Garden of Dreams

After the concert, Jun and Akari returned to Jun's apartment, the small dimly lit space welcomed them just as it always did.

"You were amazing tonight..." Jun said, his voice still heavy from the emotions. "Your voice. Your song. You. It was all beautiful. Beyond what I ever could've imagined..."

"You're always doing things for me. I wanted to do something for you." Akari shyly admitted. "I wasn't sure if you'd like it, but I put all my thoughts and feelings of you into it..."

Jun gently cupped her face with his hands. "It was perfect."

"Did my feelings reach you?"

"They did more than just reach me." His thumb brushed her cheek. "They pulled me in so deeply that I don't ever want to let go."

Akari placed her hand on top of his. "Then don't let go."

Jun smiled, eyes filled with certainty. "I don't plan to." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I want to stay by your side through whatever path you decide to take for yourself."

Akari searched his eyes. "I don't know what path to take yet..."

Jun didn't hesitate. "That's okay. We can figure it out together."

Together... The words brought more comfort to her than she realized. For the first time in a long time, Akari wasn't alone. Though she didn't know what the future held for her yet, she wasn't afraid to find out anymore.

-------

7 years later.

Jun sat behind the book cafe's cash register, a cup of coffee in hand while carefully looking over three sheets of paper.

The cafe was lined with bookshelves, delicate ballads quietly playing through the air, and the display case holding an array of freshly made bread and pastries. 

Jun squinted at the papers with a sigh. "What am I missing...?"

Jun looked around the small cafe. The customers had already been taken care of, leaving the space quiet and calm. He decided the cafe could be unattended for a bit. 

He stepped through the doorway behind the register and headed down the hallway that connected the cafe to the house.

Inside, seated on the tatami mat floor, he found the figure he was looking for.

Jun lowered himself beside the small figure, careful not to startle her. "Hinari, what are you doing?"

The small figure looked up, her golden-brown eyes mirroring his own. 

"Papa," she pointed at a photo in an open album, "who's this?" 

Jun looked at the photo she was pointing at, a smile forming on his face at the recognition. "That's your mom."

Hinari looked between the photo and Jun's face. "That's mama? It doesn't look like her."

Jun chuckled lightly as he brushed Hinari's black hair from her face. "That picture was from a long time ago."

Hinari studied the photo again. "Mama's really pretty."

His eyes softened over the photo. "She is, isn't she?"

Hinari sprung to her feet and made her way over to the engawa, slipping into her slippers before running out into the garden.

Jun followed closely behind her, calling out to the figure already in the garden. "Haruka, she's coming your way."

Between the handmade garden beds, Haruka was carefully harvesting her fruits and vegetables into baskets. She rose at the sound of her name. The name that she once turned away from out of pain of the past, now carried her in her present and towards her future.

"Mama!" Hinari shouted as she ran towards Haruka, burying her face into her mother's legs.

Haruka nearly lost balance from the sudden impact, but Jun's steady hand supported her just in time.

Haruka smiled at Jun; her natural blue eyes shimmered in the sun and her natural black hair cascaded down her back in the golden light.

Haruka she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair that mirrored her own. "You're excited today. What's going on?"

Hinari looked up. "Mama, can I have pink hair too?"

"Huh?"

"She found our old photo album." Jun said as he brushed his thumb over her back.

"Has she been looking at those photos all day?"

Jun shook his head. "She must've found them after she gave me her drawings..."

Haruka tilted her head. "Drawings?"

"Ah! That's right. Papa, you were supposed to look at my drawings." Hinari ran back towards the house.

"I wonder what she drew."

Jun picked up the baskets of fruits and vegetables. "I wonder the same too."

"I thought she showed you already?"

"Let's just say she takes after me more than you..."

Jun and Haruka followed Hinari back to the house, taking a seat on the engawa as Hinari brought her drawings that Jun had left by the photo album.

Hinari wriggled her way to sit in between them as she handed them both pieces of her artwork. 

Jun and Haruka fell silent, carefully looking over their daughter's art. 

Hinari kicked her dangling legs in anticipation. "What do you think...?"

Haruka swallowed back a laugh. "It's beautiful-"

"What is it?" Jun's words slipped out before he could stop them.

"Jun." Haruka nudged.

Hinari pouted. "What do you mean? Can't you tell? That one is you, papa." She turned to Haruka. "And this one is mama." She held out another paper. "And this one is me. See? It's our family."

Jun took the drawings and looked over them again with a hum of approval. "You made us look even better than we really are."

"Does that mean you like it?"

Jun gently ruffled Hinari's hair. "I love it." 

Hinari's eyes lit up. "Really? Then I'll make more."

Before Jun could say anything, Hinari was already up and running.

Jun sighed. "Were you able to tell what her drawings were?"

Haruka chuckled softly. "Of course not. After all, she does take after you."

A soft chime of a bell was heard from the cafe.

"Shall we get to work?" Haruka said as she got up.

Jun stood and turned to the baskets of fruits and vegetables.

"You don't have to carry all of it. I can carry some."

"I know." Jun smiled at her. "But I want to."

Haruka met his gaze, and for a moment it seemed as if the world stilled for just the two of them. The care in his words, the steadiness of his presence, and the certainty in his eyes grounded her in the life she chose.

Years ago, she had been afraid of the name Jun now spoke so easily, trapped in the pain of her past. But somewhere between the teasing conversations, the chaotic cooking, and the choices made one step at a time, she finally found her path in life. Something she chose for herself - not a mask to hide behind, not a direction she was made to follow, and not a path she felt obligated to pursue. Finally, something for herself.

In the house Haruka had bought all those years ago, Hinari's laughter echoed down the hallways as Jun and Haruka walked together towards their cafe to continue another ordinary but perfect day together.

-

End.