ii: the first act

It is the first of June in the year 1933.

Sunlight poured in through the cracks of Suzume's drapery and into her bedchamber, and the almost fragile note of birds chirping melodically softly sang as if attempting to remind her that today was the start of a new day. The door to the bedchamber creaked open, and entered was Suzume's mother with a small wooden gift box in hand and a warm smile on her face.

"Suzu-chan..." Her mother tenderly called out, almost whispering. "Suzu, I know you're too old for me to be waking you up, especially today, but this is important, love. Please, wake up."

"Mmm..." The sleeping beauty gave a small whine to the disturbance of her pleasant and restful slumber, causing her mother to simply chuckle before walking towards the vast window and slowly pushing the drapery open that the remains of sunlight eagerly waiting could finally rush inside the room.

"Come on, now." She poked at her beautifully raised daughter's face until her eyes fluttered open. "Look at those gorgeous eyes. They glisten like precious jewels." 

Suzume couldn't help but laugh. "Mother, you're so cheesy."

Her mother joined in with the light laughter before slightly extending her face towards her daughter's and jokingly stating, "Admit it; your heart is completely and absolutely taken away by the likes of your mother. Not one man could ever dare to compare to me."

"You are absolutely correct." Suzume played along as she finally sat up and got out of bed, picking up her French lace fan, giving it a quick flick to open, and pretending to dramatically fan herself.

"Ahaha, you silly child. I'm glad you agree with me. Oh, Suzu-chan, we have guests joining us for breakfast in about two hours or so. They will also join us in our outing and for lunch. I believe you have an idea of who will be there."

Suzume looked over at her mother's apparel to see that she was donning a houmongi the colour of champage and adorned with a pattern of red and orange chrysanthemums. Her mother presented great elegance and beauty, she admitted, but inside she could feel herself slowly getting ill. 

"I must dress in a kimono?"

"Yes, Suzu-chan. I know that you are not a very big fan of having them put on, but it is important. I have a furisode prepared for you. Yamada will bring it and help you in a bit. You can always change for tonight's party if it makes you furtherly uncomfortable." She remembered the gift box in her hands. "I will leave this on your desk. Open it after you've gotten dressed. It's a birthday present from Nobuyuki. According to Yamada-san, he came to the house yesterday when you were with Chiyori-chan to drop it off."

With this, she exited from the chamber and into the hallway.

A sigh escaped from Suzume's rosy lips as she glanced over at the door. For God's sake...I'm a twenty-four year old woman, now. I feel so foolish.

The dark wooden box embellished with a simple maroon ribbon sat on Suzume's desk as if it were whispering unwanted temptation to be opened up with the equivalence to the cursed box of Pandora or the forbidden fruit in the evangelical Garden of Eden. Slowly, she stepped over to the box and picked it up with caution before immediately setting it back down, without putting much care in it.

Thump, thump, thump.

"Yamada-san, please come in." Suzume quickly opened the door for she knew that he was already in difficulty with holding the many pieces and fabrics of the furisode as well as the changing stool. "That's quite the load. Here, let me help you."

With a considerate amount of weight lifted off from his arms, Yamada felt relief as he walked over to place the clothing onto the bed. "Thank you, Miss Saitō. You're greatly appreciated. Oh, and I wish you the happiest of birthdays today, my lady."

"No, no. Yamada-san, you deserve more appreciation than practically any individual in this household. Honestly. And thank you very much as I wish you happiness alongside the paths you take." She smiled sweetly at the butler.

"I am glad that you say so. Would you like to see the furisode that has been prepared?"

Suzume gave a single nod, slightly puckering her lips in interest. Yamada, with great care and delicate nimbleness, unfolded the actual kimono garment and held it up to present it to the young mistress. Suzume very well knew this kimono as it was the same one that her mother had once worn when she was in her younger and unmarried years. The old photograph sat in one of the many living rooms of the Saitō house. This kimono had then been left to the accommodation of a wooden box tucked away in storage for all these years.

Crimson was the colour of the silk as the patterns, predominantly woven gracefully and delicately in shades of golden thread, portrayed a classical motif of the waves of the vast ocean and the common orient clam.

"The kimono is...beautiful." She remarked simply with slight strain to her voice and turned to retrieve the first undergarment for the kimono — the hadajuban — until she realized her own personal state. "Ah...Hold on a moment. I need to fix my hair and make up my face a bit." 

She hurried over into her personal washroom to clean up her face and then proceeded to her boudoir for her vanity where she pulled her hair up into a chignon and dressed her face with light make up before coming back into her main bedchamber to begin the long dressing process. She grabbed the hadajuban and hid behind a changing screen, removing her night gown and flinging it over the screen before coming back out from the screen with the hadajuban in place after a few short moments. 

"I'm ready to continue." Suzume stood on the stool and nodded to her faithful butler before he gave a firmer nod with a look of determination in return.

