The Gardener of the Sleeping Forest, Episode 8: Rain (Part 1) / Takatora Muromi

Click here for previous episodes

Episode 8: Rain (Part 1)

“I just got a notification that the advisory has been upgraded to a warning!”

The sound of rain hitting my hood drowned out even my younger brother’s voice shouting from beneath the stepladder.

I hate rain gear. It gets in the way of work and, above all, it’s stifling. In the summer, I’d just stay in my T-shirt and get wet without a second thought, but I can’t do that in winter. I can’t afford to catch a cold, so I reluctantly put it on, creating a little hell where my fingertips are frozen while my torso is steaming.

“We can’t do it today. I’ll go tell them, so please start packing up.”

Rain is part of the job when working outdoors, and we naturally continue if it’s just a light drizzle. However, it’s a different story when it’s clearly pouring.

Beyond the danger of working at heights, there are times when electric tools can’t be used. For private residential jobs, the goal is usually to maintain aesthetics, but the ground gets covered in footprints and mud splashes, and we can’t perfectly clean up the cut branches and fallen leaves either.

The client for this job also sensed that we had stopped working and poked their head out from the entrance with a resigned look on their face.

Work for today is now officially terminated.

I dropped off my brother, who was complaining about needing to use the restroom, along with our gear at the office, and headed to the gas station alone. If it were last year, I definitely would have headed straight home and collapsed onto my bed.

I parked the car and tapped away on my smartphone before pulling the fuel door lever.

Hana-san is probably at work right now. It’s really sudden and it’s a weekday, but maybe we could have dinner together.

I sent the invitation message I had managed to craft—keeping it as concise as possible, yet polite, and casual enough not to be a burden on her—and got out of the car to refuel.

We work a murderous schedule from autumn through New Year’s Eve, but once the New Year begins, it becomes a time to calmly handle the work that didn’t fit into the end of the year, and once February arrives, we suddenly find ourselves with time to spare.

The day Hana-san contacted me, I explained that I wouldn’t be able to make much time for a while, and when I apologized for being the one to ask her out, she was actually worried about my health instead. She then suggested that we keep in touch as little as possible until the New Year.

In reality, she might have found it burdensome to be asked for the kind of frequent communication common among women at this time of year, but being told that so easily was, as expected, lonely.

Maybe I’m the only one who’s excited. Just as I started to feel discouraged, I met Hana-san at the convenience store early in the morning as usual. The moment she noticed me, her face lit up, she trotted over, and with a shy smile, she said this.

I'm happy to see your face after so long.

A shock ran through me, as if I had been slapped directly in the heart.

Since then, I ended up sending her a 'good morning' message on days we couldn't meet at the convenience store, and now we've been messaging each other almost every day.

They say to strike while the iron is hot, but is this really the right way to go? No, that's not it. Whether it's good or bad is secondary; I just honestly wanted to see her. Even with my murderous schedule in December, as a gardener, there was always a possibility of a sudden day off.

That single hope was heavy rain.

It doesn't rain heavily in winter very often, but I prayed every day for rain, and it seems my wishes finally reached the heavens. This huge opportunity given to me by the abnormal weather—how could I let it slip away?

I finished refueling and returned to the car. Thinking I might be getting ahead of myself, I checked my smartphone just in case, but naturally, there was no reply. First, I'll take the car back to the office and change clothes.

As I thought that, I started the engine and shifted into drive, and at the same time, a notification sound rang out. I grabbed my smartphone immediately.

It was Hana-san. Praying for a favorable reply, I opened the message to find that she had been away on business and was just about to head home, but the trains were delayed.

I'll let you know once I have an idea of when I'll be home.

When I searched for delay information, it wasn't just due to the heavy rain; there had been a collision between a car and a train, and it seemed like a larger-scale delay than I had imagined.

The image of her standing alone, lost and shivering under the winter rain, flashed through my mind.

I'll come pick you up by car!! Go into a shop somewhere and wait while having a coffee.

