Angelic Bond: Linked Memories

Memory II , Part 3: Crushed Hopes

They finally arrived in Japan. The fresh air they could breath rejuvenated their souls. When they set foot at the port, they saw with their own eyes 3 enormous sakura trees near the entrance. Yuri's eyes sprang with life the moment she saw them and ran towards one of them.

"Beautiful!" was the thing she said before leaving her dad's side. James said "Wait!" and went after her. He sat down next to her and told her a story about the sakura trees.

"Legend has it that long ago, wars between our ancestors and some other race frequently broke out in which many humans passed away (1:1  War / Century ratio). The people of that race derived from a land afar and it's said that some of them wore beautiful glossy cloaks, but their identity still remains a mystery...

 One day, the remnants of the human race in Japan gathered together around a tree like this, a beautiful sakura tree, and then prayed to God for their survival. Much to their surprise, their calls were answered and that powerful race with unknown origins, stopped their attacks ever after.

From that point on, humanity has respected and honored the sakura tree or as it was then called the "saint" tree. A large amount of sakura trees have been planted since then and nowadays we can enjoy the absolute beauty they have. Isn't it a cool story?"

James told this folklore descriptively and Yuri was not only able to understand it, but it also piqued her interest.

Even though it was supposed to cheer her up, however, it made her remember the bed stories her mother would tell her when she were little.

Interested or not, she felt an intense headache and then she realized she was crying. Her emotions had been mixed up and they overwhelmed her. Her dad hugged her for a moment and kissed the top of her head.

 "We need to move on, Yuri. And remember, she'll always be with us in here. In our hearts. She wouldn't want you to be sad. She'd want you to keep moving forward and keep on living. Let's not mourn any longer. We must fulfill that last wish of hers"

Yuri wiped her tears and nodded. The two of them stood up and walked away from the port. Soon enough, they found themselves in the largest city in all of Japan. A city named Yonaga City.

The hustle and bustle of the endless roads of the city made Yuri feel a bit anxious and scared. They were looking for a safe place to spend their first night in this enormous metropolis.

The first hotel they found was unavailable. James sighed when he saw the sign "Closed" that was hung on the glass covered entrance door.

They had to travel for quite a bit in order to find the warm, safe place they wanted to go to.

They finally arrived at the hotel. It was almost nighttime and the outside breeze felt aggressive and spiteful as it pushed them away from the place forcefully.

They opened the marble door slowly, followed by a slight creaking sound. James saw a beautiful woman sitting on a chair beside a wooden counter. She was apparently the receptionist.

He told the receptionist their situation and she was eager to help. James asked for a discount, as his budget was really slim, and surprisingly the new offer was accepted without any objections by the receptionist.