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The sun had not yet even risen when the sound of an alarm broke the silence of a room with two occupants, both fast asleep in a rather comfortable position. The golden-haired girl was the first to stir, disentangling herself from the embrace of the black-haired girl who mumbled in protest.
“Merry…uwaaaa…just a few more minutes…”
Merry sighed and gave her dearest partner a consolation pet on the forehead. It was always like this, she thought. Despite the enthusiasm that Renko approached club activities…it was sometimes hard to get her going when there was effort involved. She giggled to herself—perhaps, she pondered, she found that cute in a way. “Now now, Renko, you know that we have a very important anniversary date for today. We’ve been planning this for weeks…and you wouldn’t want it to go to waste, now would you?”
“Ughhh…stop making so much sense.” Despite her protests, however, Renko obliged, and the two climbed out of the bed and got ready for their long-anticipated trip.
Merry, for her part, changed out of her pajamas into a flowing, long-sleeved purple dress, complete with white tights, mary janes, and of course, her signature poofy bonnet. Renko opted to put on a short-sleeved white blouse, short black skirt, and long black socks with brown loafers. The two headed off to the train station, which was conveniently just a short walk away.
The pair of adventurers entered the station just as the sun was beginning to cast its golden rays over the cityscape. They had to wait only a few minutes before the high-speed express train arrived, opening its doors as if to beckon the couple welcome.
“See, right on time!” Renko confidently remarked as the two boarded. “You didn’t have to worry so much about us being late. As you know, I’m good with time.”
“That may be so”, remarked Merry, “but it sure doesn’t feel like it every time you’re late for our meetings.”
At the mention of this, Renko blushed. “What do mean? I just…take my time to dress and prepare myself, because I take our activities seriously!”
“Well, it didn’t seem like you were taking this trip seriously when you almost decided you wanted to sleep in instead.”
“That’s not my fault. Cuddling you was just too comfortable.”
“Hey, that’s not fair…don’t make this about me!”
“ Excuse me! ”
Renko and Merry looked up to see a rather annoyed train attendant looking down at them.
“May I have your tickets, please?”
“Oh! Of course. We’re sorry for not paying attention earlier.” Merry was the first to respond, taking hers out of her wallet. Renko soon followed suit, and the attendant stamped them and went on his way.
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The train smoothly continued its course, cutting through the remainder of the city. Skyscrapers and apartments eventually gave way to townhouses and condos, which then blended into countryside and farmland. Despite being the one to have dragged a half-asleep Renko to the station, Merry was the one dozing off as the motion of the carriage lulled her into her own rest that had been cut short. As she rested her head on her arm, looking out the window, she slowly closed her eyes, knowing that their destination was a ways away. Her mind drifted off to thoughts about her partner, how adorable she was when she was grouchy, how pretty she was in her outfits, and the exciting day they were sure to have ahead…
Soon, Merry fell asleep, in the process slumping against Renko’s still-upright and awake figure next to her. Renko let out a quiet “eh?” in surprise, but soon accepted Merry’s head in her arms, gently petting the golden locks that had fallen out, disheveled, from her bonnet. And so, the couple rode wordlessly the rest of the way, with Renko holding a now prone Merry on her lap.
“Now arriving at Yatsugatake Station—this is the last stop on the eastbound C train. All passengers must disembark.” An automated announcement broken Renko out of her stupor, as she realized that she had lost track of time.
“Hey. Hey, Merry, wake up. We’re here.”
Merry opened her eyes and looked at Renko, a bit surprised to find herself suddenly in her partner’s lap. She blinked twice and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear out the grogginess a bit. “Oh, so we are.”
The two got off the train into what could be called a scenery of wilderness compared to where they had boarded. There were a few buildings scattered around the train station, serving as perhaps corner shops, tourist information centers, or otherwise small businesses—as well as a half-full parking lot, but besides that, the pair were surrounded by trees and greenery for as far as the eye could see. A two-lane highway passed by the station, presumably the only automobile access to this last stop, but that was the extent of civilization that Renko could make out. However, somewhat hidden by the thick foliage were several dirt paths that branched out from various directions from the ends of the clearing that formed the station and its immediate surrounding structures.
