|
|
Post by HISASHI H. on Apr 18, 2013 22:22:59 GMT -6
[atrb=border,0,true]
It had rained recently. It was always nice not having to water his herb garden, to just sit outside on the slightly damp wooden bench outside of his apothecary (and home) and just look at everything around him. The trees cast short shadows across the ground as the clouds cleared and the noon-high sun peered out. Hisashi's lips pursed around the jagged end of his cigarette (he had ripped off the filter), and his eye lids fluttered closed as he took a long drag (one, two, three, four), held it, then let it slowly escape his lungs on an exhale.
Cigarettes and damp rain air went together so well.
Hisashi could hear the croaking of a frog that had come out from hiding to explore the soaked dirt of the earth; normally the sound irritated him while he tried to sleep at night, but something about this time soothed him. He could feel the anxiety unwinding like tight rubber bands from his chest with every puff of smoke and ribbit of the frog. It was times like these he so enjoyed living away from the town, away from the business district where his apothecary could reap the benefits of the rich forest soil. Where he could be alone, away from all the noise.
It was entirely... picturesque.
A melancholy town where we never smile
|
|
|
|
|
Post by kanae on Apr 18, 2013 23:55:38 GMT -6
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding: 10px; background-color:#EDEDED; width: 300px,bTable][atrb=align,center]
Oh, aren't we a pretty, pretty pair? Yes, we are All, all the king's horses And all of his men Couldn't tear us apart. | There was just something about the rain that really spoke to her.
She had never really been sure what it was about it. Maybe it was the soft pitter patter of the raindrops against the rooftop of her abode. Maybe it was the smell of wet asphalt. The silence that came with the town as it continued to pour from overhead? She wasn't sure. But something about it, she thought. Something about it was just soothing and comforting. And it was for that reason and that reason only that she had decided to crawl out of her warm house - and by crawl, she did mean literally as she wasn't sure if it was worth leaving - and venture out into the great outdoors.
Perhaps she would get a few decent shots. Maybe she wouldn't. But it was worth a shot, she thought. No pun intended. Kanae trudged out into the cold, light blue jacket secure around her small shoulders and bright, yellow rain boots secure on her feet. They didn't exactly go together. But she was definitely not going to expose herself to the elements and get herself sick or anything. That would have been terrible, she thought. The brunette examined her clothing then her bag, making sure she had all the contents necessary. Extra film, her camera. It was all she'd need. Oh, and an umbrella in case it started to rain again.
She jumped every so often as she continued on her stroll through the wooded area, puddles splashing out from beneath her feet. And Kanae paused every so often to take a picture of the gently moving leaves, the ever beautiful canopy of trees above her. And it only took a few minutes more that she arrived at a house, eyes peeking at the small garden in the back. Her doe brown eyes widening in surprise. Someone lived out here? How strange. It must have been rather pleasant... away from all the noise and bustling of the town. Not that there was much to be said about Primula Town. From the looks of it - as she was standing a good distance away from the house - it looked like a garden. Growing what? Herbs possibly. They looked too small to be flowers of any sort.
Even stranger was the fact that Kanae had failed to notice the man resting on the slightly damp bench in front of the household. Startled, the woman took a step back. Hesitating slightly before realizing that it was just a person. And hopefully not a witch bent on cursing her very existence. She heard about those witches. And she was no fool. Still, she thought, he was very pretty. For a man. Was that strange?
Kanae lifted her camera then, taking a picture of the stranger and the tendrils of smoke curling out past his lips. He was one of her most interesting subjects thus far, she thought. She wondered what his story was. Who he was. Why he lived out here. All the questions that she had no answers to. But it would have been strange to ask questions out of no where. It was hardly like they were close friends. She had only seen him for the first time. Was he a recluse? Lived out here in the forest? Was he pretentious? Dislike trespassers? Maybe it was better to try and get those answers out of him instead of speculating them. She could have spent days upon days doing that after all.
"It's nice out after the rain stops, huh?" She asked suddenly, trying hard to make her voice clear enough to be heard over a distance. She let her camera fall from her hands, the small machine hanging from the strap around her neck as her hands moved to lace behind her back. "I like it when it's like this too." And she did nothing but offer a very small and slight smile. The edges of her lips curled upward only slightly. Eyes focused on her new photography subject. He was interesting to her thus far, she thought. And Kanae Sakata always knew what was interesting and what was not.
