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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Ayame was very excited. She had already said goodbye to Sakura the night before, because her train left at 6:00 in the morning. The journey to Sendai would take almost 6 ½ hours. So Sakura would still be asleep when Ayame left the apartment they shared.
Ayame had organized everything for her trip to Sendai: she had given notice at work, bought the tickets for the Shinkansen and even found a cheap hotel to spend the night in Sendai. As the interview was not scheduled until 3:00 p.m., she wanted to walk around Sendai afterwards to get to know the city better if she felt she had a chance of getting the job. She would then travel back to Sapporo the next day. At least that was what she had considered.
Everything went as planned and Ayame reached the address given by Yumi Hanyū far too early. She was surprised that she wasn't standing in front of some office building. But she quickly realized that this was probably the Hanyūs' private residence, where Yuzuru's mother's office was located. She was a little surprised at the trust, because she already knew from Sakura's stories what difficulties the family had had with stalkers...
She was an hour early and wondered how she could pass the time. As she was in a very pretty and green residential area, she decided to go for a little walk. There was no harm in that, as her legs had become a little stiff from sitting for so long on the bullet train and the cab ride here. Also as a result of her serious injuries at the Olympic Games, it sometimes took her a little longer to regain her full mobility after sitting for long periods.
So she turned left away from the Hanyūs' house and strolled slowly along the sidewalk. Several beautiful houses, some traditional, some western-modern, were lined up next to each other. They all had pretty front gardens and looked very neat and tidy.
After a few minutes, she came across a house that immediately caught her eye. It was a traditional, two-storey building, but had obviously been renovated and fitted with some modern details. She liked it straight away. Still, something was very different from all the houses she had passed. She didn't immediately recognize what it was.
But then she realized: the garden and the pond hidden in it were very overgrown and unkempt. There was a lonely blue bench that had obviously not been sat on for a long time. No one seemed to have looked after it for months. Because in June, Japan's gardens were usually green and in full bloom, ponds glistened and insects foraged for food - it was always a feast for the eyes. But this garden looked deserted and ruined. It was a sad sight. You couldn't call it a garden, it was a place of decay.
Ayame had stood rooted to the spot, staring at this overgrown patch of earth for who knows how long. When the front door of the house to which the garden belonged suddenly opened, she didn't notice it immediately, so captivated was she by the desolate garden.
And then suddenly there was that look. She looked him straight in the eye, a man leaving his house with a bin bag, apparently to dispose of the same bag. He just stood there. His gaze pierced Ayame and she saw that this man had a tiredness and an age in his eyes that somehow didn't match his usual appearance.
Ayame shuddered, embarrassed that she had looked at this man's garden for so long and inwardly devalued it. It was embarrassing for her to suddenly find herself face to face with the man who owned it and to be stared at so obviously. She could think of nothing better to do than to bow quickly to the man and breathe a softly stammered "sorry" before turning on her heel and hurrying back in the direction she had come from.
Only after she had arrived back in front of the Hanyūs' house did Ayame slow her pace. Her left leg suddenly hurt and she looked around for somewhere to sit down. Fortunately, there was a small park just opposite where she could see a few benches from a distance. She walked over and took a seat on one of the benches, glad of the tree that stood there and the shade it provided, as she had become very hot.
What a strange encounter... this man! His gaze had really confused her. She had never experienced such an intense stare from a stranger, at least not here in Japan! At the same time, it had been somehow familiar, but she had absolutely no explanation for it. Her heart had started to race and it had all been so embarrassing. She didn't need this confusion now, so close to the interview.
Nevertheless, she couldn't let it go. Who was this man who seemed so familiar, as if she had seen him before. He looked sick and weak and infinitely sad to her. He was wearing a baseball cap that overshadowed a good part of his face. A hoodie that had been pulled up as high as possible at the neck. And loose jogging pants. His hair was tangled under the cap and barely more than his eyes and nose were visible. It was as if he hadn't wanted to meet anyone or anything who might have approached him.
And yet his intense gaze under the cap had hit her with such precision, as if he had been waiting for her. It had been kind of creepy...
Well, what was the point of dwelling on it now! Ayame flipped the mental switch she had at her disposal in moments like this. She could switch the confused, disoriented mode on command, so to speak, to be able to think clearly and focused again. A relic from her competition days, which had earned her a place among the best on more than one occasion.
Now it was time to prepare for the interview with Yumi Hanyū so that she could give her best again! Everything else was not important now.