Taking the scenery in, Renko stretched and yawned once again. “Soooo…where to?”
By this point, Merry had more or less fully woken up, and walked ahead of Renko. She pulled out her phone, made a few quick taps, and then started moving in the direction of one of the dirt paths. “I think…this is the right direction…yes, I’m sure of it.”
Renko turned to follow her, and the two started their stroll through the woods. As they entered the forest, Merry could hear birds chirping amidst the rays of sunshine peeking through the dense canopy above them, and perhaps a distant waterfall crashing against the rocks that was not yet within view. She took in the smell of wood, foliage, and wildlife around them, a scene that had been all but forgotten by most other people. It was, Merry mused, one of the last traces of true wilderness remaining in the world. With human society “advancing” to the point where nature was now considered merely an obstacle or a resource, never a symbiotic part of this planet to be respected and nurtured, the prevailing attitude of governments and the economies bound to them had become expansion at all costs…with the benefits, of course, going mostly to those already possessing the greatest wealth. Such a way of thinking would in the long run serve to only damage the planet and destroy much of humanity—and in fact, it had already begun—but, the ones who had pushed most for this reckless exploitation would also be the ones in the best position to escape the consequences of their selfish actions.
Renko broke the silence with a question that Merry was certain she would have asked sooner or later. “So…you said there was a flower viewing that you wanted to bring me to? For our three-year anniversary together? Pardon my skepticism, but, I don’t see any flowers?”
Merry turned around and smile sweetly. “Yes, I did say that. I also said that I had a surprise for you, did I not?”
Renko’s heart leapt a beat at that beautiful smile. “Oh? I’m excited now. What could it be?”
Merry beckoned for her beloved to follow just a little bit further, and Renko obliged. Soon, they came to a clearing, and the source of that waterfall sound they had heard earlier. In the center of a small circle where there were no trees, was the ruins of a shrine. A few stacks of crumbling stone likely meant to be the foundations of buildings from centuries past sat covered with moss and lichen, all of them surrounding a singular torii gate in the middle. The gate was in at least better condition than the remnants surrounding it, but even it was showing significant wear and tear, with the original red paint long having faded, and the wooden surface chipping off from water and exposure damage after many generations of disrepair.
“Wow…that’s certainly a nice surprise.” Renko took a bit to absorb the scenery, and looked around a bit. “Though, you know what would be a better one? If you returned the physics textbooks you’ve been borrowing from me, that you still haven’t given back yet.”
Merry pouted. “Very funny, Renko.”
“…Alright, alright, just teasing. But I’m taking it that there’s more? Surely, taking me this far…there must be a boundary out here somewhere you discovered, right? And the flowers, the real scenery, it’s behind that?”
Her partner nodded. “Perceptive as always, dear.”
Though modern society had long eschewed such things as make-belief and the delusional fantasy of children, Merry possessed a unique ability that was quite real. She had always had the power to see the invisible boundaries of this world—the lines that separated concepts, places, planes of reality itself. More recently, however, she had developed the ability to start to manipulate and blur the lines between these boundaries. The first time she used her powers in such a way, it almost ended in disaster, with her transporting herself to an abandoned satellite orbiting far above earth, and coming down with a mysterious illness that fortunately went as quickly as it came. In the time since then, however, she had practiced and refined the accuracy of her technique, and now, Merry was more than happy to no longer keep to herself what she was capable of.
“Do you remember when we talked about how the nature of the world was that both the wilderness and the supernatural would gradually disappear, as humanity believed itself to increasingly have no use for either of those things?” Merry asked.
Renko let out an “mhm” in agreement.
