The story of my love begins exactly eighteen years from that sorrowful day. My birthday. My father and I were sitting at our meager dinner table made of wood that we had kept through the years. A giant rice cake sat in the middle of the table as we chatted about the new parchment, he got me from town last week. He may not have been able to send me to school but over the years he passed on his and my mother’s love of reading to me. As our conversation over the parchment ended my father excused himself to his room and returned with a package which resembled the size of our face basin.

When I first saw the package, I was a little filled with disappointment because what I desired was an adventure as my gift. I wanted more than anything to go to the celebration of Hanami tomorrow. It was a celebration that the main village threw every year for all to attend to watch the cherry blossoms bloom. We saw it as a time of renewal and a reminder to enjoy the fleeting nature of life. The blooms only stayed open for about two weeks after Hanami began and then for another year the branches would sit empty in the village. However, all over Japan the flowers would bloom for about forty days between the end of March and the beginning of May.

Every year since my thirteenth I have asked my father to go in the hopes that I would have the chance to make friends and meet others my age. However, each year he has denied me this one thing when I hardly asked for any others. I knew that with such an adventure outside of our small village of paddy field workers that I might find a chance at love just like my parents. I wanted the chance to know someone closely.

“Before I bestow you with my second present, you must open your first” he smiles as he says.

In my excitement I barely appreciated the neatness of the brown paper before tearing it away for my prize. As I opened the box within the paper, I saw a shiny black and pink fabric and squealed in my astonishment of its beauty. Upon pulling the garment from the box the silken black fabric of a kimono flowed to the floor adorned with the adage of the pink and white blossoms of the season. As I ran my hands along the fabric, I could feel that the patterns of the blossoms were raised and made to appear as if the seamstress had added the actual flowers. The contrast between the flowers colors and the black made them look more real than when I have seen them from a distance over the years.

“Father it is magnificent, please tell me this means I get what I have asked for” I pleaded as I clenched the beautiful fabric to my chest.

“Wait one moment Io. As always there is a story I must tell with my gift” he reminded me. He gestured for me to once again take my seat.

I saw a look of happy sorrow cross my father's expression. With the deep breath he took I felt it too because that look only ever came when my mother was in mind.

“Shortly after we moved here, you were told of how your mother, and I were married in those paddy fields. I will never forget how she looked that day. “He mused. “As I have told you many times you are a mirror image of her beauty, but your eyes are a replica of mine. On the day of our marriage, I bestowed upon your mother this very kimono so that our life that would be built together would truly start with a reminder of these beautiful blossoms.” He brushed his fingers across the fabric. “In her vows she promised that in the life she was giving me and the one we would grow together I would always be able to feel her love. In my vows I promised to always treat her with the love and kindness I would show those same flowers. You are the only blossom she gave me, and I love you dearly. I was afraid to let you go to the celebration of Hanami in fear that you may start a life of renewal before you were ready. I thought that with that new life I would be losing the only family I have. With my blessing and this kimono, I know that you are ready, and I give it to you on the eve of your birth so that you may carry your mother Sakura with you. After all, her name means cherry blossom.” He tells me.

“Thank you, father, thank you. I will cherish it always and carry her with me to Hanami tomorrow.” I praised.

My father placed a kiss upon my head and begin to cut the rice cake he made. It was still warm and fresh and made this day so much sweeter. After the cake we bid each other good night. As I cleaned and readied for bed, I dreamed about the first day of Hanami that would come with the rising Sun.

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When the sun arose, I awakened with a smile. Today I would get to go to a celebration of friendship that I have watched from afar for so many years. I would be meeting people different from my life of Patty field workers.

As I arose from my bed the quiet that greeted me made me aware that my father had already left for work. I opened my bedroom door to see his door open as usual. As I peered inside, I saw that his bed was made neatly and that I was correct in my assumption of him not being here. I made my way down our short hallway to the bathing room. In the bathing room I found that my father had left me a few blossoms on the face basin so that my scent today would match my view. I chose to hurry through bathing myself in my excitement.

As I was dressing myself in my mother’s kimono, I was filled with a moment of pride that she would be close to me on such a special day. The kimono fit me perfectly. My breastbone appeared slightly pronounced and flowed in, so my waist looked slim. My raven black hair was long and most days it was nearly impossible to pin up. I decided that today I would leave it mostly down so that the tips will hang down to touch my waist. As I pinned the top into a bun like fashion, I placed my cherry blossom comb in the back to hold its place. As I gazed at myself in the mirror, I could not help but feel a little shocked at the sight of my reflection. With my hair raised in the front, my chocolate brown eyes stood out against my pale flesh. I decided to pinch my cheeks a little to add the blush of the blossoms on my face.

