For most other students, summer break was a time to look forward to, since there was no school. However, for Komi, it was less exciting only because breaks were when she had the hardest time figuring out what she wanted to do.
Of course, now that her circle of friends had greatly increased this year, things had been easier – she'd already gone to the local water park with her friend group. But still, there were days where she found herself just laying in bed not knowing what to do.
Today was one of those days...until Sayori called.
Komi sat up in surprise as Sayori's name showed up on her phone. She looked around her room a few times before answering the phone call. She opened her mouth, but before she could even begin to start mustering up the courage to speak, Sayori started talking.
"Good morning, Komi! Or should I say afternoon, huh? Anyways, how are you?" She asked.
"U-Uh...I-I'm...I'm well. And you?" Komi spoke slowly, stuttering over just about every word.
"I'm doing good! So hey, I was thinking about visiting my favorite botanical garden today. You wanna come? I got an extra pass!" She offered.
"Ah...yes." Komi agreed with a nod.
"Great! I'll text you the address. I'mma be leaving in a little bit, so just lemme know when you're there, 'kay? See you soon, Komi!" Sayori said quickly before hanging up.
Komi's eyes widened in surprise. In a matter of seconds, she had gone from having nothing to do today to now having plans to meet up with a friend. This realization made her spring to her feet as she now scrambled to get ready!
Getting dressed in sneakers, black leggings, and a nice top that Yamai had bought for her some time ago, she went out and walked to the city, nervously clutching her purse as she looked for the address that Sayori had sent her.
When she reached the right place, she found herself standing in front of a building with a lot of glass decorated with large banners that displayed different plants and other foliage. She stared up at it and awe for a few moments before Sayori came over to her.
"Heyyy, Komi! I'm glad you made it!" She said with a smile, waving as she ran up to her.
Sayori had on the white sundress that matched with Komi's own dress. She also had on light brown sandals. But more noticeable than the outfit was the large camera that Sayori was wearing around her neck. Komi reached into her purse, pulling out a pen and a small notepad.
"Hello, Sayori. Thank you for the invitation," She showed her the message she had written in advance before flipping to the next page and writing something else. "What is the camera for?"
"Oh! I'm thinking about trying out a new hobby: photography! So I brought my dad's old camera along. I think it'll be fun!" Sayori said with a grin.
Komi enthusiastically nodded in agreement.
"Let's go! Oh, here's your pass. You're gonna love it, Komi! They have all kinds of trees and flowers in here, and a butterfly garden!" Sayori said excitedly as they went up the steps towards the front entrance.
Komi's eyes lit up at the mention of a butterfly garden. Once they were inside, Komi wrote a question for Sayori on her notepad.
"Have you been here before?" She asked.
"Yep! Plenty of times! So what do you wanna see first?" Sayori asked, looking at her excitedly.
"I'll go where you go." Komi answered.
"Well then strap in 'cause we're gonna see everything!" Sayori declared before grabbing Komi's hand and pulling her along...
Komi had always found animals to be more fascinating than nature, but it was interesting to see so many different types of plants and flowers. Who knew that you could get so many different colors out of things that grow from the ground?
While Komi observed everything in her own quiet way, keeping her hands folded down in front of her to be respectful, Sayori had her camera up to her face and was leaning in close to take pictures – especially of the flowers.
"What are you planning on doing with so many pictures, Sayori?" Komi asked curiously.
"Oh, I dunno. It's just fun to take them! Maybe I'll print them out and make like a collage or a photo album. That would be nice!" Sayori thought aloud.
"I think that would be nice." Komi agreed.
"The flower gardens are my second favorite thing here. The butterflies are my favorite, but they don't hold still for pictures." Sayori said with a pouting expression.
"Are we going there next?"
"Yep! Just gonna take like one or two more pictures. Promise." Sayori said with a giggle.
"It's alright. Take your time. I'm enjoying myself just observing." Komi said.
"Thanks! Me too," Sayori said before leaning over for yet another picture of a flower. "Did you know that some flowers have nectar inside of them? You can literally pick them off and suck it out like a juice box." She said.
