Challenge 39: Spring has Sprung

[IsabellaRose]

THE CHALLENGE

Write about a spring-inspired topic. Ideas include:

• Thematic spring concepts like new beginnings, renewal, or rebirth
• Tasks people perform in spring like spring cleaning, planting/gardening, trail maintenance
• Celebrations like Spring Break, Easter, Mother's Day, Hanami...
• Spring Fever

Deadline

• Midnight (EST) , 1 Jun 2025

Limits

• 1 entry per person
• no strict word limit, but please try to keep it around 2,000 words- remember, everyone has to read these to vote

Prizes

• 1st Place: 4,000 EcchiCredits
• 2nd Place: 2,000 EcchiCredits
• 3rd Place: 1,000 EcchiCredits

[Minorikawa]

Cherry Blossoms

Spoiler

Age Twenty-Three

Ken panted heavily as he jogged, his feet stomping onto the paved pathway one after the other. Though the sun was warm and his body heated from exertion, the cool spring breeze carrying sakura petals caressed his sweaty brow and provided a brief respite. He had only recently moved into this city for a job, his first real position since graduating from university, and he found that the park was his favorite place to be on his free days. It was the closest environment to his home far outside the city limits. Today, however, it was a bit more crowded than usual due to the blossoming of the sakura, their gorgeous pink color shining brilliantly throughout the park. If anything, he was the nuisance, taking up the pathway and forcing sight seers to move and leap out of his way.

Until he approached the pathway adjacent to the river, where the crowd seemed to be at its thinnest. Then again, so was his air intake. Slowing to a halt, he hunched over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. From the moment he stepped out of his apartment his feet had been moving, and now his legs ached as much as his lungs burned. Even so, he stood upright, bending his knee and grabbing his ankle, stretching his muscles to ensure he stayed in good shape to keep going.

It was a sudden gust of wind that blew him off-balance, stumbling off the pavement and onto the grass, the sakura petals seeming to whirl around him. By time he regained himself his eyes were drawn to the river bank, where there stood a gorgeous young woman gazing out beyond the water. She wore a dark blue kimono with a pattern of blossoming pink flowers, the sash a brilliant dark pink, and even her hair a bright strawberry hue done up in a bun, held together by a white comb with red jewels. Ken stood there, gaping, just staring at this sudden appearance of a young woman, his eyes studying her perfect posture, her pale and slender neck, the outline of her cheeks from this profile. Blinking, she suddenly turned and caught sight of him, causing him to blush and quickly avert his eyes. She simply giggled, gesturing for him to approach.

"Um, hello," he said softly, scratching at the back of his sweaty head, stepping down to join her at the river bank.

"Hello," she replied and bowed. "Isn't it just beautiful?" Her eyes returned to the other side of the river, where the whole host of sakura trees could be seen, their pink blossoms swaying in the spring breeze. The river reflected their brilliance with the shimmering light of the sun. Ken stammered an affirmative, but suddenly silenced, his eyes only now noticing the beauty of the sight before him. Even at home he'd not seen the sakura in such a gorgeous state.

"It's absolutely beautiful..." he said softly. The young woman turned to him, smiling.

"My name is Sakura," she said. He looked back at her, even her lips lined with a pale pink gloss. A bit on the nose, that name, but it certainly seemed appropriate.

"Ken," he said with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Age Twenty-Four

Ken had continued to jog in that very same park, but he had not seen her again. Over a few weeks he had forgotten about her, got caught up in his work, managed to even date a girl from the bar he always drank at with his co-workers. Yet it had not lasted. There was something... missing. It wasn't until he found himself back in the park, the sakura petals blossoming once again, that he recalled his encounter with Sakura, the lovely young woman in the kimono. She asked him about himself, his job, his childhood, and most particularly seemed interested in his life experiences in the autumn and winter.

Passing by the river once more, he realized he wasn't as exhausted as he had been last time. His stamina must have improved jogging each day. Nonetheless he paused, gazing down towards the river bank. He gasped, his eyes gazing upon the very same sight as the year before. The same kimono, the same hair, the same comb, standing just the same. Once more she turned, catching him in her sight, and with a smile waved him over.

"I haven't seen you since last year," he said. She nodded, her eyes suddenly downcast.

"Yes, I..." she began, then shook her head. "Did it snow this winter?"

"Oh, um, yes," Ken nodded. He pulled out his phone, his finger dancing upon the screen to bring up a photo album. Sakura leaned forward, curious, almost as if she'd never seen such a device as a smart phone before. "Here," Ken said, highlighting a photo of the park during snowfall.

"Wah! It's so gorgeous!" she exclaimed, snatching the phone from his hand. Her eyes glittered not unlike the frozen branches surrounded by ice, staring at the photo intently. "So that's what it looks like..."

Age Twenty-Five

Ken had not forgotten Sakura this time. She had been in his mind periodically throughout the year, sometimes to his detriment. He had tried dating again, but there was something missing. The women he met were nice enough, and they seemed to like him well enough, but they lacked a quality he couldn't put his finger on. Something that kept bringing Sakura and her smile to his mind.

He jogged once more through the park, only this time carrying a cooler in his hand. He was worried this would not work, feeling the handle warmed by his grip and the sun beating down from the blue sky as the sakura petals once more drifted upon the breeze. His feet carried him back to the river bank, a smile upon his face as he saw that familiar kimono and pink hair. She turned to him, as she did the two years prior, and smiled.

"Good morning," she said, her eyes shining at him before glimpsing down at the cooler in his hand. "What's that?"

