WHEN SUMMER COMES AGAIN
---
CHAPTER ONE — THE GIRL AT THE STATION
The first thing Ren noticed about her was that she was laughing.
Not loudly.
Just enough for him to hear it over the sound of the evening train.
He was sitting alone on a bench at the station, headphones around his neck, staring blankly at the tracks while waiting for the last train home.
Then—
“Are you always this miserable-looking?”
Ren looked up.
A girl stood in front of him.
She had a yellow umbrella tucked beneath one arm and a convenience-store bag in her hand.
Ren blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“You look like someone stole your soul.”
“I’m just tired.”
“That’s exactly what someone without a soul would say.”
She smiled.
Ren stared at her for a moment.
“You're weird.”
“And you're boring.”
She sat beside him without asking.
For some reason, Ren didn't move.
The rain continued falling.
The station announcement echoed overhead.
Then the girl held out a canned coffee.
“Here.”
Ren looked at it.
“Why?”
“Because you look like you need it.”
“You don't even know me.”
She shrugged.
“Then introduce yourself.”
“Ren.”
“Mika.”
She smiled.
“Nice to meet you, Ren.”
The train arrived.
Neither of them noticed.
---
CHAPTER TWO — SUMMER
After that night, Mika somehow kept appearing.
At the station.
At the convenience store.
At the small café near Ren's university.
Sometimes she would simply sit beside him without saying anything.
Other times she talked enough for both of them.
She dragged him to festivals.
Made him try ridiculous food.
Complained about the heat.
Stole his headphones.
And somehow, without Ren realizing it, his lonely routine disappeared.
One evening, they sat on the roof of an abandoned parking building.
The city stretched beneath them.
Mika looked at the sunset.
“Ren.”
“Hmm?”
“What do you want to do before summer ends?”
“Nothing special.”
She frowned.
“You're supposed to say something romantic.”
“Like what?”
“I don't know. Travel somewhere. Fall in love. Get married.”
Ren laughed.
“You're planning my life now?”
“Someone has to.”
She looked at him.
Then smiled.
“When summer ends, we'll start our real life together.”
Ren's smile faded slightly.
“Together?”
“Of course.”
She turned away.
Her cheeks were slightly red.
Ren smiled.
“Okay.”
---
CHAPTER THREE — FIREWORKS
The festival was crowded.
Mika grabbed Ren's hand.
“Don't lose me!”
“You're the one dragging me!”
“Then keep up!”
They ran between the stalls.
They shared shaved ice.
Mika won a cheap stuffed animal at a shooting game.
Ren bought her a bracelet.
She stared at it.
“You bought this for me?”
“No. I bought this for the person standing next to you.”
She laughed.
“You're getting better at jokes.”
That night, they watched fireworks from the rooftop.
Mika leaned against his shoulder.
“Beautiful.”
“Yeah.”
“I wish this could last forever.”
Ren looked at her.
“It can.”
Mika didn't answer.
The fireworks reflected in her eyes.
For a moment, Ren thought she looked sad.
Then she smiled.
“Promise me something.”
“What?”
“When summer ends…”
She held out her little finger.
“…don't forget me.”
Ren hooked his finger around hers.
“I promise.”
---
CHAPTER FOUR — STRANGE THINGS
The first strange thing happened the following week.
Ren took a photograph of them together.
He looked at the screen.
He was standing beside an empty bench.
Mika wasn't there.
“What the—?”
He looked beside him.
Mika was standing there.
“What's wrong?”
Ren showed her the photograph.
She stared at it.
Then laughed.
“Your phone is broken.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“Technology hates me.”
She took his phone.
“Delete it.”
“Why?”
“Because it's ugly.”
She deleted the picture.
Ren didn't think much about it.
Until he noticed something else.
Mika never went inside his university.
She never visited her own home.
She never introduced him to friends.
She never appeared in photographs.
And whenever he asked about her family, she became strangely quiet.
One night, Ren finally asked.
“Mika.”
“Hm?”
“Where do you live?”
Silence.
“Somewhere nearby.”
“Where?”
She smiled.
“Why are you suddenly interviewing me?”
“Because I don't know anything about you.”
Mika looked away.
“You know enough.”
“No, I don't.”
She stood.
“Let's go.”
“Mika.”
“Please.”