I set off without waiting for a reply, but immediately made a U-turn to return to the office. I hurriedly changed clothes, managed to tidy up my body, which was stifling with sweat and rain, and set off in the car again.

The road to the location was congested due to the aftermath of the train delays. My impatience grew as the scenery remained unchanged, and the accumulated fatigue slowly gnawed at my body.

It would normally take about an hour, but it took nearly twice that long. Even so, when I finally arrived at the destination and saw her running toward me after noticing my car, my fatigue vanished in an instant.

I'm sorry for making you come all this way, thank you so much.

As she bowed repeatedly after getting into the passenger seat, I said, 'Sorry, wait just a second,' and looked for a gap to return to the still-congested road. I managed to cut in just as a car was pulling out.

This was going to be a long haul on the way back, too. Resigned to the sea of cars that wouldn't move even when the light turned green, I pulled the handbrake to rest my legs and replied to Hana-san once more.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. With this traffic, the trains started running again while I was keeping you waiting, didn't they? I feel bad for making you stay out in the cold longer than necessary.”

“That’s not true at all. Even though they started moving, the station itself was incredibly crowded. Looking at it like that, I think it would have been a long time before I could actually get on a train. You really saved me.”

Even though it wasn't even five o'clock in the evening yet, the sun was completely hidden by rain clouds, giving the illusion that night had already fallen. The raindrops falling onto the windshield were illuminated by the taillights of the cars stuck in traffic, turning red as they flowed away.

She shifted her gaze to the windshield, lowered her voice a little, and continued.

“Besides... I’m just happy I got to see you a little sooner.”

In this unusual space, I suppressed the urge to say something that might sound like a confession, but I felt anxious that I shouldn't just stay silent and had to say something.

“...Um... I wanted to see you sooner, too... I did.”

What came out of my mouth was a clumsy response, like that of an elementary school student, but I was certain that the smile that spread across Hana-san’s lips was definitely not because she was laughing at it.

The car moved a little and stopped, then stopped and moved a little again. The traffic that had been so annoying until just a moment ago now felt impatient yet pleasant. We talked and laughed about how things like this happened in the rain today.

After a while, when the conversation reached a lull, Hana-san said,

“Thank you so much for today. I’m not good with rain. I don’t think there are many people who like rain, but personally, I have bad memories associated with it, and it makes me feel unwell, too.”

Come to think of it, my niece, Murasaki, is also the type whose physical condition is affected by the weather and atmospheric pressure.

I felt like Hana-san’s profile looked a bit pale, but I couldn't tell if she was actually feeling unwell or if it just looked that way because of the weather.

“But lately, I’ve come to think that rainy days aren't all bad. The first day I saw you, Takatora-san, it was raining, too.”

A question arose before the joy. The day she noticed me was the day I spilled coins from my wallet. Was it really raining then?

As I was wondering about it, an unexpected story followed.

“On a day with a heavy downpour in summer, there was a boy waiting for the light at the crosswalk in front of that convenience store without an umbrella. He was so soaked that just watching him made me nervous. But then, a passerby gave that boy an umbrella—do you remember?”

Hana-san said that and looked up at my face from the passenger seat.

“Takatora-san gave the boy an umbrella and told him that if he didn't need it, he should return it to the umbrella stand at the convenience store.”

I remember.

That day, I was on my way back from a quote for a new client, and they were the type of difficult customer with a terrible attitude. In the car on the way home, I reached for my e-cigarette out of lingering irritation, only to realize the cartridge was empty, so I went out of my way to stop at a convenience store in the pouring rain.

Just as I was leaving the store, I caught sight of a soaking wet middle school boy waiting for the traffic light. I remembered an old umbrella I had left in the car and decided to grab it, thinking I might as well help him out.

The next morning, while on my daily walk, I felt a strange sense of curiosity and went to see if the umbrella had been returned to the convenience store. It was completely sunny by then, so the umbrella stand had been put away. But, Takatora-san, your car was parked there.

Ignoring my surprise, Hana-san continued to speak.

