In 2006, he and I were five years old.

I lived with my mother in a small house surrounded by the mountains of Hokkaido, a land of extreme cold.

We were by no means wealthy, but every day was filled with happiness.

One day, when I stepped outside, I found a boy collapsed on the snow.

I rushed to him in surprise; his body was completely chilled to the bone.

I hurried him inside and asked my mother to nurse him.

Until he woke up, I never left his side for a moment, watching over him constantly.

...And then, ten days after I brought him home.

He finally opened his eyes.

He had been born with a weak constitution and suffered from a heart condition. He was always coughing and was never truly healthy.

I wanted him to be happy.

I did everything I could every day just to see him smile, even if only a little.

The time we spent together was truly wonderful.

But then, one day.

He suddenly vanished from my life.

I don't know why.

I just woke up one morning to find that he, who should have been right beside me, was gone.

Twenty years have passed since then.

My mother passed away, and I was living alone.

Then one day, as I stepped outside without a second thought...

There he was, standing there just like back then.

And then, he said this to me:

"I finally found you. Do you remember? Do you remember me?"