Under The Cherry Blossom Trees

Chapter one; a captured moment in a screen

I slowly close my apartment door, locking both of the locks, about to take to the streets of Japan. I started down the hall, with my white camera bag. "Good morning!" Kio-Chan greeted me in a cheerful tone. Kio is down the hall from me, in apartment 120.

"Good morning." I greeted her back, bowing politely. "Crap!" Kio exclaimed. " I forgot to bow!" She pouted.
"You going out for breakfast?" Asked Kio changing the subject, with curiosity glazing over her words.
"No actually, I had a really crappy fiber bar for breakfast." I replied, staring at Kio blankly.

Kio sneezed. "Bless you." I gently spoke. "Thanks." She responded nasally as she wiped her nose with her pink striped sweater. Note to self, don't touch Kio's left sleeve. " I better get going" I told her as I started walking down the hall. "Bye!" Yelled Kio-Chan from down the hall, as her cranky next door neighbor shushed her.
"Oh shush yourself!" She shot back as she went back in her apartment.
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Hi I'm Alexis, I just recently moved in Japan.  I'm twenty years old, and I work in photography and I have tons of followers on my Instagram since I post many pictures, and they look very professional, if I say so myself!

I came to Japan to focus on my photography and open a business, life's been good to me, my parents paid for my trip, but I had to pay for my apartment, car, and food, but I was nearly broke once I got my apartment, so I bought crappy fiber bars.
Anyway, this is how my life is now, guess I'll have to deal with that.
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Excitement was flowing through my veins. I was walking through a chi flower garden.
I pulled my camera out of its bag and kneeled down to the cobblestone path beneath me.

I focused it as it slowly cleared up, and then snap the photo was crystal clear and crisp.
I took at least ten photos before moving on. Down the path I saw a koi pond, the fish were feeding on the light brown food pellets. Sometimes I wondered what they tasted like, probably better than my crappy fiber bars. I thought to myself.

I lay down on my chest, my bust levitating me a little, about to get the perfect shot of a fish feeding. My chest was so cold against the cobble path, felt like the time I did the ALS ice bucket challenge when I was seventeen.

I chuckled about the thought, I was thinking about my friend Kim's face as we were drenched ,in freezing cold ice water, the worst part was we were both wearing bikinis.

I took the same photo at least eleven times before I left the koi pond. As I moved along, absorbing the breath taking scenery, I hummed my favorite song going down the path. "In your wildest dreams~ ahhhh ah ahhhh~" I sung until I got into the tunnel of flowers, dangling from the ceiling.

The lighting was perfect, I laid down on my back, staring up at the purple, orange, pink, and blue flowers. The strap of my camera was hitting against my face, blocking my eyes. I took off the strap and pursed my lips, hoping so badly for the best picture possible. The picture turned out great, "Okay, maybe I should go to the Lucky Cat Café for a coffee break, yeah, coffee break." I muttered to myself.

I found myself skipping through the streets, I saw two little girls playing hopscotch, they giggled as they threw the stone on the circles. One of them looks over at me with a young, happy, mood softening her eyes.

"Hey lady! You wanna play with us?" She asked me sweetly, as she bounced across the hopscotch court. Sure, why not? I thought to myself as I nodded to the little girl. The little kid's curly ponytail bounced as she bounded from number to number.

Laughter filled the air, people stopped and stared at me and the little girls, they were probably thinking; that lady lost her marbles. I didn't care though, I was having fun, hopping from each numbered circle. I fell down by accident, I didn't mean to, but I did. They rushed over to me.

"Are you okay lady?" One of the little girls crouched down next to me, her hair was blond, and she wore a hair band, and she wore the most darling overalls. "I'm okay," I replied with a soft tone.

The little girls giggled before I had to tell them I had to go, I waved goodbye, and skipped off towards the Lucky Cat Café.

"I'll have a dark chocolate frappé with whipped cream and half and half milk, please." I was answering the waitress. "Okay, will that be all miss?" She asked, as she finished writing down my order. "Um, and maybe two mini donuts, please." I answered her questions again.

"Will that be all?" She asked again. "Yes, that will be all." I said with a nod of my head. "Thank you, your order will be done as soon as possible." She bowed and walked to the counter and handed the barista the order as they nodded.

I glanced out the window, I saw someone put a box down, the box had something written on it. I strained my eyes to look at the writing. I continued to squint at the box. The cardboard started to move around. I continued to stare obliviously at the box. "Your order miss." The waitress's voice almost scared the crap out of me. I slightly jumped in my seat.

"Er, thanks." I told her, on the inside my head, I was still trying to look at the box. The waitress walked away, looking at me like; what the heck is wrong with her? I started to sip my frappé, first coffee then the box. I thought to myself.

I decided to look at the photos I took, because sometimes they are the crappiest things in the universe, metaphorically anyway.

After I finished drinking my coffee, and eating my mini donuts I really had to check the box. But first I have to pay the bill.
Fifteen Yen?! I was so upset, mainly because I'm basically broke, but I ate the food and had to pay the price, so I put down a twenty dollar bill and left with my camera.

Once outside the café, I looked inside the box, and to my surprise, it had five adorable kittens! The little fur balls were so cute I just couldn't stand it! But then I looked at the box had written on it. I half frowned, and half smiled. Because one: they are friggin'  free kittens!
Two: it was sad that some idiot abandoned them.
And three: I wanted them all!
So I picked up my camera and snapped a photo of the little sweeties. Then I put my camera in its bag and put the extension strap on it so I could wear it like a messenger bag, and then I pick put the box and brought it back to my apartment.

On the way back to my apartment, I finally realized I need to get supplies for the little fluffpuffs. They all stared innocently at me, I stared back, but then a bird flew by making the kittens look away. I snickered. They were too cute!