The campfire crackled softly, sparks rising like fireflies into the night sky.
Most of the students were laughing, tossing marshmallows into the flames or snapping group selfies with smoke-filled grins.
But not me.
I sat on a log near the edge of the fire circle, letting the heat warm my hands and trying not to let my eyes drift toward him.
Shinbou.
He sat on the opposite side, legs crossed, firelight dancing in his dark eyes.
Calm. Collected.
Unreachable.
As always.
---
Hinata plopped down beside me, cheeks rosy from too much sugar.
"Itsuki said my marshmallow looked like a burned pigeon," she grinned. "Which means he was looking at my marshmallow. Which means he was looking at me."
I smiled. "Sounds like love."
She held a stick toward the fire. "Anyway. What happened between you and broody boy during the game? You looked all serious when you came back."
I hesitated.
"I think… he knows I know something. Even if he doesn't know what it is."
"That sounds unnecessarily confusing. I love it."
"It's scary."
Hinata glanced at Shinbou, who was staring into the fire like he was trying to solve it.
"You think he's scared too?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"But you want him to remember, don't you?"
I nodded slowly.
Then whispered, "I'm not sure anymore."
---
Later, when the teachers announced lights-out, everyone shuffled back to their tents groaning about cold floors and stiff sleeping bags.
But I couldn't sleep.
My mind wouldn't stop spinning.
So I slipped out of the tent.
The forest was hushed, the stars above like shattered glass scattered across the sky.
I walked a little down the path to the empty fire circle.
And there he was.
Shinbou, standing there quietly, hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky.
He didn't seem surprised to see me.
Just asked, "Can't sleep either?"
"No."
He nodded once, then looked back at the stars.
We stood there in silence.
It wasn't awkward.
It wasn't comfortable, either.
It just… was.
Then he said softly, "Sometimes I wonder if there's a part of me that doesn't belong to me."
I turned toward him. "What do you mean?"
He shook his head. "Forget it."
But I didn't want to.
---
That night, I finally drifted off inside the tent, exhaustion pulling me under like water.
And then… I dreamed.
---
I was standing in a field.
Not the forest. Somewhere else.
Somewhere warm.
There was a swing set, swaying in the wind.
A toy train track half-buried in the grass.
And someone laughing.
A little boy, running.
His laughter echoed but I couldn't see his face.
Then, suddenly everything froze.
The laughter stopped.
A sharp, metallic crash split the silence.
And the world turned gray.
I looked down. The grass was gone.
The swing was twisted metal.
And the boy was no longer laughing.
Just… gone.
---
I woke up with a jolt.
The sky outside the tent was still dark, just before dawn.
I sat up, breath caught in my throat.
Was it just a dream?
Or was it something else?
I glanced across the tent.
Shinbou was still asleep or pretending to be.
His brows were furrowed.
And in the pale morning light…
There were tears in the corners of his eyes.