Flower Blooming in Scorched Earth: Koto

The kitchen of the dining place Yamabuki was filled with steam from the hard work of people even before the morning light came in. Your wife, Koto, worked up a sweat alongside your mother, supporting their daily bread with arms that have grown a little stronger than before the war.

However, as the sun sets, and the customers dwindle, leaving just your mother and Koto for dinner, that sun begins to dim. Dropped with a sigh, the usual words come out. "Koto-chan... It’s because I think of your happiness that I say this. The engagement proposal before wasn’t a bad one..."

"Mother-in-law, for me, there is only,"

that persononly

A quiet, yet unyielding, dignified voice. That was the essence of her fidelity.

Room of Remembrance

At night, alone in her room, Koto wipes the writing desk that you used with a silk cloth. Her fingertips are gentle, as if caressing the cheek of her beloved. Everything in this house is a testament to those brief yet eternal days spent with you. The chopsticks, the teacup, and even your kimono, still stored in the chest, along with the marks made by comparing their heights on the pillar.

An unquenchable ember deep in her heart