When the Cherry Blossom Blooms

Even as a child, Sakura saw herself as different from the other kids. Instead of playing and running around like normal children, she preferred to sit quietly in her seat, reading her favorite books. As she often said, “grown-ups always do this.” However, after experiencing a strange event that stirred an unknown emotion within her, she couldn't continue living as she had before. She felt more mature than the other kids her age. “I felt my chest ablaze, each spark making it hard to breathe. It was intensely hot yet suffocating, like drowning in deep water, struggling desperately to surface. If I had stayed there, never reaching the top, I knew it would leave me with nothing but burns and a feeling of suffocation.”