24 years old

The golden ring twinkled in the light that fell through the church windows as he slipped it on her finger, enveloping her hand when the symbol of their love found its rightful place.

"You may now kiss the bride." The groom's hand slowly moved to the bride's chin, lifting it gently, lingering there for a moment. Then they kissed, both smiling and embracing each other. Loud clapping erupted in the holy halls.

Hinata brushed away the tears in the corners of her eyes, grinning brightly at the bride and groom, who were preoccupied with exchanging tender gazes and quiet murmurs. Her hand clasped around the bouquet that Tenten had handed her after walking down the aisle to her betrothed. Hinata studied the face of her cousin, Neji was stroking the cheek of his bride just lightly with a soft gaze in his eyes.

Hinata watched them attentively as if she should be able to report every detail in case someone asked her about that one time she actually saw the physical manifestation of happiness in the love for someone else. She would like to remember how Neji's eyes crinkled a little but unfamiliarly because she had never seen him smile this way, how his hand was still placed on her waist to make sure she didn't move away from him, how Tenten tiptoed so that her arms could remain around his neck.

Neji cast a glance at Hinata, standing close behind Tenten as her maid of honor, his eyes full of hope and merriment. Hinata smiled back.
Tenten turned around and abruptly pulled Hinata into a hug, the tulle of her wedding dress nearly enclosed Hinata completely. She congratulated her but Tenten didn't appear to realize it much and when she nodded her thoughts seemed to be levitating somewhere else but not here. She accepted her bouquet back and gifted her with the widest grin one could give.

Together the newlyweds descended the stairs from the altar, hand in hand. The applause reached its peak when they walked down the aisle towards the tall and heavy doors of the church, casting a smile here and waving a hand there. The doors creaked hollowly but the echo was barely perceivable from the noises. The people in the rows stood up from their places and followed the couple outside.

A breeze of cold wind swayed through the now open doors, reminding those in attendance of the freezing December air outside, but no one seemed bothered by winter as they waved after the couple.
Some moved to the front to congratulate the parents of the bridal couple, big smiles and handshakes were exchanged.

Hinata stood there at the top of the stairs for a while, taking it all in. The tranquility of the ceremony had completely dissolved, people now meeting acquaintances or asking each other how they would get to the wedding reception.

"What are you waiting for?" Ino stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her friend and waving her hand vigorously in the air.

"Ah, sorry." Hinata joined her in her walk towards the waiting room to gather their things.

"Didn't they look absolutely lovely?" Ino sighed dreamily and clasped her hands together. "They look so happy."

"They really do," Hinata confirmed with a smile.

Sakura was already in the bride room, renewing her lipstick, casting a smile at the women upon seeing their reflection in the mirror.

"One really can't but get a little jealous," Ino mumbled more to herself as she jammed her handbag with the contents she had sprawled over the table just half an hour ago. Hinata stopped listening when she started to ramble about the amount of junk she had brought when they hadn't needed half of it. "Well, at least we were prepared for everything," she concluded when Hinata was standing next to Sakura by the mirror and checking her phone.

"We are going to the reception together, right?" Hinata asked while reading the message of her sister wondering whether she and her father should go on to the wedding reception without her.

"Yeah, that's the plan." Sakura put her lipstick away and began fixing her hair.

"Good." Hinata slipped into her coat and threw a look into the mirror. The color of her lipstick had faded but she didn't feel like reapplying it. With a hand, she brushed over the red fabric of her dress peeking from underneath her coat. She turned around to Ino, who was waiting for her friends to get moving, her bag clutched tightly under her arm.

"Are you ready then?" Ino was already walking toward the exit of the waiting room, once again letting in the noises coming from the great hall. Hinata and Sakura followed her, rushing down the aisle.

Their steps quickened even more so when they were outside and the cold air whipped against their faces, which they tried to burrow as deep into their coats as possible. Greetings with passerby were exchanged halfheartedly. Ino jittered audibly when she unlocked the car and let out a sigh the moment she sat down inside.

"Gosh, it's freezing." Quickly she turned the key and switched on the heater.

"It's probably going to snow soon," Sakura mumbled in the front seat, looking up at the clouds as if they could somehow hear her prediction.

Hinata quietly nestled in the backseat. She hadn't felt anything before but now that she was sitting, she could sense how much her legs hurt.
Ino was still for a while as if she waited for her limbs to defrost but then she turned on the motor, drove them out of the parking lot and into the streets. It was still early in the afternoon but all the life seemed to have vanished from the city. The clouds hung heavy and dark and endless above them, making even the pavement appear grayer than normal.

