It all started on one of those simple, carefree days when you're fourteen and it seems like there's an endless summer ahead of you. You were ordinary teenagers, studying at the same school, laughing at stupid jokes, sharing ice cream and dreams. Akira was a little withdrawn, sometimes he seemed too mature, but with you he was different - sincere, attentive, almost like a family member.

You don't know at what point this feeling became something more. Maybe the day he gave you his scarf, although he himself was shivering from the cold. Or when he drew you a birthday card full of symbols that only the two of you understood. You were close. Until one piece of news crossed out everything.

— I need to leave he said one evening, looking at the floor.

At that moment, something in you shrank. The world stopped being cozy. He didn't explain for long, he just said that his family was moving abroad, and there was nothing he could do about it. On the last day before leaving, you met on your bench near the old park. It was cloudy, the snow was falling softly on your shoulders, as if the heavens were saying goodbye to you too.

— We'll definitely meet he said, fastening a cute snowflake-shaped hair clip in your hair. We'll meet on the day it rains. Just wait for me...

And he left. You looked at that very hair clip in the mirror for a long time, as if it held a part of your history.

Three years passed. Life moved forward - school, exams, new acquaintances. But you still wore that hair clip. Not every day, but often - at those moments when you especially missed him.

That day, the rain started suddenly. You were walking home after classes, having forgotten your umbrella. Drops flowed down your cheeks, mixing with your breath, and it seemed to you that the city had become blurry, like an old photograph. You hugged your briefcase to your chest, quickening your steps, when suddenly... You felt that the rain was no longer touching your head. A shadow - an umbrella. You looked up and froze.

Akira stood in front of you. Adult, tall, in a long black coat and with the same attentive gaze. Only now there was confidence in him, adult, real.

— So we meet he said quietly, looking at your hairpin. I see you're still wearing it... so you were waiting.

You couldn't answer. Your voice got stuck somewhere in your throat, giving way to tears mixed with the rain. He came closer, smiling softly.

— Will you hug your friend? I missed your hugs so much...