Takatora-san, you were carrying a basket for a very hunched-over elderly woman. I thought she might be your family, but it turned out she was just another customer you didn't know at all. Even after that, I would often see you spreading kindness at that convenience store in the morning, and I found myself cheered up by it. That's why, when you picked up my loose change, I was truly happy.

Once she said that much, she suddenly looked as if she had come to her senses, and after saying, "It's creepy to be watched one-sidedly, isn't it?" she bowed her head repeatedly, repeating her apologies.

No. It was me who was watching one-sidedly.

Watching Hana-san, who would bow her head so apologetically, as I began to see her from time to time at the morning convenience store. She always seemed a bit precarious, and I became curious and started following her with my eyes.

Ah, I see. So that—that person back then was also Hana-san.

When I took the umbrella out of the car and turned back, I noticed that the slender figure waiting for the light next to the middle school boy was glancing at him over and over again. And that figure finally stepped quietly toward the boy. That's why I hurriedly ran over and called out to him.

Hana-san, it was because you were just about to offer your own umbrella.

As I stood frozen in surprise, the sound of a car horn brought me back to reality. Oh no, the light had been green for a while.

Just as I hurriedly started driving, an unfamiliar ringtone played inside the car.

Oh, it's Gin-chan. Excuse me for a moment.

Hana-san said that and started the call, and immediately began arguing about something. I tried to focus on driving, but the car was small. Whether I wanted to or not, it reached my ears.

Why are you always so abrupt? No!! It's not about what time it is, why don't you just go back to your parents' house? Anyway, today is absolutely impossible... oh... no, that's why I said don't come... eh, tomorrow? That's fine, but... yeah, see you.

She was breathing harder than usual. It was actually kind of funny to see the usually humble Hana-san suddenly turn into a strong-willed older sister when dealing with that cousin of hers.

Did you have some kind of emergency? Are you sure you're okay?

It's nothing, please don't worry about it. Gin-chan is always like this. Even when I was living abroad, he would call me from Narita Airport saying he was coming over to my house right then. He could at least tell me before getting on the plane.

Having a relative who adores you like that is a good thing, isn't it? Was your time abroad related to ballet? You must be talented.

Gin-chan is an only child, and I'm his only cousin. I think he feels more like family than just a relative. He used to be a member of the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki. Despite how he looks, he really has incredible talent for ballet.

Finland, huh? I know most cities that have famous soccer teams. Come to think of it, that guy who was Hana-san's ex-boyfriend was living abroad like that, wasn't he?

I feel a bit intimidated by the worldwide scale of the conversation, but if I put it in terms of soccer, I can understand. If the sport is played at a high level abroad, then of course someone with talent would want to challenge themselves there.

Gin-chan won a scholarship award at fifteen, studied abroad in Paris, worked as a trainee in Switzerland, and went all over the place. But in the end, he struggled because things didn't work out anywhere. It wasn't because of his ballet technique, but because of interpersonal relationships. He has that kind of personality, and it seems he even faced some anti-Asian discrimination at times. After all, not everyone is like Fujisaki-san... oh...

Hana-san, having mentioned her ex's name, stopped talking, looking awkward. Some people say it's bad manners to talk about an ex-lover, but I think stories from your teenage years are charming enough.

Well, well, don't worry about it!!

I deliberately spoke in a loud, playful voice.

At our age, it would be strange if we didn't have a past.

No, that's not it. That's really just Gin-chan's own assumption. Gin-chan has admired Fujisaki-san since long ago, and it seems they are still in contact. Apparently, whenever they see each other, he asks how I'm doing. Because of that, he's convinced himself that the reason Fujisaki-san is still single is because he still has feelings for me.

But maybe that's not just an assumption, is it?

When I said that, half-teasing and half-serious, Hana-san gave a bitter smile and stated firmly that that wasn't the case.

Fujisaki-san's romantic interest is in men. He told me clearly that while he likes me like a little sister, he couldn't have romantic feelings for me. He was my first love and my first boyfriend, so it's a very bitter memory.

