Interlude 2: Ash blooms
2252 Words
A long long time ago, there was a couple. A sweet couple who are bound by eternal love. They are kind, hospitable, and caring towards other people.
Even though they are very nice. They are not blessed to have a child. Even though they love each other. Their love didn’t bare-fruit.
There was a time when a man and his husband wanted to give up on their love. And let the other man have his wife. Because he knows that is the reason why they don't have a child. He blames himself for being infertile and dragging his wife in sadness. His wife, who loved him so much, didn’t let his hand go and held on to it tightly.
“Even though you can’t give me a child, I won’t leave you by your side… Happiness without you is not real happiness for me. Living beside you is my Eden… My paradise.”
They hugged each other tightly. The man apologizes for giving up and promises that they will be together until the end of time.
Time keeps moving forward. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter come and the year increases. Their life is very repetitive, even though it’s like that, they still enjoy being with each other.
The sweet couple became a famous couple in the neighborhood. Even though they are old, they are still happy together.
One morning, while sitting on the wooden floor and looking at the kids playing outside, the wife looks at them with a smiling face.
In front of their house, they have a dead cherry blossom tree. The man is always thinking that he is like that tree. He's unable to make their love flowers bloom.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t make you happy.”
“It’s not your fault… You did your best. I’m very happy.”
My wife replied.
They enjoy tea together. The husband then goes to his work in the farming field. He works hard even though he's already old. After cutting the wheat, he was then about to store the wheat back in the barn.
When he arrived at the barn he then saw something that he wouldn't have expected.
“What is this?”
The moment he took a look closely, he saw a young girl similar to a child but she had ears similar to a dog. She even has a tail.
“A demon?”
The man knows that demons are prohibited in the human realm and when a knight finds out, The demon would be slain. But looking close to the young demon's face. The man's heart melted just thinking about what kind of horrible thing might happen to this child.
The demon woke up and she turned her eyes toward the man. It rubs its eyes with her tiny hands and then muttered:
“Daddy…”
“Daddy?”
After the demon child called him “Daddy”, his heart melted and tears flowed in his eyes. At that time, he thought that his prayers had finally been answered by the goddess. He walked toward the demon child, wrapping her with his coat and scarf. He hugged her tightly. The demon child then hugged him back tightly.
The warm feeling of being hugged flows toward the heart of the man.
The man then returns home with the demon child. His wife was then thrilled and excited to take care of the little demon child.
“Mommy?”
“That’s right, I’m your mommy… Honey, did you give her a name?”
“Well, I always wanted you to give a name to our child.”
The wife turned around their house and thought of a beautiful name fitting their cute daughter. After wondering for a while, she then came across the cheery blossom tree.
“Sakura… Starting today your name will be Sakura.”
“Sakura… That’s a pretty name. Well, she is very pretty even though she’s a demon.”
“What are we going to do now? What happens if the knights find out?”
“That’s something that we must avoid. Just imagining the cruelty the knight might do to our cute Sakura is heartbreaking. We will take care of her and protect her from them. We will prohibit her from going outside alone.”
The demon was then named Sakura. The girl was showered with love. Even though she is forbidden to go outside and envies the kids playing. A little hole in her room was the only place she gets to see the world outside.
“Sakura… have some snacks. It’s your favorite sweet bun.”
“Hoo-ray!”
As a little girl, she was. A simple treatment can make her happy. But still, as a child, she was curious.
“Mommy? Why am I not allowed to go outside?”
“Outside is dangerous for you… You’re unlike those kids outside. You’re daddy and I can’t allow you to go out.”
“But, I wanted to play with them… I wanted to run too and jump.”
“You can do it with Mommy.”
“Mommy is already old… I don’t want to see you getting tired.”
Her mommy then patted her head.
“You’re so kind Sakura.”
Her father comes home with a depressed expression on him. Face Sakura ran toward him and hugged him. It’ll quickly cure her father's sad feelings, but the problem remains. Her father gives her some toys as a present after getting back from work. She then runs back to her room and plays with her toys.
But before she went back to her room. Her mother and father seemed to be discussing something very serious. She happened to hear some of it and became sad.
The building that owned the land where their house was built was about to be taken away.
Sakura was sad, but she is still a child. It’s not like she can do something to prevent that from happening.
“I guess I’ll go drawing.”
Sakura then gets her crayons and draws anything she likes. She draws her family smiling together with the house.
If the house is gone, where are they going to stay?
She started to feel sad.
A little orb of light then appeared in front of Sakura.
“A light?”
“No… I’m a fairy.”
“A fairy.”
“That’s right, I’m going to help you and your family.”
“How?”
“I have treasure… I will give it to you.”
“Really?”
“Yup, just go outside and dig it in the forest.”
“But, my life and daddy would be angry if they found out I lived in the house. I will tell daddy about the treasure and you can search for it with him.”
“I can’t do that. Only a creature like you can see and hear me. Time changes and the structure of the forest changes. I can only find it when I go there with you.”
“What should I do? Let me try something.”
