Cherry Blossom Blizzard and Forget-Me-Nots... Sepia-Toned Memories #TorakichiMonthlyNote #AoBuraLiteratureClub

Cherry blossom blizzard and forget-me-nots...
Sepia-toned memories
#TorakichiMonthlyNote
#AoBuraLiteratureClub

Sepia-toned cherry blossom memories...


It was in winter that my dog, who was like a therapy dog,
started waking me up in the middle of the night.
I would stroke him, and he would fall back asleep, comforted.
And then, the parting...


I said goodbye just as the cherry blossoms, which had bloomed earlier than usual, were dancing in the wind.

Around the time he first started going for walks,
he got lost.

The next morning, as I was asking the convenience store manager to post a "lost dog" flyer...
Across the road,
I heard voices saying, "How cute!"
A puppy was surrounded by elementary school students, wagging his tail.

Where had he spent the night?...
When I ran over, my dog, covered in sand,
was spinning his tail in joy.
"You have no idea how worried I was..."
What a troublesome little guy.

When I was digging up the flower bed with a shovel to plant flower seedlings, my dog helped me till the soil... was he helping?
His front paws were covered in dirt,
and his nose was covered in soil too.

I was feeling troubled about something and fell asleep
right there on the heated carpet...
When I woke up, all of his toys were lined up around me...
"If you play with these, you'll feel better!"
He looked straight into my face, held his ball in his mouth, and made it squeak.

After we parted, for a while, I didn't feel like doing anything.
When I finally went out into the garden, it was covered
in gentle, light blue flowers.
"Forget-me-nots?"
Maybe they were cucumber herbs;
seeing those tiny blue flowers made my tears overflow again.

In that moment,

whoosh,

a gust of wind blew.

The gate made a "clatter" sound.

It felt like a sign saying, "Let's go for a walk!"

"I won't forget the days we had fun...
but please forget a little bit at a time.
I'll be born again right by your side soon.
You don't have to be so sad."
I felt like that's what he was telling me...

The cherry blossoms of that day
in my memories are gradually
turning sepia-toned...

Now I watch dog videos on Instagram
and find comfort in them.
Look, they're walking properly.
But when I go for a walk, I think,
I really want to have a dog again!

#TorakichiMonthlyNote
Torakichi-san,
I am submitting this with the seasonal words from this month's theme: "cherry blossoms, forget-me-nots."
It's an old episode...
Thank you very much.

I finished it by adding a sepia-toned cherry blossom photo (though I couldn't process it into sepia...).

Akira Yamane-san,
Thank you as always.
#AoBuraLiteratureClub
#SepiaTonedCherryBlossoms

I will participate in the project.
Thank you very much.😊