Satisfied with my look I placed my geta on my feet for the journey to the trees. The bright morning sun greeted me as I exited our two-bedroom hut. I could already see the trees in all their glory in the distance. The trees against the horizon reminded me of the first pink rays of the sun hitting the skyline. With the noises in the wind, I could already hear voices coming from the distance and with the voices on the wind I smelled the fragrant smoke of meat. My mouth watered and I could not wait to try something new.

As I got close to the celebration, I was filled with joy at the many smiles I could see as children played. Many of the adults sat on blankets under the trees gazing at the beauty of the flowers as they conversated underneath the blossoms. Up close to the celebration the scent of smoked meat filled the air and my stomach immediately growled to be filled with cuisine I had never tasted. However, with my shyness of new surroundings I decided to first find a seat where I could get a magnificent view of the trees. In the distance I saw a bench directly underneath a tree near the edge of the crowd and made my way to it.

As I took my seat, I inhaled the elegantly sweet scent of the blossoms and closed my eyes to the tranquility. As the sounds around me faded thoughts of my parents’ great love filled my mind in remembrance of the season in which they met. Happy to have finally made it I was filled with peace in this moment of time.

Sometime later I opened my eyes and realized a-lot of time had passed and the sun had gone high into the sky. I decided to make my way over to the man cooking the smoke meat so I could fill my growling stomach. As I made my way through the trees my head stayed tilted up unwilling to remove my eyes from the blossoms that bloomed above. I was so consumed with following the branches that my geta caught beneath something upon the ground and I pitched forward, my eyes closed, and my arms flailed around to try to brace myself for impact. As I landed, I felt a pain in my side and quickly realized that I had landed on something warm that smelled of sandalwood and let out a great big “oomph.” As I looked around many had paused to see the commotion I was making as I scrambled to get up from what I realized was someone’s lap by the two knees that were covered in fabric as the filled my view.

I could feel my always pale skin flame in embarrassment at having had tripped onto a person in my dazed state of glancing at the blossoms. As I gazed at the ground trying to hide my face cowardly refusing to meet the eyes of the person I had accosted as they rose to their feet. I rushed to say “I would like to sincerely offer my apology for accidentally insulting you in such a manner. I was caught up in the beauty of the blossoms and should have watched where I was going instead of falling into your lap “I said as I bowed in annoyance. There was a pause in the air and before I lifted from my bowed state, they spoke.

“It is quite all right, perhaps I was the one who should have chosen a different seat so that I would not be in the way of someone so beautiful, I offer my sincere apologies instead” he says as he bows in acceptance of my apology. As I raise myself up my eyes meet the one who spoke eloquently in such a deep baritone that it gave me chills across my flesh. The world stops as I truly see a boy for the first time. As my heart began to beat faster in my chest, I took him in.

His hair was black. It was not the deep black of a raven like mine but a softer black that had such a silky looking texture my fingers twitched at the mere thought of running through it. It looked gently styled with no hairs out of place as it framed the bronze skin of his face. The deep brown of his eyes flickered as they shifted taking in my features as I did his. His nose seemed to slim on a face so long. His lips were plump and pink as if he had recently eaten a fresh pitaya (dragon fruit). The bronze of his skin reminded me of the true paleness of mine. And at the end of his face was a strong square like chin that was dusted in the hair of a five-o clock shadow. My eyes drifted further down his long form to the broadness of his large neck and shoulders to that of his green silken robes that did little to hide his figure. For the tones of all contours of his muscles beneath it shown through the fabric. On his feet were a pair of geta similar to my own that were light brown like the branches in the trees above. As I raised my eyes back to meet his I noticed that he was smiling and for some unknown reason I could not resist in returning one of my own.

As I stood a bit taller in my natural stature I stared with the same smile on my face. As did he. We heard chuckles and realized that we were standing there in silence staring at each other while his friends looked at us. He was the one to break it. “I am called Draco son of Sato-San and Madame Kawa, and might I ask what to call you?” he asked. “I am named Io daughter of Homura and Sakura; it is my pleasure to meet you Draco” I stated.

He looked around and gestured toward the man that made the smoked meat with a smirk on his face and asked, “Perhaps to make up for my disruption in your path I could offer to share a meal with you to honor our new friendship at this celebration of Hanami.” He offered.

“I would be honored” I answered as I began to follow him. Apparently to make a friend all one had to do was insult them in public I thought amusingly. I tried to think of something else to say but as my eyes met his in a brief moment, I lost my words. When we approached the man he turned to me and asked, “what would you like”? I gazed at the assortment of fish and meat and had no idea what anything was. So, I responded with “I will go with what you like best as I have never tried any of this cuisine before.”

