The sakura blooms peaked around the last week of March. It was one of the less celebrated occasions; any trees that had pink or white blossoms were taken from other islands, so to many it was just a foreign novelty one could experience from their home. Even so, there was still a festival-of-sorts for them, essentially amounting to a few stalls in the shopping district selling things based off trinkets from the first island and adapted songs played throughout the music district.
Already having plans to walk Matteo around town to see the small flowers, Adelinde saw it fitting to offer Rene to come as well. When the agreed day came, Adelinde brought Matteo outside the palace, entertaining some conversation with him while she waited.
She noticed Rene coming up around the same time Matteo did, the child promptly forgetting he was talking with Adelinde and opting to run up to Rene instead. She laughed, said a few words to Matteo, then fully walked up to Adelinde to greet her.
“It’s a really good morning for walks,” Rene noted. “Nice on the way from the mansion to here, at least.”
“The weather always seems nicest during the more colorful times of the year,” Adelinde mused. She looked down at Matteo, who partially noticed her attention shifted. “Stay close to me or Rene, all right?”
He gave her a disappointed look but nonetheless nodded and murmured some agreement. He seemed to have a good understanding of when not doing something would lead to some restrictions—in this particular case, needing to hold her hand as they walked.
Adelinde smiled at him, then brought her attention back to Rene.
“I have half the morning planned,” Adelinde admitted, only somewhat proudly. “Have you eaten anything yet?”
Rene shook her head. “I figured we could go out somewhere—and, worst case, I slowed you down a little and got something as we walked.”
“We can stop at a restaurant,” Adelinde decided.
“I’ll pay,” Rene offered before Adelinde could do the same.
“You bought that toy piano for Matteo; I can’t imagine you have that much to spend,” Adelinde pointed out. She offered a kind smile. “Your payment can be conversation.”
“I don’t—”
“If you’re really determined, you can pay me back later.”
Rene paused for a moment, then chuckled. “All right. Let’s start walking before too many people come out.”
Adelinde nodded some agreement, taking the lead in a sense; Rene walked a bit off to her right, while Matteo tested how far away from them was ‘too far’ but obediently waited for them to catch up if she called to him. Adelinde entertained some conversation as they went, glancing at Rene for a second.
“I’ve never been out during the peak bloom with someone my age,” Adelinde noted. “Family walks in town were more common in the fall; we don’t have notable ancestry in the first island, so the festivities weren’t exactly something that drew anyone in.”
“I don’t usually come out a lot either,” Rene replied. “The symbolism of the flowers keeps the Dazuz family from admiring them and Eyset doesn’t have any trees that blossom. I’ve always liked the idea of coming out with a date.”
“You and I could come back out later, if you wanted.” Rene cast her a smile, which Adelinde returned in barely a second. Noticing Matteo’s small distance from them, she paused the conversation for a moment to call him back, then continued. “Aurik never even left his house during the peak blooms. He always called it bad luck.”
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“It has some negative connotations,” Rene mused. “He had first island heritage, didn’t he?”
“He had a…grandmother of some sorts that came from Sólstaður, I believe. He didn’t tell me directly.”
Rene nodded. “The first island lost one of their best queens and last princes during the sakura’s peak—I heard Sólstaður tried to give some positive connotations for the season, but instead of sakura there’s snow so it didn’t help much.”
“Do you know a lot about it?” Adelinde asked curiously.
Rene’s tone implied a kind of knowledge, confirmed by her almost sheepish look.
“I’m one of those weird mixes of Dakari, Sólstaðuric, and first island blood,” Rene admitted. “Growing up around a port taught me random knowledge about Sólstaður, and the Dazuz family likes to emphasize the first island. I have a fairly good sense of the first island’s symbolism of things and some basic history.”
“The brevity of it drew comparisons to life,” Adelinde mused, recalling some older book she read about it during her main schooling. She glanced around at the blossoms both on the trees and falling to the ground, smiling a bit at them. “I personally can’t see them negatively. They’re beautiful, for one; and even if it doesn’t last for long, it seems fitting to enjoy them while they’re out.”
Rene slipped her hand into Adelinde’s, prompting a bit of an unexpected chuckle from the latter but earned her a light kiss on the cheek as well.
“I’m glad to hear someone say the good side of things, for once,” Rene said, smiling.
“Honestly, I don’t think I could have that view if we hadn’t met. It’s nice to have a positive outlook again, without worrying or hiding.”
Any further conversation paused when Matteo let out a little cheer, wandering off to the side of the street. Adelinde pulled away from Rene—somewhat unwillingly, given the moment—and caught up to Matteo a few steps ahead of them to see what caught his attention.
Matteo bent down and rummaged around the small pile of sakura petals lying just off the street, taking out one that had a brighter and more noticeable pink than the rest. He proudly showed it to Adelinde.
“Pink petal!” Matteo said proudly. “Bright pink, too.”
“It’s a very nice color,” Adelinde agreed. She held out her hand. “May I look at it?”
He seemed to consider declining, then dropped the petal into her hand. She carefully showed it to Rene when she came close as well.
Matteo held out his hands to take it again after a minute. “Back please?”
Adelinde nodded and gave the petal back to him. Rene paused for a moment as the boy stared at it with newfound amazement.
“I have a small flower press in my room,” she murmured. She cast the boy a smile, speaking a bit louder, “Hey, Matteo.”
He obediently looked up at her, offering an innocent look. “What?”
“Do you want to find two more?” Rene asked. Matteo’s expression shifted to pure joy as she continued. “One for me, one for your mom, and you can keep the one you have now—three petals in total. Then we can press them later and keep them even after the other petals fade.”
“Okay!” He held up the petal again. “Hold? I look!”
“I’ll keep it safe for you,” Rene promised, taking it like it was a sacred heirloom or it could end someone’s life.
Then again, having something given to you by a child and be expected to keep it out of harm’s way could very well ruin said child’s day should you fail. Adelinde still couldn’t help a little smile, even if the offer meant that she had to remind Matteo to stay close a little more often. He didn’t find a second one before they ate, but promised to find one on their way to the music district.
She honestly couldn’t picture doing any of this with Aurik. Walking around with Rene and Matteo felt so natural, she couldn’t even say she could predict what Aurik would have done, if he was alive and still with her.
She considered that as another sign of how she’s improved—how she moved on from only being able to see herself with Aurik, then alone, and now Rene was becoming one of the greatest influences she’s ever had. She didn’t think she could thank her enough for that.