Currently, in front of me is a giant steel gate with a picture of various animals drawn in a cartoonish style - a balloon-shaped hippo, a lion with a razor-sharp mane, you get the picture. However, its colorful appearance and large size serve little purpose in letting it stand out, for the constant ringing in my ear caused by the armada of summer’s signature animal - the dreaded cicada - is just too much to handle. Meanwhile, the summer sun beating down on my head like a constant strike of a hammer isn’t helping.

Though it is our day off - the first day of our summer vacation, as a matter of fact - we still have to arrange our date in the afternoon, for the simple matter of fact that Yoichi’s show doesn’t start until late in the evening. Or at least, that’s the pretext of it, as I open my phone once again to check for the laid-out plan:

[Yoichi: Remember, my show is in the evening, but I’m not telling Natsume that. You can arrange to meet her earlier, and enjoy your date until I call you.]

[Me: But what if she asks about you? I can’t say you set us up.]

[Yoichi: Just say that I got the wrong time. It’s the image I’ve built in front of her, after all.]

[Me: You’ve planned for even this?]

[Yoichi: Of course. Reading people is my specialty, remember?]

I let out a sigh as I close my phone, my eyes gazing back at the ever-golden blazing road. Thankfully, there’s a tree right next to this gate, which gives me just enough shade to withstand this heat. If not, just looking at the distorted air steaming from the concrete road, I can tell that I’ll soon get boiled alive if I stay there for too long.

I open the phone again. Two thirty. Meaning that there’s a whole four hours until Yoichi’s show.

I close the phone and look out at the road again. Then open again. Close again. Click. Clack.

Only three minutes so far. I never took Natsume for someone lenient on time - especially considering what she did at school, though only for a day. Well, granted, it is my fault for coming half an hour early. I should have thought about it more.

[Me: Are you there yet?]

The message pops up on my phone, ready to be sent away. But in the end, I can’t finish the task and press the button. Well, to be exact, I don’t need to anymore, since from afar, a sweet voice calls out to me:

“Hakuen!”

I’ve never seen Natsume outside of a school uniform before, so her appearance before me right now is an experience I can never forget.

A plain, white sundress that is the perfect combination of shyness and boldness. A large straw hat and sunglasses both to protect her from the sun as well as to give a cool, mystique feeling. A small purse hanging across her shoulder, accentuating her curves to another level.

It’s a sight to die for, what can I say?

“Have you been here for long?” Natsume asks. If her look hasn’t sent me to overheat enough, then her voice definitely has made me go past my boiling point.

“N-No, I just got here, haha…” I let out an embarrassed laugh. Hopefully, she buys the obvious lie…

“Oh, that’s great!” A beaming smile comes from Natsume, causing me to spiritually fall over once more. “Come, let’s go inside then.”

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As if waiting for our cue, as soon as we take a step forward, the gates to the park open wide as if welcoming a pair of VIPs. From behind the steel bars, a small, shivering voice from an elder sounds:

“Welcome… to Wonderland Park…”

A string of coughs soon breaks the introduction. Panicked, both Natsume and I head behind the gates as fast as we can.

“Sir, are you all right?” Natsume is the first to ask, patting her hand on the person’s back - a small, hunched old man in a green security suit; the little white hair he has left is hidden perfectly under an old cap stained with sweat and grease.

“... I’m fine, girlie…” the old man tries to laugh off the incident. “Just a bit of a sore throat …”

“You should still get some rest, sir,” answers Natsume, trying to lead the man to the nearest building she can find. “This weather is not something you can handle.”

“Thanks for worrying about me, but I’m fine,” the old man slowly and gently nods. “I’ve been doing this all my life, after all.”

“Isn’t there anyone else on the staff that can cover your shift?” I ask.

“Other staff?” The old man’s eyes open, if just a little, as if his current strength only allows him to show that much of a surprised reaction. “There is no other staff, son. I’m the only one here. Always been that way.”

“You’re the… only one?” Both Natsume and I exclaim as our eyes meet to share our disbelief. “But… this park is so big! How come there’s only one person working in it?” I add.

“You’ll get used to it, son…” the old man answers, but there’s not a single trace of anger or regret in his words. Instead, with the way his soothing voice sounds, it almost feels like… he’s proud of the hardship he’s been through.

“And besides, this place is shutting down soon,” he continues.

“Really, sir?” Natsume utters. “How come?”

“Not enough money to keep it going anymore…” the man lets out a sigh. “Today’s its last day on the job, so you kids enjoy things while you can.”

“That’s so sad…” Natsume exclaims.

But that doesn’t make sense though. After all, he’s performing here tonight… unless…

“What if today has a special event that can make up for losses in sales?” I ask, clinging to the new hope I’ve found.

“Oh, right!” Natsume, elated by the realization, joins in. “If it’s him, then…”

But before we can be too happy with ourselves, the old guard has already snuffed out our last hopes.

“You kids mean Yoichi? He’s only performing out of old sentiments. The kid doesn’t even charge for tickets, and his show is late at night anyway…”

I might have made a big mistake.

“Late at night?” Asks Natsume. “Didn’t Yoichi say that he’d perform in the afternoon?”

“I-In the afternoon?” Faced with the sudden enquiry, my heart races faster than an F1 car in the last round of the competition. “Y-Yeah, he did say that, huh? Oh, wait, I just got a message from him! Silly Yoichi, forgetting his schedule again, haha…”

God, I hope she buys this…

“... Sometimes, I wonder how he’s able to be as popular as he is,” A light chuckle from Natsume signals that the coast is clear, causing me to focus with all my being not to let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the old guard lets out a relaxed laugh as well:

“Well, that kid never takes his schedules seriously, after all…”

“Oh, right, you know Yoichi too, sir?” I ask.

“Of course,” nods the old man. “He’s been our favorite customer ever since he was a kid. That’s why he’s also the one who suggested putting on a show to say goodbye to this park, for one last hurrah, he said.”

“Aw, how thoughtful of him,” Natsume comments.

“Well, seeing that there’s still quite the time until his show…” the guard glances towards the inner parts of the park. “How about you two go have fun?”

“But, your condition…” Natsume worriedly looks over the old man, only to be met with a hearty laugh:

“No worries, no worries! I’ll go rest these old bones soon enough. You two don’t have to waste your time around me, I mean it!”

Faced with the answer, Natsume turns her attention to me, secretly asking for my help through her eyes.

I take a deep breath to calm myself and lean towards her to whisper into her ears. But not before turning my face hot enough to fry an egg.

“We’ll just go around the places near here, so whenever he seems to be in trouble, we’ll come to help as fast as we can. What do you think? I feel like if we’re not following his suggestion, he might be upset at us.”

“... Yeah, I think so too,” Natsume reluctantly agrees.

Turning to the man, she continues with a smile:

“We’ll take on your offer then, sir. Have a nice day!”

“You too, kids. You too.”

The guard gives us a friendly wave of the hand as the three of us go our separate directions - him back to the hut near the gate, and Natsume and I further into the park to continue our “date”.