He could never get use to the red letters dyed upon the monuments of Oresian cemeteries. There were only a handful he could spot in the distance as they walked along the path between the blocks of stone, but he still couldn't quite brush off the feeling. Just then, something caught his eye on a gravestone behind the left row of graves they were walking past in the near distance. He squinted at the words, but before he could decipher anything, Nadeshiko had spoken.
"A bit creepy isn't it? Having your name carved on the stone before you're even dead."
He turned his head back and glanced at her profile as she followed him from behind due to the cramped pathway. Her lips were curved to an anxious smile when she met his eyes before focusing on a random pillar to her right.
"I understand it is less expensive to have your name and your spouse's name carved on it at the same time, but still..."*
"Well," he gave her a smile in hopes to calm her senses, "On the bright side, the practice is rare nowadays. Ah, this is it."
They stopped their tracks near one located in the centre of that particular row and placed the arrangements on each side of the flower holders. An awkward silence ensued for quite a while until Nadeshiko broke it.
"You know," she glanced up at the sky with a nostalgic look, "Earlier, I was recalling the time where I came over to your house and you weren't home yet. So, your mother gave me some cookies and turned on the television. Then, out of nowhere, she asked me to be there for you if anything were to happen. I understood that there was something behind those words, but I didn't know exactly what..."
She sucked in some air.
"Anyways, I promised her and I promised your father something similar as well. However, I never kept it and I began to wonder lately if I have a right to see them or be your friend, but..."
She turned her head slightly and looked at his eyes with a tiny smile.
"Knowing Yu-chan, you'd probably scold me for thinking such things, right?"
"Of course I would. It's not as if you had a choice back then and my parents understood that as well. All of us lost contact with each other," he gave her a frown—not of disappointment, but something else. She responded with a light laughter which reminded him of wind chimes on a day with gentle breezes.
"Thought so," she grinned and refocused her eyes to the puffy clouds, "I came to realize that the point is that even though it's been twenty years... Here I am, here you are, and we can always continue where we left off."
"Nana-chan..."
He then, also bent down and grasped her shoulder.
"Thank you," he softly murmured.
"You're welcome," she grinned, but it was quickly wiped away with a solemn look, "Yu-chan, also... your parents really do love you."
For a moment, his eyes flickered in astonishment before a smile grew upon his lips.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for worrying about me," he said as he patted her shoulder, "I don't blame them for anything. They're the only parents I've ever known and have. They're irreplaceable to me."
Though, he didn't add anything further, both of them knew what he meant.
"Anyways," he stood up and offered her a hand, "We should get going. You're taking the wheel now, right?"
"Why yes I am," she nodded and smoothed the lower half of her coat, "The destination will remain a secret until we get there."
"That sounds awfully suspicious," he pulled a thoughtful face as he stroked his chin. "Are you able to find your way there? There are a lot of things that changed after twenty years. You can use the GPS just in case, you know."
"And take away the element of surprise? There's no need to be concerned. I studied the maps already and take pride in my sense of navigation not to mention driving skills."
"That's a relief to hear," he chuckled. "I wouldn't want to be clinging onto my seat belt for the whole ride and scream for mercy."
They shared a few laughs and said their goodbyes to his parents before heading out. As they passed by the row of graves once more, something clicked in Yu's head. His eyes wandered to the gravestone from earlier and immediately, his heart began racing as he saw the two names carved upon it.
He second guessed himself at first, as he thought it was a mere coincidence or perhaps he had mistaken the two names. However, he knew he trained his memory to not make such slip ups, especially when he was doing background checks for future staff members. There was also a very low chance that those two names would pair up and not be related to her at all.
Frantically, he tore his gaze away in case if Nadeshiko picked up on what he just saw-
But, wait? Didn't she know?
He gaped at the back of her profile. She was well poised as usual and her shoulders were relaxed. Not once had she appeared to be aware of the gravestone's presence, nor did she seem to have been familiar with this place to any degree throughout the whole trip. At the same time, he found it hard to imagine how she did not know.
Something else didn't click. A prestigious family like hers that has been affiliated with the royal household for hundreds of years is bound to have their own plot of land reserved for their members' graves. So, why were they here?
*Japanese graveyards from what I know are often stone monuments with a compartment for ashes. There is an occasional practice of having both spouses' names carved on the monument at once because it is less costly, but it is no longer in frequent practice. If one spouse has not died yet, their names carved on the stone is still in red and gets craved out once they pass away.
