The Last Page of the Diary

A speeding car came hurtling in from the distance, and all he could see was a vivid sea of blood.

Ryuseki woke with a start from the dream. The desk lamp was still on. He was slumped over the desk, and the words in his notebook had already been blurred by his tears. The writing on the last page was in his own hand. He had written while sobbing, then fallen asleep without realizing it. After waking, he slowly flipped forward. After who knew how many blank pages, writing completely unlike his own appeared.

There was a date written above the words. It was a diary entry.

Date: July 23 Weather: Sunny

Today, Ryuseki asked me to go out with him, and I happily agreed. I was clearly delighted, but I kept having a strange feeling, like the feeling I had when Dad left back then. Was it just my imagination, or was there another reason? Anyway, the weather was wonderful today, perfect for going out...

The words after that had been dampened by water stains that had suddenly appeared. Through the scattered fragments of writing, he gradually returned to that day.

After finishing her diary, Kikka You happily closed it. Then she stretched lazily and gazed out the window. Through the window beside her desk, she saw only a few clouds drifting across the clear sky. Blue filled the entire heavens. That azure color looked so soothing.

Kikka You got up, changed clothes, and headed for the door. A feeling of nostalgia suddenly rose within her, and she could not help turning back. The furnishings of her home unexpectedly filled her with happiness. She did not know why she felt nostalgic. Maybe it was because her mother had not seen her off. Her mother had come home rather late last night, so she had simply not woken her. But normally, her mother would always watch Kikka You leave from the doorway. Thinking of that, she smiled. So she had always depended on her mother!

"Well then, I'm heading out!" Kikka You said to the empty air, repeating the words she usually said to her mother before leaving.

"I'm about to see Ryuseki, and we're going to White Love Lake, the legendary holy land of romance. Does that mean that idiot finally plans to make things official with me?" Along the way, Kikka You kept imagining the place she and Ryuseki were about to visit. Happy scenes played through her mind like a movie, and a blissful smile immediately appeared on her face.

The male lead here was Ryuseki, whose name had already been mentioned. Their relationship was like that of childhood sweethearts, and they were also desk mates at school.

Cicadas shrieked from the trees, making it feel as though it would not be summer without the sound of those insects.

The recent heat had lasted for many days. Yet even in such scorching weather, the number of visitors to the major parks had not decreased after summer vacation began. Among them, water parks were especially popular.

In stark contrast to Kikka You's excited mood, Ryuseki was lazy and listless all the way.

"Say, why are you so energetic?" Ryuseki looked at Kikka You sleepily and continued, "Listen. Even the cicadas in the trees sound weak. Where do you get all that energy?"

"You're the one who said we should come out and have fun, yet you're acting like none of this has anything to do with you. I hate you!" Kikka You stuck out her tongue and skipped along.

"Fun?" Ryuseki scratched his head in confusion and continued, "In weather this hot, moving less saves a lot of energy."

Kikka You pulled a face and retorted, "Keep spouting nonsense. Someone as lazy as you wouldn't get there before dark. Come on, hurry up! If we're late, we won't get to see it. I heard the circus show there is really popular."

"Circus?" Ryuseki sighed and muttered under his breath, "So you really did think we came out to have fun. We're obviously going there to write an observation diary. And that park is ridiculous. It won't even let people enter alone."

The place they were headed to was a park in the city called White Love Lake. The park was famous for a lake called White Love Lake, but White Love was actually the name of a white tree on an island in the middle of the lake. The lake had merely borrowed the tree's name. Ryuseki had come this time to observe that tree.

The tree called White Love was a maple tree, though for some reason its trunk was white, and even its leaves were pale pinkish-white. Such a tree should not have been able to photosynthesize, yet it had not died. It was beautiful, so many couples came here to make wishes and vows, using it as a symbol of pure love. It was said to be very effective. Over time, it became a tourist attraction, and the park only allowed couples in as a selling point.

They finally arrived at White Love Lake Park, and Ryuseki agreed to accompany Kikka You around. They played until around 5:30 in the afternoon. They rode horses, rowed boats, made wishes beneath the White Love tree, and watched the circus. Though the park was not very large, it was beautiful.

