The Flower Guard’s Garden
I tap my pencil against the page of my notebook, but, as expected, I still can’t come up with a single thing. All I’ve managed to jot down so far is the date and a grand title of “Strategy Meeting #8”; the rest of the page is completely empty. But no matter how much I groan and grumble, nothing changes. I’m still stumped. All three of us are.
“Augh, I give up. I’m just drawing a total blank.”
Yuu-chan was the first to finally break up our five-minutes-or-so of silent groaning and grumbling. The other girl, Mayu, threw in the towel right after.
“It’s hard to come up with ideas on the spot, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Mhm. I’d already given up a while ago, too. Tossing my pencil on top of my notebook, I took a big stretch to drive out the feeling of sluggishness that had spread down from my head throughout my body.
It was the classroom, during spring break. The opening ceremony wasn’t until the day after tomorrow, so, of course, we were the only ones here. There weren’t many students doing club activities today either, so the school building was dead quiet. About the most you could hear was the faint sound of athletic club activities drifting over from the Ninomaru’s grounds. As for why I was spending a day like this inside this classroom, busy racking my brain alongside two of my former first-year classmates... it’s just as what the title I’d written down in my notebook says. And, as for what we’re strategizing about, well...
“Just like I thought, we’re not going to get anywhere until we decide on a plan of action first. We need to figure out who we’re planning to receive backing from, and things like that.”
“You’re right.”
“I know you want everyone to support you, Seina, but I think it’d be better if you aimed for a narrower demographic.”
“...Yeah.”
Just as Mayu said, I want to get everyone to support me in this, but that plan seems like it just isn’t realistic. Elections are tough stuff.
Right now, Mayu, Yuri-chan, and I are planning a strategy to win the election. The election that’s planned to be held a little more than a month into the new school year, during the middle of May. The one to elect the new student council president.
It was shortly after last year’s school festival when I’d truly realized that I wanted to become this school’s—Kokonotsuboshi Girls’—student council president. As for why I wanted to, it’s because I love this school. I want to make this school something I can love even more, and I want everyone else to come to love this school, too. That’s the kind of place I want this school to become. ...Yuri-chan told me that was too vague of a vision to act on, and it really is. But Miki-san said that it was a good reason for running, and that it was very much like me to have those kinds of motivations. These two friends of mine told me the same, too.
Outside of Miki-san, I’ve only told three people about my plans to run for student council president.
Those would be Hina and the two people here. Mayu and Yuri-chan.
“Seina, I suppose we could consider this ‘everyone’ you’ve been talking about as a wide-reaching swing vote, but it’d be a bit too unreliable to lean on, I think.”
“Uh, umm...”
Mayu—Iida Mayu—is my friend who serves on the library committee. Back during the summer, we got assigned neighboring seats once, and we ended up getting pretty friendly with each other after we talked about a lot of different things. Mayu mentioned herself that she likes things with a bit of an antique vibe, especially things like this school’s inner building; in fact, she’s such a big fan of the inner building that she joined the library committee just to have an excuse to hang around inside it. Well, I’m sure she’s a fan of reading too, of course, but my point is that it’s probably because of those kinds of interests she has that we really hit it off. Her short hair and glasses quite suit her, and she has the vibe of the type of person you’d get if you crossed a zashikiwarashi with the looks and personality of a cat. She looks like she’d be the quiet type, but it turns out she’s actually got quite the festive side—back during the school festival, the school library got converted into a temporary net cafe, and it’s rumored that she was the one responsible for planning the whole thing behind the scenes. These strategy meetings too were something that Mayu suggested when I told her my plans to become student council president.
“The simplest way to go forward with this would be to start getting various different clubs and committees on our side.”
“O-oh, really?”
“That’s right. Elections are built on that kind of stuff.”
“But how exactly are we supposed to get them on our side?”
“We could promise them preferential treatment during budget proposals, for example.”
“U-um, i-is that really something we’re allowed to do?”
I-I feel like this conversation started taking quite the graphic turn. Mayu really, um... When she starts getting really focused on something, her language starts getting a bit... I wouldn’t call it cold, but more... detached. Which makes it even scarier.
“To an extent, yes. One of the jobs of the student council is to distribute funds from the school to the various clubs, after all.”
“So the student council’s responsible for that too, huh? I didn’t know that.”
The girl that just cheerily chimed in is Yuri-chan. Nakahara Yuria. She says she’s bothered by how high the stroke count for the kanji in her name is, so she gets a bit upset if you call her Yuria.
“Then, it’d probably be good for us to get acquainted with the stronger clubs, yeah? Like the drama club, or maybe the wind ensemble? If we’re talking athletic clubs, the track team’d be a good one too. For the track team, maybe you could try talking to Hina about this?”
Whenever Mayu starts acting all detached like this, Yuri-chan ends up jumping into the conversation soon after. According to her, it’s a sign that the conversation’s going to start getting fun, and she never wants to miss out on fun. Apparently, Yuri-chan used to practice karate for the longest time, but ever since she had to quit because of her hip injury, she’s become the type to want to try her hand at anything fun, no matter what.
Yuri-chan first reached out to me after my suspension, and we ended up becoming friends from there. I’m not sure how to feel about my suspension possibly being the reason why Yuri-chan started getting hooked on anything that seems fun, but I guess it’s fine. Before she got hooked on it, she used to always look so bored, which made her seem... kinda weirdly scary, in a way? Or more just hard to approach. But now, whenever she’s having fun like this, her eyes start drooping a little, and I think it’s pretty cute. She always keeps her long hair tied in a simple ponytail, and I think Mayu was the one that joked about her hairstyle making her look like a ronin.
“You can leave the culture clubs to me. I’ve been going around checking out a bunch of different ones whenever I’m bored, so I know a lot of people.”
“Then I’ll leave them to you, Nakahara-san. How about you try talking to Komano-san, Seina?”
“Huh? Uh, um...”
Well... if I talk to Hina about this, she might be able to get the track team to support me. Plus, back when I mentioned that I was wanting to run for president, Hina did say that she would cheer me on. But...
“Um, so...”
“Hm?”
“Can we, um, not do that kind of thing? Only focusing on specific clubs and all that.”
I get where Mayu’s coming from. But if we only get backing from the stronger school clubs, I don’t think we’re going to be able to make a school that everyone can love. I’m glad that these two are supporting me, helping me out with consultations, and working to strategize with me like this, but I can’t have us lose the plot from the very beginning like this. The blueprints and foundation of a build are what everything else is built off of, after all.
“Ah, but well, I do get what you’re saying, Seina. You don’t seem like the type to want to resort to these kinds of tactics.”
“If we’re going that route, that means we’ll probably have no choice but to appeal to students and build up support the old-fashioned way.”
I told the two my honest thoughts on the matter, and it seems like I was able to get them to understand what I wanted. Unfortunately, that also means that we just got sent back to square one.
“In that case, this election’s ultimately no different from a popularity contest. Well, I suppose school elections are all like this, anyway.”
“Seina must be a strong contender then. She’s pretty well known among the students, after all.”
“.....C’mon...”
It’s not like I wanted to get famous over getting suspended. Plus, whenever that topic gets brought up, the conversation always shifts to how I got suspended for getting in a big fight with a third-year. ...Even though it wasn’t even a fight in the first place.
“S-so, why don’t we convince people to vote for us by showing them what we want this school to become? It’s like... this school’s such an antique, beautiful place, right? We could tell them that we’ll work hard to preserve it!”
“The culture clubs are really struggling because of how old their row house is, though. Apparently, it gets so cold inside it during the winter that they have trouble doing club activities.”
“Urg...”
Hina said that the Kumomiyagura’s age seems to be a problem for the sports clubs as well. Even though it’s such a nice, well-built building...
“We could use that, though. We could say that we’ll convince the school to renovate the facilities.”
“Oh, that’s a nice spin on it!”
“Ah, but um, no replacing the buildings, please!”
“Of course we won’t do that. But we could at least get them to install things like air conditioners, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s it!”
As we talk, Mayu goes and records our discussion in my notebook. Even if I tried to review her notes later, I’m guessing that it’ll just be a giant jumble of keywords that I won’t be able to understand. I might be better off just asking Mayu for her personal notes instead. But still, talking with these two about our goals is really fun. As topics come and go, and as our conversation derails and gets back on track, our conversation starts becoming livelier than ever.
“You girls sure seem to be having fun.”
The classroom door opens, and a voice calls out to us. In walks a pair of teachers.
“Ah, Tsukuyo-chan and Nito-chan.”
“H-hello~!”
I scramble to give them a greeting as well.
Sonou-sensei’s a classic lit. teacher—I haven’t talked to her much because she teaches a different year from us, but she’s pretty popular at school. Her popularity comes from how short—she’s even shorter than me—and how cute she is, though, so I’m not sure if she’s really a fan of it. Nito-sensei was our homeroom teacher when we were first-years, and she’s friendly and easy to talk to.
“I’m guessing you girls aren’t doing club activities... So what are you three up to, then?”
“Ah, um, we’re kinda having a little meeting-sorta thing...”
“A meeting?”
It’s not like I was trying to keep my candidacy a secret or anything, but the election applications weren’t going to be open until the start of the new school year, so I hadn’t gotten around to telling the teachers about it yet.
“Oh, student council president? You’re planning on running, Maki-san?”
“Ah, um, yes, I am. I was thinking of giving the election my best shot.”
N-now that I’m mentioning it to the teachers, I’m starting to get kind of embarrassed. It makes me wonder how they, as proper adults, think about this. My passion for this election, and all that... How do they see it?
“I see. Well, do your best. If you need help with anything, you can always talk to me.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you very much!”
“Fufu~ To think that you three are even meeting up during spring break to strategize... you must be really fired up about this, huh?”
Sonou-sensei chuckled to herself a bit, but it didn’t seem like she was making fun of us, so I didn’t mind.
“But planning already, huh? Even though you don’t know what your new classes are going to be?”
“Our classes?”
“That’s right. Some of the classes start getting really competitive against each other during the presidential elections here.”
“Mhm. Class B and Class D get really fired up about it.”
“O-oh, really?”
According to the teachers, there’s a strong rivalry between class B, who’s had a long track record of winning elections for student council president, and class D, who’s been catching up to their win rate in recent years. ...But they’re both second-year classes, right? That means the students switch out every year. So how do they even have a rivalry in the first place? It’s a mystery to the teachers too, it seems, and it’s what they find so funny about it.
“Classes, huh...? I hadn’t considered that before.”
“Yeah, me too. I applied for the Integrative Studies class, so I don’t think I’ll be getting into Class D.”
I also applied for Integrative Studies, and I think Mayu did too. I’m pretty sure that being in Integrative Studies means you get placed in either Class A or Class B... Oh no, I never considered that we might end up in different classes. It’d be nice if we all ended up in the same class again, but I wonder what’ll happen if we don’t? I don’t think there’d be any problems, but... Hrm... I guess there’s no point in me worrying about it.
Taking the teachers calling out to us as a cue, we decide to wrap things up for today. We collect our belongings off our desks and leave the classroom.
I check the time on my phone. Good, we ended our meeting at just the right time. I got so wrapped up in our conversation earlier that I lost track of the time, and I was worried that I might’ve been late.
“What do you want to do after this? Wanna stop by somewhere on the way back?”
“I don’t mind either way.”
My two friends’ routes home are through Shinmachi. I tag along with them there sometimes, but not today. I have very important plans today, after all.
※ ※ ※
“Seina.”
The target of my plans was standing right by the school gate. When she spotted me, she gave me a small wave and called my name.
“Miki-san! You were already here?”
I panic and check the time on my phone again—it’s still a bit before the time we were supposed to meet. But I guess it wouldn’t be weird for Miki-san to be here already.
“Ah, um, hello...!”
Yuri-chan let out a weirdly tense greeting. It’s rare to see her like that. Mayu’s bow was weirdly deep, too. Hm, that’s strange. It’s not like this is the first time they’ve met Miki-san—they’ve met her multiple times already.
“What’s wrong, you two?”
“Uh, um, it’s not really...”
“Both of you seem kind of nervous.”
“Y-yeah, well...”
“Of course we’re nervous. Just look at her, Aihara-senpai’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“Yeah... she’s really giving off that college student vibe. I mean sure, she looked mature before, too, but not like this!”
The two girls whisper to me as they say these things. H-hm, really? I give Miki-san another look. She’s beautiful, as usual. Her outfit’s coordinated in gentle, spring-like tones, and the way she pairs a shirt, jacket, and skirt together definitely makes look like a college student. Her hair, which she said she just had permed a while ago, is spreading its waves out along her back, her bangs have grown out a little bit more, and today, she’s clipped up the hair on her side with a barrette. Oh, that barette’s the one we bought together on our date the other day!
...But does she really look mature enough to make my friends start acting like this? She has become even more beautiful and mature, sure, but... Oh, I see. This must be the first time they’ve seen Miki-san outside of her school uniform.
“Is something wrong?”
Ah, of course Miki-san would start getting concerned if the three girls in front of her suddenly started whispering among each other.
“Oh, no, it’s nothing! Um, so, sorry, but I have to...”
“Yeah, we know, don’t worry about it.”
“Next meeting won’t be until the start of the new school year, okay?”
I’ve already told the two about my plans with Miki-san in advance. I wonder if they’re going to stop by someplace in Shinmachi on the way back? Hm, I’m not so sure. Mayu told me that she’s still a bit nervous when she’s alone with Yuri-chan. I wonder what the two talk about when they’re alone? I can’t imagine that they spend their time in silence when I’m not around.
“Well then, see you later.”
I say that and wave off my friends as they walk off from the school gate. As I’m sending them off, I see them walking slowly, matching Yuri-chan’s pace—and good, it looks like they’re talking to each other. I’m relieved.
“Sorry for leaving you waiting, Miki-san.”
I turn back to face Miki-san’s way.
“Oh no, I should be the one apologizing. It looked like you were in the middle of something—I’m sorry for butting in.”
“Oh no, no, there’s no need for you to apologize! In fact, it’s better that you came here on a day I already had plans here. Don’t worry about it!”
“Fufu, thanks.”
Miki-san puts on her usual gentle smile. Being able to see Miki-san’s smile by her side makes me so happy, I can’t help but smile, too.
After our usual chat last night, Miki-san mentioned that she wanted to come visit the school, so we hurriedly decided on today’s school date plans. But now that Miki-san’s by my side, dressed in her casual wear, it’s like the atmosphere’s suddenly changed. I’m feeling kind of nervous. Even though we’ve been here together like this every day until the day she graduated.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?”
It seems like Miki-san feels the same way. She lets out those words as she slowly scans her surroundings.
“It hasn’t even been a month yet, but this place already feels so nostalgic.”
“Oh... really?”
Is that... how it is? I’m guessing that the sensation she’s feeling is different from the one you get during the opening ceremony after summer break, or from that feeling of excitement you get from finally being able to meet your friends at school again. In two more years, will I finally be able to understand the feelings that she’s feeling right now?
But two more years, huh? I wonder what my plans for the future are going to be? Will I be trying to get into the same college as Miki-san? But that might be hard to pull off with my current grades... Plus, it’s not like I’ve really thought about what I want to study, either. What about enrolling in a junior college instead? Or just going straight into the workforce? I’m going to have to decide on this stuff soon, aren’t I?
“Hey, Miki-san...”
“Hm? What is it?”
“When did you decide that you wanted to go to college?”
“Hmm... I don’t know. I just decided that I’d go sometime along the way. I only decided on my field of study sometime during my third year, though.”
“I see...”
“Seina, you’ll be starting to have career consultations soon, right? I don’t think you have to worry so much. College isn’t the only thing that’ll decide your future, after all.”
Ah, I think she’s seen through to what I’ve been worrying about. I don’t think she meant anything bad by it, though. Rather, I think she’s just trying to say that I don’t have to rush myself.
“So, how’s college going for you?”
“Well, even if you ask me that... I couldn’t tell you. It hasn’t even started yet.”
“Oh, right, of course it hasn’t! My bad.”
Now that she mentions it, that’s pretty obvious. But I wonder why I made that mistake in the first place? It’s just that Miki-san really has the air of a college student today, so I ended up mistaking her for one.
“It seems like Miyu and Matsuri-san started living the college student life a little early, though. They’re just doing track team practice right now, but still.”
“Inamoto-senpai and Amishima-senpai are going to a college in Hokuriku, right?”
At least, I’m pretty sure Fukui prefecture’s in the Hokuriku region. Miki-san told me before that both Amishima-senpai and Inamoto-senpai managed to get into the same college on a recommendation.
“They were telling me that they finally managed to settle in. The cleaning and laundry is a real trouble, apparently. It seems like they’re regretting not moving into a dorm instead.”