Merry continued, “This place, as I’m sure you have noticed, is one of the rare pockets of preserved and pristine nature remaining. In all of Japan…no, all of Asia really. And do you know why that’s the case?”
Renko pondered for a second before replying. “I’m not quite sure. I suppose it’s connected to the supernatural, and it’s appeared in one of your dreams?”
Merry looked more excited than Renko had seen in months. “Again, yes. The barrier between the outside world, our world, and the world we’ve been exploring—it’s here. I’m certain of it. I saw it not so long ago, as you’ve guessed, in a dream of mine. This is where…the border of fantasy and reality resides.”
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“So how come”, Renko said, as she paced around the ruins, “this area has been left alone for so long? How come it’s been undisturbed, by people who seek to destroy and suppress all remainders of the supernatural, and exploit all that’s left of nature?”
“I’m not sure, but I can give a good guess.” Merry sat down and started to explain once more. “I’ve been looking up records of this place, you know. Development plans, zoning permits, all sorts of attempts to buy up the land and just, turn it into yet another city block or suburb. And you know what the interesting thing is?”
She didn’t want for Renko to acknowledge before continuing. “All of them have failed to go through. Every time, the person, who was usually a rich investor looking to fill up his coffers a little bit more, always had…something happen that would stop him from following through on the deal. So right now, this land belongs to the state, and it seems it’s going to be that way for the foreseeable future.”
Renko huffed. “Now you’re beginning to sound like a conspiracy theorist. What, you think these businessmen are getting assassinated by some—”
“Well…not quite. It’s more discrete than that, you see. Their attention has always been drawn elsewhere at the perfect time. A better deal here, an important family matter to attend to there, a scandal to suppress or explain and bribe away, many things. But what’s important is that this place has been slated for development so long, and yet untouchable for decades, that in practice the government’s all but given up on doing anything with it.”
“And your point? That someone is trying to keep this place untouched?”
“My point is, getting them to give up is the point. I think that whoever’s trying to leave this place untarnished is also trying to protect the land of fantasy we’ve been visiting in our dreams. Whoever’s keeping the rest of the world away from here, is trying to preserve Gensokyo.”
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“…But”, Renko interjected, “if someone’s trying to keep people away from here, would it really be a good idea to try and get in ourselves?”
“I don’t think there would be a problem with that”, Merry replied. “It’s—we’re not trying to ruin the place or snuff out the existence of fantasy, as others may be intent on doing. In fact, whoever’s keeping most people away from here may appreciate that we’ve come to explore the occult instead of disproving it! Call it a feeling…”
“Hmph. Well, you’re awfully optimistic, Merry. Still, how are we to enter someplace that’s intentionally hidden and tucked away? In a different plane of reality, almost? In the past we’ve only been able to come here in very specific dreams, and yet—” Renko realized the answer to her own question before she finished asking, and let out a small gasp. “Merry, you don’t mean to tell me you can—”
At this, Merry stood up again, and smiled knowingly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And that’s the real surprise I wanted to show you.”
With these words, Renko felt a strange sense of unknowable power radiate from Merry, as she swore the wind seemed to pick up around the golden-haired girl.
Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Merry walked directly in front of the torii gate. She took two fingers and slowly traced a horizontal line in the air in front of her with her right hand. As her fingers moved across the air, a rather unnatural ripping sound clashed against the natural ambience of the forest. Renko’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw what was being left in the wake of Merry’s movements. Slowly, a “tear” of some sorts appeared, widening and lengthening as Merry moved her hand further to the left. On the other side of the tear was…what Renko increasingly made out to be the same view as what was in front of them already, except it was different somehow. Through the now human-sized hole in reality that Merry had created, she could see that the torii gate was all patched up and good as new, that the ruins were an intact shrine, and that the path which had ended in the clearing now extended far off into the distance. After she had fully created the gap, Merry turned around to look at Renko and held out a hand, beckoning for the latter to follow. Renko was too speechless to, for the moment.
