Miu opened the door and stepped inside. The house was dark but it was warm inside. She turned on the lights and took her jacket off.
-I am home!-but no one responded.
Her first goal was the kitchen. There, she prepared some dinner for herself and some tea. She put the remaining pastries into the fridge. She grabbed her plate, sat down in the living room, and turned the TV on.
-''The huge wave hit the southern shores of Japan. At least 17 people were injured. The damage will cost the country over..''
-This again. -she mumbled switching to another channel.
There has been a huge tsunami that hit Japan a few weeks ago. No one knew what caused it. There was no earthquake or anything else that could have caused it. The TV didn't stop reporting about it.
-''And tonight on Tokyo News...A serial rapist has been arrested today. This man was known for stalking his victims for days, sending them letters of affection and other disturbing gifts. If he got no positive response, he proceeded to rape and mutilate them. He chose his victims in the shopping district. After he has been confronted in a cafe, the man took a hostage. The hero of the day turned out to be a waitress, who took a huge risk to bring this man down and help the girl he was treathening. *showing the recorded scenes*
-Haha i'm a hero!-Miu said stuffing a piece of food into her mouth. -Hopefully this will get us even more costumers!
After eating and watching a movie, Miu headed up into her room, took a shower and changed into her nightwear. Nichi, her white cat, was already snuggled up on his own pillow in the corner of the room. He opened his eyes, yawned, took a look at his owner then turned around and continued sleeping.
-Good night to you too. -Miu said patting his head.
That night, Miu dreamt of her first meeting with Shuichi. It's funny, how they lived 5 walking minutes from each other, yet they never met on the streets. Shuichi's school was in the opposite direction as Miu's. Miu's family moved here when she was 12, and they opened up the shop so they didn't meet as children.
Miu allways liked to help out in the shop and she loved baking just as much as she loved eating. Three years ago, on the way home from vacation her parents suffered a terrible accident. A drunk driver crashed into their car from the front. They died in that instant. The lawsuit after that brought in a lot of money, so she didn't really have to struggle financially. At that time her brother was already living in Kyoto and wanted her to move in with him. Being 6 years older, felt responsible for her. She didn't want to leave her home behind, so she refused. She fell into a deep depression and didn't know how to handle the situation. She was still going to college and the shop stayed closed for months. The workers quit and all of a sudden she was all alone. She often thought about suicide. She wanted to see her parents,she felt lost. Once, she was standing on the Tokyo Bridge, a famous suicide spot, especially for younger people. She didn't eat anything for 2 days and all she wanted, was to taste her mothers strawberrycake once again. She remembered her mothers words about struggle in life and the difficulties one would face. She allways praised Miu for her strong personality and her strong will.
Miu wiped the tears from her cheek, and smiled. Her mother would be sad if she'd see her like this. So she turned her back to the dark waves, ran to the store she didn't see for months, flung the doors open, put on an apron and started baking. She spent the next days baking her favourite pastries. That's when she decided that she will take over the shop. At first she tried to balance out college and the shop but this way she didn't get enough sleep and was tired all the time. Things didn't seem to work out as easily. In the end she decided that she would rather give up on college than the shop. She could still paint and keep art as a hobby after all. She started cutting out on lessons, so she had more time for the shop. She planned on a grand opening for the shop in autumn, on her parents' anniversary.
In september she spent all her time in the shop. She wanted to open up in a week and there were still a lot of things to do. She had to hire one more person, the menu cards weren't ready yet and the decoration didn't arrive either. She was on the way home, when she came to the bridge. She stopped, and spotted a man standing near the railing of the bridge. He was leaning over, looking at the water then up at the sky. He seemed to be deeply in thought. For a moment Miu saw herself in his place,how she leaned over the same railing 6 months ago. She tried to silently approach the man, but when he made a hasty movement and climbed the railing, stretching his arms out, she panicked, ran up to him and tackled him to the ground.
-You don't have to do this! No matter what you are going trough, there is allways a way out! I went trough something horrible as well, it's going to get better so don't give up!-she yelled grabbing into his arm, not letting go.
There was no answer.
-Here!-she crammed trough her pocket, finding a flyer of her shops opening. -Please visit the shop next week! I would love to bake you your favourite cake! - she put the flyer into his hand, forming a fist out of it, so he would hold onto it.
-What are you talking about?
She looked up for the first time and saw a pair of emerald eyes looking back at her.
-You were about to jump...-she mumbled.
-No, actually...
The man opened his other hand, revealing a baby pigeon that was trembling in his palm. It fell out of the nest and he was just trying to help it.
-A baby pigeon...- she mumbled.
Heat shot to her cheeks, this was so embarrasing. The man quickly got up and helped her up as well. She looked at him in the eyes, he was standing there, his clothes muddy, a curious look plastered on his face. She took a step back.
-I am sorry for misunderstanding!- she screamed, turning around and running away.
The man looked after the girl, then his hand. He was sill holding the crumpled flyer she gave him.
A week later, he was one the first guests Miu had.
-Is your offer still valid? -he smiled at her.
He became a daily costumer,and after a while the two of them became best friends. Shuichi was studying law, he had 2 more years to go. Miu was introduced later to Shuichi's family. Shuichi's mother was very fond of her and Miu often had dinner with them. Shiori couldn't replace the mother she lost, but she did her best to make the girl feel welcome and loved.