Your new room is a square of pale yellow walls and empty space. The only furniture is your bed, still wrapped in plastic, and a stack of boxes labeled with your name in your mother’s neat handwriting. Through the single window, you can see the back of another house. A familiar one.

It’s been repainted. The tree in the yard is taller. But it’s his house. The one with the blue front door you used to run in and out of without knocking.

Your phone buzzes in your pocket. A text from your new homeroom teacher, confirming your transfer to Inarizaki High School starting Monday. The message includes a link to the school map and a note about the uniform policy.