Home

The trees swayed in the wind, dancing with the cool air that swept past their boughs, casting their shadows on the ground and scattering their leaves across the landscape. The sun shone high in the sky, creating bright reflections on the water of the stream running through Yoshino. Kazuki stood on the bridge over the stream at the base of the hill leading to the local middle school and the nearby shrine. He gazed at the sparkling stream, fish swimming idly through the shallow water, just shy of falling down the small waterfall under the bridge. Slowly, his gaze shifted to the fields, full of rice, cabbage, potatoes, and other vegetables grown by the local farmers.

Old man Taka bent over a plant, gently plucking it from the ground and producing a fat carrot from the dirt. He smiled and put it in his basket, filled with other carrots harvested in a similar fashion. He wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Kazuki.

Kazuki waved at him, feelings of nostalgia gripping at his heart and making his chest tight. But, Taka didn't return the gesture, staring past Kazuki for a moment before returning to his work. Kazuki dejectedly lowered his hand with a frown. Why did Taka ignore him? He began walking towards Taka, wanting to call out to him, but finding it impossible to raise his voice. After what felt like ages, he finally reached Taka.

"Taka?" Kazuki tried to get Taka's attention.

Clouds rolled across the once blue sky, covering the sun and casting Yoshino in gloom. Taka continued nonchalantly harvesting his crop.

"Taka!" Kazuki raised his voice, growing desperate. "Please don't ignore me."

Taka paused in his work, his back still turned to Kazuki. They both remained in silence for a long moment, the clouds in the sky darkening. Raindrops came in intermittent drips, quickly multiplying until a torrential downpour drenched Kazuki and everything around him. Kazuki realized he didn't feel anything, however. What was happening?

"Have you already forgotten?" Taka asked. He stood up straight and turned to Kazuki.

"Forgotten?" Kazuki nearly whispered the word.

Taka nodded sagely. "Have you already forgotten the feeling of the rain?"

"I don't understand…"

Taka shook his head. "Do not forget."

Lightning flashed in the sky, causing Kazuki to cover his eyes. A loud sound pierced his ears, but it wasn't the sound of thunder. Rather, it sounded like some kind of high pitched, incessant noise. It grew louder even when Kazuki tried to hold his ears to prevent it.

Kazuki's eyes shot open, his alarm beeping next to his bed. He rolled over and turned it off. He took a moment to stare at the ceiling, recounting the dream he had of home. Had he forgotten something important? The feeling of the rain?

His phone buzzed again. Maybe he hit snooze instead of turning off the alarm. He grabbed his phone, finding that he was actually receiving a call. From Renka. He picked up.

"Hello?"

"Magaribuchi-san? Did I wake you?" Renka asked with concern.

Kazuki rubbed his eyes with one hand. "No, don't worry. Is everything alright, Akahane-san?"

He heard Renka sigh in relief. "Yes, everything is fine! I just wanted to tell you that the theme for next year's Sakura Song Festival has been announced!"

He sat up in bed. "Oh? What is it?" He wondered just what kinds of themes the festival usually had. Admittedly, he probably could have looked up previous years' themes, but he hadn't had the time.

"This time, the theme is 'home.' We can interpret the theme any way we like, but I had a few ideas. Maybe we can meet up after work today and discuss it?"

Renka sounded excited. Kazuki smiled at the thought. "Sure. Let's meet at Café Overture?"

"That sounds great! Have a nice day at work! I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, you too. See you."

Click.

Home. Kazuki got out of bed and started getting ready for work. What did home mean to him? He stared through himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. Home was the smell of grass, the gurgling of the stream, the little farmer's shop past the only bus stop in Yoshino, the auto mechanic store with the anime themed car out front. Yoshino. Yoshino was home.

He stepped out of his apartment, locking the door behind him and reminiscing about home. His dream came back to mind, along with the warning Taka seemed to give him. "Do not forget." Had he even had time to forget anything? Yoshino still felt so fresh in his mind, and he was convinced it would never be replaced by the bright lights and busy streets of Tokyo. He even still spoke with his Oita dialect, and no one seemed to mind.

These thoughts were swiftly pushed to the back of his mind as he started his day at the office, drudging through the menial and mind-numbing work he called a profession. He couldn't wait for it to be over so he could focus on something else.

The end of the work day came soon enough, and Kazuki made his way to Café Overture to meet with Renka. He looked forward to a nice cup of tea and maybe something sweet to eat as well. He checked his phone to see if Renka was off work yet, opening his LINE app. She hadn't read the message he sent after work yet.

"Hm…" He stood outside the café, wondering if he should go inside to wait for her or not.

"Magaribuchi-san!"

