A quiet morning in March, the rain had left the air clear and fresh. Remnants of the weather glittered as sunlight caught the scattered droplets of water, coating the windows in a sparkling veil. The thin curtains let in the natural rays through the parting where the two pieces of fabric met and bird songs travelled through the air, carrying their soft melodies into the ears of the sleeping woman. Her crown of brown hair shone with health, delicate strands fell from over her shoulder, sliding along her milky skin and catching on the corner of her pink lips; she remained still, peacefully indulging in the last fleeting moments of the night, in the realm of her unconscious mind, where her dreams lulled her into sleepy smiles and noises of contentment.

She awoke only once the shrill scream of her alarm clock stirred whatever pleasantries were keeping her blissfully asleep prior. The world of her sleeping cognition shattered quicker than glass. Megaru let out a yawn, quiet and only containing a slight fraction of the annoyance she felt. Her arm outstretched, reaching for the phone on the bedside table to silence the shrieking menace with the swipe of a finger. She forgot to turn the alarm off, it was March 27th after all, the day she took off every year to go and visit her mother's grave. She didn't need to get up so early, but she always seemed to forget that.

With a soft sigh, the young shopkeeper pulled herself out of bed, her toes curling around the fluffy carpet for a moment before she strolled into the kitchen, the phone in her hand warmed her palm and sleepily she set about making herself a cup of coffee. Dazed, she stood for a moment staring at the kettle as it began to boil water, her mind lazily whirring with mental notes on what needed to be done today. Her routine would still stay relatively similar to a normal day even if this was her day off, after visiting her mother's grave she'd return home and bake until her hands smelt like bread and she could taste sugar in every corner of her mouth. Samples she'd then fuss over until they were just right, testing out uniquely specific recipes to get the taste she wanted her customers to love, she'd write down any quirks in the process so she would remember tomorrow morning when she made the very same treats again for sale. This was usually what happened, every night for the past few years, sometimes she'd invite Kayano for tea and they'd spend evenings chatting and eating cake and drinking various teas Rio Nakamura, another friend from school, brought back from her foreign exploits.

She liked her fairly simple life, it was one of peace, and never did she ever feel the burden of stress, her friends and customers made all her hard work worthwhile. That thought alone made her smile, although she wouldn't leave her daze until the device in her palm vibrated, and her ringtone began to play, muffled in her hand. Megaru blinked, not looking at the caller id as she answered and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Her voice soft and tired, the brunette spoke gently into the speaker, taking small steps as she heard the click of the kettle and the whistling of steam.

"Morning, Megaru." The voice on the other end purred, a layer of pink coating the woman's cheeks as she got a mug out from a cupboard overhead.

"K-Karma... good morning," She'd briefly forgotten the exchange they had last night over the phone when she'd texted the number he'd left on the note. The messages regarding them talking the next day were something she remembered a little clearer now, but she hadn't expected him to call so early.

"I didn't wake you did I?" He asked, he seemed a little more awake than she was, but the deep rumble in his voice told her he must've been pretty tired. It was quite endearing, in a strange way, she found only lead to her face going red the more she thought about it.

"No- no, you sound pretty exhausted yourself, did you get enough sleep last night?"

A hum, the pause in the conversation was filled with the sounds of coffee granules, water, and sugar all being shoved into a novelty mug she'd been bought as a child.

"I slept okay, who knows, I might've been up all night excited to hear your voice again."

Megaru dropped her spoon and with a clatter it landed on the countertop, "w-what?" She almost squeaked, her face warming further as she listened to him chuckle on the other end.

"I was kidding."

"R-right..."

The sound died down after a moment, but the silence only felt awkward on her end.

"So, do you have work today?" He shifted around on the other line, probably getting up to begin his day as she had prior to the call.

"Uh, no..." Megaru only hoped the dip in her tone would go unnoticed. But Karma had always been a lot sharper than she had.

"You wanna go out for lunch?"

She hesitated to answer.

The thought was nice and she would've ended back at home regardless, but she had things she needed to do…

Another moment of silence passed.

"Megar-"

"Yeah! Sure, I love y—I mean I'd love too," she blurted out, laughing sheepishly, and gripping the handle of her coffee mug as she silently damned herself for slipping up like that. Especially since she wasn't even sure if that were true.

"O...kay. Meet me here at one, I'll send you the address."

Seeing as he didn't comment on her little slip she breathed out in relief and smiled. "Alright, then I'll see you in a few hours Karma," she brought the mug to her lips taking a sip of the warm coffee.

"See ya," the phone clicked, he had hung up, leaving Megaru with merely a few seconds of tranquillity before she put her mug down and slowly slid down to the floor. Her legs quivered and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Aha... Ha..." She laughed awkwardly at herself, gently beating her clenched fists against the cupboard door.

"I am such an idiot."

