FIFTY-FOUR

She stands in front of her—

Her flower shop.

It is hers.

Hers.

Bold and center, above the entrance, it reads, "Flowers of the Crying Wind."

She has her own business now.

The thought takes her breath away.

It is a quiet little endeavor in the village closest to her family's estate—quiet, small, ordinary, safe; something banal and quite removed from the dangers of the disaster response corps. The type of modest life she might have dreamed about as a child.

As she stands there, frozen in front of the doors, she thinks about what it took her to arrive at this point… this unexpected place of peace.

From that fateful discovery of her lineage, to her early work in the military, to Kanade, to her later work in the military, to Maria; all eras of her life that could not have possibly told her that she would find a slice of the halcyon all for herself.

"Well," she chuckles, shaking her head, "I am certain that my castle in the sky has much more to offer me inside than it does outside."

Nonetheless, she pauses at the door, key partially inserted. Through the frosted glass there is not much she can see, but—

And then she is inside—inside her own flower shop.

Light from the doors filters in, faintly illuminating the empty tables, displays, and refrigerated glass cases that await her. Since the setup is a gift from her father and every other part of the business was handled from her office at the Second Division headquarters, this is her first time setting foot on the premises.

She runs her hand along the wall until she finds the light switch behind the main counter. With the lights on, it surprises her that there is yet another level of real that washes over her.

Deciding to keep the windows closed until she has everything prepared, she goes to the adjoining office that lies behind the main counter.

There, she finds it in herself to begin working.

Hours, in fact, pass before the ringing of her cell pulls her out of a stack of part-time employee applications.

"Maria?" she asks, glancing at the clock.

"Good afternoon, darling! I hope you didn't forget to eat lunch, wherever it is that you are," her wife's not-quite-nonchalant voice tells her.

She did, in fact, forget about lunch, but she knows better than to say that. "I was just on my way out to do just that," she says instead, hastily putting away her papers and then grabbing her jacket from where she had tossed it on the chair across her desk. "And where I am is a surprise."

"Humph, then will you at least tell me how your morning went?" From the annoyed tone, she knows that Maria is pouting.

"Not a chance; don't think I do not know your little tricks, Maria."

"Then you'll have to listen about my morning without complaint, alright?"

She locks up the main doors as she replies, "Of course, dear." She heads down the street, retracing the path she had taken early this morning. She remembers seeing a diner on the main street.

Meanwhile, Maria goes on about how she's settling in as an assistant teacher at Lydian, how much she loves being around the students and fellow teachers. It's a nice change of pace, Maria says, and she thinks she's really going to enjoy it—especially when she becomes a full-fledged teacher the next school year.

Giving appropriate responses when necessary, Tsubasa takes a leisurely stroll to the diner, taking in the sights and memorizing the layout of the village.

Finally, she arrives at "Granny's Diner, Est. '54," which strikes her as familiar.

"I will call you back after I order, yes?" she asks Maria, who replies in affirmation.

She takes a seat near the back, with a good view out the large windows, and a friendly waitress promptly takes her order.

"New 'round here, are ya?" the waitress asks upon her return with Tsubasa's soup. "Or jus' visitin'?"

She resists the urge to duck her head, replying, "New, I suppose. I am opening a flower shop a few streets down in a couple of weeks." She manages a smile in the waitress's direction before her gaze darts back to her cell.

"Ah! Been a while since Bert's closed, so I reckon you'll have good business. Well, if ya need anythin', just holler." The waitress gives a friendly wave and leaves.

"That went well—I think," she mumbles to herself.

Attracting and retaining customers will be, by far, her greatest obstacle. But this initial foray seems to be doing well, so she is… optimistic.