She gets her blanket and covers it all around her head and body, covering her ears and tail.
…
Sakura then goes to the forest with the fairy. It’s dark because it’s already nighttime. They decided to go at night because at night almost all of the people are sleeping and no one will ever find out. That includes Sakura’s parents.
“Where is the treasure?”
“There under that big tree.”
Sakura, with her hand, started to dog the soil. She was a Doggirl demon, she was blessed and had a special ability for digging soil. She was able to dig soil faster than normal people. She digs deeper and deeper.
She then hit a wooden box with a seal on it. The seal burned because a demon opened it.
Opening the box. Sakura saw gold coins. The fairy was right and she is giving the treasure to Sakura.
Sakura hurried and went back home with the treasure in her hand.
She didn’t know someone had tailed her and seen her. There’s a man and a woodcutter in the neighborhood.
The next day.
Her parents were surprised when they woke up and in their living room, there was a box of gold. Sakura decided not to tell her parents that a fairy gave it to them to avoid such a useless quarrel.
“Where did this gold come from?”
“With this money, we can buy back this land from the noble… First, the goddess gives us Sakura and now she gives us this gold. We are truly blessed.”
Sakura’s parents were very happy. The house is secure and they have savings. Sakura is also happy.
After that, the woodcutter sneaks to their house and looks for Sakura. He thought that Sakura could talk to the fairies that he had treasured. He starts planning on k********g Sakura to find treasure.
One day, Sakura’s parents go out to buy the land from a nobleman. Sakura is left in her room playing with her toys.
While Sakura is busy playing.
The woodcutter sneaks and enters their house. Sakura was caught in a sack. The woodcutter runs toward the forest and there he starts punishing Sakura. He beat Sakura with a stick, forcing her to talk to the fairies.
“Talk to the fairies again and give me some treasure.”
The woodcutter was so greedy he wanted to treasure himself.
“That is not mine… Also, the fairy is already gone.”
“Then call the fairy gain you are friends with it right.”
“Mommy! Daddy! Help!”
Beating her with a stick. The clothes coating her ears were unveiled. The woodcutter then realized that Sakura was a demon dog girl.
“A demon?!”
“Don’t hurt me!”
“You’re so useless… If you're not able to give me the treasure, we will burn you.”
Sakura struggles and digs deep down in the soil. She started using her nose to scent treasure but it didn’t work. She was not able to find any treasure.
The woodcutter's patience was at its limit and he brings Sakura to the town’s guild. There she was bad-mouthed and beaten.
In the city, Sakura’s parents saw her. They hurried and tried to save their child but in the end, they couldn’t do anything. Because of their old age. The young adventurers and citizens just kick them to the ground.
Sakura saw her parents suffering and started crying a lot.
“Don’t hurt my mommy and daddy!”
“You’re a demon. There is no way you are a child of these two.”
“That’s not true, they are my parents… Because I love them.”
Tears flowed in her parent's eyes. They are tied and put on the ground because they can’t do anything. , Just For the reason, Sakura is a demon. They all decided to punish her.
Sakura was tied in her hands and fed. She was then tied to a wooden pole. Beneath the wooden pole is a pile of dry wood and light upon flames.
Sakura was burned right through her parent's eyes. All of the memories she gave to the couple were then burned.
After the tragedy, her parents were crying so hard, hugging everything Sakura had. The tiny clothes her mother made for him and her toys. The messy room she owns.
The two couples wouldn’t stop crying as they muttered Sakura’s name.
“Offer her ashes to the dead cherry blossom tree.”
A voice is heard.
Sakura’s father gets her ashes and splashes them on the dead sakura tree as the voice instructed. As he cries, he hears Sakura’s voice.
“Don’t be sad Daddy… Mommy.”
The man continues to splash the ashes on the dead cherry blossom tree.
…
Seasons passed and the pain from Sakura’s death remains. It’s springtime and a miracle happened.
The dead cherry blossom tree started to bloom with beautiful flowers.
Light from the tree appeared and there a fairy appeared.
“Sorry, but it’s my fault. I’m the one who instructed Sakura to go out. She found out because of me… I’m very sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, tree spirit… It’s those people’s fault. Those people who burn Sakura into ashes.”
“You’re both kinds and you both did my instructions in offering her ashes to me. As a powerful spirit, I will grant you a gift. From Sakura’s ashes, I was able to secure her soul. This soul is Sakura. I will use my magic to bring her back to life again… I will put this soul in your womb and Sakura will be born as a human.”
The old couple cheered at the news.
The tree spirit then revives Sakura in a body within her mother's womb. After nine months, Sakura was born again and she is now a human.
The tree spirit gives the woodcutter a divine punishment. The woodcutter became an ugly-looking tree that was nested by many insects.
Many years passed, and she grew up and went back to the cute girl she was before she left.
“Mommy! Daddy!”
“Sakura!”
They hugged each other tightly and they promised to love each other even more.
...
In the cosmic library.
Kanae cried as she read the story.
"I want to hug my mommy and daddy too."
- Writer