“H…How did you…”
Merry let out a little laugh at Renko’s question. “Well, you did encourage me to experiment with my abilities a bit more. So I did. And I realized, after a while—if the barrier to Gensokyo is an artificially-constructed boundary, then I could see it, and artificially alter it, at least for a little bit. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Renko was still stunned, but wordlessly nodded in acceptance of the explanation, as much as she felt that there was still much she (and perhaps even Merry) did not understand. She finally took Merry’s hand, and together, they walked through the hole in the fabric of reality that Merry had tore. When did she get so…bold? I remember that it was only a few months ago where I had to encourage her to follow along for our adventures. It feels as if she’s different; as if she’s now got an…almost ethereal, inhuman air around her—h owever, Renko did not have time to ponder or dwell on her questions and, naturally, her ever-increasing affections for her partner. After their passage through the reality-defying hole, said hole closed behind them, and the couple was struck with a sudden change in scenery.
Instead of ruins, Renko and Merry were now in the middle of that shrine that they had seen a glimpse of just a bit earlier. The path ahead of them led off, to the foot of the singular peak in front of them, Mt. Yatsugatake. The mountain itself appeared to be quite different. Merry could make out countless small buildings that lined the slopes (as opposed to the blanket of greenery that she had seen walking up to the ruins) and smoke rising from some of them. Despite appearances from outside the boundary, it was clear that many people (or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say entities ), lived here.
For now, Merry continued leading the way, and Renko followed, trusting in Merry’s planning skills (that, she admitted but only to herself, were probably better than hers). The couple reached a fork in the road, and Merry thought for a bit, before turning left.
“Explored this place in your dreams as well?” Renko queried.
“Mhm”, Merry responded.
As they walked, Renko had a bit of time to pick up her previous train of thought. When did Merry become so, well, bold? There wasn’t really a way for her to really quantify what that word meant, but Renko felt in her gut it was just exactly what was happening. When they had first started dating, Renko found in Merry a kindred spirit, someone who was drawn to the occult, who believed in it despite being a person of science, much like herself. But Merry had always been a rather timid and shy soul (not that that didn’t just add to her cuteness, mind you), being unsure of herself in many points, and pushed along at times largely by Renko’s own boundless enthusiasm. And yet, in the past few months, it was as if this whole situation had reversed. Renko had encouraged Merry to develop her powers, and it seemed that not only had she done so, but also become far more confident in using them. To explore…or, perhaps, in ways Renko wasn’t even aware of yet.
Merry was full of mysteries, and Renko was absolutely in love with her because of it.
Well, that and other reasons of course, such as the fact that she was pretty. Like, really pretty, all the time. Especially in her outfits that…
“Oh! Would you look at that. We’re here already.” Merry’s statement put a pause to Renko’s pining, and she looked at her surroundings once more. And what she saw was absolutely stunning .
The path had ended once more, but this time in a far more picturesque location. All around the couple, dozens of sakura trees were in full bloom. At last, they had arrived at their destination—the flower viewing.
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“Woaaa…this is amazing…real cherry blossoms!”
Renko could not contain her amazement as she marveled at the sight around her, taking in the sight and fresh, sweet smell of tens of thousands of bright-pink flowers in full bloom.
Merry smiled and turned around to face Renko with her beautiful purple doe-eyes, looking quite satisfied with herself. “How’s that for a surprise?”
“I love it! I didn’t even know there were real cherry blossoms left in the world…”
“Indeed”, said Merry, “I’m not certain, but I don’t believe there is, besides this magical place. Cherry blossom trees require very specific conditions to grow, and specialized caretaking on top of that. With the way the world’s been going for the past few decades, we don’t have such things anymore, except perhaps in some rich person’s private little arboretum.”
“Right. So you thought…to bring us out here, to see something no longer present in our existence. Something beautiful and otherworldly ( like you, Merry ).”, Renko continued, as she continued gazing in awe at the petals, taking the time to pick one off a tree. “And they’re so soft too…( just like you as well )”
As if on cue, walking alongside her, Merry clasped Renko’s hand, feeling the texture of the cherry blossom petal as well. “Otherworldly—that’s such a strange word to think about. Just a few decades ago, sights like this were commonplace. How quickly things can change, hmm?”
Merry continued. “Say, Renko? Have you ever thought of what really constituted the boundary between otherworldly and worldly? Maybe the difference isn’t what is fundamentally in one category or another, but rather, our perception of it?”
Renko pondered Merry’s statement for a bit. “Well, I suppose that’s pretty obvious when you think about it. What is everyday business for one person may, depending on context and how common it is, be exotic or even unbelievable for another.”
“You’re right, of course. But I’m thinking, perhaps, the same may apply to the mystical versus the mundane, and the supernatural versus the scientific.”
“You’re talking about that one quote that says, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic?”
At the mention of this, Merry smiled mischievously. “Well, yes, but that’s not quite it. You see, you and probably most other people think of the distinction between the two as, phenomena you can explain versus phenomena you can’t, right? Both exist—well, not everyone believes that both exist, but the lack of understanding is what drives the dichotomy, or so the common wisdom goes. And as understanding increases, faith decreases, and so the mystical and magical gradually cease to exist in this world.”
“Yeah, that’s—that’s an accurate statement.”
“Well, you see, I believe in a different definition.”
“Oh? How do you mean?”
“I think that magic and science aren’t so different when you really , really think about it. I mean, people or youkai who use magic, they understand and acknowledge their own abilities and existence, right? Surely, they have to in some capacity, to actually use them.”
“I suppose…that is the case, yes.”
“So let’s say, hypothetically speaking, if a form of magic or supernatural power became commonplace and frequently used—wouldn’t the majority of people be able to understand something that they themselves employ on a daily basis? Would that be magic anymore?”
Renko wanted to answer “no” reflexively, but, wasn’t so sure after thinking about it a little bit. Even if everyone could shoot lightning bolts out of their fingertips, would she be ever able to not consider that “magical”? And what Merry did, just a bit ago, to get them here in the first place—could that ever be called something other than supernatural, occult?
Merry finished her train of thought as Renko was still puzzling over these conclusions. “I think that what defines magic is merely something that follows laws different from the ones we’re used to. After all, everything has to have rules—but nobody said they have to be the same rules as the ones you’ve been taught by your stuffy physics professors. So yes, magic could be mysterious and unknowable to many people…but it doesn’t only exist because of its mystery.”
“Wha—my professors are not—nevermind, that’s not the point. But Merry, how can two contradictory natural laws exist at the same time?”
“Well, think of it this way. You used to be addicted to video games, right?”
“That’s a bit low, Merry.” Nevertheless, Renko made a small gesture of affirmation, a bit confused as to where this was going.
“Didn’t you really like two games in particular a few years ago? There was one where you jumped with explosives and shot at people, and another where the resolution was really bad but you could fight monsters and dig for treasures and—”
“Yes. I know what you’re talking about.”
“Well, in both of those games, didn’t things work differently? You moved around in 3D space, but the way that you moved, the way you fell and controlled your movement, everything; the rules of the games were similar but fundamentally different, right? Would you say so?”
“Huh…I think I know what you’re getting at now, Merry. The physics engines were coded to be different, yes.”
Merry nodded. “So I think it’s the same in our existence. With this talk of “magic” or “science”—one doesn’t have to come at the expense of another. They can both exist, just following different rules, superimposed and at times interacting with one another, or applicable in different areas, to different people, and so on. Think of it like Gensokyo itself, this paradise, superimposed on some patch of wilderness in the outside world.”
She turned to look at Renko excitedly. “Do you know what this means? We’re not destined to lose the magical and supernatural as humanity continues on its current course. Without having to reject modernity, we can explore nurture the supernatural and the occult, out in the world—and in ourselves.”
