In The Snow.

Suzuharu Yuto (スズハル ユウト), at 27 years old, was a man steeped in tradition, a vestige of a bygone era. With raven-black hair and a countenance that mirrored the classic ideals of Japanese beauty, he moved through life with a sense of purpose—his convictions rooted in the romantic notions of love that echoed through the pages of ancient poetry. Ehime Prefecture, with its serene landscapes and traditional charm, served as the perfect backdrop for Suzuharu's steadfast beliefs.

In a world where love was often a fleeting whisper drowned by the cacophony of modernity, Suzuharu held onto the old-fashioned values of courtship and commitment. His heart belonged to Rion (リオン), a name that resonated like a delicate melody in the corridors of his thoughts. To him, love was an art, a dance of souls intricately choreographed over time. Yet, the dating landscape of the 21st century disrupted his serene worldview.

The modern woman, with her confused spirit and ever-changing desires, where hedonism and the ever-present chase of a hypothetical "better option might come", confounded Suzuharu for there was no true love and commitment present. In a society obsessed with swiping left or right, he yearned for the simplicity of a shared gaze beneath the blooming sakura trees. His encounters with the contemporary dating scene left him disoriented, as the rhythm of connection seemed lost in the relentless tempo of a fast-paced world.

Suzuharu grappled with the paradox of his desires. His traditional values clashed against the backdrop of a society that moved forward with unrelenting speed. The art of love, once painted on scrolls with meticulous strokes, now seemed reduced to fleeting glances on digital screens. He found solace in the narrow streets of Matsuyama, navigating the labyrinth of his thoughts amidst the ancient architecture that whispered tales of a time when love was as enduring as the stone walls surrounding him.

Rion, the embodiment of Suzuharu's ideals, stood as the delicate bridge between the past and the present. Yet, even in their connection, the echoes of modernity threatened to disrupt the tranquility of their union. Suzuharu wrestled with the conflict, torn between his desire for timeless love and the relentless march of progress that sought to redefine the very essence of romance.

In the solitude of his childhood, Suzuharu Yuto emerged as a lonely figure, a solitary silhouette against the backdrop of his memories. The isolation followed him like a lingering shadow, a companion in the quiet hours when the world retreated into itself. Only the cold, snowy winters spent with his grandparents offered him respite, cocooning him in a fleeting warmth that would become the sanctuary of his soul.

His grandparents' home, nestled on the fringes of Ehime Prefecture, became the stage for the only scenes of joy in his otherwise somber existence. The icy winds that swept through the village carried with them a peculiar solace, and the snow-laden landscape draped Suzuharu's world in a pristine white as if nature itself sought to console the lonely boy. It was during these winter retreats that he first encountered Rion, a presence that would blossom into the singular source of light in his desolate universe.

From the first moment Suzuharu laid eyes on her, Rion became an ethereal figure, an apparition of grace against the wintry tableau. Her features, delicate as the finest porcelain, held an intrinsic dignity that belied her youthful exuberance. She embodied the Yamato Nadeshiko, a personification of the idealized Japanese woman—an archetype etched into Suzuharu's subconscious, destined to linger there for a lifetime.

As they frolicked in the snow-covered mountains, Rion's laughter echoed like a melody, and her every movement carried the elegance of a dance choreographed by nature itself. Suzuharu, smitten from their first encounter as children, found in Rion a kindred spirit amidst the pristine silence of winter. Their laughter resonated through the hills, a duet of joy that temporarily dispelled the loneliness that clung to Suzuharu like an unforgiving ghost.

In the snowy expanse, Rion and Suzuharu forged a bond that transcended the boundaries of ordinary friendships. She, the embodiment of purity and grace, became the flicker of warmth in the otherwise icy landscape of his existence. Together, they sculpted snowmen and traced patterns on the frost-covered windows, their breaths intermingling with the crisp air. Rion, with her eyes that held the wisdom of centuries, became the beacon that guided Suzuharu through the labyrinth of his solitude.

As the years unfolded, the winter memories with Rion remained the golden threads weaving through the fabric of Suzuharu's life. She, the lone figure in the cold landscape, stood as a testament to the fleeting moments of joy that could emerge even in the loneliest of times. The image of Rion, the Yamato Nadeshiko dancing in the snow, became the cherished painting on the canvas of Suzuharu's memories—a masterpiece etched in the silence of winter's embrace.

