“Hi, my name is Tzuyu.”

Sana blinked in confusion as she peered at the strange girl in front of her door.

“Um…”

Who is this?

“May I come in?”

Nothing is stranger than having someone you don’t know try to enter your house. Sana wasn’t asking to get murdered today.

“Why?” Sana asked, tempted to slam the door shut.

“I’m an old friend. Don’t you remember me?” Tzuyu smiled. Sana almost felt bad. She didn’t know this woman at all.

“I… I don’t, sorry,” Sana apologized.

“It’s okay.” Tzuyu continued to smile. Sana could’ve sworn there was a sad look in Tzuyu’s eyes.

“Maybe try to jog my memory? Are you an old classmate?” Sana suggested.

“No, we aren’t the same age. I met you in an ice cream shop, it’s a few blocks from here, it’s called Melting.”

Sana tried to think hard. She has no idea what Tzuyu is talking about.

“I’ve never heard of that store.” Sana raised an eyebrow. Was this girl messing with her?

“It’s pretty new. Don’t worry, the ice cream doesn’t melt quickly,” Tzuyu chuckled.

Sana didn’t realize that she opened the door wider. The two were in each other’s breathing space. Sana didn’t even notice, she was too busy trying to figure out who this girl is.

“So… may I come in?” Tzuyu tried again.

Uh…

“Sorry, I have to catch the bus soon. I need to go to class.” Sana pointed at her prepared backpack on the floor near the door.

“No you don’t.”

“What?” Sana glared.

Who does this girl think she is?

“Trust me, you don’t have any classes to attend today.” Tzuyu smirked. “Check your class schedule online if you don’t believe me.”

Sana pulled out her phone and tried to log into her university’s website.

Account does not exist.

Sana was even more confused.

What the heck?

“Can’t log in, right?” Tzuyu asked with a knowing look on her face.

Sana sighed. “How did you know?”

“Call it intuition.”

Sana stared at Tzuyu, finding her behavior odd. This random girl just showed up at her door, asked to come in, and apparently knew about her school situation before she did.

“Who are you?” Sana narrowed her eyes.

“I told you Sana, my name is Tzuyu.”

Sana stilled for a second before replying. “You know my name… We’ve really met before?”

“Yes, we were very good friends, it’s a shame you don’t remember me.” Tzuyu pouted.

“Well I can’t force myself to remember what I can’t,” Sana shrugged. Tzuyu frowned at that.

“I know, but it was worth a try.”

Something about Tzuyu was strange. Sana felt like there was something about her that feels familiar, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Can I come inside?” Tzuyu asked the question again. Sana hesitated before shrugging.

What’s the harm?

Sana gestured for Tzuyu to come in. She looked on in confusion when Tzuyu immediately walked through various hallways and doors. She was about to yell at her when she could her a faucet running.

“I dirtied my hands earlier, I hope you don’t mind me using your bathroom!” Tzuyu shouted. Tzuyu using Sana’s bathroom isn’t what concerned Sana, it’s the fact that Tzuyu knew where it was.

“Thanks,” Tzuyu said as she walked back to the front of Sana’s apartment. “So, you're apparently free today, is there anything you want to do?” Tzuyu crossed her arms with a grin.

“What? Just because I don’t have class doesn’t mean I don’t have other plans.” Sana quickly looked at the wall to the right of her door. She always kept a little calendar there; with daily plans written on it.

But it wasn’t there.

Hmm.

“You don’t have any plans, trust me,” Tzuyu chuckled. She walked towards Sana and took her hand. Sana wanted to pull back, but she was surprised when she realized how well their hands fit together. Tzuyu led her to the living room.

“Wanna watch TV?” Tzuyu grabbed the remote and turn on the television. She quickly flipped through channels before landing on an anime. “Sailor Moon good with you?”

Sana still felt strange, she should be kicking this girl out. She claims that they are old friends, but she hasn’t shown any real proof of that. It’s even stranger that Tzuyu coincidentally recommended watching her favorite anime.

“When did we-”

“Next up, a new episode of Sailor Moon Crystal!” A voice from the television shouted.

Sana looked at the television in shock. “Sailor Moon Crystal?! What the heck is that? I never heard of that! I follow Sailor Moon pretty closely and I never heard of this version of it!” Sana immediately sat down on the couch, Tzuyu quickly followed her.

“Yeah, it’s a reboot of the series, came out not too long ago.” Tzuyu found Sana’s reaction amusing and couldn’t keep a smile off her face.

“Here we go! Episode 26!”

