In Hakone, the Cherry Blossoms were just beginning to die, their frosty pink petals blowing softly in the wind. Yuko stared into the winter wonderland through the glass window of her new home, watching each petal break from their mother's branches to freeze to death somewhere in the snow. Several only made it a few feet before, propelled by the wind, hitting the ground and becoming buried under a fresh blanket of sleet. The trees were all but bare, just a few of the cherry blossom blooms clinging to the branches, and even fewer blossoms were whole.
Yuko almost felt bad for the flowers, being torn away from their tree like that. But, she supposed, it was their purpose to fall. And in the summer, they would bloom once more. So, it was not really a loss at all, she told herself. Yet, the thought stayed with her, hanging on to the edges of her mind with as much determination to stay there as the petals had to keep hold of their roots, as best they could.
Like the blossoms, Yuko was not always complete. At least, not as complete as she had been as a child. She wanted the feeling of being the world back.
Of course, she could now return to being a geisha.
And many men would beg for her company, as they had done before.
But, there would be an emptiness in her when she saw their faces, for in none of them could she bear love.
She would be lucky to find a generous danna, considering the war that her people had just lost.
Minoru had saved her from Miyagawa-cho, and provided her with clothing, food, and shelter, but that was all he could do. It was not possible for him to start a successful geisha career for her, or get her to meet the new american influences in Japan, and he could certainly not find her a proper danna. No, she had to do that on her own.
However, such was not an option in this weather.
So she would wait until Spring to travel back to Kyoto. Back into Gion; city of her fortune.
She had to be patient, like the blossoms, to grow back into full bloom.
She turned her full attention back to the trees; nearly all bare.
Upon first look, Yuko mistook them to be entirely devoid of the pink flowers.
But, just over one of Minoru's small ponds of koi fish, a small cherry blossom still kept its hold on the branch. It was, by far, the smallest bloom Yuko had seen on and of the trees, yet it held, steady -- fighting.
"Hold tight, little blossom. The Winter will be over soon. Summer is on its way!" Yuko whispered to the dangling flower.
Then, quick as her words were given, the blossom was ripped from the tree.
Carried, not by the sudden burst of wind that had disrupted its fight, but by the stillness of the winter's night, it glided gently toward the water beneath it. With not even a slight ripple, the petal landed on the water's surface, and began to freeze.
Snow continued to fall around it, and the silver dust of moonlight settled coldly on a pond.
Note: The ending was for a Journal entry in English, it was mandatory, so I can't change it.