"Really? What would that taste like?" Komi wondered.
"It's sweet like honey!" Sayori answered. She then sucked in air through the sides of her mouth to mimic a slurping sound.
"I want to try that now." Komi expressed excitedly.
"Man, I wish they still had those here. Although, last time they said I couldn't have anymore," Sayori giggled and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, if you could be any one of the flowers here, which would you pick?" She asked curiously.
"Hm?" Komi paused, surprised by this sudden question. She took another look around the garden, trying to remember the different flowers she had seen. She didn't remember any of their names, so she finally settled on what felt like an easy and obvious answer.
"I think roses are nice." Komi wrote.
"Ha, you sound like Monika," Sayori teased her. "I think you and Yuri would be a pair of aster flowers. Natsuki would be a pink tiger lily. Monika says she'd be a rose, so she can be a green rose, eheheh." Sayori listed off.
"What type of flower would you be?" Komi asked.
"Hmm...I think either a poppy or a sunflower. Depends on my mood," Sayori answered with a smile. "Alright, I think I got enough flower pictures for like three or four full calendars. Let's go see those butterflies now!" She decided, letting her camera hang from her neck again. She gestured for Komi to follow her out.
The butterfly pavilion was not what Komi expected it to be. They were essentially walking into a large glass enclosure full of butterflies that were all flying around freely. Komi and Sayori stepped in together. Komi's eyes were widened in bewilderment. She spun in circles to look all around her: the Komi drill.
"Eheheh, you're gonna scare off all the butterflies moving around that much! Just try to stay still and let them come to you." Sayori said.
To demonstrate, she stood in place and raised her right hand up in front of her with her right finger extended. It didn't take too long for an orange and black butterfly to land on the back of her hand. She grinned at Komi once it did.
"See? Now you try!" Sayori invited.
Trembling nervously, Komi extended her right hand forward in imitation. She let out a few shallow, nervous breaths. A butterfly started to approach, but she got too excited, and her shaking scared it off. This happened time and time again, causing Komi to become downhearted.
"Oh man, poor Komi. This isn't really working out for her." Sayori thought to herself, starting to worry that this might ruin the whole day for her.
Komi sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head in dismay. However, then she felt a strange tingling sensation on the tip of her finger. She let out a small gasp and opened her eyes again. A butterfly with wings tinted by a shiny bright blue had landed on her finger!
Komi did her best not to move so that she could admire the butterfly without disturbing it.
Sayori smiled and immediately snapped a picture of this moment. And then another as more and more butterflies started to land on her head, her shoulders, and her arms. When this happened, more people turned to look at her and they started to 'ooh' and 'ahh' in admiration, which made Komi panic internally...
After this, the two of them sat down to have lunch in a cafe just next to the gardens. They sat across from each other and ate.
"So, Komi, what was your favorite part of today?" Sayori asked.
"I really liked the flowers. I think the butterflies would have to be my favorite." Komi decided.
"Mine too! See? I knew you'd love it here!" Sayori said cheerfully.
"I did. Thank you for inviting me." Komi said appreciatively.
"You're welcome. It's really nice here. I like coming here," Sayori said, looking aside with a smile. "It's a nice place to be when I need some cheering up." She added. Komi picked up on this aside comment because her tone was different than usual when she said it.
"Did you need some cheering up?" Komi asked.
"Me? Well...maybe just a little. I don't like being cooped up at the house." Sayori admitted.
"I see. Well I'm glad we were able to go out. We'll have to do it again sometime." Komi suggested.
"Yeah? I'd love to!" Sayori said with a smile, "We can bring the others too. I've only been here with Monika, not the others."
"I look forward to that." Komi wrote, smiling a little afterwards. She set her notebook down. Sayori reached across the table and took it.
"Mind if I borrow this for a sec?" She requested as she took it.
"Mm!" Komi flinched in surprise. No one had ever done that before.
"I like to brainstorm poem ideas while I'm here. I think a butterfly poem is in order, what do you think?" Sayori asked, writing this idea down before looking up at her.
"Mm...mhmm." Komi nodded in agreement, smiling again...