Sana’s eyes almost bulged out of her face. “26? Just how much did I miss?”

What kind of Sailor Moon fan am I?

Tzuyu patted her back. “It’s okay, we can binge watch all the episodes you missed if you want.” Sana was completely fine with that. She had to get caught up.

The two girls spent the majority of the day watching episodes of Sailor Moon Crystal. At some point Tzuyu pulled out a bag of popcorn and microwaved it for them. Sana didn’t even question how Tzuyu knew where her kitchen was. They were currently laying down on opposite arms of the couch, their knees brushing one another’s.

Sana couldn’t help but find Tzuyu’s presence to be… calming. Something about her makes her feel comfortable.

They just finished catching up with the anime. Sana looked at the clock and almost jumped when she saw that it’s 7:00 P.M.

Did we really spend that long watching TV?

Tzuyu suddenly stood up and reached out a hand towards Sana. “Wanna go out to dinner?”

Sana blushed.

Tzuyu rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Not like that. I mean just go out to eat. I’m sure you don’t have any food here.”

“Actually I bought groceries yesterday-”

“There’s nothing in the fridge.” Tzuyu quickly interrupted.

“What?”

“I.. checked when I microwaved the popcorn.” Tzuyu gave a guilty smile.

“You tried to raid my fridge?” Sana glared.

“Something like that. Now, let’s go out to eat. There’s a restaurant down the street.” Tzuyu pulled Sana to the door. Sana barely had time to lock it before Tzuyu whisked her away to the streets. Sana looked around in confusion.

Did the city suddenly decide to beautify the streets overnight?

Tzuyu dragged Sana to a nearby restaurant. Sana hasn’t seen this restaurant before either, but didn’t ask any questions. A waiter saw them and smiled. He led them to a table without saying anything.

“What would you lovely ladies like to eat today?” He handed them menus and took out his notepad.

Sana scanned the menu, not sure what to get. “Umm…”

“Want me to order for you? I think I know what you’d like.” Tzuyu lowered her own menu, smiling at Sana. Sana gave a little smile back and put her menu down.

“Sure.”

Tzuyu ordered two of the same dishes. The waiter wrote it down before bowing and leaving their table.

“Can you tell me more about how we met? You seem to know me pretty well, but I don’t know anything about you.” Sana rested her chin on a closed fist, staring at Tzuyu intently.

“As I said before, we met at an ice cream shop. You didn’t know what flavor to get so I recommended one to you. You appreciated that and we hanged out the rest of the day, the rest is history.” Tzuyu smiled, recalling the memory. Sana tried really hard, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember who the heck Tzuyu was.

“Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for someone else?” Sana asked.

Tzuyu shook her head. “How many people here are named Sana?”

Good point.

Sana was about to ask more questions, but their food came. Sana almost drooled at the smell. She quickly digged in, at the taste.

“It’s spicy! I love spicy food!”

“I figured you would.” Tzuyu grinned before eating her own dish. The two ate in a comfortable silence. After they finished, Tzuyu paid for the two of them. Tzuyu led them down a street. Sana wasn’t sure where they were going, but she trusted Tzuyu. After all, she hasn’t attempted to murder her yet.

Sana looked at the building in front of her in confusion

Melting

“How have I not noticed this here before? It’s so close to my apartment…” Sana grumbled to herself. Tzuyu led them inside and ordered two cheesecake ice creams with blueberry and strawberry swirls. Sana thought it was an odd combination, but decided that it was worth a try.

Their ice cream didn’t take long to arrive. Sana look a small bite into the cold desert before beaming up at Tzuyu.

“This tastes amazing!”

“I knew you’d like it.”

“You seem to know a lot about what I like, are you a stalker?” Sana was only half joking.

“No, no!” Tzuyu quickly shook her head. “I’m not, just an old friend, really!”

Sana nodded, relenting. “If you say so.”

After finishing the ice creams they walked out of the store. Sana paused near the front door and looked at a little plaque that was there.

Melting: City’s number 1 ice cream store for the past 5 years!

… What?

Sana stared at it. It couldn’t be. She’s lived here for years and she’s never seen it.

“Tzuyu, when did we meet?” Sana grabbed Tzuyu arm so that she would look at her in the eye.

Tzuyu visibly gulped. “Uh…”

“When?” Sana pressed.

Tzuyu sighed before taking Sana’s hand. She quiety let her to a nearby bench which was right next to a fountain. Sana eyed Tzuyu suspiciously as the latter nervously rubbed her hands on her thighs. Tzuyu took a deep breath before pulling out her phone.

“Here.”

