Tales from Far Away

Peach Boy and Tea Girl

                                                                      

Once upon a time, there lived a boy whose family sold peaches. Every day after school, the boy would come and sit, watching his family run their peach stall, learning the family trade.

One day, when the boy was around seven, he noticed most of the other stores like his family's were starting to disappear one by one. A few remained, like theirs, but those that disappeared were replaced by shops with big logos and flashy interiors. The stores that did remain, like his family's benefited greatly from the new name-brand shops. They brought in more foot traffic and younger customers.

A few years passed, and Yuzu was now working part-time at his family's peach store. One day, after walking 

from school as usual to begin his shift, he noticed the store directly across from theirs had closed down.

"Even big-name stores can go under," he thought.

"Yuzu!" his father called.

"Coming, Father."

"Ahh, my back," the old man groaned with a cigarette in his mouth.

Soon after, a new shop was already under construction. Every day, Yuzu would peek through the windows to try and guess what kind of store it would be.

One afternoon, as he was peeking in, a hand touched his shoulder and startled him.

"Sorry, young man. l didn't mean to give you a fright," said the lady. "But if you don't mind me asking-what are you doing?"

"l was just trying to see what kind of shop this is going to be."

"Oh," she said. "Well, you don't have to wonder anymore. Why don't you come inside? l can give you a little

tour."

The boy stared blankly.

"Don't worry. l am the new owner of this tea shop. That girl over there is my daughter, Mugi. She's a bit busy, as you can see. Anyway, we're opening tomorrow. You're welcome to come by, and please tell your parents to stop in. We're doing a buy-one-get-one-free on selected items."

"Thanks for the invite, but l need to start my shift now. My family owns the peach stall right across from you."

"Ah, l see. Spying on the new competition?"

Yuzu looked flustered "Oh, no-"

"l' am teasing." she said with a smile.

He gave a nervous smile and nodded. "Thank you. l'll be leaving now. it was nice meeting you."

"Okay then, bye!"

He ran off quickly, afraid she might start talking again. He greeted his father and went into the storage room to change into his work clothes.

while he  got dressed outside, the woman said to her daughter,"Mugi, dear, will the plumber be here before tomorrow?"

"Yes, they said someone will arrive in about an hour."

"Good. Did you see that boy who just left?"

"Kind of."

"His school uniform-it's the same school you'll be attending. Maybe you'll be classmates.''

"Maybe," Mugi said. "He looks a little older than me though, l can't believe l have to start school on the same day we open."

"l know. But what can we do?"

A little while after they went inside yuzu came out of the storage room and started helping customers , Yuzu looked across the street again. the paper covering the windows had been removed. The lights were on.

And the girl who had been speaking on the phone was now writing the word "Closed" on a board as she stood on a stool. He looked at her quietly. In that moment, Mugi looked around, stepped down from the stool, and caught Yuzu’s eyes. She nodded in recognition. He nodded back.

for a moment they just looked at each other in thought and went on again in the rhythm  of life.

The next day they noticed each other while walking on the way to school they find them self walking to the same school together everyday closer and closer after months and seasons past and then the high school years began.

"One day, while Mugi is walking with two friends to school, we see a nervous and flushed-face Yuzu bowing forward with his arms stretched out, both hands holding what could be nothing but a confession letter. Mugi, surprised, reaches out her hand and takes the letter of love, then looks at Yuzu with a loving but shy smile. Yuzu is no longer bent over, relieved that she accepted."

"Later, while serving tea to a customer, she noticed Yuzu looking at her. She smiles. Yuzu, distracted, gives a customer too much change. His father hits him on the head with a newspaper. Mugi chuckled as he repeatedly bends over in apology to his father."

That same day, after finishing their shifts, they met between their family stores, held hands, and walked into the city lights. And went to a carnival, where they played games, won stuffed animals, shot down cardboard ducks, and ate candy floss.

After the evening of fun, they walked with arms intertwined through the city. Store lights, streetlights, skylight, and car lights shone down on them as a sea of people moved all around. Mugi and Yuzu walked on, their arms full of bounty from the adventure. At that moment, tucked tightly into Yuzu’s side, Mugi looked up at him as he ate his candy floss and kissed his cheek. She kept walking silently. Yuzu, now with a silly look on his face, kept walking too — both of them smiling with a quiet sense of knowing.

Seasons passed. Every evening, every working day, they would meet between the family stores and walk each other home—through snow, through rain, in the heat, and in the cool breeze of spring. Sometimes, they guided a lost stranger or helped an old man who had drunk just a little too much.

Now 23 and 24, they are both co-running the family shops. One evening, as they close up shop, Yuzu—before turning around to meet Mugi—takes something out of his pocket and looks at it. It's a wedding ring box. After hiding it behind his back, he walks up to Mugi, who was waiting for him to finish up. He bends down on one knee in the cold snow and presents the ring to her. Mugi, speechless, looks at him in silence, her eyes full of emotion.

We now see Mugi's mother on her apartment sofa, one leg crossed, with a basket of peaches in view on her coffee table. She chokes a little on her tea and looks at her daughter, Mugi, who is sitting on a pillow, kneeling with Yuzu by her side as he asks for her hand in marriage—sweating so much that you can see the sweat stains through his dark gray suit. Mugi looks at her mother with a loving smile, and her mother looks back with a face of shock and delight.

Next, we see Yuzu’s father fixing his tie while his mother watches him as he gets ready for the wedding photo. Mugi waits with her mother, arm in arm. Then, the beautiful couple poses with their parents and takes their wedding photo—wearing the kind of smiles that make everyone’s eyes look closed.

After settling into the rhythm of their new life as a married couple—back to working and running the family businesses—one night, while closing up shop, Mugi hands Yuzu a small white box. He looks at her with a curious expression, then opens it to find a pair of tiny baby shoes. As he looks up at Mugi, if you were there, you could visibly see a little life drain from his eyes. In that moment, he fainted—tipping over, the whites of his eyes gently showing mid-fall, while Mugi reached out, trying to catch him.

Mugi, now visibly pregnant, is sitting on the sofa in their newly moved-in apartment. Yuzu, sitting cross-legged, sits beside her as she eats sliced peaches while watching TV. Yuzu peels one by hand with a knife, the long roll of peach skin falling unbroken. At that moment, she gave out a small scream. Now her hand is gripping his arm, hunched over on the sofa. They both look at each other in silence—realizing her water just broke.

The end.