The two of them had a wonderful time. Kikka You especially was like a child who could never get enough. She always wanted to play through every attraction again.

They galloped freely at the riding grounds and rowed across White Love Lake, enjoying the scenery of the entire park. They took a small boat to the island in the middle of the lake and looked at the tall, sacred white maple tree called White Love. Beneath the tree, they took photos and made their own wishes.

Though she was a little afraid, Kikka You had a wonderful time on horseback because Ryuseki was behind her, steadying her. The horse was quite perceptive too. It probably knew that girls were more frightened by such things, so it did not run very fast. It merely moved with the graceful gait of a dressage horse.

Then they rowed a little pink wooden boat across White Love Lake and admired the lakeside scenery. Their reflections were mirrored in the water, and the beautiful sight made everything feel romantic. After drifting across the lake for who knew how long, their boat reached the island at its center.

The moment they stepped onto the island, they could see the tree. They had already spotted it while rowing on the lake, but only when they approached did they truly realize how beautiful it was. Ryuseki had originally thought only the leaves were white. He had never expected even the trunk to be white. Its snow-like clarity made it seem as though it would melt at the slightest touch. No wonder this place was called a holy land of love. Perhaps only pure white could represent pure love in this world.

Kikka You had originally wanted to take a photo together beneath the tree, but Ryuseki only kept taking pictures of the tree by himself.

The next stop was the White Love Circus, which Kikka You had been looking forward to for a long time. This circus was famous. Unlike other circuses, every performance it put on had a complete plot. Its circus productions usually focused on romance. To suit this park's theme of love, many of its performances were love epics.

The circus performers were also different from those in ordinary circuses. There were no animal trainers with whips and no bizarrely dressed clowns. Most were dressed as couples, or as court nobles. Watching them use acrobatic skills to portray epic love stories truly left a deep impression. One could not help praising these performers. The extravagant costumes made performing difficult, and there were also complex plots. They put far more effort into a single show than an ordinary circus did. They were also very skilled at stirring the audience's emotions. Viewers often found their moods changing with the progression of the story, sometimes moved to tears, sometimes overjoyed.

Kikka You was the sentimental type too. Before long, she had already cried three times over the story, leaving Ryuseki at a complete loss and earning him plenty of glares from those around them.

After the circus ended, Ryuseki spoke to his older brother Kouhi on the phone, then called out to Kikka You, who still wanted more.

"Kaede, stop playing around. Let's go home. My brother has already cooked, and he's waiting for us to get back."

But Kikka You was still immersed in the show she had just watched, replaying its fairy-tale-like plot over and over in her mind.

Then she spotted clay toys at a street stall. They were hollow, bird-shaped toys made of clay, called Bird Hum here, and they could loosely be considered instruments. They were palm-sized, with a large hole in the bird's beak and another in its tail, as well as three small holes cut into the side of its body. The craftsman said one had to blow into the hole in the bird's tail, then cover the three holes on its body with one's fingers to control the pitch. The small opening left in the bird's beak would make a sound like birdsong. Such a simple toy could probably only produce seven notes. The craftsman could play a simple tune with it, but Kikka You could only make it sound. Even so, she played with it enthusiastically, unwilling to put it down as she held it in her palm. She kept circling Ryuseki and blowing into the crude instrument, looking just like a little bird.

Although his brother had already called to urge them, Kikka You still leisurely pulled Ryuseki along the tree-lined path. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the shade of the trees, casting mottled light over them. Kikka You deliberately slowed her pace, even wishing she could stop time right there and slowly enjoy her present happiness.

Before they knew it, the two of them had already left the park.

Ryuseki urged her again, "Hurry up, it's time to go home. You were so eager when we came here."

"No, I want to eat that too!" Kikka You pointed at the cotton candy cart across the street, then looked at Ryuseki with pleading eyes.

"You're this old and still eating children's food." Ryuseki pursed his lips helplessly.

"None of your business!" Kikka You put the clay toy she had been playing with into her pocket and ran over. After buying two balls of cotton candy, she waved at Ryuseki.

Ryuseki shook his head helplessly.

There was not much traffic on the street, but the pedestrians all followed the rules, waiting for the red light to pass.