While Yamada placed each garment onto her body, her thoughts could solely drift on as far as how uncomfortable of a predicament that she was put into with misfortune. The never ending arrays of fabrics simply became heavier on her figure, and her expression unconciously filled with displeasure and lament to be free of this torture. Yamada glanced over at the latter and reached over to pinch her cheek.

"Ouch..." Suzume flinched, trying to refrain from moving her arm to rub her face. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Miss Saitō, don't make that horrifying expression. My, oh my, I was ever so terrified." Yamada joked with a light ring of a chuckle. "I know that you do not favour this kimono situation very much, and I do not favour having to allow you to go through with it either, but I do not want to displease your mother."

Suzume moved her eyes away from the man and pouted as if she were a child that was being chastised by their father. He retrieved the last new pieces of fabric for the ensemble.

"You know, I remember when you were younger that you used to call me 'Oji-san' all the time. You had always asked me to play with you, and when Baekhyun came over back in those days, you'd always make sure that I'd keep the area cleared. You sneaky child. But I am happy that you always found reason to confide in me when you could not to your parents. I am blessed to have taken care of you through these years."

The young lady couldn't help but to release her laughter that was under the failed attempt of being concealed. "I remember that. 'Oji-san, please help me with my studies...Oji-san, can you brush my hair...Oji-san, will you teach me how to make tea...Oji-san, how do men think...' Those were good times. Yamada-san, you are my closest friend in my life. I am grateful to have been under your care."

Yamada, completely in a heartfelt mood, tried his very best to keep back the tears that were begging to pour out of his eyes. As he had failed to keep them from running down his face, he quickly turned away, pulling out his handkerchief to wipe his eyes. His lips formed a smile up at her full of a great feeling of nostalgia that sat in the back of Suzume's mind. Taking the remaining fabric, he had to finally finish up his job.

"Now, come on. I'm almost finished. I just need to...pull this and...that...and we're...complete!" He again took out his handkerchief, this time to wipe off the sweat that had formed and began to bead up on his forehead. "You look charming, Miss Saitō, as you always do. Kimonos really do suit your figure. Time for your hair ornaments."

"I'd prefer to keep it a little simple."

"And simple you shall have. I will return soon with the kanzashi." He bowed his head slightly and retreated back to the kimono storage room of the house, leaving her to observe herself in her body mirror. In the reflection, she noted the presence of the gift box from Nobuyuki, and after a few moments of thought, she finally decided that it would only be respectful to open it up in the least. Suzume slowly turned around, her back now turned against the mirror, and she walked with hesitance to her desk where the box sat in pleading.

A sigh had escaped through her rosy lips as she picked up the box and simply unhooked the latch, allowing entry to the unknown. There behold laying on a bed of simple white linen was a golden hair pin. The pin was ornamented with a pattern of white diamond flowers garnished with pearls. Well, this is surprising. This is actually very beautiful. I quite like it... you might as well, Suzume...

She took out the ornament and placed the box down yet again, turning around to be welcomed gratefully by the mirror. Gingerly, the hair stick was placed perfectly into place in her hair. That ought to please the bunch. They'd better leave me alone about it. 

Already pleased with her general appearance, Suzume made her way out of her bedchamber and to the grand staircase to meet with a tastefully surprised Yamada who was holding a box full of kanzashi and was planning to go back to the bedchamber.

"Oh?" Yamada's eyes slightly widened and his eyebrows raised.

"It came from...Nobuyuki." She tried her best not to cringe at the resonation of his name. "I'm just wearing it to please whomever needs to be pleased."

"Alright then. Your mother is waiting for you downstairs. Dining room, of course."

With immediate grace and poise, she drifted down the stairs as if angels lifted her up or as if she was being carried by a cloud. As she edged to the dining room, she could already hear chatter and laughter among her grandfather, parents, and Nobuyuki's parents. From the reflection of a silver platter in which a maid held to her body, Suzume noted how her husband-to-be was constantly shifted around in waiting.

Nobuyuki certainly was not bad looking at all she had realized the more that she observed him through the silver platter. He was actually quite handsome at his blooming age of twenty-six. He had a sort of semblace to that of the actor Sessue Hayakawa you could say. His hair the shade of ebony was slicked back in a fanciful matter, and he sported a dark grey three-piece suit, vest and all, his dress shirt white and pinstriped with cornflower blue and his tie black with off white rounded diamond shapes sewn into a neat pattern. Nobuyuki's dark coloured eyes burned with a blaze of passion like they always had. The familiar intensity, that she had seen in the eyes of her grandfather and father, was what drew him away from the other so-called "contenders" when Suzume was pushed into choosing a suitor. He much more suited the image of aristocracy.