The snow-laden mountains bore witness to a pact forged in the innocence of childhood, a promise between Suzuharu and Rion that echoed through the corridors of time. In the fleeting magic of winter, Suzuharu, with a heart as pure as the driven snow, gathered the courage to ask Rion to be his girlfriend, and in a moment that seemed suspended in the frosty air, he proposed a betrothal to be fulfilled in the tapestry of their adulthood. Rion, her laughter a delicate melody in the silent mountains, agreed—but with a condition that cast a shadow on the otherwise ethereal scene.

Her response, like a haunting refrain, lingered in Suzuharu's consciousness: she would only be his if he promised to return every winter for seven years straight and to remain faithful to the vows woven into the threads of their shared destiny. The mountain, a silent witness to their whispered promises, stood stoic as Suzuharu, with an earnest nod, accepted the terms that would bind their fates.

For seven winters, Suzuharu fulfilled his end of the bargain, making the pilgrimage to the mountain sanctuary where Rion awaited. The icy winds whispered tales of their connection, and the snowflakes that adorned the landscape seemed to carry the essence of their shared commitment. Yet, in the eighth year, a cruel twist of fate unfolded—the winter chill hung heavy with an unspoken absence. Rion, the guardian spirit of the mountain, had disappeared.

The echo of Rion's laughter, once a source of joy, transformed into a haunting melody that reverberated through Suzuharu's solitude. The mountain, once a haven of promises, became a silent witness to the unraveling of a love story etched in the frosty annals of time. Suzuharu, burdened with the weight of unfulfilled vows, wandered through the years with a heart claimed by sorrow, the phantom pain of lost promises etched into the very fabric of his being.

In the intervening years, Suzuharu sought solace in the company of others, attempting to mend the fractures in his heart. Yet, the specter of Rion loomed large, an indomitable presence that eclipsed any chance at finding new love. His soul, tethered to the mountain where he had once found bliss, became a prisoner of the unspoken vows and the mysterious disappearance that left him forever entwined with the enigma of Rion's absence. The winters came and went, but Suzuharu, burdened by the weight of a love lost in the drifts of time, remained shackled to the memories of a promise that dissolved like snow in the warmth of a spring that never arrived.

The mountain house, steeped in the whispers of generations past, became Suzuharu's refuge at the tender age of 28. Inheriting the dwelling from his grandparents, he sought solace in the quiet solitude that enveloped the snowy landscape. It was a deliberate choice, a retreat into the arms of nostalgia, where every creak of the floorboards echoed with the ghosts of his memories. The winter winds whispered through the pines, carrying with them the ethereal strains of Rion's laughter, a melody that reverberated through the walls of the house.

One fateful night, as the snowflakes descended in a graceful dance, Suzuharu was jolted from his reverie by a knock on the door. The rhythm of his heart matched the anxious tempo of the unexpected visitor. As he cautiously swung open the door, his breath caught in his throat—standing before him was Rion, but not the innocent figure of his childhood. She had metamorphosed into something otherworldly.

Her beauty, a stark contrast to the winter landscape, held an otherworldly allure. Tall and enchantingly beautiful, with long black hair cascading like a waterfall, she possessed an ethereal quality that defied the boundaries of mortal existence. Blue lips and inhumanly pale, if not transparent, skin rendered her a spectral presence, blending seamlessly into the snowy tableau. Clad in a white kimono, she looked like a living embodiment of the winter spirits that danced in the moonlight.

The revelation unfurled in the silence of the snowy night. Rion, it seemed, was not of this world. She confessed to being a Yuki-onna, a snowwoman, and the truth unfurled like delicate petals. In secret, she had conversed with Suzuharu's grandparents, orchestrating the passing of the mountain house into his hands. Her uncertainty, rooted in her supernatural nature, had kept her at a distance in the bustling city. However, with Suzuharu's return to the mountains, she pledged herself to him—his ever-loving, forever-faithful, and ironically, burningly passionate wife.

The revelation hung in the air, suspended like the snowflakes that adorned Rion's midnight hair. In the quietude of that snowy night, Suzuharu grappled with the fantastical truth, the boundaries between the mundane and the magical blurring in the dim glow of the lantern light. Yet, as Rion's commitment resonated in the cold night air, Suzuharu's heart, burdened by years of solitude, surged with a newfound warmth.

In the embrace of the moonlit snowscape, Suzuharu and Rion found each other anew. The winter winds bore witness to an embrace that transcended the boundaries of the ordinary, a reunion that dissolved the years of sorrow. With the strength of his love, Suzuharu held Rion close, their connection a testament to a love that defied the constraints of reality. In the heart of the snowstorm, they became an ethereal tableau—a Yuki-onna and her mortal beloved, bound by the threads of destiny woven in the icy fabric of the mountains in the snow.