People make countless promises throughout their lives.

Some are promises we vow to keep no matter what, while others are naturally forgotten as time passes.

I thought our promise would surely be the latter.

"Let's get married when we grow up."

It was a summer day when we sat side by side on a bench, exhausted from running around the playground.

You playfully held out your pinky, and I hooked mine with yours, letting out a small chuckle.

"Promise?"

"Yeah. That we'll definitely get married when we're older."

That day, we even pressed our thumbs together and laughed.

Back then, I just thought it was a childhood prank.

I thought it was just one of those things you'd forget by tomorrow, once you got absorbed in a different game.

But strangely enough.

As time went by, that promise refused to fade.

One day, while I was graduating elementary school and preparing to enter middle school.

You suddenly moved away.

Without a proper goodbye, without even leaving a phone number.

Since that day, we lost touch completely.

At first, I thought we'd meet again soon.

Since we live under the same sky, surely we'd run into each other by chance eventually.

But the seasons changed many times, and middle school and high school both came to an end.

I met new people and formed new bonds, but strangely, you were the only one I couldn't forget.

Sometimes I even laughed at myself.

The fact that I still remembered a promise made like a childhood joke.

You probably forgot it a long time ago.

No, it's only natural that you forgot.

It was likely just one of many childhood memories to you.

Still, it was okay.

It's fine if at least one person remembers, right?

Then, in the spring of our twentieth year.

On a campus where cherry blossoms were fluttering in the wind, I came face to face with a face I couldn't believe I was seeing.

Even though years had passed, I could recognize you instantly.

You had changed a bit, but it was still the face I remembered.

You saw me, your eyes widening for a moment, and then you smiled brightly and spoke.

"...Satoru?"

With that one word, the time that had been frozen began to move again.

To you, it might have just been a chance reunion with an old childhood friend.

But for me, it was different.

In that moment, the first thing that came to mind was your small pinky held out long ago and that single promise.

'We promised to get married when we grew up.'