Blind and Unseeing

One-Shot
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Ohayo good morning
Arigato Thank You

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With a jingle of the bell atop of the front entrance, Hiroshi's tan face lit up with a smile. His hands clasped tighter as his dark green eyes stared blankly ahead, away from the door. He knew it was her; around time she's always come. He didn't have to see the time, no, he could feel what time it was.

"Umeko-san," he spoke, his voice soft as his skin.

She heard the soft voice call her name, and her ebony eyes lit up so bright someone could say that they were hazel; a smile graced her pale porcelain face. "Ohayo, Hiroshi-san."

Her slim fingers grazed the beautiful, multicolored flowers as she walked around the flower shop and her pure white sundress followed. She absolutely loved this place. She loved the way it smelled like fresh soil and damp petals. She loved the way the ground was sprinkled with fertilizer and soil. She loves the little drops of water here and there. She loves the variety of flowers that illuminated the shop with uncommon beauty. And especially, she loved the garden keeper and his dark, mesmerizing eyes.

Tanaka's Flower Shop was her favorite place indeed.

"How was your walk?" The green haired man asked, eyes following the sound of her angelic footsteps.

"Sound," she responded, glancing at him, smile remaining on her face. She bent down, and her dark chocolate hair fell on her shoulders. Her hands glided against the petals of a lilac flower and she knitted her eyebrows. "What's this one called?"

Hiroshi hummed started for the door. Remembering the sound of her footstep pattern, he followed. He was right next to Umeko and the pads of his fingers met with the flower petals. He outlined the shape of them and felt how soft they were.

"It's a Lilac," he answered and she sighed; it was obvious by the color. "It's botanical name is called Syringa Vulgaris. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very much so," she nodded with a hum.

She picked up the small orange pot and cradled it in her arms. "I'll buy these today."

"Alright," he chuckled.

This continued for about a month or so. Umeko continued to buy a variety of flowers and decorative pots and Hiroshi enjoyed her company, talking about flowers and their distant cousins. He enjoyed her company and she enjoyed his. Umeko noticed his strange trends of following her around; he would go to the door, then retreat after her. Also, he would stare blankly sometimes like he wasn't even listening half the time, however, he always responded to her and nodded his head to tell her he was listening.

Was... Was he blind? She thought.

One day, Umeko came earlier than usual and Hiroshi had no idea who she was due to the unusual time. He didn't smile like he normally did and Umeko noticed it. A frown marred her face. "Hiroshi-san? Is everything alright today?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"U-Umeko-san?" The taller of the two stammered. "I had no idea it was you, I apologize."

"What for?" She queried as she approached the counter with a budded tulip sitting atop.

"I didn't smile..."

She giggled then smiled at the blushing man, "You should always smile, it makes you look more attractive," she admitted with a blush of her own. His mouth remained agape and he was speechless; the redness of his face could rival that of a tomato.

It remained silent and she lost herself in those weird eyes of his. The color of them were mesmerizing itself-a deep sea green color. Umeko found herself imagining diving into the deep ocean, shrouded in green. The warmth snuggled her and she felt at home. She hummed in content.

"Ah, Umeko...?" A minute passed. He didn't know if she was still there or not.

"Oh yeah," she spoke as she remembered why she came here in the first place. "I want you to come with me," she chimed.

"Come with you...?" He lingered.

"Yeah," she hummed with a nod. "I want to show you something."

His warm smile was replaced with a sad one and Umeko saw it. "Umeko-san," he started but was unable to finish.

"Just come with me," she said again.

Hiroshi stood there for a while, unmoving. He was trying to get into Umeko's head; what exactly was she going to show him? What was the purpose? Outwardly, he sighed in pseudo content. "Alright," he said with a little smile.

Umeko didn't hesitate to caress his hand and guided him to her little house. It was a two story house and the outside looked adorable, coated in layers of a soft yellow and cute little windows which were outlined with large, painted white petals. Inside was was a small kitchen and round table for four. Little way wards from the kitchen there was a turquoise love seat with a murky green bookshelf behind it. There was a little vintage styled television in front of the former furniture stated. Upstairs only held a small bedroom.

However, she brought him straight to her backyard which was adorned in a variety of flowers and pots and hanging décor. From tulips, to cute little cacti. From roses to dandelions. Every flower she had received and planted were retrieved from Hiroshi's flower shop.

Umeko smiled and Hiroshi did too; though he couldn't see, he could smell the scent of each flower in her backyard. His hand slipped away from her little ones as he wandered in her backyard, feet following the stoned pavement. With every little step taken, his hand grazed a different flower. And when he smelled the scent of a cactus, his hand skillfully dodged it. When he reached the end of her garden, he felt a little remorseful and regretted walking so fast. He wanted to walk back and fourth through her garden of flowers. It was beautiful.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She quoted him from a month ago with a chuckle.

"Very much so," he did the same with a little laugh.

"Why'd you do it?" Hiroshi had asked after he heard her footsteps follow to where he stood.

"I though you might like it," she said as she looked at her collection of flowers. "You seem to have a fond love of flowers."

"Yeah," he hummed in reminisce.

"Something the matter?" She queried, looking into his eyes. If anything, they seemed a bit melancholy as if he remembered a tragic event.

"Nothing's wrong," he said and smiled at her. "You just remind me of someone, that's all."

Umeko slipped her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm always here, Hiroshi," she spoke softly, dropping the respectful honorific.

She said the same, Hiroshi thought with a sad smile but squeezed her hand back as well.

"Arigato, Umeko," Hiroshi spoke fondly.