Childhood and Growth

May 8, 1868.

It was morning and there was chaos in the Apricot residence. From the outside, everything looked normal. Despite being a workday, the apothecary had been closed since the previous day. The reason? Akiko was giving birth to her first child. It had been a difficult labor; the midwife struggled to help Akiko, who still could not give birth after hours.

Around 7:00 in the afternoon, the cry of a baby was finally heard, alerting the two adult men who were already nervous and impatient. One of them approached the midwife once she came out.

Tooru, a tall man with a severe gaze and gray hair, looked at the midwife, he was searching for an answer. He didn't want to know if Akiko, his daughter, was well; he wanted to know the gender of the baby.

The midwife bowed and left the place without a word once her job was done. Just by the look in that woman's eyes, Tooru knew that his long-awaited male heir had not been born. Haruto was disappointed by the matter remain in silence.

When he entered Akiko's room, Tooru saw the female servants who had already cleaned the baby and looked at Akiko with disappointment.

"Please, make sure Akiko and the baby are fine," Tooru told the servants who were still attending to his daughter. Then, referring to Akiko, he continued, "There must still be an heir, and soon."

Tooru looked at Haruto with authority, who merely bowed before going in to see his daughter. Since the baby was born a girl, the event was anything but happiness, so instead of listening to the mother, Tooru registered his daughter's name in the way he thought was most correct.

Sachie's name was registered as アプリコット沙知絵 (Apricot Sachie). Unable to give an opinion and resigned, Akiko read her daughter's name in the registry. She wished it had been written with the kanji for happiness, because even if it wasn't what everyone wanted, for her, that baby was her happiness. (Akiko wanted her daughter's name to be registered this way: 幸枝 Sachie, with the kanji 幸 read “sachi” defined as happiness).

By 1869, Haruto and Akiko began trying to have a child again, to bring that longed-for male heir. During that time, Shimizu began to witness the changes that marked what would later be known as modernization, something Tooru disliked.

Haruto now also needed to focus on learning to run the Apricot Apothecary business, at least in that area he could do something only to please Tooru, who viewed modernization with some suspicion. He accepted it because it meant new clients and growth plans, but without the opportunity to have a male grandson, he began to worry about whom to teach his skills and knowledge. He never saw Haruto as someone capable of teaching.

By November 1870, a new hope was born for the Apricot family with the announcement of Akiko's second pregnancy. In this second chance, Tooru became more careful to ensure the health of the future male child.

During that period, Sachie watched with curiosity. The girl was told that a new member of the family, her brother, would arrive in June or July. Sachie felt displaced and sometimes ignored because of the pregnancy.

Not quite understanding what was happening, Sachie felt ignored by her mother, who no longer went out to play with her in the garden as they usually did. By April, when the weather was warmer and Sachie wanted to go out more, outings with her mother were denied.

The family servants began to look pityingly at Sachie, who was alone most of the time. Tooru attended to the apothecary, Haruto began to network with other people to create alliances and businesses.

As the weeks continued passing, Sachie saw her mother's belly grow bigger, which she didn't understand because her mother spent her time locked up and didn't come out to eat. Furthermore, it frustrated her that she couldn't make noise or shout her mother's name.

One of the housemaids, under Tooru's orders, had taken Sachie for a walk to accompany her shopping. That day, Sachie was being an irritable child and wanted to be with her mother. Upon returning, the girl immediately went to look for her mother but was stopped.

"Sachie, silence!,” Haruto reprimanded her, looking at her with anger and disdain. "Your mother needs peace."

She cried, of course, she cried a lot. She began to hate the being they called the heir, the one they called her brother. She was taken away so as not to disturb the peace.

A few days later, angry, Sachie was in the garden; she hasn’t finished breakfast and was sad because she reprimanded for throwing food on the floor. For her, a miracle occurred. Her mother sat next to her, and for a while, they remained quiet. The girl didn't want to talk to her mother because she felt abandoned. But Akiko hugged her. It was the only thing she could give her at that moment, something both appreciated. All her angry and sadness were gone.

July 2, 1871.

It was past 6:00 in the morning when Akiko felt the first contractions.

"Tatsuya is about to be born," Haruto whispered. Confident about the birth of the male child for the family, he had already named the baby who was being born.

The midwife who attended Akiko's first pregnancy returned to attend Akiko's second labor, which for her was much easier, and by 7:00 p.m., the Apricots' second daughter had been born. Seeing the newborn, Tooru's disappointment was obvious. And he had decided by himself what the future of his granddaughters would be.

"I want her to be named Miyuki," the mother said, trying to get Tooru to relax. "I want her to have the happiness that Sachie..."

(Akiko still wanted to use the kanji of happiness 幸, sachi, for her daughter's name. So she thought she could use it for the name Miyuki: 美幸.)

"She will be named after your mother," Tooru was losing patience. Not only was he disappointed with the birth of a second daughter, but it was not the time to listen to his own daughter's ideas.

Akiko watched her father go. "I got a little Sunflower," whispered Akiko with a smile. "I cant complain. I have 2 healthy daughers. My own happiness and my little yellow flower". Akiko dried her tears, she wanted to believe she was ok. 

Haruto, for his part, was frustrated. He had failed twice. His only solution now was to secure an alliance with powerful families. Not only to ensure the marriage of his daughters into good families but also to ensure the stability of the business.