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a younger kazemi sat on the edge of an engawa, overlooking the sea in front of her. she slowly hopped off the wooden platform, smiling as her small feet made contact with the warm, comforting sands. each step closer to the water was calm and soothing, and the crashing of waves became louder and louder.
she walked into the ankle-deep waters, sighing gleefully at the cool feeling on a hot day. the feeling of needles gently pricking at her skin was soothing in an odd way. she always loved the water. azure blue skies, and nice aquamarine waves. she was at bliss.
she heard the engawa door slide open, listening to the pitter-patter of sandals. then, they descended onto the sand, soft crunching sounds gradually becoming louder as they made their way towards her.
she turned around.
"nee-san!" the child exclaimed, eyes glittering in delight.
the teenage girl only chuckled. her cream kimono contrasted nicely with her dark maroon hair and tanned skin.
"who else would it be?" she asked heartily, in the smooth tone kazemi had grown to love.
the younger sister only giggled, before playfully kicking water at her sibling. the elder let out a fake gasp of horror, stifling chuckles with the hand over her mouth.
"how dare you?" she demanded, feigning anger. "how preposterous! i'm afraid i'm gonna have to..." she kicked water back at kazemi, before adding, "get you back for that!"
the next few minutes consisted of splashes, laughter, and joy. by the end of it, both of them were covered in sea water. her sister's cream-tinted kimono was now a soggy beige, and kazemi's light blue one was now a damp cyan.
they chuckled together as they made their way inside.
the miura siblings were quite the joyful duo.
once they were cleaned up, and in new clothing, they sat side by side on the engawa, kazemi leaning her head on her sister's shoulder, and her sister laying her head on hers.
a question slowly popped into the younger's head.
"nee-san, where are our parents?"
silence greeted her. only the violent clashing of waves, and the idle sound of crickets in the background filled the hollow atmosphere. with each passing second, her child mind's curiosity only grew more and more.
"nee-san? ne-" her line of speech was cut off.
"they're... somewhere better now, okay?" she cut her off quickly, before changing the subject. "hey, kazemi, let's go to yoshiwara to see the fireworks tomorrow! i heard they'll be grand. do you wanna go?" the corners of her lips tilted upwards into a comforting smile.
the smile she yearned to see just one more time.
kazemi nodded eagerly, smiling as bright as possible. "yeah! i wanna see fireworks!"
