Cherry Blossom Promise
After retiring, Tsugawa was filled with anticipation for his future life.
Now, he was no longer as busy as he had been during his working days, and he had more time to spend with his wife, Minako. They could go for walks together, play with their dog, and go grocery shopping together. But the thing he most wanted to do was to go see the cherry blossoms with Minako.
In Japan, there are countless places to enjoy cherry blossoms. But for Tsugawa, the true meaning of cherry blossom viewing was to leave Tokyo during the blooming season and go to the Izu Peninsula. There, the cherry blossom trees form a tunnel-like shape that stretches for several kilometers. The way the cherry trees grow is completely natural. As people walk along this path, their entire bodies are covered in soft petals.
Around April 5th each year is when the air in the Izu Peninsula is at its best. It is the perfect time to wear kimonos during the small spring season. After all, Tsugawa had fallen in love with Minako at first sight because she was standing under a cherry tree wearing a kimono! After they fell in love, he had promised her that when they were both gray-haired, he would take her to see the cherry blossoms again.
However, Tsugawa never imagined that his retirement life would turn into a nightmare.
One day, he excitedly booked their trip at a travel agency, planning to surprise his wife. But when he returned home, tragedy struck—Minako had passed away from a sudden brain hemorrhage.
After his wife’s death, Tsugawa’s life fell apart. For over thirty years, he had eaten meals prepared by Minako and had never cooked for himself. Even when he had time to stay at home, he never did any housework.
Having been used to such comfort, Tsugawa now had to make his own tea or coffee. Cleaning the house, cooking, washing clothes… could he manage all these tasks? The urgent matter at hand was to hire a housekeeper to help out. However, living on a pension after retirement, he could not afford to hire anyone.
As a result, the house became dirtier and messier by the day. The most critical issue was that his spirit had deteriorated, and he became listless, aging rapidly. His son, who occasionally came to visit, was naturally very worried upon seeing his father in such a state.
More than a year passed quickly. One day, Tsugawa was drinking beer alone, throwing bottles all over the place. Suddenly, he heard the familiar footsteps of his son outside. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were untidy.
As soon as his son entered the house, he threw his luggage onto the tatami mat and said, “Dad, I broke up with my girlfriend. Every time I return home and see the things we used together, it makes me feel awful. Can I stay here with you for a while?”
In truth, Tsugawa deeply wanted to live with his son. But young people have their own lives, and since his son lived with his girlfriend, he naturally disliked this idea, so the matter was dropped. Now that his son agreed to live with him, Tsugawa was, of course, eager for it.
Seeing his son bring home a lot of groceries, he immediately went to the kitchen to cook. Tsugawa had been making do with bread and cold food from convenience stores. But now that his son was home, things naturally had to change.
To avoid making mistakes, he even brought an old cookbook from the house into the kitchen for reference.
Tsugawa scrambled to wash the rice, planning to make his son’s favorite sushi rice bowl. He searched the kitchen for a long time before finding the sushi barrel, then spent half a day cleaning it in the sink. Next, he began soaking shiitake mushrooms and strips of dried gourd. How long should they soak? After staring blankly for a while, Tsugawa started making omelette strips with a frying pan. He used too many eggs, and they turned out as thick as bread slices. The water was boiling, but he couldn’t find the bonito seasoning…
By the time the father and son sat down to eat, it was already past ten at night. His son looked at him helplessly and said, “Dad, from now on, let me do the cooking. Please don’t cook anymore.”
Tsugawa, however, secretly resolved to cook delicious meals for his son in the future. But before he could master cooking, his son gave him another task. He brought home his pet dog and asked his father to walk the dog every day.
It was said that Mrs. Fujiwara, a neighbor, had a very beautiful daughter who had a Beagle. The two elderly neighbors could use the dogs as a common topic to start conversations! Once they became familiar with each other, Tsugawa began considering introducing his son to Mrs. Fujiwara’s daughter. His son often shared his life plans with his father. Tsugawa nodded frequently, feeling for the first time that he was not useless in life. With Minako gone, he would take over her role and worry about their son.
Life became fulfilling. Every day, Tsugawa thought about how to take better care of his son’s life and made time to walk the dog. His favorite thing during these walks was chatting with Mrs. Fujiwara.
As the days passed, Tsugawa gradually emerged from the shadow of his wife’s death.
Life was once again filled with sunshine, and he and the widowed Mrs. Fujiwara became lovers.
When Tsugawa asked Mrs. Fujiwara on behalf of his son if the young couple could date, Mrs. Fujiwara laughed and said, “Didn’t you know? They have been dating for several years and have a great relationship. Let’s arrange their wedding this year.”
It turned out that all this was a clever plan by his son, who feared his father would be lonely. But his son revealed the real reason to Tsugawa. Before Minako passed away, she had repeatedly told her son that if anything happened to her, he should help his father find a companion so that they could go to the Izu Peninsula together to see the cherry blossoms and fulfill her wish.
Upon learning all this, Tsugawa wept. Through his tears, he seemed to see Minako in her kimono once again…
That year, Tsugawa and his party of four went to the Izu Peninsula.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