Couldn't tear us apart. |
|
|
|
|
Post by HISASHI H. on Apr 21, 2013 10:07:51 GMT -6
[atrb=border,0,true]
Hisashi had been far too engrossed in his own little world to notice Kanae approaching. He hadn't even heard the sound of the shutter going off on her camera -- it was drowned out by his own heavy intake of cigarette smoke and the raindrops slipping off the leaves to hit the ground. Her voice, however, was unmistakable.
He jumped almost comically, his eyes going wide and the old bench creaking under the shift of weight. His eyes snapped to her, panicked for a moment before settling into a more awkward, uncomfortable stare. "I... hadn't seen you there," he murmured, barely audible. He rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand sheepishly.
He did agree with her. It was nice after the rain stops. Probably his favorite time of all, except when it was sunny without being too hot, he just couldn't really say it. His throat and chest felt tight all of a sudden; if he opened his mouth to talk nothing would come out. Still, Hisashi's eyes looked calm and gentle.
Was she here to buy herbs? He didn't get many visitors, and the ones he did get were looking for some natural cure to something or just one of Hisashi's home-made teas. But... at a closer look, Kanae didn't really appear like she was here to buy something. There was a camera hanging around her neck, and judging by the size of it, it looked like she used it professionally.
Ah, that made sense. This was the forest, after all. This woman must be here to take photos. Hisashi took a slow drag of his cigarette.
"Are you here to see the garden?"
A melancholy town where we never smile
|
|
|
|
|
Post by kanae on Apr 21, 2013 16:05:19 GMT -6
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding: 10px; background-color:#EDEDED; width: 300px,bTable][atrb=align,center]
Oh, aren't we a pretty, pretty pair? Yes, we are All, all the king's horses And all of his men Couldn't tear us apart. | She peeked down at the screen of her camera, the edges of her lips tilting upward as the image came up. Part of her was relieved that the shutter of her camera hadn't alarmed the other, though it was apparent that her just speaking was enough to surprise him. Go figure. She had actually been that quiet? Part of her wanted to laugh but instead, Kanae merely continued playing that silly little smile on her lips as she watched the other. Watched him jump, watched him get a little nervous at the situation. She covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter before she dared to take a few steps closer to the stranger. Her arm falling back to her side, fingers lacing between one another. "I noticed," She replied.
She continued looking around the forested area, eyes lingering on the plants that surrounded them. The raindrops sliding off one after another at a steady beat. It was interesting. Most things were quiet after the rain had began, she noted. And it was still quiet now, though some had noticed it in the first place. He was probably appreciating that silence before she had ever said anything at all. Maybe he would have preferred it if she were to just leave him alone? Who knew, really? Kanae whistled softly, peeking over at the garden when she was prompted.
It really did look pretty, she thought. Maybe it would have been in one of her interests to take a picture of the herbs that grew back there. She had been intending on doing it sooner or later whether or not the stranger gave her permission. Although, this gave her a chance to do some closer shots. She nodded then, clapping her hands together once. "I would really appreciate that, actually!" She chirped up, her voice a bit too loud. "I saw it when I was walking over here and I thought they just looked so pretty, it was worth taking a picture of!" She rested her hands in her lap, adjusting her rain coat just slightly in doing so.
He seemed very nice, she thought. Although, she wasn't very fond of the cigarette smoke. She could admit that. It wasn't exactly something she had ever been. But it'd be rude to reprimand someone that she hardly knew at all. Plus, he was practically doing her a favor even though they were kind of strangers. Oh, right. They were strangers, weren't they? She could practically hear her mother screaming at her to be polite in her head. "It's Kanae, by the way. What about you?"
Couldn't tear us apart. |
|
|
|
|
Post by HISASHI H. on Apr 21, 2013 17:31:10 GMT -6
[atrb=border,0,true]
He couldn't help but smile a bit when Kanae confirmed that she would like to see his garden. It was a small expression and it didn't truly portray the actual joy he felt at someone who was interested in his work, but it was what he could manage. He stood, gently beckoning Kanae closer with a come-hither wave of his hand, and stood at the edge of his large garden.
An herb garden may not be as aesthetically pleasing as their flower counterparts, but Hisashi liked the different colorations of the leaves - some herbs were standard green, but there was yellow or even purple plants growing here.