If she didn't get a move on she wouldn't get to the cemetery in time…

The wind blew eerily, carrying fresh leaves from trees and guiding them through the air. The smell of dying flowers and mourning would've been intoxicating for her had she not visited this place at least once a year. The concrete pathway was covered in a blanket of dirt, and as she navigated she watched the solemn faces of those here to honor the dead with sympathy, the familiar looks of denial, the lack of closure, she knew them all too well. But it had been years since her mother's departure from the land of the living, her time of grief had long since passed, whenever she came here now was to remind herself that her mother was still here in her heart.

Megaru walked in silence, listening to the calls of birds and inhaling the delicate smell of morning dew. She'd think to herself as she traversed under the canopy of slouching trees, she always imagined them bowing their ancient heads in respect. The thought helped her ignore the overbearing feeling of sadness this place gave off. Which was to be expected, she was in a graveyard after all. The young woman grasped the bouquet of flowers tightly in her hand, she ignored the feeling of thorns prodding her skin through the paper; yellow roses had always been her favorite, but finding them was a hassle, so she'd try her best each year to get her some. That was always the hardest part of her annual visit, feeling guilty when she couldn't get hold of the roses her mother adored.

The distant sound of sobbing made her pause, her steps halted and slowly Megaru turned to see a small child crying, her tiny hand enclosed by a larger one, belonging to the man that stood beside her in all black, his head hung low as the breeze gave his halo of golden blonde hair a breath of life, they stood in front of a relatively small headstone, the marble had been craved delicately into an arch with unique detailing and neatly written words of praise engraved into the front. From over the girl's head, she noticed the picture of a young woman, not much older than her, with a beautiful smile and black hair framing her face. Normally Megaru left others be, but the child's cries for her mother made her heart ache. She took a step towards the pair, gently tapping the girl's shoulder.

"It's okay, she's still with you." The words came out on their own, the man turned to face her, his eyes red from tears, not for the woman beneath their feet, but for the little girl, he couldn't bring her mother back after all.

Seeing the little girl's distraught face made her chest tight, but regardless she crouched down to her height and reached into the bouquet, carefully pulling a single rose from the bundle, she stripped it of its thorns before she held it out to the girl.

"She'll never leave you, if you keep her in your heart she'll never disappear." She said softly, watching as the girl looked up at her father, then took the rose.

"But if you cry, she'll feel bad, she didn't want to make you sad, so you have to smile and stay positive for her, okay?"

The silence wasn't a surprise to her, but the nod she received and the ceased flow of tears made her smile softly, she stood dusting off her dress and giving a sympathetic nod to the child's father. "I'm... sorry for your loss." She said, only loud enough for him to hear, it was the last thing she said before she stepped away from them and continued her stroll up towards her mother's resting place.

Her mother's grave was a lot more elaborate than she wished, her father had said she deserved to rest like a queen, but her mother had never been the type of person who felt happiness based on money or appearances, the large, almost tomb-like grave felt... Unnatural for the gentle, selfless woman her mother had been. Still, that never put her off visiting. Megaru crouched down, gently removing the dead roses from the small pot her father had paid for to replace them with the fresh ones. She unwrapped the fluorescent colored flowers and set the paper aside for the moment, she neatly arranged the bouquet until she found them appealing, then wrapped the paper around the old flowers. Then she became to neaten up her mother's grave, getting rid of any leaves that may have fallen into the dark stone and making sure everything was clean. Her eyes often wondered to the words engraved on the headstone, her fingers moved to trace the etched words. 'Ayumi Yamaguchi, 19XX-20XX, a beloved mother, sister, daughter, and wife. An angel amongst saints.'

Megaru sighed, stepping back to observe her work. She wondered when her father came here last, perhaps he was too busy. She wouldn't hold it against him, everything she had was thanks to his teachings and advice, her intelligence, her skills at management and balancing tasks, getting jobs done to her own standard of perfection. He had taught her all that after all. But she hadn't spoken to him since before her shop opened. He never seemed to check up on her. They drifted apart after her mother's death.

She shook her head, closing her eyes and placing her hands together to mutter a prayer, what she said was swallowed by the wind, her whisper too soft even for her own ears, even if she knew what she'd said.

"Everything's going well mother. The coffee shop isn't mainstream, but loads of people have been... supporting me by visiting. Has anyone else come to see you? I hope so…I'd never forgiven them if they'd forgotten about you."

She never spent too long here, she disliked her distracted she'd get, wondering about the lives of other family members when she should be honoring her mother's life and memory. She dug her nails into the paper she held. She should leave. The longer she spent staring at the grave her mother shouldn't be under, the more she began to grow angry at her family. She hated that, she didn't know what they did after all.

Megaru looked up, her eyes darkening as she glanced around. A strange tangling feeling engulfed her heart and she felt her blood run cold. What looked like a shadowy figure lingered between two trees a few meters behind her, she froze, then blinked and once her eyes were open the figure was gone. The space it had occupied was…. Empty. The feeling of fear rose in her chest, but she only clutched her arm and denied the possibility of someone just vanishing like that. After glancing back down at the grave and the work she'd done she nodded. This should be fine, she had thought, this should be fine but I need to get going. She glanced at the time on her phone and swallowed, her breath drawing inwards, ah, right. She had to meet up with Karma. Right.

