Dream Life
"It's probably a summer shower." Yamato muttered, peering out shyly from beneath the veranda, "It'll be over soon."
Mimi pulled her knees to her chest, staring into the gray-blue sky, torrents of rain sweeping through the trees.
"Raining in July…" Her voice seemed very introspective, "Like a dream."
Yamato, also, observed the movement of clouds, passing shadows and passing light, dancing through the near-desolation of the park.
"Dream…" He murmured, offering her a sideways glance.
"And now," she pointed to a small bridge arched over a lily pond, "a gray-eyed geisha in a white kimono will pause beneath her umbrella…"
Mimi's finger trailed the dream-geisha's path across the bridge, Yamato
following the implied direction.
"That's some world you live in, Tachikawa." He grinned.
The dazed expression in her eyes faded, replaced quickly withering look.
"Don't be mean."
Yamato said,
"It's nice though." He tilted back, speaking to the veranda's ceiling, and beyond it, the clouds and sky. "A gray-eyed geisha poised on a bridge." His eyes flickered; a serene, curious blue strewn with delight, "But why is she out in the rain?"
"She's looking for her love." Mimi stated, matter-of-factly. "They were supposed to be married this afternoon."
"Eh?" He looked amused.
"Yes. He went to buy a bouquet of her favorite flowers, but had not yet returned. So she slipped out to look for him."
Neither said a word. Then softly, Mimi broke the silence.
"Listen. She's calling to him."
"Taro-san…Taro-san…" hummed Yamato. Mimi grinned, and in seeing her smile, something troubled and carefree all at once rose to his lips.
"Tachikawa," said he, "are you happy?"
Despite her silence, surprise scattered her face. Yamato wet his mouth, hesitated, then continued.
"Would you continue to live like this, or would you live in a dream? You know…a dream life, where all feelings, happiness and love, are perfect?"
He paused, thinking.
"But despite its perfection, you would always be aware that you could wake up at any moment, knowing that the world beyond dreaming would fill you with terrible sadness."
Once more, silence assumed its place between them. Her face had turned into a thoughtful mask and could not be
deciphered. Yamato wondered what his
question had produced; feeling as though he had made her think of something
unpleasant, he opened his mouth to apologize.
But Mimi answered then, distracting his thoughts.
"I would continue to live like this, I think." Yamato, now, wore the surprised expression. "Dreams give me something to hope for. If I lived in a world made of a dream, in perfect happiness and love, there would be nothing to hope or wish for at all. And a world without hopes and dreams…"
She hugged her knees closer, "A world without those would be the most terrible sadness."
Something stirred inside of him.
"Tachikawa," he looked at her, and his voice was soft, "sometimes I wonder…what you're looking for…" But Mimi's eyes flashed suddenly, and she examined a place beyond him.
"Did you see that?"
She leapt into the rain, once falling and now pouring down, racing towards the bridge. Yamato followed after, vanity forgotten, and the feel of rain on his hair and eyes. By now, Mimi stared out from over the small bridge, squinting as her fingers embraced the rail.
"What is it?"
"Taro, the geisha's love." She whispered, water dousing her and she not caring.
"Did the geisha see him?" Mimi leaned forward, biting her lip.
"I don't think so," she whispered, "not at first. But maybe, in all the time she was wishing to see him, he was standing beside her, all along."
She watched him from her corner eye, dark hair draped upon shoulders her like exquisite silk. Her cheeks were red.
It was probably the rain, he thought.
And quite suddenly, her words reverberated in his mind.
A world without hopes and dreams…
Upon the rail, Yamato leaned, his senses dull as though a trance had fallen from the sky above in effort to consume him. From the same sky, the rain still fell, and storm clouds raced through lush July. As though the world was just a dream. Just some wondrous dream.
In the corner of his eye, two figures swiftly fled the rain. Maybe he had only wished to see their flight.
Yes, he thought.
It was just my imagination.
Disclaimer: All characters associated with Digimon are property of Toei Animation (a.e. not me). The reference to the gray-eyed geisha is from the acclaimed novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden.