Winter With You

Naoki spent weeks planning this Christmas. Flowers, a restaurant reservation, a night that was going to be perfect for Miyuki — his girlfriend, his childhood friend, the person he has known since he was eleven. He walked to her office to surprise her and found her with someone else. He ran. In Central Park, he met Yume — a sixteen-year-old guitarist who was also alone on Christmas night, cheerful in a way that briefly cuts through the anger. Her company helps for a while. Running from the problem is not a solution, and Naoki knows it.