Maria-sama ga Miteru : Sweet The Rose
Grey skies.
Steel-blue eyes, half closed.
White china and green tea.
A wisp of brown hair falling towards delicate lips.
The sharp clatter of porcelain and metal.
"Noriko-chan?"
A warm and comforting voice.
"Noriko-chan?"
The dark-haired girl started guiltily, suddenly realising that she'd been staring again.
"Are you alright? You've hardly touched your cake."
"Cake?" Noriko looked down at the fork in her hand and the plate on the table in front of her as though they had suddenly and unaccountably sprung into existence. Concentrating fiercely, she sliced off a piece of millefeuille and lifted it to her mouth. The pastry was soft and deliciously sweet, but somehow she could barely taste it.
From the other side of the table, Shimako giggled quietly, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Noriko froze, feeling a blush creeping to her face.
"What is it? Did I--?"
Before she could finish, the older girl reached across the table and wiped a spot of cream from the corner of her lips with her finger.
Despite her embarrassment, Noriko couldn't help but laugh. Shimako carefully licked the tip of her finger clean, casting a slightly puzzled look in her direction.
"I'm sorry," she smiled. "It's just that I keep expecting to hear Rosa Chinensis complaining about my table manners..."
Shimako gave her a stern look. "Noriko-chan," she said sharply, her voice a passable impersonation of the older girl, "a young lady should comport herself properly at all times."
At the expression on her face, Noriko almost choked on her cake, trying desperately to stifle a burst of laughter. "How long have you been practicing that?" she asked, teasingly.
The other girl gave no response, other than an enigmatic quirk of her lips, and the two lapsed into silence as Noriko forced herself to concentrate on her food, glancing up only occasionally.
Shimako watched her wistfully, entranced by the shifting of the light in her eyes and across her skin as, outside, the clouds began to darken the sky. Her black hair brushed softly against the collar of her sweater, highlighting the slow, delicate curve of her neck. Shimako sipped at her tea distractedly, brushing a finger across the lingering warmth on her lips and sighing quietly.
She was sure that only the briefest of moments could have passed before she was startled out of her daydream by the sound of Noriko setting her fork down against her plate, the tiny sound jarringly loud in her ears.
"That was delicious. Thank you so much, Shimako-san."
It seemed to her that the younger girl was watching her face intently, almost as though she was fearful of some sign of disapproval. "I'm glad," she replied, smiling warmly.
Another silence.
Noriko stared intently at the tablecloth, trying her hardest to avoid the warm, uncertain tension that hung between them. In her mind she searched frantically for something, anything to say. With uncanny timing, just as she opened her mouth, the other girl began to speak.
"Nor--"
"Shi--"
They both laughed nervously.
"Please," Shimako began, "you go first."
"I..." Noriko swallowed and tried again. "I think we'd better leave, Shimako-san. We don't want to get caught out here in the rain."
The older girl nodded sadly in agreement. Gathering their things, the pair stood up and made their way towards the exit, Shimako pausing at the counter to fish some wayward coins from her purse.
As Noriko pushed open the cafe door, a few spots of rain began to spatter onto the pavement. Up ahead, the sky was menacingly dark. She rummaged in her bag for a second, eventually pulling out a small compact umbrella and wrestling it into shape. Raindrops began to smack hollowly into the red fabric.
"Noriko..."
The younger girl turned to see Shimako staring at the clouds, a look of obvious concern on her face. "What's the matter?"
"I forgot to bring an umbrella with me," she admitted. "Would you--?"
Before she could finish, Noriko walked over and dragged the taller girl underneath the umbrella with her, pulling her close to try and make sure that they could both stay dry.
As they began to walk, Shimako slipped her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. Sighing contentedly to herself, Noriko let her head rest gently against the brunette's arm, the warmth of it suffusing her skin.
In the distance, jagged forks of lightning flickered across the sky, leaving lingering purple shadows in the air. The rain grew harder. At the end of the street, Shimako made to turn left, only to find herself tugged back by the smaller girl, who glared at her defiantly.
"Shimako-san, I am not going to leave you waiting outside for a bus in this weather," she admonished. As if to punctuate her words, a peal of thunder rolled over them like a wave. "It's not far to my Aunt's house. You can stay with us until this storm passes."
Shimako drew a short breath, making ready to argue, but the fiery look in the other girl's eyes made her think better of it. With a quiet smile, she nodded her acquiescence, and together they began to make their way against the growing wind.
As they walked, she looked down at the younger girl, her eyes half-closed, resting once more against her shoulder. Strands of dark hair blew lightly across her fingertips, and almost instinctively she found herself twining a tiny lock around her fingers. Catching herself, she let go, smiling wryly at her own foolishness.
~o~
All too soon, they found themselves at the front of a small two-storey house. Noriko opened the gate, wiping her wet fingers absently on her jeans as they made their way up the path.
She pushed the front door open to let Shimako step inside, slamming it shut behind her to keep out the rain. "I'm home," she called out, kicking her shoes off into a corner.