The songbirds chirping were the only sound as Renko silently took in the ramifications of Merry’s conclusion.
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“Alright”, Renko said, as they had just finished walking through the field of blooming blossoms, and were now wandering in vaguely a circle around it. “That’s a highly interesting theory. But, I have to ask the question any good scientist would ask in this situation. What evidence—”
“Do I have to support what I’m saying?” Merry turned around, once again having anticipated Renko’s line of questioning. “Well, it’s a stroke of good fortune that we came to this topic just now. I don’t have what you may usually think of as ‘evidence’, but hmm, I do have a demonstration of sorts.”
Merry once again closed her eyes and appeared to concentrate extremely hard for a few seconds before snapping her fingers. The sound of a loud crack split open the air as birds chirped in alarm and flew away in fright, but, what followed was infinitely more shocking than the sound. A tear in the fabric of reality had once again opened up next to the couple, but this one was different from one Merry used to enter Gensokyo in the first place. The two ends of the tear were tied together by red ribbons, and on the other side was a black void filled with… eyes , unblinking and unmoving, Renko realized. She wasn’t sure whether she was more astonished or disturbed at the surreal sight.
Not waiting for a response, Merry reached a hand into the gaping chasm of un-reality she had created, and with some effort, pulled out…a picnic mat?
“What the—”
Merry continued and proceeded to reach in and grab a cooler as well, before setting it in front of herself, same as the picnic mat. She then snapped her fingers again, and the gap collapsed upon itself, closing with a loud pop as if it had never existed in the first place.
Renko, for her part, was not quite sure she saw what she just saw, so incredulous it was. “I—what—how???” were the only words she could utter out.
Her partner smiled teasingly, and perhaps a bit smugly too. “Well, I just thought our anniversary date wouldn’t be complete without a picnic, right? So I brought this along~” and with that, Merry opened the cooler, which turned out to be filled with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.
Renko had, for the most part, finally gotten over her shock by now, and had drawn her rather accurate assumptions about what had occurred. “So…it’s all true then. Merry, you’re amazing . To develop your power so quickly, and in such a manner, I—I would’ve never imagined. I mean, think of all the places that we could go, all the things that we could do with such…potential.”
Merry readily assented to that statement. “Yes. It wasn’t easy, I mean. All my talk about realizing that the essence of the supernatural included its ability to coexist with what we knew about the scientific version of reality—it wasn’t just a baseless ramble.”
She continued, “I had felt my abilities get stronger every time we went out adventuring like this, but something still was missing. At first, I thought I needed to ‘learn’ more about how they may work in the traditional sense, but…it’s not like you could just pick out a book on fantastical spacetime manipulation from anywhere, right? So, I settled for the next best thing of asking to read your advanced physics textbooks.”
“Ohhhh! So that’s why you borrowed them! …I still want them back though.”
“Well, not to worry, I’m quite done with them, because they didn’t help, unfortunately. At least not in the way I needed. Relativity, Einsten-Rosen bridges, false vacuums—no matter how much I tried to recreate the concepts, structures, phenomena outlined, everything, I…wasn’t able to do it. It didn’t work.”
Renko listened intently. Physics just not working was something to be expected when dealing with such things far beyond science. And yet she still couldn’t help but feel a small pang of disbelief at how incomplete the supposedly ‘complete’ model of the natural world she had been taught, truly was.
“Eventually I figured out that everything I was doing—it followed its own set of rules”, Merry continued. “The boundaries that exist in the world today, the gap between ‘Gensokyo’ and ‘reality’, or ‘here’ and ‘there’, it’s—it can’t be compared to anything you have in your grand unified theory. It’s more like…abstract concepts, almost, that I can blend together or pull apart with my mind, by solidifying them and then pushing in just the right way, in a manner that’s not explainable by any book. So by temporarily blurring the distinction between ‘outside’ and ‘here’, I was able to get us in. And by collapsing the one between ‘here’ and ‘home’, I was able to get the picnic supplies that I didn’t feeling like carrying a mile.” Merry almost laughed as she continued, “Sorry for poring over your study materials for this much time. It should’ve been obvious, but it took me way too long to figure out.”
