Yumeiro Patissiere

Chapter 10 The strawberry tart of memoriesI

Ichigo and Vanilla were on the train, on the way to Ichigo's house. Earlier she had told the sweets princes about her plan of going home tonight to visit her uncle's shop tomorrow. She also explained that tomorrow was the anniversary of when her grandma died two years ago, so Ichigo wanted to go home to visit her resting place. The sweets princes understood Ichigo's plan, especially Satsuki; he always visited his father's grave when it was his death anniversary. So Ichigo got permission from the school office to leave the school for tomorrow and got onto the bus and train for home at once.

"I can't wait to see your grandma's shop Ichigo" said Vanilla. Ichigo had told Vanilla about what her grandmother's shop was like before, but Vanilla hadn't visited it yet. "I can't wait either Vanilla," said Ichigo "I last saw it in the summer and I haven't visited it since then". The train soon arrived at Nijigaoka, where Ichigo lived, and Ichigo and Vanilla got off the train.

When Ichigo got home, her parents and sister were happy to see her again, especially her dad; he missed her most of all. Ichigo was asked a lot of questions about her school days at St Marie Academy, and Ichigo explained to her family about all that happened so far, she also told them about the girls in group B, who didn't like her, and about the spoilt Miya. Her family could see that Ichigo had gone through a lot. "Okay everyone," said Kyouko "we must go to bed soon; we have to get up early to go and see Hikaru and pay our respects to grandma". "That's right," said Shigeru.

Before Ichigo went to sleep, she was staring at a photo of her and her grandma together. "From the look of this photo, I can see that your grandma loved you tons Ichigo," said Vanilla. "Yes she did, and I loved her tons too," said Ichigo "and even though she's gone I still love her very much, as well as missing her very much". Vanilla rubbed her cheek against Ichigo's cheek to comfort her, which made Ichigo happy. "Come on Vanilla, we better get some sleep for tomorrow," said Ichigo. Vanilla agreed, and she and Ichigo went to sleep at once.

The next day Ichigo and her family set off for Hikaru's shop in the countryside. "It's been a long time since I visited my mother's shop," said Shigeru "I haven't visited it ever since she died". "Yeah me too," said Kyouko. "I have thought;" said Ichigo "I've visited uncle Hikaru many times to continue learning about how to make sweets". "That's true," said Kyouko.

Soon the family arrived at the shop. Hikaru Amano was there waiting for the family to arrive. "Hey everyone, glad you made it," said Hikaru. "Hey big brother," said Shigeru. "Nice seeing you again Hikaru," said Kyouko. "Hi, uncle Hikaru," Ichigo and Natsume said together. "Hi Ichigo and Natsume," said Hikaru "you two grow taller every time I see you. I hear you have been studying at St Marie Academy Ichigo". "That's right uncle," said Ichigo "it is tough there, but I enjoy it there". "I had a feeling you may end up studying there as my mother did," said Hikaru "especially since you have been learning how to make sweets thanks to her and me. That reminds me, all my customers miss your sweets and they hope you will make them again". "Sorry uncle Hikaru," said Ichigo "but I will come here to make them in the holidays like I always do". Hikaru smiled and couldn't wait because he always enjoyed Ichigo's assistance. "Oh I nearly forgot I got everything that you asked me ready for you Ichigo," said Hikaru. "Thank you uncle," said Ichigo.

Ichigo explained that she was going to make some delicious sweets to offer for her grandma, and she had asked Hikaru yesterday to get the ingredients ready for her. Natsume asked Ichigo if she could watch because she had never seen Ichigo make sweets before, and Ichigo accepted that.

