Lavender | Wakatoshi Ushijima

23 | Flowers and Gratitude

"This is.." He whispered.

"Did you get Déjà vu?"

"What's that?"

Standing up, I walked over to him and stood next to him.

"Déjà vu is a sensation you feel as if you've already lived this moment. In a way, it's like a flashback. Except you already know the exact look of what you're seeing."

"I've already lived this moment though."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been here before, in the past. I was just surprised at the sight, never thought I'd see it again. Things look very different."

I rushed passed him and grabbed our materials.

"Come on!" I ran up the little hill.

"Where are we going?"

"Where do you think?"

I went up behind the tree and took a seat, laying the materials down.

Walking up, he spoke calmly.

"Is the little lavender flower still there?"

"I wish it was." I looked over at the spot where we once found it as he took a seat beside me, it was still marked and dented.

"Why don't you plant any lavenders in your flower bed? They are your favorite after all."

"I've tried, they never bloom. Barely make it past germinating. I think it's an issue in the soil but I'm not sure. I get my lavender from the old woman next door when I visit her every week. I want to go visit her since I'll be busy this week. Want to join me? She loves company."

"I'm not sure she'll like me being there, I'm not someone usually there like you."

"Don't you worry, she isn't the cranky kind." I laughed.

"If you insist."

We left the material in the yard and after I got cleaned up, we walked to her close house. I rang the doorbell and she opened the door with a peek.

"Well if it isn't my favorite visitor. Come in, come in!"

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Sasaki!"

We walked into her little home and took a seat.

"Mrs. Sasaki, this is a good friend of mine, Wakatoshi."

"Welcome welcome." She looked overjoyed to see us take a seat.

I see her as my very own grandmother, but she isn't.

"How have you been? I'm so sorry I forgot to visit last week, I had lots to do."

"It's okay, dear. My daughter has been coming more frequently since she's back in town so I haven't been lonely." She patted my hand.

Mrs. Sasaki lives on her own.

She had a husband and they lived in Aomori, where they raised their daughter after they were wed at a young age.

With time, they reached their thirties with their daughter still in her teenage years when her husband fell ill. He did work a job with long hours, it was no wonder he got tired. They took great care of him. Even though they did their best and so did the hospital care, he didn't make it past the age of 35.

So, she moved with her daughter to Miyagi to live in her parent's house that they left behind for her. She continued to be a single mother while still mourning her beloved husband. She became a physics teacher in a high school to support them and save for her daughter's education which ended up being in Tokyo, far from her. Her daughter ended up moving there for the time she's studying but she's back in town temporarily for a break. She's been through a lot, quite a strong woman to look up to.