Miki-san continued on, mentioning how they moved into a shared room together at the end of March. Living together, huh? That sounds kinda nice...
“Oh, and they asked me if I wanted to come over to visit during the May holiday. They said I could bring you along, too.”
“Huh? M-me too?”
“Yeah. What do you think?”
“Um, y-yeah, I think it’ll work...”
W-w-whoa, does that mean... I’m going on a trip together with Miki-san? T-that’s crazy, what do I do?! I-I mean, we’re just going together to visit the track team senpais, so it’s not like that, but like, t-that’s just crazy! W-whoa...!
“Really? Then let’s set up plans once it gets closer to May.”
“Okay!”
Whoa, it’s like, I’m super excited! I’m sure I’m going to be super busy with the election stuff during Golden Week, but still, I’m definitely gonna go!
I try not to get too riled up about our future plans as I walk and talk with Miki-san. We don’t head through the Hoshikan building today, instead walking around it to head towards the flower bed by the inner building.
This flower bed is what Miki-san—with some help from me, during the latter half of her last year here—had spent her whole time at Shirojo taking care of. It’s filled with all sorts of flowers, set up in case any of the school’s other flower beds need ones transplanted. Even after Miki-san graduated, I’ve been taking after these flowers, just as she taught me. It’s pretty difficult, but I’ve managed to keep them alive somehow, and right now, the spring flowers have started to bloom. I’m happy that I’m able to show off the fruits of my labor to Miki-san like this. Well, unlike the flower beds in front of the entrances, this one looks kind of mismatched, but that can’t be helped. Besides, that’s part of its charm.
“Wow. They’re blossoming quite beautifully, aren’t they?”
“Mhm! The geraniums just started to bloom the other day.”
About ten of them had to be moved to the flower beds in front of the auditorium though. Maybe we can head over to see them later.
“I see. Good work, Seina. Thank you for taking care of them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you won’t have to worry about them!”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that I was... worried, per se... But I couldn’t help but be a little concerned about them, you know?”
I understand, Miki-san. It’s not like you wanted to come here today because you’re acting like a fussy mother-in-law that suddenly wanted to come see the flowers. Rather, these flowers are something that you’ve been taking care of for such a long time. I get that you’d be worried about them. My dad and brothers go to check up on the buildings they’ve worked on pretty often too. It’s probably really reassuring to be able to go back to a place that really means something to you and find that it hasn’t changed at all.
Ah, I see...
“U-um, so, Miki-san.”
“What is it?”
“Starting this spring, I’m not going to be in charge of this flower bed anymore. The school committees are all going to take turns taking care of it instead.”
“Oh my, really?”
It was something that was decided on during the committee chairs’ meeting at the end of March. Ariu-senpai of the disciplinary committee had put forth the idea.
Even though I wasn’t a chairman, I was asked to attend the meeting, only to have that proposal sprung on me when I arrived. I was shocked at first. And then I really started to worry about what to do. Was it really okay to leave Miki-san’s flower bed in the hands of someone else? But Ariu-senpai was really—how do I say it—meticulous with her planning. She’d already gone through talks with the teachers and the custodians, and they’d come to the conclusion that these flower beds aren’t something that should be taken care of by just the students, but by the school as well. On top of that, Ariu-senpai had prepared a proposal where, alongside the main beautification committee members, representatives from each committee would be chosen to help with the beds’ maintenance. I was invited to this meeting to give them my consent in Miki-san’s stead.
I was surprised by it, and I definitely had my worries, but Ariu-senpai had made a good point. Now that Miki-senpai has graduated, it’d probably be really difficult for me to keep up with the flowers’ upkeep all by myself. I don’t have the kind of knowledge about gardening that Miki-san does, and I don’t have the luxury to ask her to help out with things I don’t know anymore. Ariu-senpai had seen through my troubles and had made this proposal because of it. It wasn’t that she was trying to take this flower bed away from me—rather, she just wanted to relieve me from its burden, and I was finally able to understand that. I would’ve appreciated it if she’d presented it in a way that was easier to understand and didn’t catch me completely by surprise, though.
“I see.”
That being said, even though I was fine with the plan myself, I felt a little uneasy telling Miki-san about it. This flower bed was so important to her, after all—what if she was let down by the news? I can’t defend Miki-san’s garden all by myself.
“I’m glad.”
“Huh?”
