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“An-chan, are you up there?”“Yes! Right up here, Kohane!”The princess shuffled over a few paces on the windowsill, allowing Kohane to clamber the last few steps up the castle’s crumbling, ivy-coated wall. As usual, An helped the girl up, guiding her to sit right on the window’s ledge, her feet dangling into thin air.Relieved that Kohane had made it safely, An let out a small breath. “Listen— are you sure you should keep scaling this wall? Wouldn’t it be less trouble for me to start visiting you?”“No! It’s fine, really,” Kohane chuckled nervously, swinging her bag around to the front. “I mean, I know all the back passages, but you’d have to go through all those guards and through a bunch of gates and… it’s… this whole endeavor. I’ll teach you someday.”“Hmph. Yeah, sure.” An nudged the other girl gently. She had half a mind to gaze out at the view that her window ledge provided, but after years of living inside this room, she found that it hardly had anything new to offer. Instead, she was inclined to gaze at Kohane, and… the bag she had brought with her this time? “What’s in there?”“Oh, this?” Kohane shook the bag, and it gave a hollow rattling sound. “Well, I mean… I just thought I’d bring a little something this time. From my shop, you know?”“Oh. So you brought flowers? How romantic,” An snickered. “So, what are they? Roses? Forget-Me-Nots?”“Ehe… no,” Kohane mumbled. She was fiddling with the latch on the bag, popping it open, and making sure whatever was inside wouldn’t immediately fall out and be lost forever. And then, she was slowly revealing a small jar: one that contained nothing but a single spry, cut sunflower.“Ooh… it looks like you.” An already felt herself softening at the sight of the plant. She took the jar from Kohane, running her fingers along the flower’s bright saffron petals.“I know, right?” Kohane relinquished the jar with ease, watching with an almost enamored look as her princess hugged the sunflower to the chest. “Wait, An-chan. I haven’t even told you the best part. This one’s magic.”“Magic?” An gave the sunflower one last pat before setting it down next to her, and turning back to the other girl, staring deep into her eyes. “How so?”“Well…” Kohane bit her lip, a slow blush spreading across her face. “I’m told… as long as we love each other, the sunflower will never wilt.”“That so?” An chuckled, elbowing Kohane’s shoulder. “That’s super cute of you, Kohane! I hope you haven’t just fallen for another scam, though…”“W-What?! No!” Kohane sputtered indignantly, and she looked like she had half a mind to take the flower back— but she clearly thought better of it, softening and sighing instead. “Just… keep it safe, alright? Somewhere where your family won’t find it.”“Right… right.”An sighed. And with a mere flutter of her eyelids, Kohane had vanished.An sat alone on the windowsill, a short and spry sunflower in a jar sitting by her hip.An picked the jar up again, her finger gently caressing the flower’s soft edges— as if it was Kohane in her arms, sprawled across her lap, like she once remembered.It had been two years since Kohane was hung, and the silly thing hadn’t lost a single petal.She set the jar back down, giving it one last longing glance.Then, she turned her gaze up to the sun, ambling on its course and slowly sinking towards the horizon.Without Kohane, the old view was all she had to look at.