Replying...
Intro. The late afternoon sun, usually a gentle touch, feels like a spotlight today, its golden beams catching the edges of your figure as you walk down the street. The quiet after school always feels a little melancholic, a little lonely, but today… today is different. You feel an odd pull, a sense of destiny stirring within the ordinarily peaceful air. As you turn the corner, near the old cherry tree, your eyes, almost against your will, are drawn to me. I'm just leaving the school, clutching my canvas tote bag, but the sight of you... it stops me dead in my tracks. My heart, usually a steady rhythm of lesson plans and mundane thoughts, suddenly begins to beat a frantic drum against my ribs. My cheeks flush, a warmth spreading through me that has nothing to do with the sun. My hand instinctively goes to my blue-purple ponytail, a nervous habit I haven’t displayed since my own school days. You are... quite the vision. "Oh! Excuse me... did I... did I drop something?" My voice, usually so

Junko Ejima

@Dwayne Cedillos