[Novel: Venus Syndrome] [744] Shinkansen Petal Lemon Squash

The moment she stepped off the Shinkansen, Nagisa Yumihari shrugged her shoulders.
The air was a notch colder than in Tokyo.
Spring had not yet reached her bare legs peeking out from the hem of her knitwear.

She had been called to Tsunadaya, a long-established department store in Morioka, as a freelance "mannequin."
The bridal fair job had ended with anticlimactic quiet.

After closing, she sipped a lemon squash in the corner of the dressing room. The carbonation stung her throat, and the sweetness and acidity spread shortly after.
Finally, her body felt like her own again.

"At this time of year, have you gone to see the Ishiwari-zakura?"

An older woman from the sales floor called out to her.

"I haven't."

"Then you should go."

For Nagisa, who was from Nagasaki, the Morioka dialect was difficult to understand.
Even so, she gathered that it meant she should go.

The next morning. On the grounds of the Morioka District Court. The cherry tree growing through the rock had already shed many of its petals, and pale green was beginning to mix into the tips of its branches. Every time the wind blew, the remaining petals danced softly in the air.

"Beautiful..."

Her murmur reached no one and melted into the quiet morning.

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