"Okay everyone, time to place your weekly letters on the desks of your classmates!"
The eight year olds rose from their seats and went around, leaving letters for everyone. Their teacher Iruka made it a classroom tradition. "Handwritten letters are still the best, children," he told them at the beginning of the project. Every Friday, they would make one letter for each classmate. It could be about anything, and they all looked forward to it. They would use stationeries and stickers to decorate, and they have the entire afternoon to make them.
Seeing their desks piled up with colourful envelopes makes the children excited. Everyone made a promise to not look at letters not for them, or else they will not receive any letter for two weeks.
After everyone got the chance to give their written messages to each other, they went back to their seats and placed them inside their bags.
"Class dismissed. Have a nice weekend, everyone!"
Everyone went home, excited to read their letters. Haruno Sakura went up to her room and laid the letters on her bed. She first took the mail with a plain white envelope, as always. It's her best friend's mail, after all. She smiled at his trademark hawk stationery, but felt uneasy at his words.
Please meet me at the park at 5pm today.
It was short, like his usual letters, but it contained a sense of something bad she couldn't name. After getting permission from her mother, she found him sitting at the swing. He was looking down, and he didn't face her even when she sat on the swing beside him.
"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun?"
When he did turn his attention to her, his eyes held unshed tears and such sadness Sakura felt her happy disposition gone.
"We're moving away… far away… next week."
Their little world crumbled. After the tears and whys, they promised to make the most of their time left together. As the dreaded day came, Sasuke handed her a letter, similar to all letters he's given to her.
Sakura was crying too hard to give a coherent reply. With one last hug, their paths separated. As she read his letter at the sidewalk, she tried to stop her tears from blurring her eyes.
I promise I'll come back. I don't know when, but I'm sure I will. Wait for me, okay? I will never forget you. We will always be under the same sky.
She clutched it close to her heart, vowing as well to wait patiently for him. Sasuke never breaks a promise – she knows he'll be back. It may take long, but the thought of being together outshined the pain.
"Wait, Sakura! There's a letter for you that just came a while ago."
She turned towards her mother who was handing her a white envelope. "Enjoy your first day in high school, okay?" the older Haruno cheered then gave her daughter a hug before going back to the kitchen.
"Hai," she nodded absentmindedly. She looked at the letter in her hands. It feels strange, yet oddly it felt right. Nostalgia hit her hard and she opened her door, deciding to read it on her way to school. When she freed the piece of paper from its envelope, her heart skipped a beat.
It was the same hawk stationery her beloved Sasuke-kun used in his mails back in second grade.
It contained only one message, but she felt her face lit up with it.
Sakura stiffened. That voice… felt hauntingly familiar. When she looked up she saw a guy around her age, tall with midnight black hair and aristocratic features. Definitely handsome. He had a soft smile on his face with his hands in his pockets. Her mind went blank for a moment, but when their gazes locked, everything fell into place.
She could never forget those pair of onyx orbs.
He spread out his arms, looking at her expectantly. With a small squeal, she rushed towards the man she missed the most and tackled him to a hug. Years of waiting finally ended – their promises fulfilled.