Something in her voice made Ren stop.
He followed her.
---
CHAPTER FIVE — THE NAME
The next morning, Ren searched her name.
Mika Aoyama.
Nothing.
He tried again.
Different spellings.
Different searches.
Nothing.
Then he found an old news article.
Three years old.
A photograph.
A girl.
Same face.
Same smile.
Same bracelet.
Ren's blood went cold.
The headline read:
LOCAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT DIES IN ROAD ACCIDENT
Ren stared at the screen.
His hands began shaking.
The article mentioned the location.
The date.
The storm.
And the name.
Mika Aoyama, 19.
Ren stopped breathing.
“No…”
A voice came from behind him.
“Ren?”
He turned.
Mika stood in the doorway.
She was smiling.
But her eyes weren't.
“You found out.”
---
CHAPTER SIX — THREE YEARS AGO
Memory returned like broken glass.
Three years earlier.
Ren and Mika had been dating.
They were young.
Immature.
They fought constantly.
That night, they had argued.
Mika wanted him to go with her.
Ren refused.
She walked away.
He followed.
The rain became heavier.
“Mika, wait!”
She turned around.
“Why do you never listen to me?”
“Because you're impossible!”
“Then leave me alone!”
She ran across the street.
Ren shouted.
“Mika!”
Headlights appeared.
Brakes screamed.
Then—
Silence.
Ren remembered standing in the rain.
Mika lying motionless on the road.
His hands covered in blood.
The ambulance.
The police.
His mother's voice.
And then—
His mind buried everything.
Because he couldn't survive the truth.
---
CHAPTER SEVEN — THE LAST SUMMER
Ren sat on the rooftop.
Mika sat beside him.
“You're not real.”
She looked at the city.
“No.”
“You died three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“I've been imagining you.”
“Yes.”
Ren covered his face.
“Why?”
Mika didn't answer immediately.
“Because you missed me.”
Tears ran down his face.
“I killed you.”
“No.”
“I did.”
“You didn't mean to.”
“But it happened because of me.”
Mika turned toward him.
“You spent three years punishing yourself.”
She touched his cheek.
“You thought remembering me was the same as loving me.”
Ren looked at her.
“But it isn't?”
She shook her head.
“Loving someone doesn't mean refusing to let them go.”
Ren broke.
He grabbed her.
For the first time, his arms passed through her.
“Mika…”
Her smile trembled.
“I think my time is almost over.”
“No.”
“Ren.”
“No.”
“Remember your promise?”
He couldn't speak.
“When summer ends…”
She smiled.
“…we start our real life.”
---
CHAPTER EIGHT — GOODBYE
The final night of summer arrived.
They returned to the rooftop.
The same place.
The same city.
The same sky.
But this time, there were no fireworks.
Mika sat beside him.
“I'm scared.”
Ren looked at her.
“So am I.”
She laughed softly.
“You're supposed to tell me everything will be okay.”
“It will.”
“You're terrible at lying.”
“I know.”
They sat quietly.
Then Mika stood.
“Ren.”
He looked up.
“I had a wonderful summer.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Me too.”
She began fading.
“No…”
Mika smiled.
“Don't cry.”
“I can't do this again.”
“You don't have to.”
She reached for him.
This time, he could feel her hand.
Warm.
Just for a moment.
“Thank you for remembering me.”
Ren held her hand tightly.
“I love you.”
Mika smiled.
“I know.”
Her fingers slipped away.
And she disappeared.
---
EPILOGUE — SPRING
Eight months later.
Ren stood in front of Mika's grave.
He placed a bouquet of yellow flowers beside it.
“I came back.”
The wind moved gently through the trees.
“I finally went back to university.”
He smiled.
“I made friends.”
A pause.
“And…”
He laughed quietly.
“I even stopped looking miserable all the time.”
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Ren looked at the grave.
“I'm sorry.”
He bowed his head.
“I'll remember you.”
“But I won't stay here anymore.”
He turned around.
And walked away.
A warm summer breeze passed through the cemetery.
The bracelet hanging from one of the flowers moved gently.
Then—
A girl's voice whispered through the wind.
“See you when summer comes again.”
Ren stopped.
He turned around.
Nobody was there.
Only the sunlight.
Only the trees.
Only summer.
He smiled.
Then continued walking.
---
THE END