"This," Ken said with a grin, "is a special surprise." He sat down upon the grass, Sakura kneeling beside to join him. He popped open the cooler and sighed with relief, the ice packs keeping the snow within mostly intact. "I gathered some in the cooler during the winter," he explained, handing the cooler to Sakura as her eyes widened in surprise, "and put it in my freezer to stay cold." The pink-haired girl covered her mouth with her hand, gazing down into the glistening snow within the container.

"It's beautiful," she said, scooping her fingers into the cold, moist powder. She shivered. "Cold!" Ken chuckled, watching as her trembling digits lifted a handful of snow into her hand. She then leaned forward, her tongue gently licking at the powder, another tremor running up her spine. He could only laugh in amusement as he watched her.

"I never see you any other day of the year out here," Ken said, breaking the silence. Immediately the glimmer from Sakura's eyes dimmed, her lips curving into a sad smile.

"That's because... I..." she began. For several moments there was silence in the air, her eyes watching as the snow began to melt in her hand, water dripping between her fingers. Looking to Ken out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly lunged, yanking the back of his shirt collar back and dumping the snow down his back. He arched, yelping, hands instinctively reaching while Sakura giggled.

Age Thirty-Two

His promotion at work kept Ken too busy to jog as often as he used to. It also kept him too busy for relationships, though he'd abandoned that idea a few years ago. He'd realized what all of those women had been missing. The one thing that Sakura had that no other seemed to.

She appreciated life.

He was feeling more exhausted again, not as bad as that first year, but his joints were starting to ache and his stamina decreasing. He was sweating and panting heavily, yet he crested that hill once again and jogged down that river bank. Despite how routine it had become, he still felt his heart flutter when he saw that ageless face of Sakura turn his way.

"Did you miss me?" he asked with a smile, his hand reaching for hers. Delicate fingers intertwined with his own as the two stood side-by-side, gazing out across the river. There were now buildings being constructed on the other side, and though the beautiful pink line of cherry blossom trees continued to sway beautifully in the wind, there was something tainted by the presence of steel girders and construction machinery.

"Yesterday you were thirty-one," Sakura answered. "The day before, you were thirty." Their fingers grasped one another more tightly. For whatever reason, Sakura only experienced this day of the year. She woke up on a park bench, fell asleep on a park bench, and then the entire year would pass. This has evidently gone on for decades. She has no recollection of when it started, when she was born, or how she came to be. Just that the only day she ever lived was the day the cherry blossoms bloomed.

"I miss you every day," Ken said with a smile. Their hands squeezed together once more.

Age Forty-Seven

His breathing was heavier than ever before, each step dragging more. The inevitability of age began to catch up with him, his joints and muscles screaming in protest with every moment he continued to try and jog through the park. Yet he would not give up this yearly ritual for the world.

Once more he crest the hill, once more he descended to the river bank, and once more she turned and smiled, her hand reaching out to take his own.

"Good morning beautiful," he panted heavily, leaning forward to plant a kiss upon her glossy pink lips. Sakura's eyes closed, taking in the kiss, savoring it as she did every day. When their lips parted she smiled sadly, her fingers tracing the temples of Ken's hair.

"You've got a bit more gray than yesterday," she said softly.

"Well, it has been a year," he said again, kissing her on the forehead.

"Tell me more about your niece," she said with a smile. Across the river bank, many of the cherry blossoms had been uprooted and replaced with housing and businesses.

Age Sixty-Five

"My niece had a child of her own," Ken said with a smile, sitting upon the grass, his arm around Sakura's shoulders as she leaned against him. His arm felt more frail than it had before. Still, his grip on her was strong, as if he was reluctant to let her go. As the days—or rather, as the years—passed, he had stopped talking about his job and the people there and spoke instead about his family, his niece. He did his best to instill in her a love of life, to embrace every day as if it were the only day you were alive.

Now, that niece had a child of her own.

"Here, let me show you a photo," he said. He pulled his phone out, flicking the screen, bringing up a photo of a baby.

Sakura's eyes welled with tears. Could she ever carry the child of Ken? Was there ever a time that could have happened?

Across the river, all of the sakura trees had been replaced by commerce and industry.

Age Eighty-Three

Sakura stood at the river bank, her eyes gazing across at the buildings and skyscrapers that now formed the horizon in the distance. The cherry blossoms that once decorated the other side were replaced by electronic displays and billboards illuminated with artificial imagery, advertising the sakura festival occurring in this very park.

It had been two days—or rather, years—since she had last seen Ken. She could only hope that he was alright, but with human lifespans, and how he'd been the last time she saw him...

With a heavy sigh Sakura brushed a tear from her eye. There was no longer any point in standing upon this river bank. She turned, ready to seek a new place to gaze upon the cherry blossoms, only to stop and gasp as she looked up the hill.

"Ken?!" she exclaimed, but it couldn't be. This man was far, far too young, and his hair was blonde. Ken's was never blonde. Nevertheless, the young man stepped down the grassy hill and to the river bank.

"Are you Sakura?" he asked. His features were softer than Ken's ever were, his eyes a bright green emerald, and yet the similarities were there. The jawline, the chin, the shape of his nose, even his eyebrows.

"Who are you?" she asked, gazing upon him as he approached.

"My name is Kensuke," he said. "My great uncle Ken told me about you, left me this journal." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, pink notebook, the name Sakura written on the cover. "I couldn't believe anything in there was true, but..." Flipping the notebook open, he held it up for Sakura to see. Within was a sketch of her, colored in with pencil, gazing out across the river bank. "It's exactly as he drew-oh! Are you okay?"

Sakura hadn't even realized tears were pouring down her cheeks. She wiped at her eyes, a smile upon her face. "Yes, I'm fine," she sniffled. "Why don't you sit with me? I'd like to read it with you."