realized they were going in the opposite direction as to where the festival was going on. "Are we going towards the base?", Saichiba asked
"Yes, you'll understand why once we get there", said Ken
After they reached there, Ken laid the mat he had brought along and Kai set out the bento which he had brought along with the drinks. Ken also set up the flashlight he had brought.
"Ken and I come here every year for the festival because we get our space here and not only that the view of the fireworks is spectacular from here", said Kai
"Oh, I see I see", Saichiba was smiling
Soon the fireworks started and all four of them watched the fireworks bloom in the night sky like colourful flowers with bated breath. The firecrackers burst one after the other forming chains of colour in the night sky.
When a blue firecracker bloomed to life in the horizon both Ken and Kai exclaimed, "Make a wish"
Everyone did.
After the fireworks were over, Saichiba proudly said, "I wished for us to be together forever, what did ya'll wish for?"
"I ain't telling my wish to no one", said Kai coldly
"It's nothing special", said Hana shyly
"I wished summer lasts forever", said Ken
"Aaaaaah, you'll are such a buzzkill", complained Saichiba
It was only Saichiba who had declared her wish loudly, but deep within everyone had wished the same thing, and that night the blue firework was the biggest of them all.
When everything was over Ken found Hana writing something in a diary, "What are you writing?"
"I'm writing down the events that happened today"
"Why?"
"Because I like to keep a record of the good moments in my life"
"But why write it down?"
"Because even if my memory forgets them, I'll have a record of them in these pages and those memories will become infinite", said Hana dreamily.
Ken found this answer true. When Hana said those words, he felt every word ring true to him. So, he decided that he too will maintain a journal and write down his best memories.
On their way, back they had to pass a bridge. Hana stood at the pool for a moment. Ken saw her looking at the moon and felt a weird resemblance to Princess Kaguya, "What are you looking at?"
"Isn't the view so scenic out here", she said without turning towards to him, "I want to spend my last moments in a place like this, nothing too extraordinary but simply scenic".
Ken looked around, he understood her reasoning. The bridge was over a river, fireflies were swarming on both sides of the river bank. The moon like a silver coin tossed up in the sky over the horizon was surrounded by tiny dots of light. The light from the moon reflected on the surface of the river giving it a mystique feeling.
"Sorry, we should get going", Hana disturbed Ken's thought.
At the station, the boys bid the two girls farewell. Ken brought a brown diary with a leather cover on his way back home. Before he went to bed he opened his new diary and made his first entry and slept soundly.
11 July 2011
"When I saw you that day, under that apple tree, when I spoke to you for the first time, when I met you in the summer, that day was probably..................."