Chapter Text
Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows of the brightest shop in town, the bundles of sunflowers on the windowsills casting long shadows across the shop’s floor. The shop’s temporary keeper–or rather, the daughter of its regular keepers–flitted around the cramped space watering flowers. Kohane was a pleasant girl, with her blonde hair tied in pigtails and a soft smile always finding its way onto her face. She had been busying herself with mundane tasks around the shop all day, not wanting her parents to come home and find she had done absolutely nothing due to the lack of customers.
The day was nearing its end when the tiny bell on the shop’s door rang, signaling the entrance of a customer. Kohane turned her head towards the sound, her eyes widening in surprise as she rested her gaze on the girl standing in front of the shop’s door. The customer was slightly taller than Kohane, with long black hair and a startling fire in her eyes. Although she had yet to speak, she exuded an air of confidence that Kohane deeply envied.
Kohane knew she should have welcomed the girl and asked if she needed help finding anything instead of gawking at her, but she was so taken aback by the presence of a customer that she stayed silent. Her parents’ shop was all the way on the edge of town, next to the sunflower field. Few residents paid it any mind. Kohane was not well-versed in interacting with customers–or even people her age—for she didn’t get much opportunity to do so. Fortunately, the other girl broke the ice.
“Hi! Sorry to barge in here at the end of the day,” the customer greeted brightly, although there was a tightness to her friendly smile that Kohane couldn’t help but pick up on. Kohane snapped out of her stupor and smiled back at the girl.
“Oh, no,” Kohane said hurriedly, “It’s no problem, miss. What can I help you with?”
“Well, uh,” the other girl started hesitantly, “honestly, I’m not really looking for anything.” Kohane shot the customer a quizzical expression and received an apologetic smile in return. “Sorry, I just… wanted to get away from home and this was the farthest I could get without leaving town.” The girl broke eye contact with Kohane, her smile faltering for just a few seconds before something caught her eye.
“Oh, aren’t these beautiful,” she said warmly, instantly brightening again at the sight of the pink flowers in front of her, “What are they called?” The customer met Kohane’s gaze again, looking at her expectantly.
Kohane didn’t know what to think of the girl. With her fiery eyes and vague explanations, she had certainly piqued Kohane’s interest.
“Those are snapdragons, miss,” Kohane replied. She was surprised that a girl like this would be interested in such a common flower. Although they had only spoken a few sentences to each other, Kohane was already coming to the conclusion that she’d never met anyone like this girl before.
“What an awesome name. I’ll take them.” She picked up the small pot of snapdragons and carried it over to the counter Kohane stood behind, grinning sweetly as she set the pot down in front of the temporary shopkeeper.
“That’s it?” Kohane asked awkwardly, “Don’t you wanna know about, like, how to care for these?” Usually, the customers Kohane and her parents got were regulars who knew almost as much about flowers as the shopkeepers themselves, so she wouldn’t dare ask them that question. But considering this girl couldn’t even identify snapdragons, Kohane figured she was no flower expert.
“Oh, um,” the girl said, her face flushing with embarrassment, “I guess that is something I should ask.” She giggled nervously and added, “I don’t usually have to worry about stuff like this.”
Kohane eyed her customer warily. She wasn’t sure what the other girl meant by that, but she certainly didn’t feel that she knew her well enough to ask about it. Kohane watched amusedly as the other girl patted herself down and eventually produced a small pouch. It clinked loudly as she dropped it on the counter and picked up the pot of flowers again.
“There. That should be enough! It was wonderful meeting you…” The girl trailed off and looked at Kohane expectantly.
“Um,” Kohane stammered, “Azusawa Kohane.” The customer’s desire to know her name caught her off guard; most people had no interest in the shopkeepers’ quiet daughter. Kohane couldn’t recover quickly enough to ask the girl’s name in return, nor did the mysterious customer volunteer the information.
“Well, Kohane,” the customer said warmly, “I’ll be off now. Thanks for the flowers.” And before Kohane could even be shocked at the girl’s immediate use of her first name, she had gone and taken Kohane’s breath with her.
Kohane stood behind the counter staring at the door in shock for a few seconds before she finally picked up the pouch the customer had left behind, her eyes nearly popping out of her head at the sight of its interior.
“Miss, wait!” Kohane exclaimed as she scrambled out from behind the counter and threw open the shop’s door, pouch still in hand. She looked up and down the quiet street frantically, but the customer was nowhere to be seen. The last thing Kohane wanted to do was leave the shop unattended, so she reluctantly turned around and stepped back inside in defeat.
Kohane looked back down inside the pouch in her hands. She knew she’d have to count to be sure, but she guessed that it was at least ten times the amount the customer had owed for her pathetic little pot of snapdragons. Everything the mysterious girl said or did had puzzled Kohane, but her presence was the most excitement the quaint flower shop had seen in recent memory. Standing in the shop holding enough money to feed her family for a week, Kohane resolved to solve the mystery of her newest acquaintance.
~~~
Weeks passed without another sighting of the girl. Although Kohane’s parents had returned and she was no longer manning the shop’s counter, she watched the door vigilantly every day hoping to see those fiery eyes. Even her attempts to find information about the girl were fruitless. Kohane described the girl to her parents, but they’d never seen such a person. She had even swallowed her anxiety and spoken to townspeople she didn’t know, hoping there was someone in town who knew something about this girl, but to no avail. It was like she didn’t exist. Kohane was starting to think the girl was a figment of her imagination.
As she lay in bed every night, Kohane replayed the brief conversation she had with the girl, hoping to have some sort of revelation.
“Sorry, I just… wanted to get away from home and this was the farthest I could get without leaving town.”
That implied she lived in town, but that didn’t make any sense to Kohane. The town was small, so why didn’t anyone know who she was? It crossed Kohane’s mind that the girl may have lied, but she hadn’t gotten that impression. Although, what did she know? She didn’t exactly consider herself good at reading people. The crack in the girl’s bright exterior at the mention of her home had just made her seem so sincere.
Kohane continued to mull over the girl’s words every night, even though she knew it was useless. Even if she managed to figure something out about the girl from her words alone, it probably wouldn’t help Kohane find her. She hadn’t been seen anywhere. She’d vanished without a trace.
~~~
“Kohane, would you mind getting some more sunflowers? We’re running low in here.”
“Sure thing,” Kohane said brightly, smiling at her mother as she grabbed her basket and shears. She hurried out the door, not wanting to be gone long in case that odd customer of hers returned to the shop.
Kohane made her way to the sunflower field at a pace that could barely be considered walking. Her parents’ shop may have been closer to the field than any other building in town, but it was still a bit of a walk. She wanted to get there, get the flowers, and get back home as soon as possible.
When Kohane arrived at the field, she nearly dropped her basket in shock. Standing in front of her, looking at sunflowers with her back turned, was a young girl with long black hair. Kohane was surprised to see anyone other than herself in the sunflower field at all, but what really shocked her was the familiarity of the girl in front of her.
For a moment Kohane thought it was too good to be true, that this couldn’t be the girl she’d been searching for for weeks and it was just someone who looked like her. But when the girl turned around and those fiery eyes met Kohane’s, she knew she’d finally found her mystery customer.
The girl looked just as surprised as Kohane was, but she recovered more quickly. “Ah, Kohane, was it?” She smiled warmly at Kohane, patiently awaiting her response.
“Um, yes,” Kohane replied, her eyes widening even more. She hadn’t expected the girl to remember her name. “I… I never got your name,” Kohane said, trying her best not to sound accusatory.
“Oh, that,” the girl said absently. “How rude of me. Must’ve slipped my mind.” Kohane had a feeling the girl’s omission of her name wasn’t an accident at all. “The name’s An,” the girl said brightly, smiling again and sticking a hand out towards Kohane.
“That’s your…” Kohane began as she hesitantly took the girl’s hand.
“My first name, yes,” An said quickly, predicting what Kohane was about to say as they shook hands. An’s hand was warm and her grasp was firm. “Just call me An. That’s it. Not a fan of formalities.”
An was a common enough name, so that gave Kohane nothing to go off of. It was clear An was unwilling to disclose her surname, which Kohane found pretty suspicious. Whoever An was, she obviously didn’t want Kohane to know. Or anyone to know for that matter, given the absence of knowledge of her among the townspeople.
Kohane suddenly remembered what she had always intended to speak with An about if she ever saw her again. She broke free of An’s grasp and plunged her hand into her pocket, pulling out the small pouch she’d received all those weeks ago. Kohane had taken out the amount for the flowers and given it to her parents along with the rest of the day’s profits, but she kept the rest in the pouch. She’d neglected to mention the extra money when she told her parents about An. She was never sure if An had intended to pay extra or not, but even if she did, she knew her parents would never accept a handout like that. Kohane had intended to return the money and always had it on her in case she ever saw An again.
“Alright… An,” Kohane said cautiously. An’s eyes darted from Kohane to the pouch and back again, the corners of her lips twitching upwards. “You, um, overpaid for your snapdragons.”
“Yes, I’m sure I did,” An agreed, a hint of amusement detectable in her voice, “I guess I couldn’t be bothered to count it.” Kohane couldn’t believe how casually An was acting about this. She didn’t even want to think about how much money An had to have to be able to throw it around without a thought.
“Never mind that,” An said dismissively, “You kept it? All this time?” She was fully smiling now, looking quite amused.
“Um, yes,” Kohane replied, a bit startled by the shift in An’s demeanor, “I didn’t know if you meant to pay that much or not. I wanted to return the extra to you.” An didn’t respond for a few seconds, looking at Kohane thoughtfully.
“Well, aren’t you sweet…” An commented, an amused grin making its way back onto her face. Kohane felt her cheeks heat up. Compliments always flustered her, especially from people she didn’t know well.
“You keep it. I don’t need it.” She turned back towards the flowers, leaving Kohane standing dumbfounded behind her. Kohane didn’t want to keep An’s money. She barely knew the girl. But she often had a hard time saying no.
“I thought you said you lived in town,” Kohane blurted. She couldn’t let this conversation end without pressing An for information. An stiffened at Kohane’s blunt change of topic.
“I do,” An said slowly, not turning around, “Why would you think otherwise?” Her voice had tightened, her tone full of caution. Kohane took a deep breath, trying to choose words that wouldn’t scare An away.
“None of the townspeople know anything about you,” Kohane replied carefully, “No one’s ever seen you around.” An turned around then, looking at Kohane suspiciously. Kohane thought the other girl’s gaze might turn her to stone.
“You asked people about me?” An asked, her eyes twinkling playfully.
“W-well, yes. You were… an unusual customer.”
“An unusual customer…” An repeated thoughtfully, “Am I really that unusual?”
“Um,” Kohane started awkwardly, “Well, I just meant that I normally only see our regulars and you aren’t one of them, but… I suppose you are a bit odd.”
An blinked at Kohane a few times before she suddenly burst into laughter. An nearly doubled over from the force of it, but Kohane just looked at her curiously.
“I’m sorry,” An said, still laughing, “I didn’t expect you to just… come out and call me odd like that!”
Kohane’s eyes widened in alarm. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to—”
“No, no,” An interrupted, “You’re fine, it’s just… I’m not used to being spoken to like that.”
“You—What do you mean?”
“Well,” An sighed, “It just feels like people are always scared of offending me. Like they’re walking on eggshells.” Kohane didn’t know what to think of that. An didn’t seem like the type of person you shouldn’t offend. Her confidence was a little intimidating, but Kohane figured that was just because it was something that she herself lacked.
“Sorry,” An said after a brief silence, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” She frowned in contemplation and added, “I guess I just feel like confiding in you because I don’t often get to talk to girls my age, you know?”
Kohane found that kind of hard to believe; An seemed like the type of girl to have a lot of friends. But here she was, confiding in a girl she barely knew. And not for the first time, either. Kohane suddenly got the impression that An was actually quite lonely, despite her bubbly persona.
“I… I guess that’s something we have in common.” An raised her eyebrows at that, clearly surprised that Kohane had finally said something.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m… a bit shy,” Kohane said, chuckling nervously. An looked like she was about to say something, but Kohane remembered why she had come out to the field in the first place. “Oh my god,” she said suddenly.
“What is it?” An asked, sounding quite concerned.
“I—I was just supposed to come here and get sunflowers for my parents,” Kohane said hurriedly, “I’ve already been here too long; they’ll start worrying if I don’t go home right now.” She took her shears out of her basket and started frantically cutting sunflowers. An watched in amazement as Kohane worked, quickly filling the basket with golden petals. Kohane turned to meet An’s eyes again when she was finished, looking apologetic.
“I’m sorry, I really have to go,” Kohane said, smiling softly at An and turning to leave. She really did want to keep talking to An, but the last thing she wanted was for her parents to come to the field looking for her.
“Kohane, wait,” An said suddenly. Kohane froze and turned around to look at An again. She couldn’t imagine what An wanted to say, but she was willing to spare another minute or two to hear it. She’d run back home if she had to.
There was a beat of silence, like An was deciding if she really wanted to say anything or not. She finally took a breath and said, “I… I wanna see you again.”
Kohane’s eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing she had expected An to say. Kohane had initially thought that An was confiding in her because she was a stranger and they’d probably never see each other again, but now there was hope of a friendship with An blooming in her chest.
“You don’t have to say anything,” An said quickly in response to Kohane’s shocked silence, “Just… I’ll be here at the same time tomorrow. I hope to see you.”
Before Kohane could reply, An promptly turned away and retreated deeper into the sunflower field. Kohane knew she didn’t have time to follow her, so all she could do was turn around and start on her way home. She was sure An didn’t want to be followed anyway.
What just happened?
Kohane thought about An the entire way home. She had intended to learn more about her most unusual customer, but she realized she’d ended that interaction with more questions than answers.
Kohane only knew one thing for sure–she was certainly going to visit the sunflower field again the next day.