Ripples

Ripples are not something you can get close to. It was an ordinary bookstore on a street corner not far from Hyotei Academy. Its neat, simple storefront did nothing to draw attention. Inside, under dim, warm yellow lights, books of all kinds sat in orderly rows on three walls of tightly packed shelves. Between the layered rows, the yellowed pages were just visible. At the writing desk by the door, a young man leaned on one elbow, resting his chin in his hand. Several hefty old books lay open before him, but his gaze wandered beyond their pages, staring blankly outside the door, toward Hyotei, just across the street. How long had it been since I left Hyotei? The bookstore and the school were just a stone's throw apart, yet all these years had passed without my once setting foot inside that school again. Time accumulating is frightening. One day, sealed memories will open once more. But this time, will I be able to let them go? Theme: