The life jackets made for a surprisingly comfortable mattress and they were deeply asleep when the sun began to rise over the ocean, darting soft rays through the chill breeze. This simple but profound experience was becoming part of their life together, albeit an unwelcome one that specific morning. They had barely slept a couple of hours and it was already nudging them awake.
Kaori shifted, pulling the jacket over her head. Ma?l groaned as her elbow dug into his ribs, right before she jammed the judo jacket up his nose.
“You… awake?” he asked softly to the curled up form resting on his chest.
She groaned in reply, a most unladylike groan. Kaori the Heiress would have been appalled and contrite. Kaori the Spy however didn’t care about such trivialities.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her like he would a teddy bear. There is no harm snuggling a bit longer, he thought, but the improvised mattress was hardly comfortable, and he felt the sharp stones poking at him through the holes of the life jackets. He should have taken the time to clear the place first before laying down his improvised mattress, but he had wanted to surprise Kaori with his idea—that was well worth a few minor abrasions.
Not long after, Kaori’s head poked out of the jacket, staring right at him.
“Time to get up, lazy man.” she said with a grin.
The audacity!
Ma?l sat up, lifting her in the process and placing her across his lap. They sat for a while, admiring the landscape before their eyes. They were on a narrow ledge high above the ocean, the resplendent coast stretching below them in the soft morning light.
“Now, if we could just get coffee and some croissants…” Ma?l whispered wistfully. They hadn’t eaten in a couple of days and the mere thought of food stirred deep longing within him.
“Come on then.” she answered. “We’ll get some breakfast tomorrow.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
He stood up, still holding her in his arms, and placed her down next to him.
“What, you aren’t carrying me? What was the point of waiting for daylight then?” she said with a mischievous smile.
He couldn’t argue, she was too cute. He yanked her up and draped her across his shoulders. Kata Guruma, the good ol’ fireman carry. Judo was great!
He began climbing the hill, ignoring her protests.
“Wait! The backpack!”
Damn it! Always something.
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He returned her to the ground. She looked miffed, puffing her cheeks and pouting like a child who’d been denied a candy. He stared at her in disbelief and exploded with laughter as he noticed a trace of a smile on her face. She joined in.
Ma?l picked up the backpack, and they headed into the mountain. After days staring at nothing but the deep blue sea, the verdant forest was a welcome change. They progressed ahead without much difficulty. Narrow animal trails ran through the underbrush and although the hills were steep, they didn’t need to do any real climbing.
About an hour in, they came across a small river. The water was fresh—icy in fact—but delightfully clear and they decided to take a bath. They were caked in sea salt from head to toes and smelled of brine. Ma?l did his best to be a gentleman and avoid peeking. He failed, catching a long glimpse of Kaori’s delightful curves. She was truly a gorgeous woman.
Kaori made no attempt at gentlemanly behavior: she had seen him peek and felt entitled to some compensation.
Fresh and feeling a lot cleaner, they resumed their trek up the mountain. It was weird to be hiking without a GPS, or even a compass, and now that the sun was high in the sky, they couldn’t figure out the right direction. Going up made sense though and they aimed for the top of the hill to get a better grasp of the lay of the land.
Their efforts were rewarded by the sight of the valley below. Much to their delight, the blossoms were late this year and they could see pinkish white patches of cherry trees. Further in the distance, they could catch a glimpse of the sea.
“That should be Kagoshima’s bay,” Kaori said.
The entire landscape below them was all mountains and forests, except for a small field to the north and a handful of houses. They looked tiny from the mountain’s top, but couldn’t be too far. Ma?l pointed at it.
“Look! I bet we can get some food, and perhaps even transportation.”
Kaori looked excited. “Now, we just need to figure out a story to explain our condition. Any idea?”
That was the main issue still. How do you explain a scruffy foreigner wearing a pair of judogi pants caked in dirt and no shoes?
“Are there any bears in these mountains?” Ma?l asked.
“Not bad. There are, but it won’t explain your state. Unless… I got it. Our tent was caught in a rock slide, and you’re wearing the only clothes we could recover!” Kaori beamed. She’d been racking her brain for a solution ever since they reached the shore.
“That’s brilliant. As long as they don’t offer to help us digging out the stuff… well, we can always pretend we got lost in the forest anyway.”
With a clear destination in mind and a mostly straight path going downhill, they moved quickly through the forest and soon reached one the cherry tree patches they had seen from the top. Pale petals swirled lightly in the breeze before settling on the ground, paving the alley ahead of them. The ancient trees arched above, forming a tunnel of pink and white clouds. It was truly breathtaking.
Ma?l and Kaori stopped in awe, mesmerized by the sight. It was something out of a fairy tale.
Ma?l held out his hand with a gallant bow, the universal—if outdated—gesture of a man asking for a dance.
“Are you asking for my hand? Here it is.” She said with a laugh, placing her hand daintily in his large paw. He bowed, brushing her fingers with his lips. He raised his head and their eyes met for an instant. Electricity coursed through his veins. She blushed slightly.
His face was a nice shade of crimson and his heart was pounding. Too much sun, no doubt. He couldn’t believe he’d done that. And that she had gone along with it. His gestures had been exaggerated, as if this was a play, but surely, she knew what he meant by it.
They walked side by side, holding hands. Sun light streamed gently through the glorious canopy above, setting ablaze the floating petals. An ephemeral slice of eternity.
Could this really be?
