Winding Roads {A Creative Writing Journal}

Falling Cherry Blossoms (Sakura Blossoms Contest 2023 Winner)

A/N: My entry for the Sakura Blossoms Contest action prompt. This is also my first time writing about Asian mythology, so please forgive any errors in regard to that. Hope you enjoy! And happy reading!
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    Soft pink and white petals rode the wind and dotted the vibrant morning sky, and for a moment, all I could do was watch the gentle sakura blossoms with a sort of envy. They could ride the wind and float carelessly from one place to another, bringing the joys of spring to any who see them. I was stuck on the ground, weighed by the mark on my wrist and the shadows in my mind.

       I had tried my hand at wandering, leaving behind the responsibilities of my bloodline. And for a few good years, it worked. I met new, wonderful people and forged strong bonds with those far outside my original circle. And with Shun as my fiancé, I thought I finally found somewhere to land. But at the sound of a blade being drawn, my hopes of freedom came crashing down in a single blow.

"Yume," a deep, all too familiar voice called from behind me.

   Shun whipped around, drawing his own katana in one fluid movement, but I took my time turning to face the samurai who shared many of my childhood memories. At the other end of the row of cherry trees stood Tamotsu, the commander of my father's samurai army and the caretaker I escaped from one night five years ago.

   He had aged since I last saw him. His once black beard was peppered gray, and his skin showed new wrinkles and scars I couldn't remember being there. But in his eyes, even from his spot several yards away, I could see the warm light that plagued me with guilt for running.

     As the cherry blossoms fell between us, all I could see was the sharp edge of Tamotsu's katana. Fear stoked in my chest as I watched the experienced warrior glare at my fiancé. Shun returned his gaze with full force but wisely remained where he was, and a new fear blossomed in me while I watched him adjust his grip. The last thing I wanted to watch was my former father-figure and the love of my life kill each other.

"Yume," Tamotsu repeated this time with sharp command, "I've come to take you home. Leave this boy."

"Stay behind me," Shun whispered, and without thinking I grabbed his arm.

"Shun, no," I urged him, and he stopped, his pale blue eyes glistening in confusion. "Please, don't," I begged.

Shun didn't know where I came from, who I really was. I thought I could ignore my past and escape it, but that had been a foolish dream. The past always returns with a vengeance.

And Tamotsu, the enactor of that vengeance, didn't like being ignored. "Whoever this whelp is to you, Yume, leave him. You're coming home, so don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"What if she doesn't want to?" Shun demanded, tearing out of my grasp to face the samurai fully, expertly twirling his katana in readiness for the impending fight.

    What is wrong with him? I thought. Shun was never eager to battle, and especially not in the open with so little to trigger him. Violence had always been a last resort for him, so why was that changing now?

     Tamotsu ignored him in favor of leveling me with a reprimanding gaze. But for the first time in my life, I didn't shrink back. I would not abandon my freedom or my love so easily. Not anymore. The samurai's eyes widened at my defiance.

      "Your father has ordered your return by any means necessary. If blood is the price of your obedience, then so be it."

     Shun paused. "You said you had no family."