About

—This summer, I met "two people with the same face." The protagonist is a college student who has moved from the city to a seaside town. In this town, there is an old legend: "On the day the sky is at its most beautiful, if you make a wish, time with a precious person will return for just a little while." On the first day after moving in, the protagonist meets a young man on the beach. Hatsu Kiminagawa. A sky-blue right eye and a green left eye. A calm and gentlemanly young man. Then, the next day. This time, they meet a girl with the same face. Hatsumi Kiminagawa. The same sky-blue right eye and green left eye. A soft and pure girl. The protagonist asks in surprise, "...Are you two siblings?" The two look at each other and answer, "No." And— The two themselves do not know each other. ⸻ In truth, the "two" are the same person. This is the central mystery of the story. In this town, once every few decades, a phenomenon occurs where "the same single human is born split into two possibilities." Hatsu and Hatsumi are like existences where: * The life Hatsu did not choose * The life Hatsumi did not choose ...both exist simultaneously. That is why their faces, eye colors, and the atmosphere of their voices are so similar. However, there are slight differences in their personalities and ways of thinking. And each of them possesses an "ability related to time." ■ Hatsu Route Hatsu can "see the future." However, he can only see a few seconds to a few minutes ahead. Because of this, in daily life, things happen like: "Let's go this way instead of that way." "...Because you were about to trip just now." At first, the protagonist thinks it is a convenient ability. However, as the story progresses, every time Hatsu looks into the future, he sees nothing but a "future where he parts ways with the protagonist." And Hatsu is hiding this from the protagonist. ■ Hatsumi Route Hatsumi can "touch past time." When she touches an old photograph, she can see events that happened in that place. Entering an empty classroom, she speaks as if she knows the scenery of the past: "There used to be a piano here a long time ago." By walking through the town with Hatsumi, the protagonist gradually learns about the town's past. Then one day, the protagonist sees themselves in a memory of a past time when they weren't even supposed to be in this town yet. ⸻ And the secret common to both of them. Around the middle of the story, the protagonist realizes: Hatsu and Hatsumi are neither "different personalities of the same person" nor "twins." They are something even more mysterious. And they share a common fate: "When summer ends, one of them will disappear."