While surprised by the unexpected punchline, I realized I felt a little relieved. It seems I was the one who was bothered by it, despite telling her not to be.

Even so, to be dumped with those words by someone who was your first love and first boyfriend is just too pitiful. Although I thought it was sad, I couldn't help but laugh, which I felt bad about. I hate that I'm such a giggly person.

I quickly changed the subject to cover it up.

Speaking of ballet, your mother runs a ballet school, right? You did it too, didn't you, Hana-san?

I waited a few seconds, but there was no response. As I gripped the steering wheel and glanced at the passenger seat, I saw a face that was different from before, pale enough to be noticeable even in the bad weather.

Are you okay!?

...I'm sorry, it might be anemia... It's nothing serious, so please don't worry.

Although Hana-san said that, she clearly looked unwell. At just the right moment, I came across a drugstore and turned the steering wheel toward the large parking lot typical of suburban stores.

I'm going to go buy some drinks, so wait here.

Oh, no, I'm really fine. I'm sorry for making you worry.

Her tone was certainly calm, but her complexion was still not good. I told Hana-san, who insisted she was fine, that I was going to the restroom while I was at it, and got out of the car alone. The rain seemed to be coming to an end, and half of the people walking on the street had already closed their umbrellas.

After using the restroom and struggling a bit with the unfamiliar layout of the store I was visiting for the first time, I bought some drinks and, just in case, some motion sickness medicine.

As I left the store and approached the car, I could see Hana-san in the passenger seat through the windshield, facing her smartphone and talking. It seemed she was on a call with someone. She seemed to sense that I had returned, and I could tell she was wrapping up the conversation.

Just as I put my hand on the driver's side door, I heard her say, "Alright, see you later."

Looking at her face, she seemed to have recovered quite a bit. When I asked, "Are you okay?", she seemed to mistake it for concern about her phone call rather than her physical condition.

I'm fine. I was just talking to my brother, it wasn't an urgent matter. I'm sorry.

Oh, I see, you have a brother.

Holding water in one hand and tea in the other, I offered them to her, leaving the choice to her. She said, "Thank you," and took the water.

Then, after looking down at the plastic bottle of water for a few seconds, she looked up at me with an expression as if she had made up her mind, and began to speak in an anxious tone.

Um... I'm sorry about earlier. Actually, the relationship between my mother and me is a bit complicated. It's really embarrassing for a grown adult to say, but sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack when I suddenly think about my mother. Especially today, partly because I was already feeling unwell due to the rain...

I see, I understand. Thank you for sharing something that was difficult to talk about.

Knowing how well she got along with her relatives, I had assumed she had a good relationship with her family, so I was a bit surprised. But when I replied with the most considerate words I could muster, Hana-san let out a small sigh of relief.

Are you feeling any better?

Yes. I was able to talk to my brother, and I've calmed down now.

She smiled as she said that, and she certainly seemed to be back to her usual self. It seems they have a good relationship as siblings. I don't know what happened with her mother, but having an ally in the family must be a great relief.

As I sat in the car in the parking lot, taking a short break and drinking tea, I realized I hadn't decided on any plans for what to do next. After all, I was the one who had invited her to dinner.

When I brought up the topic to Hana-san, she came back with an unexpected suggestion.

"Actually, I was planning to have hot pot at my place with Azumi-chan tonight, but she had a sudden night shift and can't make it. I've already got all the ingredients, so would you like to join me?"

She laughed at my enthusiastic 'yes' and my vow that she could rest assured I wouldn't do anything strange. I suppressed my excitement and told myself to drive safely. Once we reached this area, the way home was just a little further.

While I gripped the steering wheel nervously, one thought was vaguely lingering in the back of my mind.

Hana-san had definitely said this.

"Gin-chan is an only child, and I'm his only cousin."

To be continued in Episode 9: Rain (Part 2)

I am participating in the note Creative Awards.
If you want to read more!! Or think it's interesting!!
Please give it a like♡

Click here for the list