Flowers of the Future

Present - Invitation

"Well? What do you think? Do you believe me now?" I asked Umi, alluding to how she thought I'd forgotten which anniversary we were celebrating. She gently caressed the gemstone with her fingertips and stared intently at it, as if she was looking for her own reflection in the deep blue crystal mirror.

"Well, everything makes a lot more sense now." She raised her head and looked at me with an amused smile. I returned her a look of confusion. "It explains why the necklace was suddenly gone after almost exactly five years."

"You noticed?" I asked, trying to mask the dejected undertone in my voice. I couldn't believe the surprise had almost been spoiled thanks to Umi's vigilance.

"It was hard not to, because I was going to buy it myself."

"For yourself, you mean?" Such an unbelievable coincidence... Almost exactly after I had saved up enough money to finally buy it, Umi had as well.

"No actually... it was intended for you." My eyes widened in shock. I wanted to ask her about what she'd said to me at the time, about how it was something she liked, but before I could, a very clear image appeared in my mind, that of my own person facing the store's window, the necklace perfectly aligning with the reflection of my neck. That must have been why she wanted to see it from all possible angles: she was trying to get it to align with my reflection too. All this time, I had thought she wanted this accessory for herself, but as it turned out, she wanted me to have it and I robbed her of the opportunity to gift it. I had lost my appetite and placed my drink back on the table, a sour taste in my mouth. I was just about ready to sink through the floor out of embarrassment. How could I have messed up our anniversary this badly...?

Umi must have noticed my desperate expression, because she hastily added: "No, wait, let me finish!" I sluggishly raised my head and looked into her eyes. She was clearly determined to make me feel better; I donned a pained smile. "It's true that I wanted to get the necklace for you, but when I noticed it was gone, I settled on a different gift, and now that you've given me this... Well, you'll see." I was curious now, about her enigmatic words and about the box she was holding up in front of me. I noticed how the gift paper was the same as the kind that my own gift had been wrapped in, so I could tell it was from the same store. Carefully, I peeled away at the paper and revealed another box, within which lay...

A pair of earrings... and they were exactly the same shape as the amulet of the necklace I had gifted, with the same marine blue gemstone embedded between the tips of the crescent moons. With a reassuring smile, Umi said: "Now we're matching."

I bit the inside of my lip to avoid revealing my relief to Umi; I didn't like the feeling of being outdone. "I-idiot..." I whispered, while tears of joy were forming in the corners of my eyes. Abruptly though, I wiped them away with the sleeve of my yukata and repeated, more firmly this time: "I-di-ot! Do you have any idea how worried you just made me?!" Umi's expression was one of bewilderment now, but soon thereafter, my angry facade cracked and gave way to belly laughter. "Thank you, my ocean", I said, more sincerely this time.

---

We were both absorbing the atmosphere of the restaurant's backyard for a moment, in blissful silence. Suddenly, I recalled something Umi had told me after arriving back home. "Didn't you mention your coach wanted to discuss something with you?"

She perked up, previously having been so entranced with the night sky, as if she'd found the answer there. "Oh yes, I was going to tell you. My coach asked me to represent Tokyo in a national archery competition. I was selected from a pool of over a hundred candidates, she told me."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Umi cast her eyes downward for a moment, before meeting mine again and smiling. "Yes, I'm honored. There are a lot of talented archers in Tokyo and I will do my best to not let them down." The hairs at the back of my neck shot upright as I noticed the detached tone with which she said those words. Was it something I did? Had my reaction not been encouraging enough? Was she expecting me to say something more, something else?

"I-I'm sure you won't! I mean, I've seen you training, your form and your focus are amazing! No one else could compare." Umi was gritting her teeth now, looking at the door from which the waiter with our food would arrive, as if she was desperately hoping for this conversation to be dismissed. What was with this reaction? Was I doing something wrong? Did she think my words weren't genuine?

I wanted to ask her about it, but she cut me off: "Ah, it seems our food has arrived." With tangible tension and a deafening quietude, the waiter placed our plates and cutlery on the table in front of us, producing the disruptive clanging of porcelain and metal on wood. Over dinner, we engaged in awkward smalltalk for the rest of the evening, neither of us very willing to elaborate on the topic. However, I made a mental note to bring it up again upon arriving back home.

---

With the front door now closed behind me, I tried reaching out to Umi, but she had already passed me on her way to the living room. A bit agitated by her evasive demeanor, I joined her in the living room and crossed my arms, ostentatiously annoyed. "So are you going to tell me what that reaction was about?"

"Hm? What reaction?" She refused to meet my eyes.

I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow, taking care not to unnecessarily raise my voice, but I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to stay this level-headed. "At the restaurant, when we were talking about that archery competition. You think that's any way to react to your girlfriend's support?" Umi visibly flinched at my biting words. My fierce stare became more mellow when I noticed her expression contorting, conflicted. "Look, is it something I did? Have I not been supportive enough? I... I know I get carried away by my music sometimes, but I-"

"That's not it", she interrupted me, "You've been more than supportive enough."

"Then what's wrong?" I asked, exasperated. It reminded me of the first fight we ever had, the only time our relationship could have fallen apart. "Remember when you tried to hide your feelings from me the first time?" She looked up, pained by the recollection of that event. "I understood then, didn't I?" I wouldn't bring that painful page in our history up for no reason. "Can you trust me to understand you again...?"