With a look of astonishment on his face he thought about it for a brief moment and as he addressed the man as Shiwu he asked for an assortment of dishes to be placed on a wooden slack. As he carried the plank, we made our way to the edge of the crowd at the bench that I had sat on earlier. We grabbed our chopsticks and began to eat. With each new dish I tried he would tell me its name and what it was. At many of the dishes I could not help but to groan at the variety of flavors because I enjoyed them so much. With my groans I noticed that he would often blush or glance at my lips. As he ate the other portion of his morsels between bouts of explaining them to me, I noticed he chewed with his mouth closed. After each dish he had wiped his mouth upon a napkin. I had never seen someone eat in such a way. “You are very neat in your eating of the food” I commented. He blushed as he replied “I would blame that on the fact of my upbringing. My parents made sure I learned many things and would always say that to truly treasure a meal one must present themselves in a way that honors the food.” He stated.

Since the food was now gone, he placed the wooden plank with its empty dishes on the ground and turned toward me. “I noticed that you also enjoy your food. How is it that you have never tried many of these traditional dishes, Io”? He asked. My mind went blank for a moment as I realized that I liked the way my name sounded on his lips. “In my eighteen years of life this is my first Hanami. Most of the dishes we eat in my village taste nothing like those that I have tried today. I have enjoyed your choices. Many of the dishes we eat consist of the paddy rice we grow and fish” I answered.

“Ah, you are from the paddy village over the hill. I had wondered why I had never seen you before. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to forget someone that looked like you” he pondered with a blush. “I do apologize if that makes you feel uncomfortable, I only meant to relay the fact that I am glad we met. Friends?” he asked.

I could feel my face turning red again. “I like that we can be friends, Draco” I heard him quietly catch his breath as I said his name. “So, now that we are friends why don’t you tell me more about yourself” I wondered as I turned more toward him.

“Just like you I am in my eighteenth year of life. Honestly, my family has not left this village for many generations as we are the first residents of the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple. I am still growing in my studies of literature and arithmetic and will complete my studies come the beginning of summer. My father is Santo-San a retired high ranking general of the Chinese army and my mother is his Madame consort Kawa the villages strongest healer. What about you?” He ends with.

“I have not seen much besides my village and the paddy fields where my father, Homura and I work. My mother has long since passed. I love to read anything I can get my hands on.” I tell him. “The ability to come to Hanami has been a dream of mine for years because I have longed to see something new. I had to beg my father to allow me this visit to your village” I say, and he chuckles.

“I wanted badly to come to Hanami too with my friends. However, my parents decided that it would be a day best used for my studies, so I had to sneak away from my tutors by telling them I had to relieve myself. I did but I just did not return and decided to come here. Having met you I’m glad I decided to sneak away” he confessed.

“I would say that I am happy at both our parents’ decision since in a way it led us here to make acquaintances” I add.

“Since you are not from here, what would you say to meeting my friends so that you can make more. I would be happy to introduce you to them.” He offers.

“Okay Draco, I will meet your friends.” I say as I stand so he can lead the way. When we approach a group of four others that sat on a blanket that looked about our age, I see that they all have eager smiles on their faces. The girl in the group is the first to speak. “I am Zi daughter of Beauty.” Zi had short brown hair that framed her chubby pie shaped face and chocolate eyes. I bowed to her. “I am Cheng son of Consort.” Cheng had black hair and a slim face with a pointy pronounced nose that had a pair of glasses perched onto it. I bowed to him. “Hey, I’m Huang son of Lady” he waved. Huang had long brown hair that pulled into a low hanging braid. His head remained down so I was not able to see more of his features. I still bowed out of respect even though I know he could not see me. The last person in the group was also a boy with deep black hair. He was heftier than the rest and met my gaze with eagerness. “They call me Huli the son of the Senior Palace Woman, and the leader of this bunch” he stood up to bow as he said.

“It’s about time you came back over here Draco. We thought you were going to keep this beauty all to yourself. And what might your name be my lady” he praised.

“I am Io daughter of Homura and Sakura. It’s nice to meet you all.” I greeted.

“Why don’t you have a seat and talk with us so we can get to know you” he said taking his seat. Draco walked to his place where I had landed on his lap earlier. Before I took my seat, I began to notice how low the sun was on the horizon. I sadly realized that my time at Hanami was ending and that it was time to make my way home.

“I’m afraid that I will have to take you up on your offer at another time. I must begin my journey home if I am to beat the evening light. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the celebration” I stated regretfully bowing my goodbye. As I was turning to leave, I was saddened by the thought that I may never see Draco again.

“Hey, how’s about I walk you home” he offered and as he met my pace we headed toward my village. I smile to myself at the thought of spending a few more moments in his presence.