EMMA: "Wow, this park is huge!"
KANATA: "I could really use a nap."
What Emma said yesterday...'I've started wondering what exactly makes me, me.'
Worrying about it in the club room wasn't going to help, so to take a break and help Emma understand what makes her unique, I brought her someplace green, just like her hometown in Switzerland.
SHIZUKU: "I didn't realize there was such a big park in the city. Are you a fan of nature Senpai?"
AKI: "It's a nice change in scenery from city life. Suzuki means 'Bell Tree' so I guess liking stuff like this is in my family's nature."
KANATA: "Oh, wow. You can even set up camp or have a barbecue. I'll have to bring Haruka here sometime!"
AKI: "Oh? Is she a friend of yours Kanata?"
KANATA: "More than that, she's my younger sister."
AKI: "Is she a fan of idols too?"
KANATA: "She's actually a school idol at Shinonome High."
AKI: "That's so cool! Perhaps we could go see one of her live performances sometime? "
Everyone looks like they're having fun. I'm glad I decided to bring them here.
EMMA: *Sigh* "Wide, open spaces like this remind me of my hometown. The ranch I grew up on was really spacious, too."
AKI: "A ranch? So were there cows and horses and stuff?"
EMMA: "We had a lot of sheep and goats. All of us kids were carefree, so we would play by singing and dancing for the animals while we pretended we were school idols."
SHIZUKU: "That sounds just like you."
KANATA: "Totally!"
EMMA: "Ahaha. You think so?"
AKI: "All right everyone, let's enjoy every minute of this beautiful day! It looks like there's even a bird-watching area over there."
KANATA: "Why don't we check it out?"
SHIZUKU: "It sounds exciting! What if we find any nightingales?"
AKI: "Like The Love of The Nightingale? That's a brutal play but still... Let's see if we can find any birds."
We ventured off into the bird watching area, to our surprise we couldn't see any birds.
KANATA: "I hear them, but I don't see anything."
SHIZUKU: "Hmm... Bird-watching can be quite difficult. Maybe we need binoculars."
EMMA: "Oh, I see one! On that top-right tree, it's a great spotted woodpecker!"
KANATA: "A great spotted what?"
EMMA: "You can identify them by the red patch near their tail. Oh, and there's a blue-and-white flycatcher! I've never seen one in person before! It's so pretty."
AKI: "W-Wow! You seem to know a lot about birds, Emma."
EMMA: "I used to read illustrated reference books for kids to help me learn Japanese. It's nice being back among nature, though. I feel so relaxed here. Oh, see this wildflower? I used to eat these a lot back in Switzerland."
KANATA: "Henbit? Isn't this that kind of flower you can suck the nectar out of?"
EMMA: "In Switzerland, we'd cook it with potatoes and make a really delicious soup. Now I'm starting to get hungry!"
AKI: "Oh, shall we eat lunch now?"
KANATA: "Yay! Lunch time!"
We found a nice open spot in the park to lay down our picnic.
SHIZUKU: "Mm-mmm delicious! What is it about eating food outside that makes it taste so much better?"
KANATA: "It's so true! And it's a beautiful day, too. Everything's perfect!"
EMMA: "Feel free to have some of these sandwiches. I made them using the cheese my family sent me. It's homemade!"
KANATA: "They make their own cheese?! That's amazing!"
EMMA: "A lot of people back home do. I made cheese and honey sandwiches with black pepper sprinkled on the cheese. It's really scrumptious."
SHIZUKU: "It's certainly a very tasty combination! The saltiness of the cheese combined with the sweetness of the honey is out of this world!"
KANATA: "Emma, please take Kanata to Switzerland..."
AKI: "Hey, maybe you girls could perform in Europe as school idols someday."
KANATA: "What?! That's pretty ambitious of you."
AKI: "We wouldn't be the first though, Aqours have performed in Italy before."
EMMA: "But wouldn't it be great if we really made it there? Maybe my family could come watch me. You know stages are nice and all... But it'd be fun to sing in a wide-open place like this under the sun!"
SHIZUKU: "Emma, you look much more relaxed now. I'm so glad!"
KANATA: "The cheerful Emma we know and love is back! Believe it or not, I was really worried about you."
EMMA: "K-Kanata! Shizuku! Thank you! I love you both! Hugs! Hugs!"
AKI: "I'm glad to see that, so... Did you learn anything that'll help you work through your worries?"
EMMA: "Hmm. I'm not sure yet, but I'm definitely feeling better."
AKI: "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters Emma. I'm happy to see you are."
EMMA: "Thanks! However... I'm still not sure what it is that makes me unique, but I do like to be carefree. I think knowing that is enough for now."
AKI: "To be carefree? I like that!"
EMMA: "Ah, I'm really in the mood to sing now!"
Right after saying that, Emma burst into song. Then, many children gathered around her. The looks on their faces were radiant, they loved Emma's singing so much.
Maybe... This is the kind of person Emma is?
She's a natural down-to-earth girl who can admit she wants to be carefree.
Something I wish I could do but still I have no luck in doing so.
Emma's genuine and children accept her because they can see that she is in fact soothing to be around.
I should let her know that after the picnic is over. But tomorrow is a Monday and I agreed to help out Ai with something.