Cherry Blossoms 2

After we finished eating the lunch Mahiru made, we began to walk around the park again to see the other types of cherry blossoms that the park had. So far we had only seen one type of variant which was a weeping cherry tree.

"Look over there, that tree looks different from the others we saw" Mahiru pointed at a spot where a pink tree was different from the long branches of a weeping cherry.

"It says that it's a Yoshino cherry tree… It looks more like the usual trees that you see around our school." The petals of the tree were light pink, almost white and their blossoms were 5 petals.

I took my camera and snapped a photo of the tree and surprisingly Mahiru wanted to take a picture with the tree so I got into position and took some photos of her.

While we were looking at the photos I just took, a loud drum rhythm entered our ears. We looked up and saw a group of people wearing red and black loose fitting robes with black headbands drumming on big taiko drums.

"It looks like they're performing some kind of live show for the festival.. Let's go closer so we can watch it." I said to Mahiru and we quickly went to the area to get close to the performance.

"Alright everyone! Are you ready!!" A woman with short blonde hair and slightly slanted eyes was in front of the group ready to lead them.

*Whistle ~ ~ *Dum Dum Bum

The harmony between the steady tune of the flute to the intense drumming from the taiko drums started to fill the air, attracting many visitors walking around the park.

Mahiru and I were near the front and the rhythmic beats of the drums emanated an exciting vibrant sound making us sway around. The people around us were no different as they also began to move back and forth until the performance finally ended.

""CHEERS""

A massive applause erupted from the crowd and the performers bowed their heads in thanks.

"That was intense.. Shoot, I should have recorded it!" I realized and slightly regretted not taking a video of the performance.

"I can't blame you for forgetting. The way they played the drums was very charming and I loved how the flute was part of the performance too." Mahiru also shared her thoughts and how amazing that performance was.

I looked around and saw many stalls and festive decorations ahead and noticed that we were near the festival portion of the park

"Do you want to check out the stalls? I bet there would be some good food and games that we can try out." I said to Mahiru and she nodded, not hiding the fact that she was curious about what was set up at the stalls.

We walked around and saw a stall that sold takoyaki. I bought two portions and gave one to Mahiru. I ate the freshly cooked takoyaki and almost burned my mouth doing so.

"You should have waited for a bit to let it cool down." Mahiru chuckled seeing me blow steam from my mouth to cool it down. Noticing some sauce around my mouth she grabbed a napkin and wiped it off.

I didn't notice her actions as I was trying my best not to burn away my taste buds to the heat but the surrounding people saw her intimate action and cursed that they wished it could've been them.

After our quick snack we looked around the other stalls and noticed some games that were open to play.

"Honeycomb carving? What is that?" Mahiru read the sign and was curious what the game was.

"It's a game where you try to carve the shape from the candy without breaking it. Do you want to try it out you two?" The old lady in charge of the stall told us and we accepted.

Mahiru was given a round candy with a triangle shape in the middle while I was given one with a star. I looked at the difficulty between our shapes and turned to the old lady. She had an innocent smile on her face but her eyes dared me to try and win.

I read her gaze and prepared myself. I rolled up the sleeves of my sweater and started to use the needle pin to carve out the shape. Mahiru had already started and I tried my best to carve.

With steady hands I scraped on the grooves of the shape and I was successful in breaking a small portion of the surrounding candy off. The old lady was surprised by my progress and watched intently.

I was on my last part of the candy and some imaginary sweat began to roll down my forehead. I was so close to snapping off the last bit when..

"I did it!"

Mahiru yelled out which shocked me and I cracked a part of my star. The old lady gave me a pat on the shoulder and gave me an understanding look.

"What's wrong Watanabe?" Mahiru tilted her head while asking me what was wrong.

"I feel like I just lost a life and death scenario."

"What nonsense are you saying?"

***

After our fun little game we ate the leftover candy which was surprisingly very delicious even if it was made out of straight sugar.

"That was a very fun game. I kinda wish I could have gotten your shape instead of the triangle one." Mahiru spoke up while slowly chewing on the last bits of her candy.

I looked at her and felt like I should warn her to avoid any suspicious men holding a briefcase when waiting for the train in a subway station.

[Attention visitors. In the main plaza the cherry blossom trees will now turn on their lights. Once again the cherry blossoms in the main plaza will turn on their lights]

We heard the speaker phone and quickly made our way into the main plaza. As we stood in the area and waited, loads of people started to crowd in making the plaza a bit tight to stand in.

Seeing that we would be packed together if we stayed at the front I decided whether or not we should back away from the crowd and try to watch the lights from the sidelines so we could have more room. I looked over to Mahiru and saw her get slightly pushed around and I made my choice.

I took her hand and guided her through the crowd making our way into an area where there were fewer people but still were able to see the lights.

"Whew, that was way too close. Isn't there a bit too many people to suddenly show up?"

"Well the festival area is near the plaza so I guess it was unavoidable."

We began to talk about what just happened when I realized that we were still holding hands. I was about to let go when bright lights caught my attention and I turned towards the source. The pink petals of the tree lit up creating a beautiful pale pink glow. The illumination brought the tree to life and stole the gazes of everyone watching it.

I felt a slight squeeze on my hand and I turned my head.

"Thank you for bringing me out today… I really enjoyed it." Mahiru said softly as she just stared at the lights. I looked at her soft expression and also turned my head towards the lights.

"We can visit more places in the future if you want." Mahiru heard my words and glanced towards me. Seeing me still look ahead she gave a chuckle.

"Asking me on another date? Very cheeky."

"Well who doesn't want another outing with the school's angel?" I responded which earned me a quick smack on the shoulder.

"Excuse me young man, do you mind taking a photo of us?" As I was talking with Mahiru I heard a voice beside me. An elderly lady and her husband were asking if they could have a photo of them with the background and I agreed to take one.

"Thank you so much!... Do you also want us to take a photo of the two of you?" The old lady asked nicely. I was about to refuse when I saw the look on Mahiru's face which made me unable to refuse and I gave them my camera.

"Woah.. it looks really good.." Mahiru held the camera and looked at the pictures we just took.

"You and your girlfriend look really good together. Make sure to cherish her well." The old lady whispered to me and gave me an encouraging gesture. I smiled wirily at her misunderstanding.

"I will try my best." I said, earning me an approving nod from the husband.

***

We walked off the bus and began walking our way back home as we decided to leave as it was getting dark and we didn't want to get caught up in the group of people leaving all at the same time.

We walked in silence and just enjoyed the sun setting around us.

"Umm Watanabe…do you mind if I could get a copy of the photos you took at the park?"

I heard Mahiru's request and nodded my head as it was no problem to me. I decided to visit a shop to get a physical copy of the photos as she preferred if it was not digital. We scrolled through the gallery and landed on the photo of us together.

"...I would also like a copy of this one.." A gentle voice spoke out and I nodded my head sheepishly scratching my neck at her request.

We reached our doors and gave one final goodbye before entering. Mahiru quickly placed her items away and went to get changed. As she looked at the mirror she noticed a pink petal stuck on the backside of her shoulder.

She took the small petal and giggled as she looked at it.

'I should keep this..' She thought and gently placed it on a small paper before deciding what to do to preserve the small pink petal that represented her very first outing with Haruto.

***

Hope you enjoyed their first date together. Peacu