Episode 2: An Altar That Suits a Father

"Please make an altar that suits my father."
Those words were all that remained in the meeting room of Kazuki Ceremonies. Hyo Kazuki looked up from the request form.
Opposite him sat three people. A wife who looked tired but neat. An eldest son in his late forties. An eldest daughter who was a bit younger. Everyone looked troubled.
Twirling his ballpoint pen, Hyo asked, "What were your father's hobbies?"
The three looked at each other.
Silence.
The first to speak was the eldest son. "...I don't think he had any, really."
"What about his days off?"
"He was working."
The eldest daughter gave a bitter smile. "He was working on weekdays, too, though."
"What were the things he liked?"
Silence again.
The wife let out a small sigh. "My husband was... truly a man who only lived for his work."
Hyo looked down at the request form.
Koichi Yamada.
Seventy-four years old.
Former manufacturing business owner.
Everything else was mostly blank.

When the meeting ended, Hyo returned to the ceremony hall. Genzo was selecting flowers at the altar.
Hyo handed over the documents. "This is a difficult one."
Genzo didn't even look at him. "That's why it's interesting."
"Giving me another impossible task."
"It's that 'sense of the person' you like so much."
Genzo pulled out a white chrysanthemum. "Go find it."
Hyo shrugged. "Yes, yes."

The next day.
Hyo was visiting the deceased's home.
The room that would be left as is until the forty-ninth day.
It was orderly.
Desk. Bookshelf. Chest of drawers. There was no disorder anywhere.
It was as if the master of the house were still living there.
Hyo approached the bookshelf.
The heights of the spines were perfectly aligned.
He opened the desk drawer.
Stationery was lined up in a straight line. A watch case. Polished watches. A shoe cabinet. Leather shoes were beautifully maintained.
"He was meticulous," he muttered to himself.
Then, the wife said from behind him, "He was just like that, wasn't he?"
"I suppose so," Hyo nodded.
But something was bothering him.
Meticulous. Serious. A workaholic.
That much he understood. But could that alone explain seventy-four years of life?

It was when he stepped out onto the veranda that Hyo stopped in his tracks.
In the corner of the garden. A small flower bed. Seasonal flowers were planted there.
They weren't flashy. But they were carefully tended. The soil was soft. There were no weeds.
Hyo crouched down. "Who did this?"
The wife replied, "My husband."
"Huh."
"He started it after he retired."
"He must have liked it."
The wife tilted her head. "I wonder."
"Eh?"
"Because he never said he liked it."
Hyo stared at the flower bed.
Flowers don't lie. If you leave them alone, they wither. They won't grow unless you look at them every day.
You can't keep it up if you don't like it.

That night.
Kazuki Ceremonies. Genzo was drawing up the blueprint for the altar.
Hyo placed the photo of the flower bed on the desk. "I found it."
Genzo looked at the photo. "A flower bed?"
"A flower bed."
"Is that all?"
"That's all."
Genzo snorted. "That's weak for telling the story of a life."
Hyo sat down in a chair. "Is it?"
"He was a workaholic, right?"
"Then let me ask you this."
Hyo said, "Was he a person who had nothing else besides work?"
Genzo didn't answer.
Hyo continued.
"Watering them every day, pulling weeds, replanting them every season, not showing them to anyone... that's actually pretty amazing."
Genzo's hand stopped.
Hyo pretended not to notice. "I like it, though."
A quiet silence passed.
Eventually, Genzo said, "...What kind of flowers was he growing?"
Hyo smiled. "So you are interested."
"Answer the question."
"Yes, yes."

The day of the wake.
The altar was complete.
White chrysanthemums in the front. Symmetrical. No disorder at all. The perfect lines that Genzo creates.
But only the center was different.
The seasonal flowers the deceased had grown. Not flashy. A small splash of color.
Yet, strangely, it caught the eye.
Hyo looked up at the altar. "This is nice."
Genzo crossed his arms. "Obviously."
"Did you admit it?"
"Admit what?"
"The fluctuation."
Genzo didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the altar.
Only the flowers in the center were a bit softer. A little uneven. A little more human.

The funeral.
The incense offering ended, and the family stood before the altar.
The eldest daughter's eyes widened. "Oh..."
The wife noticed too. "These flowers..."
The eldest son turned around. "They're the flowers from the garden."
No one continued the conversation.
After a while, the wife laughed softly. "Every morning, you know."
The two children looked at their mother.
"Your father would wake up earlier than me and go out to the garden."
"Eh?"
"You didn't know?"
The eldest son and daughter shook their heads at the same time.
The wife looked up at the altar, tearing up slightly. "I thought he had no interest in flowers."
The eldest daughter smiled. "Me too."
"But," the eldest son muttered, "it's just like Dad."
The moment she heard those words, the wife's tears spilled over.

The ceremony ended.
The attendees left, and the quiet of the hall returned.
Hyo said while cleaning up, "I win this time."
Genzo turned around. "Don't misunderstand."
"Eh?"
"The arrangement of the flowers was all me."
Hyo burst out laughing. "Is that what you're focused on?"
"That's it."
"You're so petty." "Whose?" "Genzo-san's." "Hyo." "Yes." "Shut up." "Yes."
Three seconds later.
"But--" "I told you to shut up!"
A roar echoed through the hall.

At that moment.
The office door opened. The two froze.
Sayuri Kazuki poked her head in. And said one thing.
"...You two."
It could only be a bad premonition.
"How long are you going to keep this up?"
Genzo bowed his head.
Hyo raised his hand. "Yes!"
Sayuri nodded with satisfaction. Then she placed a request form down. "Next one."
Hyo picked it up. The moment he read the contents, his eyebrows shot up.
[The Deceased's Will]
"Do not hold a funeral for me under any circumstances."
Silence.
Hyo looked up. He looked at Genzo.
Genzo also looked at the request form.
And then.
"What a pain." "It really is."
For once, their opinions were in agreement.

Only Sayuri was laughing happily.