No Blossom

I

"Kiryuu! I'm stepping out for a bit, can you take my calls?" The Chief called out from behind his desk and got up, caressing the back of his neck that seemed to be sore. I nodded, though I didn't really need to, he wasn't waiting for my response.

It had already been a few days since that night when I lost my wallet, but for some reason it was still bugging me. It's not like there was anything extraordinary about the whole incident, now that I think of it. I dropped my wallet and that woman returned it to me, that's all there was to it. The only thing that stood out about it was the condom inside, which I still hadn't been able to explain.

No calls came in that afternoon, it was dead quiet on the upper floors because it was off-limits for most personnel. Sometimes when the janitor came in in the later hours to sweep the office and I was still there, she always praised the view of the city. It was nice, sure, but I had probably grown too used to it to appreciate it.

I flipped around in my chair and stared out of the window at the city, flaked in what seemed to be the sunset. Across from the Bureau stood nothing but endless layers of skyscrapers, separated by roads flooded with traffic. Saya, Okajima... It was not a familiar name to me, I didn't think I'd ever heard anyone with a name like that.

Then a thought occurred to me, and I logged into the database. This wasn't something I usually did, or ever did, for that matter. It felt wrong, but I suddenly got too curious to pass the opportunity. I plugged in the name and waited for a list to appear, but it turned out not too long. There were actually quite a few Okajima Saya's in the city, but nowhere near Kanagawa or even the city center.

Then a company popped up, it was a business management company of some sorts, they didn't offer a large variety of services so I figured they must have been specialists. Her name was at the bottom of the contacts, but there was no phone number, only an email. The business ran at typical working hours, so if she worked there it would be safe to say that she got off at around 6 p.m.

"What am I even thinking?" I thought out loud, realizing that my habits had gotten out of hand. Was it really such a big deal? Maybe I should have just forgotten about the whole thing and moved on. But then again, the place wasn't too far and we likely took the same metro since that's where she found my wallet. So maybe, maybe I could just leave work a bit earlier and keep an eye out. Yes, that sounded better.

I was barely able to leave at 5.30 p.m. and rushed to the subway. It was even more crowded at that time than when I usually left for home. High schoolers and university students were all gathered in the tightly packed metro and the noise made me uneasy. I didn't like to be around so many people at once, but it would be alright as long as no one talked to me. So I stayed still and took occasional peeks at people to see if anyone looked like her.

To my dismay, she wasn't on the metro, and even though I waited out on the platform until the metro took off again, no one that resembled her got out. Was my memory of her fuzzy? It was dark that night, maybe she looked different than I remembered. Sighing, I decided this had gone too far and I needed to get over it and go home. But when I took a turn and went down the flight of stairs that led me to the street, my eyes wandered over to a park bench.

It was her, the woman from that night. She looked to be engaged in working on her laptop, maybe responding to some late emails? I didn't feel right approaching her and disturbing her, but then she closed her laptop and put it in her bag. When she got up to leave, she spotted me. I'm not sure if she didn't recognize me at first, because she tilted her head a bit and narrowed her eyes as though she were trying to understand why I was staring at her.

"Takayama-san?" She asked in a light voice. She remembered me? Instead of waiting for me to walk up to her, she approached me. "Did you lose your wallet again?" She asked, but because I wasn't sure whether she was joking or not, I quickly patted my pocket to make sure my wallet was still there. It was.

"I didn't get to thank you properly the last time, do you want to come over for coffee? Or do you not drink coffee?" I offered, a bit hesitant since I wasn't used to asking such things from strangers. But I owed her for returning my wallet, so it was the least that I could do. "I do", She answered and once again took a look at her watch. "That's not a bad idea".

So I walked her to my place, but she seemed familiar with the area, which meant that she must have lived close by. "This is a nice place. Do you like watching the ocean?" She looked around my apartment and walked over to the living room windows which faced the coast. I wasn't much into admiring sceneries but didn't want to sound rude so I gave her a brief nod and went to brew some coffee.

We sat down at the kitchen table, which was quite small since I lived alone and wasn't prepared to host guests very often. A few months ago one of my colleagues invited himself over and forced me to have sake with him, which I stopped drinking after a sip because it was too strong for me. He was a sloppy drinker and a messy eater, the stain that he left on the table was still there.

"Actually, I think you forgot something", I then remembered the reason why I had wanted to talk to her in the first place. She raised her head and waited as I awkwardly took out the condom and handed it to her. She seemed a little confused, and I started to panic: "It isn't yours? It was in the wallet, but it's- it's not mine". The woman looked at me for a few long seconds and then asked something unexpected: "You don't use them? You mean that you do it bare?"

Her question was so abrupt and unfiltered that for a moment there I couldn't even respond, all I did was stare at her wide-eyed. But she didn't look uncomfortable or apologetic, her eyes were calm and maybe a little curious. "No! I meant that that I don't...I don't do it..." I explained to her and looked away to hide how embarrassed I was.

"Oh really? Then I understand", She took the package from the table and slipped it into her pocket. "Maybe I did forget it in your wallet, I can't really remember". What she said was a little unsettling. Was she that kind of a person? When I realized that our conversation had turned a bit too inappropriate, I apologized to her about the mess and offered her another cup of coffee. She nodded.

The weather had cleared up that week and the rains stopped, it wasn't all that cold anymore either thanks to the warm coastal winds. I had deliberately left one of the smaller ventilation windows in the kitchen open to keep the air moving, so some of the wind began to push through and into the apartment. I glanced at the woman to see if she was cold, but she had taken off her coat and wasn't bothered by the cool air, so I dismissed the issue and poured her more coffee.

However, as I went to slide the cup across the table to her, my finger slipped and accidentally knocked the whole mug over. The coffee spilled all over the table and some even splattered on her clothes. "I'm so sorry!" I bowed to her and picked up the cup. It took a minute for her to come around and understand what had happened, after which she took out a napkin and wiped off her collar, but the stains weren't coming off.

I felt guilty to no avail at that point, because not only did I owe her one, but it was also my fault that her clothes were ruined. The coffee was hot too so it must have stung as it landed on her skin. "Are you alright? Does it hurt? I-I'm so sorry! Maybe you should run some cold water on it? Or do you want to take a shower?"

The woman looked down at her shirt and suddenly slipped a finger in through the neckline. She picked up some of the coffee and tasted it: "It's okay, it's not that hot. But I could wash this off before it dries up". Before I could even look away, she removed her shirt and stood up. "Where's your bathroom?"

I hadn't expected her to suddenly undress in front of me, and her lack of shame made me even more embarrassed. I was so shocked that I couldn't even shift my gaze away from her until she asked me a second time where the shower was. "A-At the end of the hall".

She walked away and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.