Book 1: AIR

CHAPTER 11:

THE CHERRY BLOSSOM TREE

The buds had bloomed that spring. They were a bright pink and the wind made them blow so gracefully that they seemed like something from the spirit world. A bench of stone had been set beside it, catching the flowers and buds as they fell off and floated on the wind to its resting place. Gentle hands held Shu as he sat beside his mother years ago. "Look out there, son." His mother said to him, just young enough to remember this moment.

The mountain was low but steep to climb. His mother had a path made for her to climb up to it, just for that view. You were half-way to the heavens but close enough to the earth. Cities and small villages could be faintly seen through the mountainous surroundings. Clouds seemed more like giant rivers of fluff than an incoming storm. Shu stared blankly out at this world. "Do you see it?" his mother asked. "This is the world we live in, all things surrounding us and changing. Take this tree for example. It only blooms for a short period of time before it dies and waits for the next spring to come and revive it." She plucked a blossom in its descent and held it down to Shu.

"It is a symbol of beauty, and love, and affection. And when you look out into this world, I want you to see the same thing." She handed the flower to Shu who took it in his hands and giggled. His mother kissed him and gestured outwards. The world was beautiful, but he did not know true beauty till much later, when he saw her on the balcony.

She was sad looking, a bird resting on her finger. She stroked it and then kissed it. She shut it back in its cage, where it waddled to a perch and sat there singing its song for her ears. She smiled faintly and turned to the small fountain on her balcony, spilling off into the pool below. She put a finger in it and flicked some water out, her hair tossing in the bright sunshine. Her gaze averted to the mountain top, where Shu sat this day on the bench. It was Autumn so there were no buds on the tree.

Shu gazed down at the lovely girl for many days, leaving only at night when he saw her candle blown out. It was not until recently that she had begun to gaze back. Her eyes were lovely, more so than her body or the world around them. For these few moments they were all that existed. The sun set again on this day and Oma returned to her bedroom behind the curtain. He saw the candle blown out and he got up from his bench, wrapping his blue cloak around him against the wind. "Good night, my love. For I shall have to say good night 'till it be 'morrow." Shu said as he turned and touched a hand to the trunk of the tree and began his way down the steep stone steps to his home on the other side of the mountain, in Kilmojo.

Oma woke up at the crack of dawn and was given her morning primping by her maids. She finished her bath and accepted the rose in her hair for this day. She walked out of the curtain and onto the balcony. She turned to the mountain and saw the familiar man sitting beneath the barren tree as always. She went to the bird cage and took out her song bird. She let it bathe in the small fountain and it twittered some notes for her. She stroked it and put it back in its cage, never letting it truly be free. She then took up the rest of the day looking at her admirer from a distance.

"Morning, Oma." Kizu said through the bars of the gate. She turned to him and her face lit up.

"Have you news from the man?" Oma asked hopefully. Kizu's face fell.

"No. I was just saying hi." Kizu said. He readjusted the parcel under his arm. "I have to be at the other end of town in a couple of minutes or I don't get paid. I'll see you later." Kizu waved good-bye, a small hint of a growing love for her.

But he did not know her. The man on the mountain did not know her. Yet he seemed more appealing than anything in the world. She frowned for a bit and then watched her lover again.

"Odd, that boy." Shu thought to himself. "I wonder what was so important that that beautiful woman would stop to talk to him. He must be a child at best." Jealousy started its deadly bit in him as he pondered over and over in his head what was special about the boy.

"Maybe he is an old family friend."

"Probably works for the postal system, they met on his routes."

"Or he is a suitor to her."

"Impossible, the boy is too young."

"Maybe he just looks like young."

Shu pondered this over and over, the tree beside him shaking in the wind. Night fell and Oma returned to her room. The candle was blown out and Shu got up again. He walked down the steep steps and entered his own home. He went into his room, past his servants who were puzzled as to where he has been disappearing to every day. He dressed for bed and blew out his candle.

Oma woke in the night and put on her robe. She put on her best sandals and threw a traveling cloak around her. It was red with white designs on it that swirled and curled into dazzling displays. He took a lantern from her cupboard and lit it. She then walked out into the cold night and began her walk towards the mountain, longing in her every step. She climbed up the steep incline, her dress catching on some bushes and being torn by rocks in her path. She made it to the top of the hill as the sun was rising. She saw the bench there before her and the barren cherry blossom tree beside it. She set her lantern down on the bench and went to the tree. It was beautiful, even in its fruitless state. She touched a branch and it snapped off. She caught it in both hands and held it as she examined the cherry blossom buds on it. It was autumn and a winter chill was fast approaching, there should not have been buds on it now.