"Yu-chan. Yu-chan?"
"..."
His left shoulder twitched as he felt something grab hold of it and gave a light shake. After blinking rapidly a few times, he removed his chin from where it rested against his knuckle to gaze in her amethyst eyes. There was a mix of perplexity and eagerness in its depths.
"Sorry, the ride was a bit long, so my mind eventually went up in the clouds," he spoke and fixed her a smile.
"Oh, no worries," she nodded. "I just want to tell you that we're here."
He knew right away where they were from the view he could see through the window behind her and a surge of nostalgia bubbled inside his chest. The trees were a lot bigger then how they use to be, yet at the same time, not so big. The structures in the large sand pit still appeared the same. There were more benches, a climbing net, and a kickball court now. Lastly, there was that long winding detour next to the river that he often took to get home.
"So, this is where we're having lunch," an eager grin spread across his face. "I can't wait."
"I'm hoping you're referring to my lunch as well," she giggled and stepped out of the car.
It was as if they travelled back in time somehow. The continuous humming from the cool river mixed with the chatter of children and their parents on a windless day. The scent of dry autumn leaves that carpeted the grassy and cemented grounds along with the fresh scent of moss, rocks and minerals the river carried. The only thing out of place now were their footsteps that clicked and clacked against the road instead of the scritch-scratch as she no longer wore those buckled fastening shoes and he no longer wore sneakers.
After finding a nice bench spot they opened the cover of their lunch box.
"It has been a while since I've prepared a Japanese meal, but I believe it turned out fine," she spoke with confidence.
"Were you already learning how to cook meals when before you moved away?" he stared at her in astonishment.
"Oh, no. Grandmother emphasized that most of the cooking was to be left to our workers. I was also under seven or eight, was it? It wasn't until I moved to Liberty did the thought of cooking for myself cross my mind," she gave him a meek little smile as she passed the pair of chopsticks over.
They dug into their meals a little and observed the ongoing excitement amongst the children who were playing tag. Suddenly, they caught sight of something peculiar making its way down the path.
"That is quite a large dog that man is walking," the raven haired lady commented with wide eyes. "I would say the dog resembles a Labrador Retriever, but the dog seems to be more like a black coloured Golden Retriever if that's even possible."
"I agree with you, but the dog still seem large for either breed. Then again, neither of us our dog experts."
"True. Ah!" she glanced at the blonde man as he merrily ran around with his dog. "Hehe, I can't tell who's more energetic now, the dog or the owner."
"Are guys like that your type?"
She gawked at him with a "Where did that come from?" face.
"Trust me. I really want to know why that slipped out as well," he thought to himself and tried to rack his mind for a solution to deflect the question away. However, all excuses ran down the drain as soon as he saw her shake her head. He felt as if his heart was soaring, for a reason unbeknownst to himself.
"But," she answered in a meek little voice as she darted her eyes around with a rosy hue blooming upon her cheeks.
His heart was now frozen in midair.
"There is someone I like."
"Congratulations, and who is this lucky person?" he smiled and hoped it looked convincing enough. There were times he'd slip up around Aya, though.
"You know him," she replied. "He's in the palace."
Exactly how many male staff were there in the palace that were not way beyond her age range that she could even catch a glimpse of? She barely interacted with anyone besides the medical staff and the kitchen staff. However, she never shown any hint of interest in terms of romance nor did she have the desire to even interact with them on anything besides work. In fact, she avoided any possible human contact unless it was Aya or hi-
Wait.
"What kind of person is he like?" he asked as he carefully chose his words. He could feel the blood rushing through his head and his mind going close to numb.
"He drives me crazy sometimes and also very mean to me," she said with a forlorn look.
He almost rose from his spot as his mind screamed, "The Head of the Medical Household?!"
"I try not to spend more than eleven hours with him, though," a smirk came on her lips.
His upper body slumped and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he heaved a huge sigh.
"Nana-chan, don't joke like that again, please."
"Ahaha... I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," she patted his shoulders to help relieve him somehow. "There was this rumour going around that I'm married to my work, though."
He lifted his eyes towards her while still remaining in the same position.
"Are you sure that's a rumour?" he questioned with a dark tone.
"Look who's talking," she pretended to roll her eyebrows and they both shared a laugh once more before continuing to enjoy their lunches.
