Hades

Chapter Nineteen - The Wish, Part Two

Chapter Nineteen: The Wish Part Two

Over the next week, all of Harusame’s time was divided between school, work, walking Cerbi, and making her yukata. Every evening as the daylight began to fade, she would sit on the floor surrounded by the contents of her sewing kit and work persistently under her fingers were stiff and calloused, and she could barely hold the needle anymore. Uxi visited occasionally, sitting on her shoulder and voicing her support, and even Honda awoke from his deep pit of inconsolable despair to watch her growing handiwork. Everyone, including Cerbi who chewed at the leftover fabric, watched as piece-by-piece a magnificent yukata was created. She had chosen a lovely silky fabric; it was deep wine coloured with a pink cherry blossom petal pattern. She flat-out refused to put it on in front of Hades before she was finished, so would occasionally shoo him out into the corridor while she took fittings.

When the night of the festival finally arrived, excitement was in the air. While Harusame changed clothes in her room, Hades took the black yukata she’d given him into the bathroom to get ready. To his surprise it was a nearly perfect fit, although his reflection looked strange and unfamiliar. He supposed that when you’d been wearing basically the same outfit for thousands of years, a change of clothes was bound to look odd. He looked down, realising he’d left on the onyx bracelet. ‘It goes with the yukata,’ he told himself.

‘I’m ready, you can come out now!’ said Harusame, and Hades came back in, staring.

The rosy yukata hugged her figure in all the right places, and moved loosely around her delicate wrists and ankles as she twirled for him. It was secured around her waist with a tangerine sash, tied in a bow at the back, and her dark hair was carefully braided. Harusame caught sight of his expression and blushed a little.

‘I put the obi on all by myself, so it might look a little weird, and I’m afraid there are still some loose stitches here and there,’ she said bashfully.

‘Nnn…you, er…you…u-um…wow.’

She grinned. ‘Thanks, I think! Shall we go? The fireworks start at eight.’

 *

In a traditional Japanese festival, we see young and old. We see brightly coloured streamers and hanging fairy lights, smell delicious noodles and sweet corn, and hear drums to dance to and laughter as everyone plays carnival games and wins funny prizes. In this particular festival, we also see a woman who walked within, yet stood noticeably apart from the crowd. She wore her usual white kimono and disdainful sneer, as though the entire human race was a smear upon the windshield of her life. Iwanami disliked these types of formal gatherings. She felt as though every smile on every face was insincere, every laugh was forced. She didn’t know why she’d come, really, only that some kind of unreasonable internal force pulled her to Tanabata every year like a moth to a flame, which annoyed her greatly. The fact that everyone at the festival had come with a lover or a family only worsened her mood.

‘Does no-one have the dignity to be alone anymore?’ she wondered furiously. ‘I can’t pick anyone off at this rate, especially not in these crowds. Maybe during the blackout later…’

 *

The blackout was scheduled for eight O’clock, just before the fireworks would start. The entire town was ready to turn off all their lights to appreciate the beauty of the sky, for the one night of Tanabata.

Though she claimed never to have attended a festival before, Harusame dragged Hades through the crowds like a pro, stopping at every stall to catch a goldfish, win a balloon or pick up piping hot food.