THE LADY BY THE SEASIDE

𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳: "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢"

𝘛he loud ringing of my alarm clock woke me from my slumber and as my eyes opened, I looked around my room. The first thing I saw was my mom standing in the doorway, ready to get me up and start the day.

"Morning, dear!" My mom said with a smile as I slowly got out of bed and started to get ready.

"Morning, mom," I mumbled as I stumbled to the restroom to brush my teeth and get ready for the day.

As I was brushing my teeth, I suddenly remembered about the picnic at the beach that I had suggested to my mom days ago. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I had completely forgotten about it since we had gone to Kairi's father's restaurant earlier that day. I felt like I had missed out on a great opportunity and I began to think about the picnic we could have had together. So after I finished brushing my teeth I quickly ran downstairs to tell my mom about the forgotten picnic at the sea.

"Hey mom, remember when I suggested that if we could have a picnic at the sea a few days ago?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen where she was making breakfast.

"Oh yeah, I remember now," my mom replied, "But we were busy yesterday and I guess we forgot about it."

"Then let's do it today afternoon!" I said with excitement, my face lighting up at the prospect of a day at the beach with my mom.

"Sure, I think that's doable today," my mom replied with a smile. "Let me just finish up breakfast and we can start making plans for the picnic."

After we finished our breakfast, we headed to the market to buy some supplies for our picnic later in the afternoon. The best part was that our house was nearby the sea, so it wouldn't take long to get there and set up, making the planning a breeze. When we arrived at the market, I couldn't help but hope that I would also see Kairi who, as I knew, often bought some ingredients here for the restaurant. As we continued to buy some things, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Kairi standing right behind me. My face turned bright red as I saw her smiling at me, and my mom couldn't help but chuckle at how silly I was being.

"Good morning, Mizuki and your mother," Kairi's greeting was sweet and warm, making my heart skip a beat. I was so speechless that my mom could see how my face was turning red out of embarrassment. But she was gentle and kind as she greeted, "Good morning, Kairi" with a smile.

My eyes followed the basket of ingredients in Kairi's hands and I couldn't help but comment, "Wow, that's a lot." She looked at me and said, "It needs to be." A small smile played on her lips, and I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter as I looked at her. Kairi looked over at my mom who was also buying food for the picnic, then looked at me and asked, "Your mom is buying a lot of food, what is it for?" She added, letting out a small chuckle, and somehow my heart managed to flutter even more in excitement. "Ah well, it's for our picnic." I tried to reply in a normal tone, but somehow couldn't help but come out a bit awkward, trying to hide my excited heart from Kairi. "Oh really? That's so cute!" Kairi's words sent my heart racing and I couldn't help but blush out of embarrassment. "A mother and daughter picnic, I see," Kairi giggled, still looking at me with a delighted expression on her face.

As soon as my mother finished buying the food, she looked at me and said, "Let's go home now and get ready for later." Her smile made me smile as well, even if it also meant that I would have to say goodbye to Kairi for a while. I tried to hide my disappointment as I said, "Alright" with a sigh, trying to stay composed even though I just wanted to keep spending more time with Kairi. My mother then said her goodbye to Kairi, waving her goodbye as the two of us walked towards our house. Kairi waved back with a playful smile, and I could see that she was also a bit disappointed to have to say goodbye. We walked home together, and before long could already see our house nearby. My mother opened the door and I took off my slippers and sat down on the sofa for a bit, taking my time to relax and let reality set in after the excitement and happiness I felt earlier. My mother meanwhile, went upstairs to her room to find her picnic blanket and began to prepare everything as I stayed downstairs waiting for her, eager for our upcoming picnic.

Time passes, and soon my mother and I arrived at the sea near our house. Together, we put down our picnic blanket and set up the basket full of our food. My mother was careful to place all the ingredients nicely and we could see that she really took her time and effort to make this picnic special. We sat down at the picnic blanket and enjoyed the view of the sea, spending some quality time together and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. It was nice to spend some time with my mother, and I could see that we were bonding over this simple picnic and enjoying each other's company. We laughed together, and the conversation was relaxed and easy, and I could feel the stress and worries of the day melting away as we shared this moment together.

As we were chatting about nothing in particular, my eyes caught Kairi out of the corner of my eye. She was standing at the seashore taking pictures. The sight of her hair flowing in the wind, and her dress flapping, was almost like an image of an angel. My heart seemed to stop for a moment as I watched her, and in a flash my usual cool and collected demeanor went out the window. She took all my attention, and I did my best to stay composed but it was hard. I just couldn't help but feel my heart pumping faster and faster. It felt like I was in heaven just seeing her, it was an almost hypnotic scene. It was as if I was in a dream and the only thing that mattered was her. It was as if she had cast a spell over me. My heart was beating like crazy and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but I loved every second of it. She was like an angel sent from above to bless my poor soul. I just couldn't help but want to soak up every bit of her radiance and beauty.

As I sat there in a trance, watching Kairi take photos of the sea and the beauty that she was capturing. Suddenly I heard my mother let out a small chuckle, and I snapped out of my trance and looked at her with a slight blush. I was embarrassed and a bit ashamed that she had caught me staring at Kairi in such a way, but I also couldn't help but notice that she was also smiling and found it somewhat cute. My mom looked over at me with a slight smile, and I felt myself blush again. But before I could say anything, Kairi was running towards us waving. I panicked again, not sure what to do. My mind was racing with all the possibilities and scenarios running through my mind and I just couldn't think straight. I just stared at her with a big smile on my face, not knowing what else to do.

"Hello!" Kairi said with a big, happy smile on her face as she approached us. "Hi dear," my mom replied with a smile, clearly happy to see Kairi as well. Suddenly I felt myself start to panic slightly, not sure what to say or do in this situation. But before I could do anything, Kairi broke the silence once again and started speaking, "So I was taking pictures of the sea, and then I saw you guys here." "Is it okay if I take a picture of the two of you?" she asked politely, giving us both a small smile. My mind seemed to stop again as I felt a burst of happiness, and I simply nodded excitedly. My mom also nodded and smiled, and before I knew it, Kairi had already started to take our picture. In a moment, she had taken a few photos, and then she stepped up close to me and my mom and said, "Say cheese", we both smiled and laughed together. It was a great moment for me and my mom, and we had all shared a fun and memorable moment together.

A piece of paper came out of her camera, and she handed it to us. Seeing the photo on the piece of paper, my mom and I looked at each other in surprise. "Looks like the photo came out well," my mom said happily. "It's a beautiful photo," I agreed, grinning at the sight of our happy faces. Kairi was also smiling and I could tell she was pleased with how the photo had turned out as well. Suddenly, I had another idea and I said, "Hey, let's get a photo together, the three of us!"

"Oh! Okay!" Kairi said in excitement as my mom nodded with a smile as well. The three of us posed together for another photo, and as the camera took our photo we smiled happily and laughed together. It was a beautiful moment for me and my mother, and Kairi was a great addition to our day. We had a lot of fun taking the photo and we even took multiple photos, just so that we had a lot of options to choose from the next time we looked back at the photos from our special day together.

After we took our photos, the three of us sat down at the picnic blanket and enjoyed the beautiful sunset together. It was a peaceful and serene moment, as we watched the sun slowly descending into the horizon. There was a slight breeze, and it made the atmosphere even more peaceful and relaxing. As we sat together, Kairi asked me about my interest and my school life, and I told her all about my interests and how I was doing at school. My mom also joined in on the conversation, and we had a great time talking about various things and getting to know each other better.