∞~∞~∞
The train pierces through the snow. Sitting on the same seat for four hours, Yara tries to open the window to get some fresh air, but shut it right back – the wind makes it so cold to enjoy any air anyway. Beyond the horizon, he catches the first glimpse of the Starlit Inn – or he likes to call it “home”.
∞~∞~∞
Yara has come back to this place again. Things don’t seem to have changed; even the feeling that comes with him every time. He misses his sister. This town hasn’t had snow for a hundred years, or so they say. He misses that time he went with his sister to the neighboring town – it was the first time they had seen snow. He lives in the city now. The snow in the city is cold; the rushes of the city life make it so. He thinks
back about the snow back then, it was warm, or was it the warmth of her smile? He hasn’t been able
to see that smile since that day…
“…Tsunora. Thank you
.” – He opens the door and a lady dressed in a white blouse and a long black dress is standing at the registering counter. A girl is standing next to her who seems to be following that lady in white. The girl is wearing a very sophisticated kimono, with flowery patterns and a red belt, like those of queens’ and princesses’ he sees in films. She also has such long hair, beautiful as if it was a black stream of silk, with ornaments attached on it, like sparkling droplets that are smashing into pebbles. She looks at Yara with her shimmering brown eyes. Her beauty is so breathtaking that Yara even forgets to greet his parents.
“…and here is your key. Enjoy your stay.” – The man standing at the other side of the counter replies to the lady.
The girl leaves, along with the lady.
“Yara-honey, I miss
ed you so much!” – A woman standing next to the man
(These are his parents, yes? The wording is confusing here.) shouts to Yara.
“Hello, Papa and Mama.” – Yara turns to look at the girl one last time – the girl also looks back – before
he finally replies to the woman.
∞~∞~∞
Yara walks to
theirhis parents’ table in the diner, where two other people are sitting with
thehim.
“Let me introduce to you. This is Mr.
(space)Orashi. He is my friend from college. That’s his wife. I haven’t seen them for a while
.,” –
Ssays Yara’s father.
Although he said the man is his friend from college, the couple may look ten years older than
Yara’s fatherhim. They all have grey hair and wrinkles.
Night falls and as the conversation develops, Mrs.Orashi asks Yara:
“Do you know why
does this town doesn’t have any snow, young man?”
“I suppose I don’t.” – The question surprises Yara; he thinks that it has been so for so long, nobody really knows.
“Well, I have heard:” – She begins to slowly explain. – “More than a hundred years ago, there was a feudal lord who lived here. The lord and his wife had an older son and a younger daughter. He had just lost his son from a war, and for being defeated, his daughter must be offered to marry one of the victor’s sons. The princess locked herself in her room for three days until her mother came and gave her what would eventually bec
aome her most precious item – a hairpin. A victor's troop was sent to retrieve the princess a few days later. On their way back, the princess escaped in a snowstorm, ran into the sakura
(space)forest nearby. The feudal lord couldn't find his daughter after the snowstorm had gone away. He made a tomb for her in the forest. The victorious lord was furious and attacked the feudal lord. His family couldn’t survive. So tragic was her family’s deaths, the spirit of the princess was said to still linger in the land, making the land never have snow and flowers again.”
“Wow, I have never heard of such things.” – Yara is surprised, just as much as everyone
inaround the table.
“Rumor has it that the tomb still exist
s in the forest. It is also said that the spirit has tremendous power, enough to grant wishes
, or undo them.” – Mrs.Orashi smiles at Yara. – “You can choose to believe it or not.”
∞~∞~∞
Yara lies down on the roof, gazing at the stars. He remembers the time he and his sister watched the starry sky together. He tries to fall asleep…
Yara wakes up to the sound of a flute. Under the moon and the stars, a girl is sitting on the other side of the roof and playing an exotic-looking ocarina.
“Hey, I didn’t know someone else likes being here
like me.”
The girl is still playing.
Taking a closer look, Yara realizes it’s the girl at the counter this afternoon. The sound from the ocarina has stopped, but she hasn’t replied to him.
“We met this afternoon, don’t you remember me?”
She slowly turns back and looks at him, still no words coming out from her lips.
He scratches his head, he’s not good around girls – “My name is Yara, what’s yours?”
“…
…Sanae.”
(I’d say the extra line is unnecessary.)
“Sanae, isn’t it? I’m here to look at the stars. How about you?”
“…I’m playing my tsuchibue.”
“Can you play the melody again?”
“…” – she nods and starts to play. The sound coming out of the instrument is like the heavenly music of the muses
that are served to their masters. The moon and the melody…
∞~∞~∞
The rooftop has become their secret world.
“You want some cookies?”
“…No, thank you.”
“I made these. My sister used to make these kinds of cookies for me.”
“…Your sister?”
“Yeah, my older sister. She passed away 7 years ago though.”
“…I’m sorry…”
“I don’t mind. It’s just that… you remind me a lot of my sister. She had the same beautiful hair and used to play the same kind of melody…”
“…Is that so?” – She says in such a soft voice, like whispering to the leaves and grasses.
“Yeah… Is the girl you follow
sed your sister, Sanae?”
“…She is my sister, but she doesn’t talk to me anymore…”
“Why?”
