“A Bouquet for a Stranger

Kenji lay sprawled on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling like it held the secrets of the universe. The room was dim, the only sound a faint buzz from his old ceiling fan.
“What… what is this feeling?” he whispered, clutching his chest dramatically. “I haven’t felt this kind of spark in my entire life. I’m… afraid.”
He groaned, rolling to the side. His mind kept replaying that moment at the shrine her voice, her smile, that sharp but warm tone. His face flushed just thinking about it.
“No, no, no!” he shouted suddenly, springing up. “I can’t fall in love! Love is for people with social lives!”
Determined to “sweat it out,” he dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.
“One… two ahh!”
He collapsed instantly, clutching his back. “I think I just fell in love and pulled a muscle,” he groaned.
For a long while, he lay there, smiling helplessly.“That smile… it’s heaven,” he murmured. “I wonder what her name is. Maybe… Angel? No, that’s too basic. She’s the angel.”
He buried his face in his pillow to hide the grin forming across his face.



The next morning, he stood in front of his closet like a man preparing for war.
“Okay, Kenji,” he muttered. “If I’m gonna see her again… I need to look like someone who belongs in her world.”
He tried on three different shirts, rejected all of them, and somehow ended up wearing a full suit black coat, crisp white shirt, and shiny shoes. He stared at himself in the mirror.
“I look like I’m going to propose, not pray,” he said, laughing nervously. “Perfect.”



On his way to the shrine, Kenji stopped at a flower shop.
“Um… one rose bouquet, please,” he said, voice trembling slightly.
The old lady behind the counter gave him a knowing smile. “Big day, young man?”
He scratched his head, trying to act cool. “Ah, yeah, something like that… kinda divine.”
She chuckled. “Love always is.”
As he walked toward the shrine, bouquet in hand, he could feel people staring. A guy in a suit with roses headed to a temple? It looked more like a wedding than a prayer visit.
By the time he passed through the torii gate, every eye in the shrine was on him. He tried to ignore it, kneeling awkwardly and clasping his hands together.
“Please, god,” he whispered. “Make sure she’s here. Also, sorry for bringing the roses. And also… please make me not look like an idiot.”
Then, that same familiar voice cut through the quiet:
“You again?”
Kenji froze.
He turned and there she was. The shrine maiden from before, her red and white outfit catching the afternoon light. She crossed her arms, that same amused smile on her face.
“We don’t usually offer roses to the gods, you know,” she said, tilting her head. “So maybe… you should put those away.”
Kenji’s ears burned red. “Ah, r-right! My bad! I just thought uh, they’re pretty, and uh well, it’d be a waste to throw them away, so…”
He held them out with shaking hands. “You can have them.”
Her eyes widened slightly, then softened. She accepted the bouquet, smiling this time, gently. “You’re strange,” she said. “But… kind.”
She opened her mouth to ask his name
but Kenji, overwhelmed by pure panic, bolted. “BYE!”
The sound of his hurried footsteps echoed through the shrine courtyard, leaving her standing there with the roses in hand and a quiet laugh escaping her lips.
She looked down at the flowers and whispered to herself,“Idiot… you forgot to ask my name, too.”



End of Chapter 2