A Secret I've Kept Since Kindergarten (2/3)

(Cont'd)

[The Secret]
Actually, there was a "secret" between Yua and me.

Though to be fair, I think only we felt it was secret—the teachers and the principal (and perhaps even our parents) had probably already figured it out.

One day, after finishing our usual game of house and heading back to class together, something happened without any warning. She suddenly pressed her lips to my cheek. Well, I say that, but it was just a clumsy press of her mouth—a crude gesture that couldn't compare to the kind of kisses adults share. Still, Yua's action made my heart race more than a little, gave me a feeling like my chest was being squeezed tight, and left me hoping for it to happen again.

As I received her expressions of affection several more times after that, I began to feel a certain kind of comfort. Human beings are remarkably mysterious creatures, and I gradually began to want to reciprocate the gesture to Yua.

The day I brushed my lips against her cheek came a little while later. It certainly took me some time, but instead of pressing firmly, I gave her a long, gentle touch, soft and tender. It was the result of careful consideration for a young child. Yua seemed quite surprised—she stood there for a while, covering the spot where my mouth had touched with her hand.

After I made that first move, there was no contact from Yua for a while. I was secretly disappointed, thinking she might never reach out to me that way again. Then one day after lunch, there was an observation session for the hyacinths that each of us kindergarteners had been growing in water.

We'd take the pots with our hyacinths from the holders in the hallway, go down to the first floor, open the sketch pads the teacher had prepared, and draw pictures. I was more strongly drawn to the elegant fragrance of the flowers than to the long white roots extending from the bulbs.

After finishing our observations, as I was about to climb the stairs to return each child's flower pot, Yua, who was behind me, suddenly took my hand and led me into the dim space under the staircase. She gently brought her face close, and our lips met for the first time. It was a tender moment, lasting a bit longer than usual. She said "Bye-bye" and went up the stairs alone.

With my head in a daze, I felt a scent unfamiliar to me and tasted the barley tea she'd probably drunk at lunch, experiencing a tingling sensation throughout my body.