A tall, grey-haired lady stepped out of the kitchen at the end of the entrance hall, humming softly to herself. "Welcome home, Riko," she said happily. Catching sight of the other girl, she paused, her eyes widening sharply. "Oh... Who's this, Noriko?"
"Shimako-san, this is my Aunt, Nijou Sumireko," the dark-haired girl began excitedly. "Auntie, this is my friend, Todou Shimako."
Shimako gave a small, graceful bow. "I'm very sorry to intrude unannounced like this, Nijou-san--" she began.
The old lady favoured her with a bright smile. "Please, don't worry about it," she interrupted. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Shimako-san. Come inside and sit down - you must be cold."
Relaxing slightly, Shimako kicked off her sodden shoes and took a pair of guest slippers from the mat, following Noriko and her aunt into the lounge.
"Would you like some tea, Shimako?" Sumireko asked, settling herself slowly into an armchair.
"If it's not too much trouble..."
"Of course. Noriko-chan, would you mind making us some tea, please?"
Noriko nodded obediently and hurried away to the kitchen.
"She's told me so much about you, Shimako-san. I was glad to see her happy - I had worried that she wouldn't fit in at Lillian. She can be so stubborn when she wants to."
Shimako laughed quietly.
"I was so shocked when she returned home that evening wearing a rosary around her neck. I hadn't imagined she would ever accept someone as her soeur... Tell me, Shimako, how did you and Noriko first meet?"
"It was at the beginning of the Spring term," Shimako began. "My Onee-sama had just recently graduated... I was watching the cherry blossom, underneath the tree where I first met her."
At this, Sumireko's smile cracked slightly. She rubbed at her eye with one of her fingers. Shimako paused, uncertainly.
"I'm sorry. Did I--?"
"No, no. It's not your fault, child. I... I was just remembering a little."
"Do you know that place, Nijou-san?"
"Oh yes. I used to go there myself, whenever I wanted to be alone for a while. Back then we all used to believe that it was haunted."
"Haunted?" Shimako looked genuinely shocked. "But who--?" She broke off as Noriko stepped back into the room bearing three steaming cups of tea on a tray. She handed one to her aunt, and another to Shimako, the tips of their fingers brushing together for the briefest of moments.
Noriko seated herself next to Shimako, a short distance away, letting her hand fall between them. Smiling warmly at her, Shimako turned back to face the older woman. "I'm sorry. If you don't mind, I think I'd like to hear that story," she continued, apologetically.
"There isn't much to tell. The rumour was that two lovers had been caught there one day by the school authorities. They were due to be expelled... They were so scared of bringing such shame upon their families that they crept back into the grounds that very night and took their own lives beneath its branches. Supposedly their spirits haunted the grounds and that any two people who first met there would be cursed."
Shimako covered her mouth with her hand. "That's terrible, Nijou-san! Were there really...?" Her voice trailed off awkwardly.
The old lady smiled once more. "Who knows? We used to believe all kinds of awful things. I think mostly it was just a way to make the school feel a little more exciting." She laughed gently. "As far as I was concerned it was just a quiet place to eat my lunch. At least it was, until one day I found another girl sitting there in my place."
Out of sight, Shimako felt Noriko's fingers entwine with her own. "What did you do?" she asked. Beside her, the younger girl leaned forwards, excitedly.
"I was so angry at her! I knew it was silly of me, but it felt as though she'd stolen something from me just by being there. So I walked away, thinking that at least she'd be gone the next day and I could have my haunted tree to myself again. But when I came back, she was there again. And the next day. And the day after that. I tried going there as early as I could, but it seemed like she was always ahead of me."
Sumireko paused to take a long sip from her teacup before continuing her story. "In the end I decided that there was no way I could win, so I gave in and sat down next to her. 'Aren't you afraid of the curse?' I asked her. She turned to me and laughed a little. 'If we get cursed,' she told me, 'I'm blaming you.'"
Noriko laughed delightedly, and Shimako couldn't help but join in. "Did you find out who she was?"
"Oh yes. After that we ended up meeting there every day to eat our lunch together. Her name was Suzuhara Keiko, and she was two years older than I was. We used to talk to each other about all kinds of things - about school, about the future... Whenever I felt lonely or sad, she was always there waiting for me. Towards the beginning of summer that year, she offered me her rosary while we were sitting there in the shade."
Shimako sat up slowly, clutching the warmth of Noriko's fingers more tightly in her own to hide the nervousness from her voice. "I hope you don't mind my asking, Nijou-san," she began quietly, "but what did you do after she had graduated?"
The older lady looked at her gently. "That's quite alright, Shimako-san. I was sad for a time, of course. But after she left we began to write letters to one another. She married a very handsome young man and moved away to live with him in Yokohama. I still speak to her quite often, even now."
At that, Shimako smiled sadly. "I'm very glad to hear that, Nijou-san," she replied. "Thank you for telling me." She relaxed slowly back against the cushions, allowing a comfortable silence to fill the room, disturbed only by the steady hiss of the evening rain.
