There was a time when I believed life always moved forward. My daily routine everyday is going repeat again and again —
Back then, I thought routines were nothing more than habits. Now I know they can also become hiding places.
For years, I have lived inside the same routine, carefully arranging every day so there is no room for memories. The alarm rings at six-thirty every morning. I silence it before the second chime. The kettle whistles while the city is still half asleep. I pour hot water into a worn-out mug that has somehow survived every house move, every season, every attempt to start over. The apartment is quiet. It has been quiet for a long time...
Sometimes the silence feels peaceful. Most days, it simply feels familiar.
Outside my window, the city wakes slowly. Office workers hurry toward the station with their ties slightly crooked. A bakery across the street opens its doors, and the smell of fresh bread drifts through the cool morning air. Children laugh as they race each other toward school, their voices echoing between buildings before disappearing into the crowd.
Life never stopped. Only I did—
***********
Spring arrived without asking for permission. I noticed it the same way I always do—not by looking at a calendar, but by watching the first pale pink petals dance across the pavement.
One landed on my shoulder while I waited for the traffic light to change.
Without thinking, I brushed it away.
Halfway across the street, I stopped.
The tiny petal rested near my shoe.
For a long moment, I simply stared at it.
It had been years...
Years since I had allowed myself to look closely at a cherry blossom. Years since I had gone anywhere near that place. I lowered myself slowly, picked up the petal between my fingers, and smiled without meaning to.
"...Spring again."
The words escaped so quietly that even I almost didn't hear them. The wind carried the petal away before I could hold on to it. Some things were never meant to stay.
*************
Work passed like every other day. Meeting, Emails,Conversations I barely remembered having.
Someone wished me a happy spring. Someone asked if I planned to visit the Cherry Blossom Festival this year. I smiled politely.
"I haven't decided yet."
It was easier than explaining why I had avoided it for so many years.
No one knew.
No one needed to know...
Evening settled over the city with a golden glow. The train home was crowded, but I barely noticed. Instead of getting off at my usual station, my feet carried me somewhere else. One stop later...
Then another.
I didn't question it. Maybe my heart had already decided long before my mind caught up. When the train doors opened, a familiar breeze greeted me. It smelled exactly the same. Fresh earth, Cool air and cherry blossoms.
The path leading to the park hadn't changed. The old stone lanterns still lined the walkway. The wooden bridge still crossed the narrow stream where sunlight shimmered like scattered glass. Families laughed beneath blooming trees. Young couples took photographs while petals floated around them like pink snow. Children chased blossoms before they could touch the ground.
Everything looked different. Everything looked exactly the same.
Step after step...My heartbeat grew louder. I knew where I was going without needing a map. At the far end of the park...Beyond the bridge...
Past the small pond where ducks still drifted lazily across the water... It stood there. The tree.
Its branches stretched toward the fading evening sky, overflowing with thousands of soft pink blossoms. The wind passed gently through them, sending petals swirling through the air. Beautiful.
Just as I remembered. For years...
I had convinced myself that staying away would erase the memories. Instead...
The memories had simply waited for me here. I stood beneath the cherry blossom tree without moving. A single petal drifted down. It landed quietly in the palm of my hand. And before I could stop myself...
I closed my fingers around it.
"You once said that beautiful things never last long.I didn't think much of it then."
"But I've come to understand it now. Beautiful things never last long..."
I stepped forward to the tree. And my hand placed on the tree. I closed my eyes. Then the memories I had buried for so long......began to bloom once again.