"It's really delicious and you used all the flavours of autumn.*," he grinned before chewing on some chestnut rice which she only gave a brief nod in response as she was still busy with her own meal.
"Thank you for the meal, Nana-chan," he spoke after their lunch boxes were clean and they began to place the two boxes and chopsticks back in its carrier set. "I really wish I could have lend you a hand."
"And let us be caught by someone?" she arched an eyebrow at him with a wry grin. "Really, I wanted to make the meal today."
"Then you should allow me to return the favour next time we go out."
Yu noticed that she turned pink and bit her lip at his words before quietly muttering, "Deal."
The topic quickly moved on to something else as she grabbed the top tiered lunch box in the carrier that they had yet to open. Inside revealed a small assortment of green tea cookies, checker board cookies, and buckwheat cookies. Some were the usual square and circle shapes, others were simple flower, cat, and bunny shapes. The unique shapes were what caught his attention, not because of how well they were made, but because they triggered something.
From upstairs he could hear his mother's voice chatting with someone outside the front door as he absentmindedly reached inside the tin feeling for another cookie. It was strange how the chalky they tasted since they were burnt to the core, but his heart swelled with sweetness.
Soon, someone was gently knocking against his bedroom door.
"It's Nadeshiko. May I intrude?"
The tin of cookies was hidden in one of his drawers at the speed of light and he attempted to calmly answer her.
"Sure. Come in."
The door clicked and in stepped his friend. After the door was closed she pulled an extra chair and sat next to him with this smile, this knowing little smile.
"Your mother told me about those cookies and," she point to the area close to the corner of the left side of her lip, "you have crumbs on your face."
In a state of panic he grabbed some tissues on his desk and furiously rubbed his mouth and the area around it. His shoulders slumped soon after. Out of all the times she outwitted him, this was one he really wished she didn't.
"Aya and I really wanted to make cookies together to surprise you and everyone."
"That is really sweet of you two. Thank you," she replied earnestly before leaning her head to one side. "But, really, eating all the burnt cookies?"
"They're not just burnt cookies to me," he frowned.
"Really," she huffed a little sigh, "you're hopeless at times like this."
At the time, he did not pick-up on the melancholy in her eyes or her tone, nor did he completely comprehend the meaning behind her words.
There was a moment of silence that passed between them before someone decided to speak up.
"So," she glanced over both sides of her shoulders, "where are the cookies?"
He took them out of the drawer and removed the lid for her to see. He was sure she would giggle or tease him about it.
"Can I have a bite?" she asked in a perfectly normal manner.
"What? Are you serious!? These are..." he just shook his head multiple times without finishing the last word.
"You see, I'm starving and wasn't it Yu-chan who told me that it is more fun to eat things together?"
He just stared at her, stunned.
"What do you say?" she tilted her head to the side and smiled gently.
"Alright, but don't push yourself, okay?" he nodded and moved the tin closer to her reach.
"Not bad," she shrugged and took another bite. "Is this green tea flavour?"
"Yeah, you can tell?"
"Yeah, there's still some flavour to it, but you'll have to clue me in on what shape they suppose to be," she spoke as her gaze hovered over the tin.
"The one you're holding is suppose to be a flower. That's a bunny and and those are cats," he replied and pointed to the indicated cookies before looking up into her eyes. "Thanks, Nana-chan."
"Mhmm, whatever for?" she grinned and feigned obliviousness.
Once again, Nadeshiko had to get him out of his daze.
"So, who was calling me a space cadet?" she laughed causing him to flush a little.
"I never said "space cadet". It's just these cookies... you still remember," he moved the green tea flavoured one close to his eyes and studied the flowery shape.
Now, it was her turn to flush.
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think you'd notice," she said and turned her gaze to the floor for a moment before springing up again. "But, I made some for Aya-chan and Alan, too! So, umm..."
Before she could finish the sentence, he had popped the cookie in his mouth, on purpose.
"It's really tasty. You should eat some, too."
"I'm the one who made them you know!"
They continued to chat a bit more while watching a group of children nearby stacking up leaves and jumping on the two large piles they made.
"I remember when we use to do that until your parents, Aya-chan's parents, and my guardian had to forcibly drag us away because we couldn't stop."
"It sure makes you miss the past. However, I doubt any of us have that kind of energy anymore," he grinned. "But, it's still fun to wa—oh, hello, is there something we can do to help you two?"
