THE LADY BY THE SEASIDE

[Continuation of Part four]

Kairi's Pov:

  𝘈s the warm sun setting dipped below the horizon, I sat with Mizuki and her mother at their special picnic. I couldn't believe how well everything had gone, and how this moment had turned out to be the perfect afternoon. Mizuki and I began talking about our school life and the things we enjoyed doing, while her mother had also joined in with the conversation. It was lovely to get to know Mizuki better, and I found myself more and more attracted to her. With so much shared intimacy between us, I felt like there was a strong chemistry that was developing.

    As Mizuki's mother went home for the evening, it was just Mizuki and I left at our sea side get together. The sun had set and it was now nightime, with the moon as the only light source and giving the setting a romantic atmosphere. Mizuki and I kept talking, and we couldn't stop ourselves from smiling as we found more and more things to talk about with each other. "The time flies really fast, doesn't it?" I looked at Mizuki and said, "It's almost the new year." The evening was getting late, and we had spent quite some time together, but it felt like everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Mizuki and I were now watching the waves crashing against the shore, and we couldn't help but smile as we realized how quickly the time had flown by.

      "After new year, we're going to school again," I sighed as well, thinking about the fact that the vacation was almost over and that we would soon be going back to school. Mizuki and I both looked down at the horizon, a bit disappointed at the thought but also happy to still be able to enjoy the rest of the evening together. I looked at Mizuki and asked, "Why so quiet?" She chuckled, and the thought of going back to school had somewhat gotten to her, but she managed to brush the thoughts aside and instead focus on enjoying the last moments of our time together. "I'm sorry, I just... got a bit lost in thought for a moment there," she replied, smiling shyly. "New year, new school, new everything... it feels like so much to take in, sometimes," she added with a small sigh, to which I nodded in understanding.

    "Are you... Somehow popular at school?" I asked awkwardly, not sure if this was the right subject to bring up, but something told me it was okay to do so. Mizuki looked at me a bit surprised at my question but soon understood what I meant. "I suppose you could say that, yeah," she said, still smiling at me. She didn't seem to mind my questions, and I felt like I could ask her anything without her being annoyed or offended, a feeling that was very nice to have.

    I was about to continue the conversation when I suddenly realized that we were almost at the end of our time together. Still, I couldn't help but ask, "Well, have you like someone in your school?" I didn't know if I should ask such a question, but she seemed to be very comfortable in my presence, and I wanted to get to know her better. I waited for what her reaction would be, a bit nervous but also feeling a bit excited, and suddenly she asked with a bit of a shocked expression, "You mean, like a boy I like?"

    "Well yea, unless it's a girl," I said jokingly, and we both laughed at the joke, but then suddenly Mizuki had a look of shock on her face and became speechless. I got worried and quickly asked her, "Hey, you okay?" But she didn't reply, and instead just looked at me and then nodded her head, as if she couldn't believe it herself.

    "Uhm, sorry for saying that. I know it was a bit personal," I said, getting slightly worried as well. However, Mizuki didn't answer right away, and instead I suddenly noticed her face was turning red, as if she was blushing. I looked at her with a confused expression, wondering if was something I said or did that caused her to blush. Mizuki looked down at her feet, still blushing but avoiding eye contact with me. I didn't know what to say or do, and just waited for her to break the silence.

    But suddenly she broke the silence and said, "Hey uhm, it's getting late... I should go now, see ya!" Mizuki then stood up and quickly ran towards her house, leaving me alone and confused. I sighed and sat there for a few moments, thinking about what had just happened and what it all meant. Suddenly, I realized how late it had gotten and that I should also go back home. I got up and quickly went back towards my house, wondering what I had just missed and feeling a bit disappointed that Mizuki had suddenly ran away without saying anything else.