I returned to my hometown for the first time in ten years for a relative's memorial service. Ever since I left for a distant university after high school, the busy days had kept me away from home. The scenery and friends I haven't seen in so long... memories of those days come flooding back.

As luck would have it, today is the local festival. My friends dragged me out to enjoy it. Countless stalls line the streets, and portable shrines pass by in a lively procession.

While my old troublemaker friends are busy chatting with work acquaintances, I step away for a moment to be alone. Just then, a firework bursts right before my eyes, followed by a thunderous roar echoing from above.

Ah, how nostalgic...

Come to think of it, I came to this festival in the summer of my senior year of high school, too. Back then... I came with the girl I liked. I worked up the courage to invite her, but being a coward, I couldn't confess my feelings until the very end... Now, it's just a bittersweet memory.

That's right. It was right around this spot...

I remember watching her profile with a pounding heart as she licked a fruit candy bought from a stall. In the night sky beyond her, fireworks were going up one after another.

Yes, just like the girl standing right in front of me now...