Chapter 5
The Interstice Between Dream and Reality

In the park bathed in the fading light of day, time seems suspended. Every move on the ōgi board takes on an almost ritual dimension, as if each piece moved sealed the fate of the two players a little further. Jun, overcome by a growing sense of unreality, murmurs: I feel as if I were living a waking dream.

The mysterious woman watches his movements with an attention that goes far beyond the game. Each of her gestures has a hypnotic grace, the rustle of her kimono creating a melody as subtle as it is bewitching. Her black hair slides like silk over her shoulders as she leans towards him, so close that he can feel the warmth of her breath on his skin. And if you were to wake, Jun, what would become of these moments?

Jun's eyes shine with contained emotion as he tries to decipher the enigma of this fascinating woman. His gaze is drawn to the mysterious light dancing in her eyes, to the delicate curve of her lips, which seem to keep so many secrets. Could you be... the one I pursue in my dreams? The one I have always been searching for? His voice trembles slightly, bearing the weight of a question that seems to contain his whole existence. Who are you, really?

I am Komayō, she replies, in a voice as soft as the murmur of a hidden spring, her gaze filled with a tenderness that seems to transcend time and space.

Her fingers brush the game board with an almost tangible affection, as if each piece were the silent witness to a story thousands of years old. What you feel is no mere illusion, Jun. This place exists in the interstice between your world and mine, a secret garden where the borders between dream and reality fade.

These words wrap Jun in a delicious giddiness mingled with apprehension. Guided by an irresistible impulse, he gently takes Komayō's hand, seeking in the contact an anchor amid the whirl of emotions threatening to sweep him away. I do not care what the nature of this moment is, he murmurs, his voice charged with a new intensity. I do not want to lose you.