A light breeze causes the naked branches overhead to rattle like wind-chimes.
 
 I thought that this would be a good place to meet, stories have been told of couples confessing their love for one another here.
 
 My heart is vibrating within my chest. Not only am I nervous, but it's also chilly.
 
 I wonder if he got the note. Maybe I should have given it to him myself, or left it somewhere more obvious. As I ponder the could-ofs would-ofs, I feel my chest tense up, like it's being pulled inward.
 
 As I break through the trees into an opening, I see a familiar head in the middle of the opening. I call out to him, "Hisao?"
 
 He turns around to face me, his face pensive. I could have thought of a better greeting. I've thought about this moment for so long, yet I could only muster his name.
 
 My heart jumps as he calls back to me, "Iwanako? I got a note telling me to wait here... it was yours?"
 
 "I... I sent someone to give you... a note.."
 
 Why is it so hard to speak? The air in my lungs feel heavy, and my throat feels tight, like it's closing in on itself.
 
 After a cold, painful silence, Hisao speaks up again. "So... ah... here we are. Out in the cold..."
 
 This is it. I need to spit it out now or I'll miss my chance. "You see..."
 
 "I wanted to know..."
 
 "if..."
 
 " you wanted..."
 
 "Iwanako?"
 
 His voice cuts into the cold air. My heart pounds with the force of a battering ram, and I reach up to rub the pain out of my tight throat. I can hardly breath.
 
 "Iwanako?!"
 
 This is bad. I need to say it now, before it's too late.
 
 "to..." It only comes out as a whisper. Blinding pain is surging through my body, and my entire vision turns hazy red, until all I can see is a blurry image of his face. As I focus all of my energy trying to produce a few short words, my heart comes to a grinding stop, and my legs collapse.
 
 "IWANAKO!"
 
 The world around my starts to fade. The leaves, hiding the sky and producing shade, the gentle fall of snow, and Hisao's echoing screams; they all start to dissipate into the blackness that envelopes me.
 
 I... I messed up.