After a minute, Noriko put down her teacup and turned to face her soeur. "Shimako-san, could you tell me about how you met your Onee-sama? You've mentioned her before, but we never..." she asked, her voice trailing off uncertainly.
The older girl set her cup down on the table, a gentle look in her eyes. "Of course. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, Noriko. I... I hope you can meet her one day. I'm sure she'd like that."
"It was in the middle of the spring," Shimako began, leaning forwards, her soft voice drawing the others in. "At first she seemed almost frightening..."
~o~
By the time Shimako had finished, the last of the evening light had long since faded. The rain was still drumming fiercely against the window panes.
Sumireko looked outside and shook her head. "I don't think you should try and find your way back home in this weather, Shimako-san..."
Shimako turned to see, a worried frown creeping across her face.
"You're welcome to spend the night here if you'd like. We have plenty of room."
"Are you sure?" Shimako asked, uncertainly. "I don't want to impose on you."
Sumireko nodded warmly at her. "It's no trouble at all. Noriko-chan, could you pop upstairs and make up an extra bed, please?" Noriko assented enthusiastically, bounding her way up the stairs two at a time. "And Shimako-san, you'd better call your parents and make sure they know you're here."
~o~
Up in her bedroom, Noriko busied herself laying out a mattress and bedding on the floor next to her bed, trying to conceal the trembling nervousness that thrilled through her. From a picture on the wall above her head, the stone face of the Buddha stared down from a green mountainside with a look of aggravating serenity. Noriko found herself intensely jealous.
After a moment, she heard Shimako's voice calling querulously after her from the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to the open door and beckoned the older girl to come and join her.
Shimako climbed the steps with a slow, measured tread, looking around the inside of Noriko's room with a mischievous light in her eyes. "Noriko-chan, do you have something I could wear?" she asked. "I didn't bring anything with me."
The dark-haired girl stared at her wardrobe for a moment, thinking. "Just a second..." she stated, suddenly, dashing out of the door. She returned a moment later, carrying a large cotton shirt on a hanger. "This belonged to my Uncle," she explained, holding it up against the taller girl to check the size. "It'll be a bit big on you, but--"
Shimako took it, smiling gratefully and rubbing the soft material between her fingers. "Don't worry, Noriko-chan. It's fine. Thank you." She paused for a moment. "Is it okay for me to get changed in here?"
Noriko nodded, then looked away quickly as Shimako began to undo the buttons of her blouse, feeling as though she might blush all the way to her toes. "I'll just go and clean my teeth," she began, hoping that her voice would not betray her discomfort. "The bathroom is at the end of the hallway. You can... you can use my bed. I'll sleep on the floor." Before the other girl could try and argue, Noriko had grabbed her night-clothes and stepped out onto the landing, closing the door behind her.
~o~
When she returned, she found Shimako standing next to the bed, examining a small statue of the Buddha that she kept there. The shirt's sleeves were rolled halfway up her arms, and the tails hung alluringly around the middle of her thighs.
Catching Noriko's expression, she spun playfully on the spot, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. "How do I look?" she teased. The younger girl laughed in delight, shaking her head as Shimako walked out towards the bathroom, before finally dropping to her knees on the mattress.
Through the thin fabric of her pajama top, Noriko absently counted off the beads of the rosary that hung, hidden, around her neck. The warm weight of it against her skin so similar, and yet so different from the juzu she had sometimes carried in the past.
She hadn't meant to wear it like this - certainly not outside the Lillian school grounds. She'd meant what she'd said when she had told Shimako that she would merely keep it safe for her. After all, it didn't mean anything much to her. Not really.
But somehow she'd kept forgetting to take it off. And with Shimako here... This was her secret. A private prayer.
Another Decade passed beneath her fingertips. Her skin tingled gently.
Each bead of the juzu brought calm, a tranquility to be found nowhere else. The rosary seemed almost its polar opposite, bringing confusion, uncontrolled. Her heart beat faster.
"Noriko?"
She jumped in surprise, her fingers flying from her throat as though scalded. Turning, she found Shimako standing a few steps behind her, eyes bright with amusement.
"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" she asked.
Noriko shook her head, standing slowly. "No, not at all. I... Shall I turn the light off?"
Shimako sat down on the bed, shuffling herself under the blanket. "Thank you," she nodded.
Sighing quietly with relief, Noriko turned out the light and settled herself onto her mattress. The cross around her neck felt as though it was blazing with light. Even in the dim glow of the street lamp outside, she felt sure that Shimako could see it shining from where she lay.
Shivering, she tugged the blanket up under her chin. "Goodnight, Onee-sama," she whispered.
A moment later, she realised what she had just said, her fingers leaping instinctively to cover her mouth. Her skin burned, blushing furiously.
In the darkness, she could barely make out the outline of Shimako's face. Only her reply, softly breathed, hung in the air.
"Goodnight, Noriko-chan."
FIN