“…It seems that… I don’t exist in her eyes anymore…”
∞~∞~∞
“Hey, do you like snow?”
“…I don’t hate it.” – Sanae replied gently.
“My sister loves it.” – He grins and says – “I can’t forget how happy she looked when we saw snow for the first time. It never snows here.”
“…”
“Do you believe in ghosts? The other day I was told there
's a spirit that will grant wishes in the forest.”
“…”
“I believe in the stars, though.” – Yara’s eyes light up. – “They say if you tell the stars what your heart wishes for, it will come true. So, I come up here to make a wish every night – maybe I can find that smile again if there is snow here…”
Still just silence from Sanae.
“Do you have any wishes? Hey, how about we make our wishes together? Maybe the stars will hear us out if we do.”
“…If you say so.” – She looks up into the sky. It’s dark, but Yara can still see that Sanae’s eyes make the stars not shining.
(I don’t understand what you mean here.)
“Ok, then.” – He puts his hands together and closes his eyes. – “One, two, three.”
“I wish there will be snow here.”
Yara turns to Sanae. As she opens her eyes, he asks: “What did you wish for? Wait.” – He stops suddenly, remembering something. – “If you tell your wish to another person, it won’t come true. So don’t tell me.”
“…Uhmm.”
(A rather abrupt end to a scene.)
∞~∞~∞
Yara notices the chill on his spine the next morning. Half-asleep, he gets dressed and goes downstairs to get breakfast. He wonders why the inn has closed all of its windows where it’s never very cold outside. Wait…
it’s thatare those snowflakes outdoors?
Yara can hear the voice of the usual morning board reporter:
“…it has been snowing since the morning at the town Eikyuto – it hasn’t had snow for as long as we have known.”
Yara stands still, dumbfounded. Has it come true? Is it his wish?
That night, Yara climbs to the roof to find that Sanae is already there, playing the same melody.
“You ma
kde my wish come true, you know. It was thanks to you that I have found my guiding star. So, thank you.”
Yara can see that Sanae is blushing – “…
Is iIt
is? Thank you…
Bbut mine hasn’t come true at all…” – Her face falls a bit.
“Well, all good things happen to people who have heart, so don’t doubt yourself, Sanae!”
∞~∞~∞
“It’s not good, boss! The doctor says he couldn’t come until this snowstorm has gone away!” – A clerk who has just phoned the doctor returns with the news.
“No, it can’t be!” – Yara’s father is holding his wife’s hands – “Hang in there, Inori!” – The only moment a man cries is for
theirhis loved ones.
The sudden snowstorm made a condition that his mother had long ago recur
s after all these years. Yara walks out of the room. He has seen the same scene once; he cannot watch it again…
Leaning his back against the wall, Yara recalls what Mrs.Orashi said: “The spirit has treme
mndous power, enough to grant wishes or undo them.”
“You can choose to believe it or not.”
Yara knows what he has to believe in…
Rushing to the door, he runs into Sanae.
“…I need to go with you, Yara…” – To Yara’s surprise, Sanae whispers. – “…I know what you are thinking. If so, this has to do with my wish, too.”
“…Ok, let’s go
, Sanae.”
The two set out in the raging storm.
∞~∞~∞
The wind is howling like a wild beast. Yara has walked for what seems like hours
., Wwith only Sanae’s hands to keep him from freezing
,. Yara walks and walks, in hope of finding one thing he believes that will save his mother from the scythe of death.
Good things happen to those with good will. He finds a circle of dried up sakura trees surrounding a tomb. Three stones lean to each other and paper ornaments attach to them. The stones have red circles on them, glowing.
Yara runs up to it. With his knees down, he puts his hands together and prays:
“Please, please stop this snow and save my mother.”
The red gleams stop…
“Let’s go, Sanae…”
But he’s talking to the trees and the wind. He turns all around, but cannot find her anywhere.
“Sanae, Sanae? Sanaeeeeeee!”
∞~∞~∞
Yara feels the colors around him are fading. He is falling. He reaches out his hand, trying to get hold of a woman’s…
“…This could be too much to ask of you, but, please, make my wish come true…”
∞~∞~∞
Opening his eyes, Yara finds himself in a hospital room. Turning his head, he sees a figure of a big man sleeping to
athe side of a patient’s bed. The person lying on the bed is his mother.
“Are you awake?” – A nurse walks in. – “You were found unconscious outside of the inn. Your father brought you and your mother here after the snowstorm had stopped.” – She says gently to Yara.
∞~∞~∞
Yara stands looking down to his sister’s grave. He thinks back to those memories
; and
he remembers what he heard the other day, now
they are only vague fragments. “Make my wish come true…” Was it a dream?
Something blinked. Looking at the side of the grave, Yara finds a metal piece. A hairpin.
It dawns on Yara. He rushes back to that place
. Ddeep down in the sakura forest…
And (Avoid beginning sentences and paragraphs with the word “and.”) hHe finds it. It wasn’t a dream. Catching his breath, he slowly walks to the stones. He puts the hairpin on top of them.
“…Thank you, Sanae…”
A sakura petal touches his face. He looks up to the trees above. The
y trees are covered in cherry blossoms, emitting a heavenly luminous light.
The sky light
s up after the storm.
