Efflorescence Of A Friendship

cybernova990
Mystery
4.8 out of 5 (73 Ratings)
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Remi was a city girl, and having always lived in Kyoto, she was not used to the serenity of the mountains and the simplicity of rural life. She had purchased a small cottage near the footfalls of the hills, a few miles off the outskirts of Takayama.


Having decided to take a stroll along the winding trails of the hills, she stepped out to water the blossoms outside the cottage, when she heard a sweet singing voice nearby. Careful to not disturb the source of the charming dulcet, Remi listened with admiration and waited for the song to finish before approaching the girl.


Remi greeted the girl with a smile, and got to know her name was Kaori. She was a down to earth and charming girl; possessing beauty Remi’s dancer grandmother would describe as the model of perfection. Kaori had shiny black hair, pale skin and a slender figure.


Discovering their eerily coherent similarities, the two instantly hit it off. Kaori’s family had shifted to the small town to continue the family business of making perfume from the rare flowers available there. In fact, ‘Kaori’ means ‘fragrance’ or ‘scent’.

Hence, the two polar opposites who came to be aligned by background and beliefs confided in each other; as they went for a stroll down the winding trails in the pleasant breeze.


With the daily meetings, Remi and Kaori became staunch friends.

One day, Remi noticed prominent scars on Kaori’s forehead as she was tying her hair. When she inquired about the scars, a flustered Kaori smiled enigmatically as she hastily covered her forehead and replied, “Oh, those? I had gone to the mountains to collect anthuriums, and slipped on my way up the steep slopes. I fell down and hit my head on a rock, so I had to rest for a while…I’m lucky to be alive, am I not?”

Remi did not inquire further. It was clear that the topic was closed mutually.


It was late October when Kaori took Remi with her to collect flowers, and when they returned to Kaori’s bungalow, she gave Remi a small, dainty bottle of perfume made from lavender. “Remember me always, won’t you?” said Kaori with an incomprehensible expression on her face. Remi nodded and graciously accepted the gift and returned home, without thinking much of what Kaori said.

The next day, Remi went to Kaori’s bungalow as usual. However, on the spot where Kaori’s bungalow was supposed to be, stood a pile of debris amidst the wild weeds and grass. An astounded Remi checked if she had come to the right place, when she spotted a rusty sign bearing the words ‘Natural Perfume’ which were barely legible; having borne the test of time. So, this was indeed Kaori’s bungalow, or at least what was left of it. But what had happened to it?

Remi decided to take the sign to the fruit vendor a few metres away, who always saw them during their strolls and inquired about Kaori’s whereabouts. The surprised fruit vendor said, “This- this perfume shop? This plate used to be hung over there, yes, there used to be a bungalow there when I was a child. Ah, I remember, I used to see the girl making perfume, it was so interesting. She was a nice person. Sadly, she passed away after slipping and falling while collecting flowers in the mountains. She hit her head on a rock, and after a few days of being bedridden, she passed away. I think you’re mistaken. Yes, I often see you walking by, but you were alone…You’re definitely mistaken. It couldn’t have been her. She passed away some sixty years ago, her grave’s in that cemetery over the Mount Yotei. You can take a shortcut through the forest here.”

Remi, now absolutely speechless and horrified, wondered if she had been dreaming this whole time. She had been friends with Kaori for so long, or had she?


Still engrossed in her thoughts, she took the shortcut through the forest and as she walked over the twigs and dried leaves, she got a feeling that she was being watched. Turning around repeatedly, she found no one and concluded that she was losing her mind since she had so much information to process.


As she reached the lonely cemetery, she spotted the back of Kaori’s head. At this point, she felt dizzy as she believed she was hallucinating. Still, running towards the cemetery and calling Kaori’s name, she found the cemetery as lonely and gloomy as ever. Disappointed, Remi made her way to the spot where she thought she spotted Kaori.

As she stared into the distance, the tombstone nearby caught her eye. The tombstone had the name ‘Kaori Ito’ engraved on it, and confirmed the old fruit vendor’s statement. She indeed passed away sixty years ago- after slipping and falling in the dangerous, restricted area of mountains while collecting flowers and hitting her head on a rock.

This couldn’t be true. Remi wasn’t dreaming this whole time. She pinched herself to ensure she was conscious. She had met Kaori just the day before!


A whirl of questions occupied her head, and she didn’t have answers to any of them. Feeling dizzy and puzzled, she was about to walk away when she spotted a small red book with yellowing pages lying on the grass next to Kaori’s tombstone.

Upon opening it, she found a page titled, ‘The flower representing life- Lavender’ bookmarked with a dried, shrivelling chrysanthemum- the flower symbolising death. Scribbled in red on the bottom left corner was, ‘I got another chance…Thank you.’

Remi suddenly remembered the bottle of lavender perfume Kaori had given her the previous day. She quietly placed some fresh lavenders on the tombstone. Retrieving the bottle of lavender perfume from her pocket, she put it up to her nose as she pocketed the book and set off into the darkness towards the setting sun, inhaling the scent of life.

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