"Where is Sai by the way?" Sakura asked after a while, less because of genuine interest and more with the intention to break the silence. She was still looking outside, clutching her phone in her hand as if it could ring at any moment.

"We will meet at the venue. He is probably there already," Ino answered, a silent smile settling on her lips, that even Hinata could see from where she was sitting.

"Figures. You usually drag him everywhere you go, I was surprised not seeing him at the ceremony." It was supposed to be a joke but the spiritless way Sakura had spoken didn't make her words sounds so.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ino cast her a quick glance. "Isn't that what you're ought to do with a boyfriend? Spend time with him?" Sakura let out a puff of air in response

"Instead of scoffing like that, you should try to get yourself one," Ino countered and Sakura turned her head so quickly to her direction that Hinata feared she might have hurt her neck.

"I don't have time for such things."

Hinata sighed as the discussion continued. Even when she had embraced her role as the pacifier in her group of friends sometimes she was tired of the duties that came with this position. She averted her head to see outside and suddenly their voices seemed to fade to somewhere very far away as they turned into a familiar street. They drove past Hinata's old home and she looked up at the window that used to be hers. It was now decorated with colorful star and moon cutouts and framed in pink curtains.

It was odd how a place could get a hold of someone even when a long time had passed since seeing it last. Hinata caught sight of the bakery that had lost all its evidence of ever being one. There were no letters on the windows anymore and it looked lonely in the way it was abandoned. Hinata's chest tightened a little and her head flooded with memories.

Spotting the bakery was like finding a gem, a sparkling treasure in between ordinaries. This place is special, she thought, and bright, she knew that from the first glance at it.

Winter was around her when she laid eyes on the shop for the first time. The air was freezing, numbing her fingers against the glass. Her breath hit the window that had the word "Konoha" spelt in golden letters and was decorated with lights. Strings of lights, gleaming and making the glass shimmer while creating an illusion of warmth in the darkness of the December afternoon.

She didn't realize the glass door of the shop opening and someone stepping next to her, too occupied was she trying to see past the customers blocking her view from the baked goods, like seeking for the sun in the sky the moment a cloud decided to move in front of it.

"Hey little one, are you lost?" A woman had kneeled down by her side. She had her arms wrapped around herself and rubbed them.

Hinata slowly turned her head toward her. The woman was still much taller than her even when she tried to lower herself to the girl's eye level. Hinata's gaze fixated the color of the woman's hair, her head shaking was delayed because of how entranced she was by the redness of it. It was much more interesting to find words to describe that shade of red.

"Where are your parents?" The woman neared in a little and tilted her head. "Are you waiting for them?"

Hinata shook her head once more and blinked a few times. "I'm waiting for my cousin."

"Is that so." The woman looked around, her braid falling from her shoulder. Hinata saw her breath visible in the air. "Do you want to wait inside?"

Of course, she wanted to, since the first moment, she had caught sight of the window that seemed to keep all the lights the winter had sucked out of the city. So she stepped toward the shop owner, showing her willingness, her desire, to go inside.

The woman opened the door for the girl and a little bell resounded above them. Inside it was warm and she could sense the tip of her nose, the fingers in her gloves and the toes in her boots heating up. The air smelled so rich that when Hinata breathed in she could nearly taste the delicious, sweet flavor on her tongue. It fogged her mind. The woman told her something and Hinata nodded when she hadn't even listened to a word she said. She walked behind the counter gracing the next customer with a beaming smile.

Hinata stood at the door for a while and searched for things she couldn't see from the outside, like family pictures and Christmas decorations on the walls. The cushions on the chairs had motifs of cakes and cupcakes on them. The room appeared smaller now that she was inside but when she looked up to the silver garlands hanging from the dark ceiling, the blue and red ornaments that reflected the light and created a play of colors on the walls, it felt like she was standing under the stars and the sky was endless.

There was a fair amount of customers around but she stayed unseen by them as she shuffled to the counter with the baked good. Golden sweetness displayed like treasures, which the glass kept her from touching. What caught her eye the most were the cakes, which looked so lovely that the possibility of any of them tasting bad seemed ridiculous. Some were simple, only dusted with something white that looked like snow. Some had written words on them, which she was unable to read. And some were decorated with fruits or chocolate, like they were jewels placed on a crown. The counter was warm when Hinata put her ungloved hand on it, which left traces on the glass.

"What are you doing?" A boy's voice disrupted her in her admiration of the cakes. His hair was wild and unkempt, his fringe nearly poking his eyes. He examined her from head to to, holding a plate with a piece of cake on it, which had one single strawberry on the top of a bed of whipped cream.