First Ichigo gathered strawberries from the strawberry patch outside in the back of the shop. "I'm glad that grandma's strawberry patch is still doing well uncle," said Ichigo. "Well I learned on how to take care of it properly thanks to you Ichigo," said Hikaru. "Yeah, but I learned how to take care of it from grandma first" smiled Ichigo. The strawberry patch was Michiko's; she planted it when she first opened up the shop and only used its strawberries for her sweets. Ichigo had loved the strawberry patch for as long she could remember and she learned how to care for it thanks to Michiko. With the strawberry patch around; Ichigo felt that her grandma was still around watching her. The strawberries were small but they were very delicious. "What strawberries are these Ichigo?" asked Vanilla. "These are fraise des Bois strawberries," answered Ichigo, "my grandma told me that these also grow in the wild too, mainly in Europe. Even though these strawberries are small, they have a delicious taste". "I can feel a lot of love in this garden," said Vanilla. "That's because grandma loved this garden," said Ichigo "and so do I, and that's why I've always made sure that it still lives even though my grandma is gone". Vanilla understood Ichigo's feelings.

Then Ichigo set to work on making her sweets. "What are you making Onee-chan?" asked Natsume. "A sponge cake with Eton mess in the middle and on top," said Ichigo. Eton mess was a mixture of strawberries, meringue and whipped cream altogether. "I actually made this cake for grandma one time before she died, so I decided to make for her for an offering". "I remember that," said Hikaru "and grandma loved it too".

She first pre-heated the oven and made the sponge cake mixture with flour, eggs, sugar, and butter. Next, she placed the patter into a greased baking tin for cakes and placed it in the oven. While the sponge cake batter was baking in the oven, Ichigo made the meringue with lots of egg whites and sugar. Then she piped the soft meringue mixture onto a greased tin and placed that into the oven. While both the meringue and sponge cake were baking, Ichigo got the strawberries and whipped cream ready. After the meringue and sponge cake was done in the oven, Ichigo broke up the meringue and mixed it all together with the chopped up strawberries and whipped cream. Then when the cake was cool, she cut the cake in half from the middle and spread the Eton mess into the middle and some on top and placed some whole strawberries on top as well for decoration.

Hikaru and Natsume, who had been watching the whole time, were very impressed. "Wow Onee-chan, you are great at this," said Natsume "you were like sparkling when you made this". "I agree," said Hikaru "and I can see that you will defiantly become a great patisserie like grandma was". "Thank you" smiled Ichigo. Vanilla made a recipe card of Ichigo's Eton mess sponge cake and sent it to the queen.

After everything and everyone was set, the Amano family visited Michiko's grave. Michiko was buried in a cemetery site, a few miles away from the shop, and she was in the same grave as her husband who died a long time ago. Hikaru lit the essence, Ichigo placed a piece of her Eton mess cake on the grave and then everyone prayed for Michiko. 'Please continue watching over me grandma' said Ichigo in her mind. Vanilla watched in silence.

After the praying was finished, it was time for the Amano family to leave. Hikaru gave Ichigo a brown book that looked like a diary. "This is grandma's recipe notebook," he said to Ichigo "before she died, grandma asked me to give this to you when the time was right. And now I think it is the right time that you have this". Ichigo noticed that there was some sort of lock pad on the notebook. "I'm afraid I don't know where the key is, so no one, not even I can open it," said Hikaru. "Oh it's okay uncle Hikaru", said Ichigo "just by having grandma's recipe notebook is enough for me. Besides I have the feeling that we will find it one day". "I see" smiled Hikaru. Ichigo held the notebook close to her heart because it made her feel that her grandma's spirit was inside the book.

On the way home, Kyouko drove the car all the way to the St Marie Academy. "It feels good to be back" whispered Vanilla. "Yes it does," said Ichigo "and now we can get to work on practicing and studying for the Grand Prix". "Okay then" saluted Vanilla. Soon the car parked outside St Marie Academy. "Thanks for the lift mum," said Ichigo and she got ready to head back. "Ichigo is sure to call and tell us of how you have been doing," said Kyouko "I would like to know of how you have been doing and you can call me if you feel stuck". "I understand mum," said Ichigo. This meant that Ichigo and her mum were starting to make some more amends with each other.

When Ichigo headed back to the academy, the sweets princes were there waiting to welcome her back. "Everything all right Amano-san?" asked Sennosuke. "Yes," said Ichigo "everything is all right now". "That's great to hear" smiled Satsuki. So now Ichigo was ready to get back to studying and practicing making sweets.

The end.

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