Aitaina (Vegetable I Want to Meet) (#WeeklyShortShortNote)

Children moving out, mandatory retirement from management positions, parting ways with a wife—once you pass fifty, events leading toward the closing of life's shop begin little by little. I've become weaker to alcohol, and my physical strength has faded. The only thing I have in excess is time. In the garden of my tiny house, which still has a small mortgage left, I started a vegetable patch.
Edamame, tomatoes—nothing but simple things.
Today, I'm at the home center again, checking out seeds.
“Maybe I should try my hand at something a little more difficult...”
A yellow package suddenly caught my eye. A vegetable that looked like spinach, the product name was
“Aitaina” (I want to meet you)
“I'll try my hand at leafy greens, too.”
I bought the yellow bag and planted it in the garden.
A month later, I harvested the lush green vegetables and immediately tried eating them as ohitashi (blanched greens).
It was a little bitter.
That day, I dreamed of my wife. Our date at Disneyland when we were young. The proposal at the seaside park, the time our child was born. It was like a kaleidoscope of memories. It was a strange dream.
Back then, we had so many dreams. And my wife was always by my side.
Now, I am alone. But I must live without regrets.
But still, “I want to meet you.”
That will be for another time.