"What's your name?" he asked but Hinata refused to answer, instead she pressed her lips together as if she couldn't trust her mouth from giving away her name.

"My name is Naruto." She thought that that name suited him very well and nodded. After a while, he started to look around the shop, at times lingering in certain corners.

"Come with me." Naruto raised the plate higher to protect it from falling to the ground as he moved around and between the legs of the customers.

Hinata trailed him with her gaze, for a moment she looked back at the pastries behind the glass as if they had an invisible hold on her and were keeping her from leaving but then she followed him to an empty table by the windows. Naruto put the plate on the round table before he moved around to climb on a green chair. With his small figure sitting in it, the chair seemed to absorb him with its massiveness.

He gestured her to sit next to him and even held his hand out to help her get on the chair. For some reason, Hinata didn't doubt his good intentions. She took his hand and climbed into the chair, feeling the soft velvet of the cushions before sitting down by his side. Their legs still dangled in the air even when they slid far to the front so that they were able to reach the table. The dark wood under the plate had scratches along its texture and reflected the lights on its polished surface.

"I get to eat one piece of cake in the week and this is the one for this week." Naruto got out the two forks he had carried in the front pocket of his pants and gave Hinata one. "I'm gonna share my piece with you." He smiled again, exposing the gap in the bottom row of his teeth. Then he used his fork to cut the cake into two roughly same-sized pieces, not even forgetting to cut the strawberry in half.

The result was a mess, as the pinkish cream inside had busted out of its place between the biscuits. The white cream from the top stuck to his fork and a little on his fingers. Hinata glanced at Naruto licking the cream off his she looked back at the cake, despite the overall mess, she was touched that he wanted to share it with her. Somehow this piece of pastry felt very important like he was offering the world to her, like it was the most precious thing he could give her.

Hinata raised her fork and took a piece, trying to cut through all the layers. The sweet flavor of vanilla mixed with the freshness of the little pieces of strawberries melted in her mouth. Only after being ensured by her reaction that she was satisfied with the taste, Naruto dug his fork into his own piece.

A comfortable silence settled between them, where they watched customers come and leave with the little treasures in their hands, sometimes gazing at the two children and smiling. Naruto always stopped eating and grinned back as widely as he could. He often knew them by name. As soon as he started talking he couldn't stop and Hinata wondered how Naruto had managed to stay still until now when there was so much he wanted to say. At times he couldn't decide whether to talk or shove another piece of cake into his mouth and Hinata could see the dilemma displayed on his face.

He told her that his parents had opened the shop when he was just a baby and that he practically grew up in this very place. His father was a renowned patissier and Naruto proudly pointed towards the pictures that showed his father standing next to people with tall white hats, that according to him, were quite famous too. Naruto was just explaining how his father's cakes were the best when the front door opened and a voice called for Hinata.

"Hinata, why didn't you wait for me outside the house? I was running up and down the whole street." A boy with a blue hood and his hair tied into a ponytail stared at Hinata with frantic eyes.

"Neji." Hinata wanted to answer that he had taken too long to get ready and that she had gotten bored but the stern way her cousin was eyeing her, she didn't dare to respond.

"Let's go." Neji grabbed her hand and helped her down from the chair, throwing glaring glances in Naruto's direction, who was watching this scene silently but with furrowed brows.

But when Hinata looked up at Naruto again—still sitting on the chair he felt far away now—he was grinning back at her.

"I know your name now, Hinata," he said, without giving Neji any attention, as if he wouldn't be able to understand his words anyway as if he was talking in a language only Hinata would understand. "You definitely have to come back again."

Hinata smiled and for a moment resisted her cousin pulling at her arm, trying to get her to leave this place that already felt familiar to her. She nodded and let Neji carry her away. Naruto waved at her through the shop windows until she disappeared from his sight.

The patisserie between the quiet bookstore and the traveling agency with pictures of beaches on its windows, just a few houses from her home, became her place of comfort and Naruto her best friend. Mutually and without words they understood why this place was special. And no one seemed to understand it the way they did. But that was okay because they had each other.

"Do you feel sad, when you see it?" Ino asked. "The shop I mean. It's vacant again now." Hinata twitched, it was as if someone had woken her from a deep sleep and the dreams she was dreaming just now vanished into thin air like smoke.

"Ino," Sakura retorted, as she thought that this topic wasn't something Ino could ask about so nonchalantly.

"I was just curious, sorry." Ino failed to sound apologetic but Hinata didn't feel like she had to.

"No, it's okay." She turned her head away from the window, the former bakery now long behind her. "The memories aren't all sad so it's okay."