No flashback!

During a break at the patisserie, I opened a letter I found by the door before I left home.

“Hi, Ru!

I received an urgent e-mail and have to leave for a while. The Pirate King has left me an astronomical inheritance, so I need to make a short trip to Australia to retrieve it. Please watch over my sister while I'm gone. I’ll make sure to bring souvenirs for both!

See you soon, 

Hai.”

This girl… How can it be that she doesn't recognize such an obvious scam?

“Hey!!” a gruff voice startles me.

“You almost gave me a heart attack, manager!”

“Didn’t you quit smoking, Ru? Put it out and get back inside at once!”

“Yes, boss… I couldn’t help it. I can finally visit him. He’s out of intensive care.”

“Hmm… Are you going to see him today?”

“Visits are only allowed during my shift, so I’ll have to wait until my next day off.” I let out a last puff and stub out the cigarette.

Just as I’m about to go in, the manager grabs me by the arm.

“Wait, I forgot to tell you…” he looks up and scratches his head, “Oh, yes! The Mayor is having lunch here today with the Pirate King. It’s of the utmost importance, so I must attend to the customers personally. You can go home for the day!”

He pushes me to the sidewalk and enters the bakery, fiercely closing the door behind him.

What’s this trend with the Pirate King lately?

Despite his appearance and taciturnity, the manager is the sweetest person imaginable.

Before I met him, I was bitter, and my spirit was fueled by rage. One day, years ago, I was kicking cans on the street, hands deep in my pockets. Whenever someone looked at me, I snarled back. Until the can hit the leg of an enormous man with a dark scar over his right eye, hobbling on a crutch.

“Watch where you kick that thing!” he snapped at me.

“Who cares? Get lost, old man!”

“Listen, kid. The look on your face reminds me of myself when I was your age. A spiral of bad decisions led to me losing my left leg. No one was there for me at the time. Things might have turned out differently if I'd had someone to rely on. The feeling of regret has held me back ever since. That’s why I will not let anything similar happen to you.”

He lifted me by the collar of my t-shirt with a single hand. Like a bag of groceries, he carried me to an abandoned house. Inside, you could barely see the broken furniture as the room was filled to the brim with dust. Tattooed thugs in tanker tops sat at the corners, grinning when he dropped me to the floor.

“From this day forward, you’ll work for me!”

“What do you want me to smuggle, boss?” I asked immediately, thinking that I was about to die young.

“Take this,” he handed me a box of mochi. “We’ll start selling them and work our way up.”

“Yeah, boss! Let’s go!!” the goons roared at the top of their lungs.

What I thought was a recruitment for the yakuza turned out to be the beginning of my job at the pastry shop. We renovated the place from the ground up, converting that damaged building into the cozy store it is today. The manager and his friends took me in, helped me regain the courage to face life, and shaped me into a better person. I wouldn’t have made it to college if it weren’t for them.

But enough of reminiscing, I have to get going.

Room 312.

He's sleeping with his mouth open, wearing a nasal cannula over his nose.

“Grandpa."

…

“Grandpa!”

“…Huh?” he wakes up in the middle of a snore.

“Hi, how are you? Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, yes…” he quickly replies without thinking, blinking several times to keep himself awake.

"Do you remember who I am?”

He squints his eyes and stares at me for a moment.

"How could I not? That one time wasn't enough for you, huh? I’ll beat you back to your senses, you spineless Pirate King!”

“It’s Ru, Grampa...”

“Oh… Yes, yes… I was messing with you,” he has recognized me now. “Tell me, how’s your mom doing? She came over a while ago and seemed distraught. Your grandma even prepared the hot pot she adores to perk her up.”

“Sh… She’s fine, Grandpa. Here, I brought you some muffins. I asked the nurses if you could eat them, and they said it was fine.”

“Thank you, but not now. I just woke up. I don't like to eat anything in the morning."

The clock next to him reads 4:48 p.m.

“I'm just glad you're okay. I was worried about the surgery going wrong.”

“Surgery? What surgery? As if I’d ever need one, I'm as sturdy as a ginkgo.” he laughs but chokes and starts coughing. “Speaking of trees, I should tend to the garden. Your grandmother will give me an earful when she gets back and sees it. You know Ru, she is quite grumpy but loves me like I am the most precious thing in the world. I pray that one day you’ll find someone who cares for you the same way.”

“I hope so too, Grandpa,” I realize he’s about to fall asleep again. “I’ll go now, but I’ll stop by soon.”

“It was nice seeing you, as always. We love you, son.” his voice gets softer with each uttered word.

I left the clinic with an aching heart. His memories and perception of reality are all jumbled up. I can't even imagine what it's like inside his head. But isn’t it fortunate that he doesn’t have to suffer as much because of his condition? Then, why do I feel so sad?

My brain is also starting to play tricks on me. The places I’ve gone with Mom and Dad, the time spent with Grandpa and Grandma… They begin to fade and mix with my dreams.

I open the yard's gate and let myself drop on the ground, leaning against the bean bag on the side she's not lying on. I’ve been so distracted the last few days that I haven’t thought about these things as much. It's not fair to Grandpa. Because soon enough, I'll lose him too...

“No!" she blasts to my ears.

...

“Saying no doesn't help at all, Yada…”

“… … …. …I...I...I...I Will… Help... …Garden!” she unexpectedly declares.

“Do you think I'm sad because of the garden? It's not that… Well, maybe a little, since I let it get this damaged. Ugh… Let me tell you a story. The house we’re in now belongs to my grandfather. He used to play here with my grandmother when they were children. She was allergic to just about anything and couldn’t stay in the garden. One day, they read a story about the Garden of the Hesperides. A magical garden offered to the goddess Hera, where the trees were filled with golden apples that could bestow eternal life.

“Certainly, you won’t be allergic to this garden of the gods! One day, I will find it, and we will live there together,” he promised her.

From that day on, he intensively studied botany, archeology, and mythology. When he felt ready, he departed on a journey around the world. He climbed the Atlas Mountains, searched for the rumored Lake Tritonis in Libya, and walked from Seville in Spain all the way to Larache in Morocco. After many years, he returned to my grandmother, who was still waiting for him. He told her that he had traveled across the globe but that such a garden didn’t exist.

“Live with me, and I'll transform this garden into the closest thing to paradise for you.” he gifted her a seed as a wedding vow, which is now that ancient tree there.

With the knowledge he had gained, he assembled a garden where my grandmother could spend hours without any problem. And that’s what she did until the day she passed away."

Yada tries to hold back her tears, snorting snot back. She stretches her arm and opens her hand before me, offering me three dirty, squashed gummy bears. The rabbit also approaches and spits out some bread.

"Thank you, I guess." I chuckle.

“….. Bring… Grandpa… When… Pretty… Again…”

…

“Yeah… You know what? That’s not a bad idea. I will restore the garden to its former glory and proudly bring him here when it’s finished. Tomorrow, I’ll get right back to work! Thank you both for trying to cheer me up.”

She gleefully smiles at me.

I don’t know if she can help me that much around here. But at least today, she did.