Violet Roses | Saiki K

Chapter 19

The walk to the flower shop was silent. Akemi could sense how tense and scared her dad seemed to be. Akemi on the other hand, felt strangely relaxed as they approached the familiar flower shop.

"Oh, good afternoon. I'm afraid we're-" the old man at the desk, Tenshi, stopped when he saw Akemi and Taiyi. "Akemi! It's so good to see you!"

"Hi Tenshi," Akemi said with a smile. The shop was very similar to Ren's, only with more bouquets lining the walls. Being in the shop brought back a lot of memories of coming there with her mother to buy flowers of every kind.

"How've you been? How's the big city treating you?" Tenshi questioned and Akemi stepped over to the counter. Taiyo was a lot more hesitant before walking further into the shop.

"It's been good. I do miss it here." Akemi answered.

"And what are you doing back here?" Tenshi asked.

"We're visiting my grandparents for the holiday," Akemi said.

Tenshi nodded, "Ah, of course."

A bit of uncomfortable silence filled the air. Akemi shifted where she stood and her dad cleared his throat. "Actually, we're here to pick up some flowers for... Uh... Do you have any roses?"

Tenshi let out a sigh and seemed to understand the situation, "Yes. I have a special batch of purple roses back in the greenhouse. I'll go get them."

"Oh, thank you," Taiyo said. Tenshi nodded before disappearing into the back room.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Akemi asked, watching her dad stare at the bouquets of flowers.

"I-..." Taiyo started hesitantly. "I don't know..."

Akemi frowned, "Dad..."

After a minute, Tenshi reappeared holding a bouquet of pink, red, and purple roses. He handed them to Akemi, who carefully took them as her dad walked forward and pulled out his wallet.

"How much will that be?" Taiyo asked.

Tenshi shook his head, "You don't have to pay. I know what they're for. Hanaka always brought light into this little shop. It's the reason we haven't gone out of business. Things were going so slow before she showed up. Now we're the only place in town people go for flowers. Before it was that dinky little convince store - I hate that place. But now it's here. All thanks to Hanaka."

"She made everything so much better," Taiyo said with a sad smile.

"Yes she did," Tenshi agreed. A minute passed and he sighed. "You know, Taiyo. Your wife was one of the most optimistic people I ever met. She touched so many people's lives by always looking on the bright side of everything. I think that's what she'd want you to do."

"I know," Taiyo muttered.

"It's a rough thing you two are going through and really nothing I can say can make it much better." But you'll get through this." Tenshi said. "You two are just as tough as her."

"Thank you, Tenshi," Akemi said with a small smile.

Tenshi returned the smile and nodded, "Of course. And next time you're in town be sure to stop by."

"We will," Akemi told him before she waved goodbye and walked out of the shop.

The silence filled the air again as Akemi walked beside her dad carrying the bouquet of roses. The soft crunch of snow beneath their feet helped give Akemi something to focus on as they got closer and closer to the cemetery. Akemi felt a pit in her stomach that she hadn't before as they approached the gates of the graveyard. She held the roses close to her as Taiyo pushed open the gate and they walked inside.

It wasn't quite dark out yet, but Akemi still felt uneasy walking through the cemetery for a number of reasons. They walked up and down the cemetery until they found Hanaka's grave in its own little area, surrounded by a bed of flowers.

"I guess Tenshi was right when he said Mom touched a lot of people's lives," Akemi muttered as she stared down at the well-kept roses that were covered in a light layer of snow. Her uneasy feeling seemed to disappear, but she still didn't feel right. Like her standing in front of her mother's grave was wrong.

"I feel like we shouldn't be allowed to be happy," Taiyo suddenly said as they stood in front of Hanaka's grave. When Akemi didn't respond, he continued. "Like it's wrong to even want to look on the bright side of things, not that there really is a bright side."

Akemi hummed, "But things aren't all terrible."

"How?" Taiyo questioned. Akemi looked up at him and took in a sharp, cold breath. "How are things not terrible? She's gone. We're never going to see her again. Ever."

Akemi pressed her lips together and stared back down at the grave. "Mom knew what was going to happen to her the second she was admitted to the hospital. I don't think she thought there was any chance of her surviving."

"But she always seemed so..." Taiyo trailed off.

"Happy?" Akemi finished off him. "Yeah, because that was just how Mom was. And, you know, she'd probably be really upset with you."

"What?"

"Yeah," Akemi said, meeting her dad's eyes. "She'd be mad at you for sulking like this. For acting like the world is ending." Taiyo didn't respond and Akemi took a deep breath. "More than anything, Mom wanted us to be happy. And I know how what you mean by feeling like we shouldn't be allowed to be happy because I've felt that way for a long time too. But we have to fight that feeling. Because Mom would be mad at us for giving in to it."

A small smile appeared on Taiyo's face and tears filled his eyes, "Yeah. You're right."

Akemi smiled back before she crouched down. She carefully placed the roses in the snow in from of the grave. Akemi stared at it for a minute before she dusted the little bit of snow that had gathered on the gravestone so she could read it better. Tears filled her eyes as the simple writing so easily got to her.

'Hanaka Kumiko', 'June 18, XXXX - June 28, XXXX', 'A flower that bloomed brighter than any other'.