She heard some footsteps and bent down to blow out her lantern. She readjusted her robe and looked up.

Shu was standing in his blue cloak, one hand holding onto a branch by the top of the stairs. The world seemed to stop for that moment as the two people gazed upon their admirer for the first time. Oma brushed her hair with her hand and Shu gulped.

"Hi." Oma said so faintly it could be considered a whisper.

"Hello." Shu responded. He was so taken aback by her beauty this close that he found no other words to say.

"I've seen you on this mountain top for a while now. I see you gazing at me on my balcony." Oma said.

"And I see you staring back at me." Shu responded. "I can't take my eyes off of you, even if they were pulled from my head." Oma's eyes widened and she blushed slightly.

"Oh. I…think that was a compliment." Oma said softly. Shu put a hand to his head and tried to chuckle but nothing came out.

"It was. I mean…you're so beautiful that I would…tear my eyes…I want to say…my eyes will never stop watching you. Not in a creepy sort of way just that I would always watch you…not when you're doing…stuff and stalk you or…" Shu was tripping over himself. His face grew redder as he attempted to put his feelings to words…and failed miserably. Oma blushed more and put a hand to her hair and turned away from him.

"What I really mean to say is…You are beautiful" Shu sighed as he finally gave up the attempts to sound romantic.

"Took you long enough." Oma said, almost nervous for him. "I think you're…handsome." Oma said as she studied Shu's stature.

"Thank you." Shu said with a small bow. There was an awkward pause here as the lovers fought inside themselves as to what they would say. Oma broke the ice first.

"I've noticed you gazing at me from this bench on this mountain top." Oma gestured to the bench next to the cherry blossom tree. "How long have you been doing this, before I caught you?"

"Well, not to sound creepy or anything, I have been watching for a while now." Shu said as he turned his head down slightly. Oma blushed redder than she had ever done so before. "I just found you so, attractive."

"I think you've already stated that before." Oma said softly.

"Yeah, a little bit." Shu remarked.

The sun had risen fully now and the two cities were washed with its light. Kizu was walking towards Oma's house, hoping to get a glimpse of this mortal goddess. He snuck up to the gate and made sure that no one was on guard. He snuck his gaze through the bars and up towards the balcony that Oma usually occupied at this moment. She was not there. He turned his gaze to the windows and rooms of the mansion but could not see her anywhere. Some maids were clearly flustered and guards were beginning to emerge onto the grounds. Kizu looked up to the mountain as his obsession did and saw two figures this time on the peak. He leaned off the gates and began to walk along the wall towards the mountain. He could see a man and woman atop it.

He continued his walk towards the mountain, forgetting that the road turned to make room for a house. He smashed into it and turned to follow the path that had been laid out for him, slightly dizzier to him now. He walked towards his work and shook his head. He may have to pay her a visit later.

"I think that my servants will be surprised to see me gone." Oma said as she and Shu turned to the rising sun. She shot a look to Pathigo below. "I must leave you." They were sitting on the bench. Oma rose to leave as Shu did too. "I will see you again."

"Yes, but face to face like this please." Shu said. "I don't think my heart will be satisfied with a mere gaze now that I know the heart beneath the beauty." He kissed her hand and turned to the tree. A single cherry blossom was there, as out of place as these two lovers. He plucked it off and placed it in Oma's hair, replacing the rose. "So you will remember me."

"I cannot forget what I have seen for what seems like every day of my life." Oma responded. She waved good bye and walked back down the mountain as Shu stood there for a few more moments. He watched her make her way down and onto a small road in Pathigo. She made her way to her mansion and walked through the gates, nervous guards rushing to meet her. She walked through them with a high head, gently touching the cherry blossom. She reappeared on her balcony a few moments later and turned to Shu, still on the mountain top.

She smiled and went to her bird cage and opened it. She let the song bird bathe in the fountain and then took it in her hands. She kissed it and released it into the air. It flew in circles for a few minutes, singing the happiest tune it could muster for its freedom march. It then took off towards the mountain and rested on the top most branch of the cherry blossom tree. It sang another song to Shu as he descended from his small oasis.

The song filled the air, reminding both Oma and Shu of their brief and first encounter. The cherry tree had more buds on it and Oma's branch had now sprouted roots. The two trees would grow over time, in a place that was against its very survival in a climate that was not made for it. But nevertheless, it bloomed.