KAMI ༘ monoma neito

ʚɞ4

The blonde man
sits on the mat,
facing the wooden dressing table
as if it was the one thing
that piqued him most.

"Thank you, Kami.
I am not frightened
now that you are here."
The lady says,
tucked comfortably
in her thin futon.

"Sleep.
You have lots to do
when the sun rises."
The blonde says,
but the lady smiles at this.
She turns around
to face away from the blonde
and proceeds to sleep.

The blonde heard
the pattern of her soft breaths
turn steady.
He turns around
and sees the back
of the woman's head.

"I am languid so,
young noble.
Yet you awoke me
from my slumber.
This is unforgivable."
He says
and stands up.
The blonde approaches
the sleeping woman
and watches
the calmness of her features.

"You are indeed
nobility,
but you do not seem gripe
at the way a commoner lives."
He comments once more
and finally leaves the room.

"Kami!
I am most grateful
to you,
for I have slept well last night!"
The lady says to the blonde
the moment she sees him
outside her room.

"Enough chatter
and start your chores."
The blonde reprimanded,
but the lady only grinned.
Her gratitude was just bigger
and his firm tone
did not affect her.

When the sun had reached
its prime,
the lady went to the shrine office
to rest from cleaning the pavilion.
She sees the blonde
sitting on a wooden chair
at the front porch.

"It is noon."
The blonde says.
Beside him was a wooden table
and a plate filled
with fruits and vegetables.

"Are these for me, Kami?"
The lady asks
as she stands before the table,
gazing at the food with hunger.

"Yes, now eat.
I would not want you
to collapse
and would have to drag
your body to shelter."
The blonde says.

"Thank you, Kami!"
The lady says
and begins to eat.
Not long after,
the sky crowds
with grey clouds,
threatening to splash rain.

"Oh no, Kami!
The sky has gone dark,
what should we do?"
The lady asks
as she peeks at the sky.

"Proceed with your chores
the next day.
Do you know how to make tea?"
The man asks.

"Yes, Kami!
Should I make you one?"
The lady delightedly asked.

"Yes,
make one for yourself
as well."
The blonde answers.
The lady bows
and briskly leaves
to make the blonde man
his tea.

After a while,
the lady comes back
with her finished drink.
"Kami,
this is what I could make
with the ingredients
that are on the shelf."
The lady says
and pours tea
in the blonde man's cup.

"This is sencha,
is it not?"
The blonde asks
as he inhales
the smell of the tea
and drinks it.

"Yes it is, Kami.
Is it to your taste?"
The lady asks.
"A luscious tea.
As expected
from a noble like you."
The blonde answers,
sipping more from his cup.

"Thank you, Kami!
I just learned how to make tea
from my mother!"
The lady cheers.

"No wonder."
"No wonder, Kami?"

"Nothing."
The blonde replies.

Slowly,
droplets began to pour
out from the sky,
and the once desert-dry grounds
had started to dampen.

"Kami,
when you bestow me
a lover,
I would love them
if they praise my tea,
even if it does not taste well,
the way Kami did to mine."
The lady suddenly says
after she had drank
her own cup of tea.

The blonde widens his eyes
as he looks back
to the lady,
but her gaze is directed
to the misty forest.
"I know my drink
is not suited to your taste,
because I do not like it
as well."
The lady says.

The blonde
merely looks away.
"What are you talking about,
noble lady?

This tea is the finest
that I have had in years."