He looked up to see Renka rushing up to him, a bright smile on her face. She wore a nice pink dress shirt with a skirt, a blazer draped over her arm. Her hair was tied back with a pink ribbon to match her shirt. He smiled back at her.

"Perfect timing. Otsukaresama."

"Otsukaresama desu!" Renka returned the greeting excitedly. "Let's get something sweet to celebrate a hard day of work!"

Kazuki chuckled before opening the door for Renka and following her inside the café. They sat at a table near the window, people passing by like dark specters, their pace highlighting how tired they were or how eager to return home after a long day at work. Renka flipped through the menu as Kazuki stared out the window, watching the salary men and women walking purposefully down the street.

"Do you know what you want to order?" Renka asked.

He looked at her. "I think I'll get some pancakes. You?"

She nodded, affirming that pancakes were indeed a good choice. "I'm going to get the mango parfait. It looks delicious! You can try some too if you'd like."

"Sounds good."

Renka closed the menu and told the waitress their order. She adjusted the ribbon in her hair as she looked at Kazuki, her eyes sparkling.

"About the song festival," she began, "I think it would be a good idea to work on writing something together. Something that we can really convey our feelings through. If you're still interested of course."

Kazuki leaned back in his seat. "You said the theme was 'home,' right? I think we might have some very different ideas about what that means. You're from Tokyo, and I'm from a little town in Oita after all."

Renka stopped playing with her hair ribbon. "Actually, I'm not from Tokyo. I'm from Akkeshi in Hokkaido. I've just lived here for a long time."

Kazuki's eyes widened. "Really? You had me fooled."

Renka's expression lightened. "Heh, yeah. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing you couldn't tell. I've tried not to lose my Hokkaido-ben, but it's easier to talk to people here without it."

"Understandable," Kazuki replied. "I guess that means we have more in common than I thought. I don't know much about Akkeshi, but I'm guessing it's a pretty small place?"

Renka smiled. "It is a bit small. But it's lovely, especially in the winter. And Akkeshi oysters are the best in Japan! You should go there sometime."

“I’d love to visit Hokkaido sometime. Maybe we can add something about oysters to the song too,” He teased.

Renka’s cheeks turned pink. “A song about oysters isn’t going to be very heartfelt.” She pursed her lips in a slight pout.

Kazuki smiled, holding back a laugh at her cute expression. Going to Akkeshi sounded like an interesting idea though, especially since it was so far displaced from his hometown. "In all honesty, I do think Akkeshi sounds like a cool place to check out. I'll be sure to ask you for some recommendations if I ever go. Or maybe I'll have you be my personal tour guide." He added jokingly.

Renka’s expression lightened, and she touched her hair ribbon. "I wouldn't mind showing you around. You might like it there."

“I’m sure I would.”

The waitress came with their food, creating a silence between them for a moment until she left. Renka’s eyes sparkled as her mango parfait was placed in front of her, and she delightedly picked up her spoon, ready to dig into it. Kazuki’s pancakes looked equally appetizing to him, though he didn’t think he made quite as excited a face as Renka did.

Renka moved to scoop up a piece of the parfait but stopped herself suddenly, as if coming to a realization. She picked up another spoon and held it out to Kazuki.

“Let’s try it together!” She beamed.

Kazuki took the proffered spoon, and they both scooped up some of the parfait. Renka looked expectantly at him as he brought it to his mouth before doing the same. She let out an excited “umai!” as she took the first bite.

Kazuki had to agree. The parfait was delicious, the flavor of the mango being complimented by fluffy, homemade whipped cream, small cubes of cake, and sweet sauces and yogurt. It felt fresh in his mouth, not too sugary, yet still feeling like…

“Home.” He said aloud.

Renka tilted her head upon hearing the word. “Home?”

Kazuki shrugged. “This parfait just made me think of home. Isn’t it funny how things like tastes and smells can really bring up memories?”

“You’re right.” Renka took another bite before continuing. “Maybe that’s something we can consider when we write our song. It doesn’t have to just be about a place. It should be about the feeling. That’s what will make it special.”

Kazuki nodded. At first, he felt apprehensive about the idea of joining the song contest, but now, he realized that he only had those thoughts because he didn’t know what to do for it. He was unsure what to write, how to sing or play his guitar, but now, even just the smallest of sensations, of reminders of what made him feel at home and happy inspired him to create something for people to remember. Something to bring people together to feel at home even if they weren’t from the same place.

And Renka seemed like the perfect person to write a song like that with. The girl from Hokkaido and the boy from Kyushu. Two completely different worlds, one of ice and snow, the other of hot summer days and snowless winters. Yet, together, maybe, just maybe, they could create something that captured all those memories of home for them both.