Cherry Blossom Treats

It was mid spring, and the cherry blossoms had just begun blooming along Kyozo’s rivers, covering them and the whole of the docks in fragrant blooms. Sakuya had been waiting patiently at home for his mom to get home from work, hopeful that she wouldn’t be too tired to go with him to go see the pale pink flowers he loved seeing every year.

Yukio came home early – a strange occurrence for the Kitsune who often was late on her way home from picking up extra work and taking up additional responsibilities for extra pay. Sakuya bounded over to her, already dressed with his hair brushed and shoes on in hopes of catching his mom before she got too busy doing something around the house like she had the past two days. But, Yukio made no move to set aside her coat or take down her hair, instead, she waved Sakuya over, squatting down to be at her son’s height.

“Do you want to go walk the cherry blossom trails?” she asked, as though the young kitsune’s answer was ever going to be no. Sakuya nodded fervently, practically trembling with excitement for his mom’s response when she got up, straightening herself out.

“Come on then, I’ll race you to the docks,” Yukio said, all but throwing open the door as Sakuya took off running. “First one there gets the red dango!”

Sakuya, motivated and salivating from the thought of his delicious red bean reward, had never run faster in his entire life. He was certain his lungs were going to explode, glancing back briefly to make sure his mom was still there and trying to run even faster when he saw her partway catching up.

“I win, mom!” he exclaimed as he crossed from the rough flagstone walks of the city and onto the smooth brick of the docks.  Sakuya looked back, grinning up at his mom when she caught up to him, both of them heaving for air after running halfway across the city.

“Getting so fast, and big too,” his mom laughed, ruffling Sakuya’s hair between his ears as she waved Sakuya to come along with her. She’d scouted out where the dango vendor was on her way home from work, having left early in order to take Sakuya out to go see the cherry trees and their soft pink blooms. They did so together every year, and it was one of the nicer outings they could afford together. At the cart, Yukio bought them each a skewer of three color dango, Sakuya’s elation at the chewy snack doubling when he was given an extra red bean dango from Yukio’s skewer.

They both merrily chewed as they began their walk along the riverfront towards the ocean port. Sakuya took his time with each sweet dumpling, knowing that they were a rare treat. It was a pretty day out, even if the Sakura hadn’t been in bloom, with the clear blue sky and warm breeze that drifted in from the sea. The two wandered along the shore with pink petals beneath their feet, and Yukio quietly thanked the goddess Kitsumari for the brief reprieve she felt from the eternal ache in her bones. It had been a tight winter, but, with the arena once more thrumming with life, their income had again become more than manageable between them both.

Sakuya did not think of such things, and instead focused on the way the flower petals drifted down into the water where the carp of the docks made their home. Some of the smaller ones nibbled at petals, not yet having learned the difference between a falling flower and an insect landing. He leaned down, taking a tiny, sticky piece of his egg dango and flicking it into the water, giggling when the carp turned over one another to get it. He looked to his mom to see whether or not he’d be scolded for wasting food, finding her too amused by Sakuya’s delight at the carp’s enthusiasm for the food.

As they arrived near the sea’s edge, the trees made for a lovely guise beyond which ships of all manner were docked, coming in and out with proud efficiency. Sakuya loved seeing them too, knowing that he wasn’t allowed to venture out to the docks on his own, and knowing too that Yukio rarely had the energy after a long workday and commute to go back and forth to the docks as well. The sultan of Shéshén’s sailing ship was in the harbor today – a rare treat for the young kitsune who now marveled at the merging of engineering and art. The massive wooden ship was carved and lacquered to mirror the great bronzen scales of its king and its military’s armor, manned by hundreds of its soldiers. On the ship’s bow was a figurehead like that of a cobra, lashing out with its hood extended, revealing a painted underside of rainbow-hued scales. Sakuya’s interest was on none of that though, his eyes drawn to the hundreds of meters of sails, each hand painted and dyed with one of the noble battles from Nagashri’s holy text. The young kitsune’s eyes lit up when he saw that they were allowing tours of the ship, looking up to his mother and silently begging to go aboard. Yukio permitted it with a nod, letting Sakuya run to the dock’s edge to request to be allowed on. She was proud of how polite he was, as she sat down on one of the seaside’s benches.

Sakuya was astounded by the ship as he boarded, now able to see the masts that seemed to climb into the heavens, carved in the effigies of great trees as tribute to the plants that had created them. He followed the faint sound of music, entranced by the quiet beauty of an instrument he’d never seen. It was tall and narrow, strung with countless strings and played by a naga whose hands and tail deftly worked to produce such an enchanting song. He sat nearby, quietly listening to them play for several dozen minutes before realizing his mother must be worried. Excusing himself and thanking the musician, Sakuya went back to Yukio to fill her ears with all he’d seen aboard on their way home.