“I was worried that this flower bed might’ve ended up becoming a burden for you.”
“Oh no, um... You really didn’t have to...”
“But It feels a bit lonely to know that other people are going to take care of it instead.”
Miki-san lets out a gentle laugh and pats me on the head. I think... I might start to cry. I’m sure that Miki-san was really worried about me, and I’m sure she wasn’t lying about how she’d feel lonely, either. I’m happy that she was able to be honest with me about her feelings on this, and on top of that, I’m glad that she’s happy with the arrangement too. I know that no matter how hard I try, taking care of this flower bed by myself would be impossible. But I still feel a bit lonely knowing that I’ll be giving its care up to someone else. So that’s why I’m so happy. Our feelings are the same. That’s why I’m almost about to cry. Even though I can still hold my tears back.
“Hey, Miki-san.”
“Hm?”
“I want to become student council president.”
“Mhm. You said that before, didn’t you? You’re going to be running as a candidate, right?”
“Yeah.”
I’d confided in her about it back when I only had a vague idea about running for president. She told me to do my best. She said that she was sure I’d be able to become a good student council president.
“I want to turn this school into something that everyone can come to love even more. I want it to become something that everyone can look back on, even long after they graduate, and be able to rest assured knowing that it still hasn’t changed.”
I want it to become somewhere that people can think about every so often, even after they’ve parted ways with it, and be reminded of the good memories they’ve made here. Somewhere that they’d be able to visit again after a long time, and feel relieved, knowing that it’s stayed the same. I don’t want it to be a place that isn’t able to change, but rather, one that chooses not to. Even though it’s hard to put that sentiment in words.
“I’m sure you can pull it off, Seina. I believe in you.”
“Miki-san...”
Because I want everyone to be able to have that same feeling of relief that Miki-san was able to feel today.
“You’re someone who’s able to hold such strong feelings and act on them, after all.”
Miki-san... Urg... I’m so happy, I think I’m really going to start crying. I’m trying to hold my tears back, but if they start leaking out, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from hugging her. I really won’t. And as things continue on like this, I’ll reach out to embrace her, and...
“...M... Miki-sa—...”
That’s as far as it went. Our tender moment was rudely interrupted by a rumble of my stomach. Loudly and clearly, with no way to hide it.
“...Oh my.”
W-why did I have to remember that I was hungry now, out of all things?! Urg, curse you, bodily functions! How dare you ruin the mood!
“Aaahhhh~...”
“Fufu~ You haven’t had lunch yet, right? I brought us some sandwiches I made. Miyu taught me how to make them.”
Aahhh, she’s laughing at me...! I- I’m so embarrassed... But I’m looking forward to eating Miki-san’s homemade sandwiches so much, I think my tummy’s going to rumble again. Oh, c’mon...!
“Why don’t we find a bench to sit down on?”
“...Mhm.”
Our secret base in the inner building is just how we left it before Miki-san’s graduation. It’s all cleaned up, and everything’s been put back to their original positions.
It was a place that I’d made for the two of us, after all. It wasn’t something that I wanted to use just by myself. We’d cleaned the sofa and leaned it up against the wall like it was before. Perhaps someone might stumble upon that place again. They might find the sofa along with it, and use it to take a break. I’d be happy with that. And if they brought someone else there along with them to chat, I’m sure I’d be even happier.
Our secret base. The inner building. The Hoshikan building, the auditorium, and the Kumomiyagura. This school has all these beautiful places, and all these beautiful buildings. And I want it to keep having those places forever. Miki-san may have graduated from it, but it’s still such a beautiful school, and I’ll be able to spend my time here for two more years. I’m sure that’s something to be happy about, and something to enjoy. And I’ll try my hardest to help make the school life here all the more beautiful for everyone.
“Well then, shall we go?”
“Okay!”
I link my hand with Miki-san’s and begin to walk forward.
And at that moment.
The first breeze of the afternoon, finally starting to feel warmer with the coming of April, softly blew our way.
And it carried a faint, sweet scent.
“Eh?”
I look back.
And see them, planted in the corner of the flower bed. Two, long and thin, faintly pink blossoms. It’s strange—even though they’re still just buds, I can still catch their fragrance. But more importantly...
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing!”
Did someone plant them there? I don’t remember them being here. Two, not yet blossoming.
Lily flowers.