“I…see”, was the only response that Renko could muster. She knew Merry was intelligent, had an understanding of physics beyond most non-physics majors, but even so, to have figured all this by herself? It only affirmed that her partner in crime was truly someone special. “I take it that your ability operates by a different set of rules than the ones I’ve been taught, then?”
“Yes, exactly as I’ve been saying and…I’m far from having figured all of them out. It’s only been a few weeks, after all. But, ” Merry said, as she started pulling picnic food out of the cooler, “I don’t have to know all the rules to use what I do know.”
Renko nodded in affirmation. “Maybe you’re the occult that we need to be studying all this time, then, Merry!”
Merry had to suppress a giggle in return. “Well, I suppose you’ll get plenty of time to ‘study’ me if you want.”
“Oh, I would certainly like that”, Renko winked.
“I know you would, dear”. That was all the warning Renko got before Merry leaned in for a kiss.
“A…ah! Merry…”, Renko yelped in surprise, but soon enthusiastically returned the more than welcome gesture of affection.
And so, under the cherry blossom trees and their falling pink petals, Renko and Maribel savored each other for one, long minute.
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After the lovebirds kissed, Merry suggested they eat, which Renko happily obliged—it was, by now, late afternoon, and the couple were both reminded by their stomachs that they had not had any food for the entire day. And so, the two sat down and shared a picnic in the middle of the cluster of cherry blossom trees, enjoying their well-earned feast of roast beef and cheddar sandwiches, spicy savory snacks, bagels and cream cheese, chocolates and toffee (“you’re spoiling me now”, Renko had proclaimed by this point), and sweetened black tea—Merry’s favorite drink.
Finishing her sandwich, Merry grabbed a fistful of fallen pink petals from the ground that was coated with them, and tossed them to the wind. “Say”, she said. “Do you know what cherry blossoms stand for?”
“Personally, I think they’re just pretty”, came the reply. “Though, if you have to ask, I know they’re symbolic of death and rebirth. “
“Mhm”, Merry agreed. “But that’s just in Japanese tradition. According to Chinese custom…cherry blossoms represent love. And”, she finished, as she lay down and leaned against Renko’s legs, “I think that’s a much better symbol for our anniversary.”
Renko was all too happy to accept Merry sitting in such a position. “I quite agree.” She gave Merry a return peck on the cheek, and then started stroking her hair, which elicited murmurs of comfort from Merry.
No further words needed to be exchanged. Merry loved Renko, and Renko, by the stars, loved Merry; for being the wonderful, mysterious being that she was, but even beyond that, even if all her powers and fantastical, almost eldritch abilities ceased to exist the very next day—for being a beautiful and tender, kind soul who dared to believe in the unbelievable.
After some time, Merry lifted her head from Renko’s lap, and instead embraced her in a warm cuddle, eliciting a tender but loving squeal. The two continued cuddling without a care in the world as the sun started to go down, bathing the pink field in its orange rays.
Eventually, for now at least, common sense prevailed over fantasy, and Renko was the one to break off the cuddle, to Merry’s protests. “Hey, I think we should get going. In a bit this forest may be swarming with youkai. We don’t want to end our anniversary off with a near-death experience, I don’t think.”
“Though”, Renko continued, thinking about it for just a sec, “with what you can do now, maybe there’s nothing to worry about.”
Merry put a hand over her mouth and smiled, blushing at the compliment. “Oh, I don’t think I’m quite at that point yet.” She got up, opened a gap again, and then tossed the cooler and the picnic mat into it. “So let’s not risk anything that would ruin our perfect date~”
And with that, the two set off towards home, bellies sated, hearts filled with love for each other and the universe of mysteries that they had uncovered.