The maid turned and through the platter she could see her mother who had concocted this marriage predicament due to her innocent desire to grandchildren before she deceased out of age. Suzume couldn't blame the woman. She knew that her mother just simply could not help it, and Suzume could never think of displeasing the one woman who had suffered long hours of excruciatingly painful labour and had given birth to her. It was only at this moment that she noticed how much her mother has aged from the time she was little to now. The colour of grey had subtly streaked her mother's brown hair, her under eyes were slightly beginning its intentions to droop, and the corner of her eyes became faintly prominent with wrinkles. But she was still a very beautiful woman, and the sight of her aging mother only brought Suzume to a wistful smile.

Suzume removed herself from her everlasting thoughts and positioned her posture. Upon fully entering, she let out a weak intentional cough which had done its duty to silencing the room as the people stopped to gaze at her. Nobuyuki ceased to shift around in his chair, his expression full of wonder to how beautiful the woman standing in front of him was. She looked off to the side and cleared to present discomfort as a response to the unnecessary gazing. With a willowy bow of respect, she took her seat which was situated toward the right end of the table across from Nobuyuki with her father at her left and her grandfather to her diagonal right.

"Good morning, Nobuyuki-san. Thank you for your present. I will...cherish it."

"Good morning. I am glad that you are fond of it. But...may I ask why you are not wearing it? Does it not suit your taste, or...?" He trailed off, not finishing his sentence.

When he had asked that, great confusion had washed over the young lady. What does he mean? I...I am wearing it. Can he not see?

"Nobuyuki-san, what do you mean? I am wearing the hair piece that you have gifted to me right now." Her tone expressed genuine bewilderment at this.

"I did gift you a hair piece, but that is not the one that I had picked out for you." Nobuyuki raised his eyebrow, placing in his thoughts that his prospective divine flower was being a little ditzy, but he could, however, hear the seriousness in her voice.

"I am quite certain that this was in the box from you..."

Suzume's mother tilted her head at the situation and stood up to tell a maid to call for Yamada. Her face of worry was accompanied by pursed lips as she held her hands to her chest.

"Oh, goodness. Perhaps, this is simply a mix-up."

Yamada came in momentarily to attend to the needs of the older mistress, who resorted to whispering into his ear as he nodded in response to her personal concerns.

"I apologize. I must have switched the boxes on accident. I do greatly apologize." Yamada bowed down deeply, and turned away to retrieve the correct box. However, there was something about the tone in his voice that was very familiar to Suzume. It was the tone he often used when he was acting. She realized this because he had often recited the scripts of plays to her when she was growing up. There was something suspicious going on, but she shrugged it off, looking over at Nobuyuki who had displeasure on his face.

What an awful face he's putting on. He best put a cork in his mouth if he wants to marry me.

The butler came back into the room with a wooden box that had looked exactly like the box that she was previously given, and he had handed it over to Nobuyuki in order to make sure the box was indeed the one. Opening it up, he gave a nod of approval before closing it back up again to be ready to present.

"Ah, so this is the real gift of yours." Suzume received the box with a well-implanted smile on her face, making sure not to show any feeling of uncertainty. She then opened up the box which revealed a trailing hana kanzashi the colour of a deep, deep red and embodied the prescence of wisteria laying on a bed of ivory silk. "I suppose I will put this on right now."

Taking out the hair stick in her chignon, she honestly felt some sort of relief that it was not from Nobuyuki. It didn't seem like such a thing he would buy for her. Suzume stared down at the accessory that once resided in her hair with a delicate look. Who had given this to her, then? She would probably not get to find that out. Perhaps, it was from Yamada as he acted oddly, but knowing that man, he would have presented it to her upright. There was something suspicious here. Letting out an inaudible and invisible sigh, she replaced the kanzashi in the box with the hair pin, and had the wisteria embodied embellishment placed in her hair with the help of Yamada who stood near by.

"Shall I take this away for now that you may not feel to burdened to carry it around?" Yamada asked with a smile that was full of nothing but gentleness.

Suzume gave a quick nod and slowly lifted the box in her lap up to the butler's hands, her own thin fingers calmly lingering on the laquer of the wood before she had completely abandoned the box. Truth be told, she had actually really started to treasure that gift, and looking in the mirror brought in by one of the maids, she could only feel discontent with the atrocity in her hair. Her face, of course, said otherwise. Her face did not show disappointment. It instead showed gratefulness, thanks, and happiness.

"Nobuyuki. Thank you very much. It is very lovely." She commented while lifting her hand up to touch it.

"I am grateful to know that you believe so."

Hesitance only grazed in the air for the young woman. Suzume did not know what to say anymore, and so she simply smiled a smile with eyes that had a sort of glittering sadness that you could only see if you had the thought to dig deep enough into her dark brown orbs of starlight.

"Yes..." 

It was a simple response. A good enough response. And it had shown to make Nobuyuki feel content enough.