Sana held onto the phone, confused. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Unlock it.”

Sana pressed the home button and stared in shock.

There she was, in a picture with Tzuyu. They were both eating ice cream. Tzuyu had some on her nose and Sana was laughing her off. They looked… happy together.

Then Sana saw something that made her whole world stop.

The date.

“W-What-”

“My name is Chou Tzuyu. You and I met five years ago in Melting. We started dating not too long after that. We became girlfriends and started living together. You and I went on a road trip last year to the mountains. We hit some rough terrain and I got us into an accident.” Tzuyu paused, tears in her eyes. “I’ve never forgiven myself… You and I were emitted to the hospital. I came out fine, but you…” Tzuyu choked. “You not so much.”

Sana couldn’t say a word. She didn’t understand anything.

“You developed both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. You lost years of memories and can’t develop new ones.”

Sana couldn’t breath. This was all too much.

Tzuyu held Sana’s hand tightly. “I love you Sana, you may not remember me, but trust me, we were very happy together. I can’t live a day without hating myself for what I did to you… Please say something.”

Sana stared at Tzuyu’s wet eyes. She did realize that she was crying as well.

“I-I don’t know what to say…”

“Anything.”

Sana continued to stare at Tzuyu until a thought popped up in her head.

“Y-You said we got into an accident a year ago…” Sana said quietly. Tzuyu nodded. “So… this past year…” Sana shook her head. This was too much.

“This past year... I did this everyday with you. I spent every moment of everyday with you, hoping that you’ll remember me someday.” A tear slipped down Tzuyu’s face. Sana couldn’t help but feel the need to wipe it, so she did.

“... Why?” Sana whispered.

“Why what?” Tzuyu sniffled.

“Why make yourself suffer like this? Why not forget me and move on?”

Tzuyu let out a choked laugh. “I can’t. I love you too much.”

Sana stayed silent. She went through every memory in her head. The last thing she remembers is taking a test yesterday for biology class. She can’t remember anything about Tzuyu.

Nothing.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember a thing.”

“I-I know, it’s okay.” Tzuyu stood up and gently held Sana’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

Sana silently agreed. The two walked back to what is apparently their apartment. Sana quickly took a seat on the couch, suddenly feeling tired. Tzuyu watched her as she stifled a yawn.

“You should go to sleep.”

“What about you?” Sana didn’t know what to do with Tzuyu.

“Don’t worry about me, just go rest.” Tzuyu smiled sadly. Sana slowly walked to her bedroom and got ready for bed. After changing into her pajamas her door opened and Tzuyu walked in with a mug.

“I remember you liked drinking green tea before bed.” Sana quietly sipped the tea. All of this felt so bizarre.

Sana placed the empty cup on her night stand, facing Tzuyu with an awkward look on her face.

“Um-”

“Can I kiss you?” Tzuyu whispered.

Sana blinked.

“Please? I’ve never been able to sleep successfully without a good night kiss from you.”

Sana wasn’t sure what to do. Tzuyu sighed before opening a drawer, pulling out a photo book.

“Look.”

Sana opened the photo book and flipped through the pages, feeling tears roll down her face.

All she sees is Tzuyu and herself; hugging, kissing, and having fun together. She could see that they’ve been in various countries together, sporting different hairstyles every few pictures.

Tzuyu wasn’t lying.

Sana placed the photo book down before gently holding Tzuyu’s face in her hands. She close her eyes and slowly stood on her tippy toes. Tzuyu immediately relaxed at Sana’s touch, closing her own eyes. Their lips met in a soft kiss. Tzuyu almost sobbed. The kiss was quick, nothing about it was heated. It was a simple kiss.

Sana pulled back. “Sorry, I’m not… I’m not used to this.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

Tzuyu gently led Sana to her bed. “Sleep.”

“Where are you going to go?” Sana asked as Tzuyu tucked her in.

“I’ll be here, I’m always here.” Tzuyu watched on as Sana slowly fell asleep. She placed the photo book back in the drawer, knowing that she’ll have to pull it back out tomorrow.

She carefully laid down next to Sana. She let out a deep sigh. Tzuyu wakes up early everyday and leaves the house. She doesn’t want to scare Sana every morning; finding a random girl in her bed would terrify her.

Tzuyu set a quiet alarm next to her, thinking about what to do with Sana tomorrow.

______________________________________________________________________

 

Sana woke up groggily.

“God damn I need to go to class soon…”

She heard her doorbell ring and groaned as she went to open the door.

She saw a girl that she’s never seen before.

“Hi, my name is Tzuyu.”