"They're all medicinal," Hisashi whispered, almost like he was trying to fill in the silence without truly knowing how. "I... make tea, or medicine." He was staring at the garden and not looking at Kanae, and he seemed to shy away the most time passed, as if he was trying not to be in the way at his own home.
Still, he stole glances from his peripherals, looking at her long, brown hair, her small frame, or how her skin looked tanned as if she explored all over Primula. She probably did. Hisashi barely left the forest, and even then he only went to town to pick up things he needed. It probably showed in his conversational skills.
Oh, right. Names. Kanae sounded pleasant to him, as if it reminded him of where he had grown up.
"Hisashi," he answered, actually turning to look at her rather than peering inconspicuously. Even if he avoided visitors, Kanae wasn't so bad. She seemed gentle but exciting, soft but lively. "Do you, uh... take pictures a lot?"
Wow, eloquent.
He coughed awkwardly.
"I mean, for a living."
A melancholy town where we never smile
|
|
|
|
|
Post by kanae on Apr 21, 2013 17:54:17 GMT -6
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding: 10px; background-color:#EDEDED; width: 300px,bTable][atrb=align,center]
Oh, aren't we a pretty, pretty pair? Yes, we are All, all the king's horses And all of his men Couldn't tear us apart. | Oh, so he could smile! She lifted her camera once again, focusing the lens before taking a photo in case she were never to see it happen again. Heh, maybe she should have asked if he even was alright with the idea of her taking pictures of him? It was probably a good idea but oh well. Too late now, right? She let her camera drop from her hands again before heading over in the direction of the other, following him to the garden which was actually pretty big now that she got a closer look. The edges of her lips parted, forming a slight 'o' from surprise before she crouched down for closer inspection on the plants. Herbs weren't exactly the most interesting of plants but it was kind of cool to think about the fact that you could use 'em for medicine and stuff.
She reached out, brushing the tips of her fingers against some of the leaves quietly. The woman repeating some of the words that she actually did hear. "Medicinal..." She mumbled in reply. What were those places called? Sold uh. ... natural medication and stuff like that? That was probably what this guy did for a living. Otherwise, she couldn't see much merit in living so far away from the rest of the world. But then again, she supposed it was nice to get away from people every so often. Finding a place to hide if even just for a little while. "I can really tell you take good care of them." Kanae chimed, turning her gaze onto the man.
She didn't dislike the silence. It was a comfortable one, even if the other was making the attempt at filling it with conversation. "That's really cool though. I can't even make like ... anything, so I mean turning plants into that kind of stuff is pretty interesting. Wanna show me some time?" Oops. Was that a little too forward? It probably seemed kind of weird now that she thought about it. Like she was inviting herself in? "I mean, only if you wanna. S'not like I'm gonna make you, ya know?" Kanae turned back to the plants, picking up her camera once again. Moving to focus the image every so often before another shutter would come.
"Hisashi," She repeated, rolling the name around on her tongue. "I like it! I suppose you wouldn't be happy with me calling you Hisa or anything though, right?" She laughed, more or less to herself as she continued to take pictures every so often of the plants. Changing her attentions and positions around the garden every so often until she was pleased with the images that appeared on the screen. "Huh? Oh. Yep! I do it for a living but it's more fun since it's not really a job." The woman only laughed, lifting a hand to rub the back of her head a bit awkwardly as her gaze lifted to meet the other's. "What about you? You sell this stuff for a living, I assume?"
Couldn't tear us apart. |
|
|
|
|
Post by HISASHI H. on Apr 29, 2013 15:11:50 GMT -6
[atrb=border,0,true]
Did she... just take a picture of him? Hisashi went a bit starry eyed from the flash, not used to such a bright light. He blinked heavily, focusing again before he made a gentle sound of discomfort. "Hey that's... not gonna go in a newspaper or anything, right?" Hisashi asked, looking like a cross between wary and embarrassed. What was she going to do with those? Did he look okay? Hisashi sighed, edging a bit closer to her regardless.
He watched her touch the leaves of the herbs, softly enough that he didn't even mind it. Hisashi didn't even really like visitors, but Kanae seemed so peculiar that even he wanted to learn more.
"I try," Hisashi responded. He loved to sleep in and not worry about things, but his garden was important to him and to some of the people of the village. He got up early, groggy and annoyed, but watered it just the same, spending hours caring for it and pulling weeds. His fingers were caloused from his labor, but Hisashi loved doing his job. It felt satisfying.
