Unexpected Accumulation

“Meteorologists all over Japan

were given an interesting

surprise this morning,

As all previous estimates

have been largely exceeded.

In an unusual turn of events,

The Greater Tokyo-Yokohama

area has received an unusually high 3

Inches of total accumulated snowfall.

Kids here in Yokusuka however,

don’t seem to mind a bit”

The morning following the Yokohama parade, nearly the entire Northern half of the Japanese mainland received a record amount of snowfall. I could think of only two times in my life before when I’d seen that much snow in person, and one of them was when I was very young and my family took a trip up to Aomori. This, however….this was something entirely different.

To wake up to my hometown of Yokosuka enveloped gently by a fluffy white veil of snow made the previous night seem even more dream-like. For some reason, the frost on my window sill seemed to talk to me, telling me it would be alright. The present is now, and now would be as good of a time as ever. I walked downstairs, still in my pajamas, and greeted my mom and dad at the table. To my surprise, both of them were still in bathrobes and slippers, watching the news on the tiny old CRTV my dad always kept sitting on the counter.

“Who would have thought we’d get a storm this big as far South as Yokosuka? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.” My father said as he watched the weather report on the screen, the old tv’s colors were pale, and the resolution was poor, making the whole thing room seem nostalgic and cozy.

“You’re not going into work today, dad?” My mom put out a cup of coffee and a plate of scrambled eggs for me before sitting down herself, sipping a steaming cup of coffee.

“Tokyo City hall is in shambles right now dealing with vehicle wrecks, road closures, and everything else… I got everyone else at the firm on a conference call early this morning, and we all decided it would be best to wait at least a day until everything clears up. It’s been too long since I’ve had a day off, anyhow.” Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure my dad had ever called off work even once in the last 10 years.

I nervously took a sip of coffee and a forkful of eggs, twiddling my thumbs on the table as I debated if telling my father now was really the right thing to do. He seemed so peaceful and almost happy… I didn’t want to ruin something that rare with bad news.

“What’s on your mind, Ren? You’re never up this early, especially not to just sit around in the kitchen with your mother and me. That and you look like you’ve seen a ghost…” Having a father whose job it was to detect strange behavior and body language in people could be a real hassle sometimes.

“Dad, Hifumi, and I broke up last night…” The silence that fell on the room cut like a knife, and I felt my body want to curl up into a ball and just be somewhere else… anywhere but here. My father casually sipped his coffee, and then gave a half-hearted chuckle.

“I know.” what?! Did Hifumi already tell him?!

“What? How could you possibly know already?” I felt nauseous, as if I was about to puke right then and there or have a panic attack. Or both…

“Your mother and I stayed up to watch the New Year’s parade last night on television. I personally wanted to go to be early for work in the morning, but your mother talked me into it. I think we were both a little shocked to see you and Aiko on one of the floats… how on Earth did you pull that off?” My father wiped his lips with a napkin and looked at me attentively, to my surprise the usual sting was absent from his voice.

“Well, I uh… It… was actually a bit of an accident.” I blushed, thinking that must have sounded ridiculous, even if it was the truth.

“To be honest, I had a feeling this might happen. That day you brought Aiko home, you kept giving her that look. The kind of look I gave your mother.” He turned his face slightly to give my mom a small grin.

“Genji stop, you’ll make me blush!” My mother seemed as happy as a schoolgirl who just found out her crush liked her back, she covered her lips with her fingers as she tried to hide her amusement.

“Ren, so long as you do right By the Natsukashi name and take your studies seriously, I don’t care what you do with the rest of your time. A girl as smart as Aiko might actually be a deserving partner for my son anyway.”

My father paused to take another sip from his coffee mug before giving me a stern yet somehow consoling look. “I will not accept disrespect from my own son, and I will not allow you to disrespect the greatness that comes with being a Natsukashi and an arbiter of Japanese law. If you can do that, I’ll try to be more accepting of what you want. Even if it means hanging out with that Sentaro boy. Does that sound fair?” My father gave a dissatisfied grumble as he mentioned Sen, but he seemed to mean every word of what he said.

“Yes sir, thank you sir, I…” VRRMM VRRMM. VRRMM VRRMM.

“May… may I be excused, sir?” I asked as I felt my phone going off again and again in my pocket, hoping it was Aiko.

“Go have fun with your friends, Ren. Just remember when school starts back up tomorrow, I expect your absolute best effort and full attention. Natsukashi’s do not settle for second best.” My father sounded stern but fair, and if it meant I could be with Aiko I’d even study in my sleep.

“Yes sir!... and Thanks, dad… and mom” I bowed to them both respectfully as I got up and walked out into the hallway to check my messages. She hadn’t said anything, but I could tell by the grin on my mother’s face that she had something to do with how well my father took everything.

New Message from: Aiko

“Come outside.”

I rushed to the door, throwing on a jacket and a pair of boots without even bothering to lace them. I excitedly ran out the door and through the yard, heading down the stairs to find… a quiet and empty snow-covered street.

“What the?...” I glanced around, noticing two sets of footprints leading up to the car right in front of me.

“Get him!” I was suddenly pelted right in the face by a barrage of snowballs, jumping up with a yelp as it rolled down my jacket.

“Oh, you guys are so dead!” I growled as I ran around the car to see Aiko and Sen had set up an ambush point, dozens of snowballs already prepared in a pile. Aiko and Sen were both laughing and smiling, making them totally unprepared. I charge at them, body slamming them both flat onto their backs into a pile of snow.

“I guess you can check losing a snowball fight off the list!” I laughed as I shoveled big globs of snow on top of them as they laughed and squirmed. “ I guess you could say this is payback!” I smiled and pulled out my phone. *click*

The two of them had their eyes closed and

Mouths wide open, laughing.

They were covered in thick, fluffy snow

From head to toe.

Everything then had seemed so perfect.