The little boy was the first to speak up, "Our parents are telling us to go home now, so you two can have the piles we made."
Nadeshiko and Yu looked at each other and blinked several times.
"Umm, that's awfully sweet of you two, but wouldn't you and your friends rather play with the piles for the last time?" she gave a polite smile and spoke softly.
"We played enough, and you two were looking at us like you wanted to play," the girl next to the boy said. "Lovey-dovey couples like to play around with each other sometimes right?"
"Uhh... I think you two are mistak-"
"Thank you very much, we'll make good use of those piles," Yu spoke with his usual kind manner and he gave Nadeshiko's should a light squeeze before looking at her in the eye. "Right, Nadeshiko?"
She crossed her arms at him with an unimpressed look as they now were standing in front of the two large mounds.
"Why did you agree to that?"
"It's not nice to refuse an offer from such nice children and it's fun to do these things once in a while when all we do is push ourselves with work nowadays."
He then saw the frown growing and added, "Even if we're not kids anymore."
"I really don't know about that..." she sighed.
"Why not? No one is around anymore and..." he swiftly lifted her up bridal style, "you should really relax more often, Nana-chan."
The suddenness caused her to squeal and flails her legs in middair.
"Y—Yu-chan, what—put me down—WHOA!"
In an instant, she plummeted into one of the large leaf stacks. Some of the leaves were blown away as a result, while most still remained in place. She didn't move for at least a minute as she was covered in red, yellow, orange, and brown.
"You're so mean, Yu-chan," were the words she first spoke and she tried to brace herself to get up, but wince and plopped back down. "Ouch..."
In a panic, he moved to the right side of the mound to face her and was about to bend down.
"Nana-chan are you al-"
He found his back lying against a bunch of soft, yet crunchy leaves as an array of colours soared upwards into the sky and then fell right back onto his face. Within a matter of seconds, they were brushed away from his face by a small hand. There stood Nadeshiko with a wide smile as she looked below at him. He could see the sun shining from above in the background; strange enough, he found her smile to be a lot brighter than it.
"Yeah, Yu-chan, I'm fine... now," she spoke and offered a hand out.
She had to emphasize on the last word, didn't she?
He accepted her hand and got up with a little sigh.
"Looks like you got me," he slumped his shoulders a little but then quickly reached out to grab a handful of leaves in the pile behind him and chucked it at her making her gasp.
"But, I'm not giving up without a fight."
She wasted no time to return the deed as he found his face assaulted by a bunch of leaves.
"Challenge accepted," she smirked.
She fell asleep within minutes as they started to drive home. He couldn't blame her.
When he reached his first red light the image of the carvings on that grave returned to his mind. He glanced over at her as a reaction. Then, a small piece of a leaf caught his eye and he reached out to remove it from entangling within her locks. The leaf's rough texture and warm contrasted with how silky and cool her hair felt.
She stirred a little and broke into a soft smile.
"Maybe some other time," he spoke aloud and found himself mirroring a smile like her own. He turned to see the red light switching to green and drove ahead.
Several days later, Nadeshiko was enjoying some breakfast in a staffroom and was thumbing through a newspaper until an apprentice butler approached her.
"Doctor Shiraishi, I have been looking for you. It's rare for you to be found in the staffroom."
"Good morning, Susumu-san. I just had the urge to come here for a change," she nodded in acknowledgement and caught glimpse of the package that was thin in width, but a third of her height in length. "Would that happen to be package for me?"
"Yes, it is," and he handed over to her with both hands. "I'll be taking my leave now. Have a nice day."
"Thank you, and I wish the same for you."
Her eyes fell down to where the address was written and she immediately felt her pulse quickening, but the rest of her body did quite the opposite as she froze in place. Out of instinct, she dashed out of the room, down the hall, and slammed the door of her room, forgetting about her newspaper and tea.
She fumbled the drawers for some scissors and removed the packaging to reveal a wooden box used for storing kimonos. Her hands started to shake as she lifted the lid. There was a kimono lying inside along with variety of precisely chosen accessories to compliment it. Sitting on top the kimono was a small note in the centre.
Wear it for my birthday. A servant will be picking you up early that morning.
She felt her heart plummeting like a glass half full onto the kitchen floor and like a lost little girl, she was unable to pick up the pieces.