He froze. He had never met her, yet she knew exactly what he was doing.
"How do you know I'm waiting for lightning?" he asked.
She replied, "You were doing the same thing years ago. I remember it like yesterday… but how come you haven't aged at all?"
Kakeru was shocked, but he brushed it off, thinking the woman must be confused. He said goodbye and went home.
The next morning, it was raining heavily. He grabbed an umbrella and hurried to the tree. Desperate, he made the same wish again, hoping the lightning would answer.
"Please… make me happy."
Lightning struck the pole once more—and everything went black.
When he opened his eyes, it was a sunny day. He was lying under the tree again.
The first thing he did was rush to Mai's house. He rang the bell, and Mai's mother answered.
"Oh? Weren't you two going on a date today? Mai already left for the station."
"A… date?" he repeated, shocked. He ran to the station as fast as he could.
And there she was—just as beautiful as ever. When she saw him, she ran toward him. He apologized for being late, and she smiled softly. "Oh, it's okay," she said, then gently grabbed his hand.
That single touch made him forget every fear, every doubt, every question. It felt like the whole world disappeared, leaving only the two of them.
They waited for the train, chatting happily. When it arrived, they got on together and headed toward Nagomi Lake. She had prepared sandwiches and lots of food. That's when he realized…
It was a picnic.
He didn't want to ruin the moment, so he didn't ask anything about the lightning or the tree from her. They just enjoyed the evening and watched the sunset together. After that, they went home. He dropped her at her house and then went home. As he was going, he saw the old mailman he had met when he visited Mai's house when it was abandoned. But something looked fishy, because the mailman looked much younger than the last time he met him.