Every Single Petal

Takumi sits at the kitchen table, eating a late breakfast.

He half-heartedly watches TV as he eats, listening to rambling about geography, or politics. It’s something to fill the blank space.

BZZT

Takumi’s phone vibrates on the table, and he picks it up to see what it's for.

It’s an email from his agent. He’d been offered a major role in the upcoming movie “Arbiter”.

Instead of leaping to accept, Takumi lets the phone rest in his hand.

He takes a moment to read through the role, something he almost never did before.

About halfway through reading the role description, he gets a text.

<Are you busy?>

He takes another bite from his food, setting the silverware on the table with a quiet cling.

<Not really> he replies.

<Meet me at the park near school around 2pm>

He lets a soft chuckle escape his mouth.

<sounds good>

After replying, he sets his phone down on the table once more, and finishes eating his breakfast.

I can always decide later.

He sets his dishes in the sink, and cleans them before heading to his room to get changed.

As he’s leaving the house, Hikaru enters.

They make eye contact, only for a moment.

Both can see the other one changed.

“Listen, about the other day…” Hikaru begins.

Hikaru’s heart starts to beat out of his chest. He’s never done something like this.

“I’m…sorry. I went overboard.” He continues.

Takumi wasn’t expecting him to apologize.

“You don’t have to say anything… I know this won’t be enough to make it right…” Hikaru trails off.

“...but I still wanted to say it.”

Takumi walks closer to Hikaru, expressionless.

What’s he-

Hikaru braces himself.

Takumi pulls Hikaru in for a hug.

“It’s fine. I let you down too.” Takumi quietly admits.

Hikaru can’t find the words to say.

“I’m supposed to be your older brother, and I haven’t been doing that for a long time.” He adds.

Takumi splits away, then looks Hikaru in the eyes.

“I don’t really know what that means…but I’ll do my best to figure that out.” Takumi says, giving Hikaru a warm smile.

The words won’t come from Hikaru’s mouth.

“...I-”

Hikaru stammers.

“Just take care of yourself,” Takumi says.

“I’ll be there when you need me.”

They exchange a look between them. One of recognition.

Hikaru swallows.

“I’ll be counting on you,” Hikaru softly states, smiling at his brother.

Takumi gives a faint smile before exiting the home.

Hikaru’s gaze lingers at the closed door, even after Takumi leaves.

…

Takumi finds himself sitting on a bench, waiting until 2 pm.

The haze from the sun illuminates everything, including him. The warmth feels comforting, nothing like the warmth of studio lights.

This warmth felt gentle, inviting and indiscriminate.

“Are you Takumi Sora?”

A timid-looking girl stops in front of his bench, trying to confirm his identity.

“Yeah, that’s me.” he replies calmly.

The girl starts to tear up, trying to wipe them away continuously but failing.

“You….you really helped me through a tough time in my life…” the girl continues to cry.

An old instinct flickers, but is stopped.

“When you played Tsukasa Iteyoshi in For Birds to Fall.. it really just made me feel seen.” the girl covers her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears.

Takumi remembers this movie. It was one of the posters on his wall.

For Birds to Fall… that was so long ago…

“I just wanted to thank you…” the girl sniffles.

Takumi helps the girl wipe the remaining tears away

“I also want to thank you. For being someone I could help.” Takumi replies softly.

The sniffles again, smiling back. She opens her phone for a picture, and Takumi doesn’t decline.

This gratitude feels like it’s for someone else. Yet, somehow, it was for me too.

Takumi can’t quite grasp the feeling, but accepts it nonetheless.

The girl bows in respect to Takumi, and takes her leave.

“You’re early.” A familiar female voice calls out.

Takumi looks to see Yuna, wearing a beautiful one-piece white dress. The contrast makes her hair and eyes seem even more vibrant.

The mid-day sunlight shines upon her too, making her even more radiant.

“It’s not even 1:50 yet.” she smirks.

Takumi never realized what time it was when he left, surprising himself.

He stammers trying to find an answer.

“Let’s get going,” she says, smiling at Takumi.

…

They walk through the park, the quiet flow of water and rustling leaves adding nice ambience.

They see a crowd, gathered around the blooming cherry blossom trees. Everyone around is admiring, taking photos, and relishing their beauty.

“They’re very pretty, don’t you think?” Yuna asks, also admiring them.

Takumi’s attention shifts to a different tree. A batch of Camellia trees, blooms yet to emerge.

He walks over to one, looking at the flower buds, with some color leaking through the brims.

“They are, but I think I like these ones more,” he says.

They both take in the sights, the cherry blossom trees and the Camellia trees.

Both extravagant, and full of life, beautiful in their own respects.

Takumi takes another long look at the Camellia tree.

“It’s kind of like you,” he says. “Not many people take the time to look, and never realize what they’re missing.”

Yuna looks over to the cherry blossoms.

“And these ones are kind of like you,” she adds. “There’s much more beneath the surface than a pretty face.”

They both chuckle softly.

They continue on the path, heading to an open field.

There sits a seemingly endless green, with splashes of color, all tied together by the glistening sunlight.

They walk through this field, slowly taking in the vibrant collage of colors.

“There are millions of types of flowers, and even more kinds we’ve yet to discover.” Yuna says.

She crouches down, admiring a vibrant patch of red flowers.

“They all change as they grow, none in the same way as another.”

“Would one bloom mean more than another?” she asks

Takumi pauses for a moment, thinking of his answer.

“To mean something in a sea of meaningful people,” she compares. “That would make you just as meaningless.”

Takumi silently acknowledges this truth, but something else catches his eye.

Two flowers sit alone, unbloomed. He grabs them, handing one to Yuna and keeping the other for himself.

She looks at the flower, a bit confused.

“Does every single petal matter to a flower?” he asks her, Yuna pausing for a moment.

She laughs, and he chuckles softly.

They both know the answer already.

As they continue to see and admire the colors and diversity of flowers in front of them, Takumi’s internal world begins to change once more.

The drawing has much more defined lines, and definitive features.

The eyes aren’t quite finished, and neither is the hair or mouth.

All the colors he’s seen today begin to seep into the drawing, almost automatically.

Aquatic blues, Vibrant reds, emerald greens… colors he’s usually never associated with the face start to spread themselves.

He still can’t quite understand what he’s making, but continues regardless.

But even so, he feels as though he’s on the verge of recognizing it.

Like all he needed to do was wait.

Instead of charging forward, blindly, like he was so used to doing…

… he decided to wait.