This is the story of Ayame, a young artistic gymnast who, due to a stroke of fate, can no longer practise her sport. In search of a new purpose in life, she comes to Sendai from her home town of Sapporo by chance to work in the house of a famous fig...
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"If this works, I'll eat a broom..."
Ayame was notorious for her somewhat unique sense of humor. She had worked long enough with her American trainer and trained abroad to have brought a whole range of strange expressions back to her home country. She wasn't always understood as she simply translated it into her language, whether it made sense or not. It wasn't that important to her.
Her friend and flatmate Sakura, on the other hand, knew that about her and usually knew what Ayame meant. She just grinned when she heard her friend exclaim that! "What's going on?" she asked Ayame.
"I found an interesting, but somehow strange job offer...!"
***
Ayame had always gone her own way, had never given herself anything and had always had her goal in mind. Even when the great Hokkaidō earthquake hit her and her family in 2018 and she lost her mother, she didn't give up and kept going. Then came the pandemic...
In 2024, at the age of 22, she was finally on the verge of achieving her lifelong goal of competing in the Summer Olympics in Paris and winning a medal. But fate struck again mercilessly... the balance beam! The pain was unbearable...
Suddenly achieving her goals had become impossible! After the initial shock, she finally accepted her fate.
Her family was always there for her during the following year of her rehabilitation. She felt protected, although despite her fighting spirit she had to bear her fate heavily and it was not easy to finally get back on her feet. She felt lost, uprooted, somehow she no longer belonged. It was not least with the help of her psychotherapist that she managed to come to terms with the trauma.
As was Ayame's wont, she regained her courage and was now searching for a path that would give her life a new meaning.
She had been living with her friend Sakura for almost a year now. She was already in the middle of her teaching degree at the University of Sapporo and had only recently given Ayame the login details for an inter-university and interdisciplinary job portal. "Just have a look there, it can't hurt."
Ayame was still undecided about what to do next, and whether studying was even an option for her... but the job portal was perhaps a way to find a job that wasn't completely unrelated to her once beloved sport until she had decided on her future path.
So she had taken advantage of the free weekend, heeded her friend's advice and looked through the job offers online.
***
"What kind of job, tell me!" Sakura grumbled, a little impatient and also very curious. "Hm, I don't really know... it says they're looking for a housekeeper..." "What's so interesting about that?" Sakura frowned. "Well... it's for a professional athlete, that's what's interesting." Ayame didn't really know what to make of it herself.
Nevertheless, the job offer had immediately captivated her! After all, working for a professional athlete as a former top athlete sounded exciting.
"Will you have to cook, clean and so on?" Sakura asked. "There aren't many details in the job description, except that you'll be living and working in the athlete's house and would be responsible for the entire household and the organization of everyday life. So board and lodging are included. You'll find out the details when you're invited for an interview."
"Well, you're an excellent cook. And I don't know anyone who organizes the household as neatly and tidily as you do!" Sakura laughed. Her friend really was a paragon of tidiness. Sometimes almost a little too much.
"I'd have to move to Sendai, though... but it's not that far away, and there's nothing really keeping me here..." "What? So listen!" Sakura acted indignant. "Oh, sorry about that..." Ayame blushed as she realized that she had just called Sakura "nothing".
"Well, it's okay... but you would leave me here in Sapporo alone?" Sakura sounded a little sad. "Nothing's been decided, and I haven't even applied for the job yet! I still have to think about it."
Ayame wanted to be reassuring, but inside she was still excited. Finally an opportunity to start something new. Even if it wouldn't be too close to the life she had wanted before her accident. But it could still be a new perspective after months of uncertainty.
That very evening, Ayame bravely wrote her CV and letter of motivation and sent them to the email address provided. Her hands trembled as she pressed the send button. Now she just had to wait and see.