"I need to go. I'm sorry I don't spend long here, but, you know… I miss you."

She swallowed, shaking her head and stepping back, she was probably dreaming. That's what she'd believe…

Several hours had passed since she left the cemetery, the walk back to the city had been rushed and panicked, but she managed not to do anything stupid. She'd taken a longer route and went to a different station, yes it ate away at the time but it was the safe thing to do. She still had time to spare.

A yawn left her lips, Megaru strolled along the street, a rather melancholy look on her youthful face. Her eyes remained forward, focusing on the pavement. Perhaps she should've declined Karma's invitation, it wouldn't be unreasonable if she'd explained why. Today usually was an emotional day for the young woman and she might've been able to tell him, but the lure of his voice seemed to compel her to accept the invite out for lunch.

Her mind flickered back and forth, buzzing between the little girl she'd seen this morning and the tidied grave under which her mother rested, she reminded her so much of her younger self, when her mother first died, the words she'd spoken were ones a sympathetic stranger had also given her, part of her never believed them, she thought about the person who may have been watching her and the chill that still ran through her body even now, how was she supposed to enjoy her time with Karma if she was stuck worrying about something that may or may not have been there?

She felt melancholy, not happy, and not sad, that bubbly warmth from this morning had faded, but the unbearable sadness she sometimes battled didn't seem to be clawing at her. She hated that. Oh well, she thought, turns out she was already there.

The building she now stood in front of was small, probably around the same size as her coffee shop. The glass revealed a neat interior, the walls painted gainsboro* and silver, the plants were decorated with little fairy lights, small orbs that glittered even in the afternoon sun. Fake ivy framed the doorway and from the side, a canopy outstretched over the pavement, under which sets of cedar tables and chairs waited for their next occupants.

There was a certain aura of sophistication that almost radiated off the place and she felt a little… underdressed. Sure she looked nice but, did she really fit in a place like that? She wasn't too sure.

"You just gonna stand out here?"

She jumped, looking over her shoulder and up towards to the familiar face, whose lips were pulled into a half smile.

Karma; he stood dressed in a dark red blazer and a pair of black pants, the top two buttons of his white shirt were undone and his hair was slicked to the side once more, still framing his face neatly.

She smiled awkwardly and turned to face him.

"Karma... well, no but I didn't want to go in and you weren't there."

He leaned down a little, observing her quietly, she stared into his mercury eyes, then looked away, a little flushed.

"You look cute."

She blinked, then looked up and laughed, scratching her cheek bashfully. "Thank you," another silence, one that was only weird for her, just like this morning. Karma found her behavior rather adorable but didn't say anything as he smiled and held his arm out. Megaru stared for a second, then caught herself and linked her arm with his. They walked into the petit café together and she was surprised to hear the doorkeeper call him "Mr. Akabane."

"Do you come here often?" She asked him as they were led to a table by the window. The interior was beautiful, like a forest of lights, and when they reached where they'd be sitting she couldn't help but look around, then sit down is a fluster after Karma pulled her seat out for her.

"I do, usually for lunch, if I can." He answered honestly, sitting down and leaning on his palm, seems he'd never lost that habit. The brunette gazed at him for a second, then looked out through the large glass panel they sat beside. The streets around here weren't as bustling as near where she lived.

"It's beautiful."

"Mhm, which I why I wanted to bring you here."

There was a pause.

"Although I like your shortbread more."

She blushed a little more than she would've liked. She would've been happier if she didn't notice that figure once again.

Her throat felt dry, she wasn't sure what to think, and she wondered if she should tell Karma, but she figured it wouldn't do any good. Instead, she kept her eyes on him, the sunlight caused the strands of his hair to glisten.

Megaru tried to concentrate on him, his voice, his eyes, anything that'd stop her from worrying, but her eyes would naturally avert to the shadowy figure, the fear of being followed by a stranger, who may have bad intentions made her tense. Obviously, Karma noticed.

"What's wrong? You look uncomfortable." He said, a small hint of concern present in his tone.

"Oh," she began, smiling a little to reassure him. "Nothing."

If only that were true.

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Author's Note: Hi guys, sorry this took nearly a month to update. But I've started school again for the year and it's honestly drained me of so much free time ^^;;

Of course, that doesn't mean this is going on hiatus, it simply means chapters may be longer and thus take longer to update so I can get as much plot forward without damaging my current schedule, currently, I'm writing at approximately 500 words per week while balancing essays and coursework, so that's why it's taken so long, I am however starting to write chapter minutes after one is posted.

I hope you guys will support me as I improve my writing style and learn more techniques.

Thank you for reading and I shall see you next update.

- Mona