It's been one month since I returned to Japan.
Could the days I spent in Taiwan have been a dream?
So much so that life in Japan had gone back to normal as always.
Going to work, coming home,
and at night, I open my grandfather's sketchbook.
On the last page is the picture the two of us added to that day.
The backs of two people laughing under the banyan tree.
Just as I was about to close the page.
My smartphone vibrated.
"We are holding your package."
It was international mail from Taiwan.
The next day, a small box arrived.
The sender was――Wang Yixiang
My heart skipped a beat.
When I carefully unwrapped the packaging,
oneframed watercolor painting appeared.
A familiar scene.
The school courtyard from that day.
The banyan tree.
And on the bench, the backs of two small figures are drawn.
"...Beautiful."
When I turned it over, there was a handwritten message attached.
Grandpa said that promises aren't something you keep,
but something you grow.
So, this is the beginning.
Until the day we meet again.
— Yixiang
I traced those letters over and over again.
That night.
An unfamiliar notification arrived.
"A friend request has been received from Wang Yixiang."
I couldn't help laughing.
"Now?"
I muttered that as I accepted it,
and a message came in right away.
"Good evening."
Just five characters.
And yet my chest grew warm.
After thinking for a moment, I replied.
"Good evening😊"
Sent.
A few seconds later.
"Was it hot in Japan today too?"
An ordinary conversation.
Talking about the weather.
Talking about food.
Talking about work.
Even though we were together every day in Taiwan,
it felt a little embarrassing over the screen.
A few days later.
A video call came in.
On the screen was Taiwan's blue sky.
"Can you see it?"
He points his phone toward the sky.
There it was—that school.
"Huh...? The school?"
"My grandfather asked me to come clean a little."
The wind stirs the banyan tree outside the window
I couldn't help laughing.
"It feels like I'm there too."
He laughed too.
"I guess so."
There is a slight pause.
He looked away shyly and said softly.
"...I want to see you."
At the sudden words, my heart leaped.
"Huh?"
"...Ah."
He blushed right up to his ears in a panic.
"No, I mean..."
His flustered look was so funny that I burst out laughing.
"Hehe."
He ended up laughing too.
The time we spent laughing together over the screen,
I never knew it could feel so happy.
Before ending the call,
he said, looking out the window.
"My grandfather..."
"Hm?"
"Said there's still a place he hasn't shown me."
"Still?"
"Yes."
He smiled a little and went on.
"So, please come to Taiwan again."
Without hesitation, I answered.
"Yeah. At this school again."
Even after the call ended,
my smiling face was still reflected on the screen.
I surely wasn't――
falling in love with Taiwan.
The place where we met,
I'm starting to be drawn to you.
— To be continued