A pause. Any time they didn't speak, the silence was kept alive by the sounds of birds and leaves rustling. It was peaceful, quaint... comfortable. Kanae's presence didn't feel forced. It was almost as if she belonged here just as much as Hisashi himself did.
Kanae was wrong, though. She did make things. "You make art," he reminded, a little awkward but sincere all the same, "those photos are art." He hadn't even seen any, but the passion that just radiated off of Kanae assured Hisashi that she put her heart into them. But then...
"Wanna show me sometime?"
Hisashi couldn't say no. He scratched at the back of his neck in thought. "Yes," he said, "Do you like tea? The herbs aren't only for medicine. I prefer coffee, so getting rid of some of the tea leaves would be nice."
Oh, did that sound like he was using her? "I-I mean," Hisashi stammered, "I'm not trying to unload them off on you or anything."
He took a deep breath, as if to reign himself back in.
The idea of a nickname was a new one. Not even his parents called him anything else but his full name. However, Hisa didn't sound too bad, so what was the harm? "Uh, no, that's fine," he considered, his lips tugging back in a half-smile. It was a wonder that his patience was still holding up. Kanae was easy to talk to, so perhaps that was the reason why.
"I'm an apothecary." Not much to it.
A melancholy town where we never smile
|
|
|
|
|
Post by kanae on May 7, 2013 22:59:35 GMT -6
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,padding: 10px; background-color:#EDEDED; width: 300px,bTable][atrb=align,center]
Oh, aren't we a pretty, pretty pair? Yes, we are All, all the king's horses And all of his men Couldn't tear us apart. | She couldn't help but laugh when she was prompted. No, of course it wasn't going into the paper. How silly of him. Really, she should have deleted it too but she took pictures of most everyone in town when the time for it came. So really, there was nothing wrong with taking the occasional picture of him. Provided that it didn't bother him. Didn't seem like it so far, she thought. "No paper. It's for my own personal collection. Don't tell anyone but I'm a spy." She replied, winking at the final statement.
Oh yes. Agent Kanae Sakata. Had a nice ring to it, didn't it? She really should have taken up espionage as an actual career. Though she supposed that if it was, it would have been somewhat more interesting. But that was a bit too fast for her. She couldn't live at a speed just like that. She wasn't the kind of person that would stay at home but she definitely would not go chasing criminals down in a speed boat or anything. No matter how cool it sounded or seemed in her head.
The garden was beautiful, she thought. Tended to well. She could only imagine the hours of effort he put into tending to the herbs. She focused her shot, zooming in onto the leaves of the herbs before another shutter went off. His pride and joy, maybe. She wouldn't know herself of course. Kanae had never been particularly adept at raising anything with a life. It was unfortunate. And maybe it was just luck that things turned out that way. She had never thought about gardening before though. She made a note to go buy some fresh flowers and try to raise them. Or maybe just some herbs so she could pick up a few tips about tending to them from Hisashi.
There was a silence. But she liked it. She didn't feel the constant need to talk because the silence would be filled with the soft chirping of birds now that the rain had stopped. Or the soft droplets that would fall from the still damp leaves. Or just the sound of their breathing. It was comfortable, she thought. The silence. It was peaceful. And she liked it. She wondered if she could get that silence again in her life time. But then she thought. That would make it less special if she could find it any place but where she stood - or rather was crouched - now.
Art. She lowered her camera from her eye, slender fingers handling her machine gently. Brown eyes lingering on the screen. "You really think so?" She asked softly, just the slightest dust of pink crossing her tanned cheeks before fading away faster than a rainbow made from a puddle of water in the sun. "Don't worry about it. I didn't think you were trying to force it on me until you mentioned it." She grinned, a soft laugh escaping her parted lips as she moved to get up. Kanae dusting off her clothing gently as she held onto her clunky black camera once again.
"Tea would be nice though. It's kind of cold so I'd appreciate something hot." Hisashi seemed very nice in his own right. Perhaps a little bit awkward but who wasn't when they first met people? An apothecary though, she thought. She had never heard of one of those in the longest time. Probably because most people relied on the medicine from local drugstores these days. Apothecaries dealt with nature, right?
Couldn't tear us apart. |
|
|
