New Revelations (2)

Chapter 49: Episode 24 - New Revelations (2)

'Back then when she talked to him about that small girl, that meant that she was referring to me…'

"She wanted to show me the girl she was talking about so I could get along with her but I couldn't meet her since we had to leave because my parents had work the next day," Hanabusa told me and I nodded my head along.

"Was she your reason why you entered the school?" I asked him, curiously and he nodded his head.

"Yes. Before we left, I asked her how she made the Rose Cake but she never explained how she made it. She told me that if I really wanted to learn the ways of confections, she recommended that I attend the St. Marie Academy. She also brought up that the little girl she was talking about might attend here as well and that I should meet her to learn the recipe of the Rose Cake, but I don't know who she is, what she looks like, or what her name is. I wanted to talk to the girl if she could tell me more about Ella Fournier's Rose Cake and how she made it, but I don't even know if that girl is attending this school… My dream was to make it for my parents..."

As he admitted this, my eyes widened in surprise.

'Her famous Rose Cake? I'd always follow her to her bakeries but it's been a long time since I'd seen Mom make the cake… How could I know the recipe?'

This troubled me greatly but Fraise quickly interjected into the conversation before Hanabusa could look at my bothered face.

"Hanabusa's dream will certainly come true," Fraise assured him.

"Well… I wonder about that, because… my father isn't here anymore," Hanabusa confessed as a grim expression formed on his usually smug face. Cafe looked at him with concern and my face continued to remain in shock.

"Oh, I'm… sorry," I said carefully and he shook his head.

"Although it's a thing of the past, saying I want to make a rose cake made me remember my father. I received a call from him when he was on a business trip to Paris one day. He'd told me with excitement that he got a hold of a rare, natural rose water and that he'd bring it back immediately. In a rush to bring back one bottle, his car slipped on a rainy day on his way to the airport. This perfume was the only thing left at the scene…" Hanabusa got out a small glass bottle of rose water and stared sadly at it.

'I never knew that he also lost someone dear to him…'

"I… I know just how you feel, Hanabusa. I lost my mom in a car accident as well…" I admitted to him sympathetically though Fraise's expression remained like a statue, thinking that I was going to confess everything.

'I'm still not ready to say who my mother is or what she did, but I think that this is enough to confess…'

"I'm sorry, Michiko," Hanabusa sympathized, though my expression remained distant.

"I remember… it happened here in Japan, just as we were crossing the street…" I recalled those memories as I thought about what'd happen.

"When I was 8 at the time, my mom and I were going to a bakery, but it was on a busy street. Cars, buses, trucks, and people populated the streets and we had to cross. Though the pedestrian light turned on… there came a car flying at us at full speed—As if they couldn't recognize that people were in front of them, m-my mom quickly pushed me out of the way of the car and back to the sidewalk where it was safe… And then—"

Suddenly, I couldn't think of what happened next. I didn't know whether it was because I didn't want to relive those memories, but my mouth shut and refused to open.

'W-why can't I say anything else? Though I know what happened, why can't I remember it well?'

I covered my mouth in disturbance and my bright blue eyes opened up in shock. Suddenly, I could feel a sharp pain in my head as I tried to think more and more about it.

'I know she died by getting ran over by a car… but why? What's preventing me from recalling how she died? It all seems… so wrong…?'

As if noticing my sudden actions, Hanabusa quickly went over to my side.

"Michiko, are you alright?!" Hanabusa asked worriedly, his green eyes looked at me seriously.

"Keiko, what's going on? Are you okay?!" Fraise asked me with concern but I couldn't get out of my head.

'What happened that day? Did she die from getting run over? Or did something else happen to her…?'

"Mi… Michiko… MICHIKO!" A voice called out to me as I scrambled my hair in confusion. Hanabusa had been shaking me to come back to reality when I hadn't even realized I was dazed out.

"Ah, what's going on?" I asked in bewilderment and Fraise quickly went over to my side.

"You were zoned out for a bit and were moving anxiously as if you were having a nightmare! Then, Hanabusa started shaking you," Fraise explained and I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh, that's what happened… I'm sorry for worrying you guys. I didn't know what came over me," I apologized though Hanabusa, Cafe, and Fraise's looks continued to stare at me with concern.

"No, it's my fault for putting a load on you. You really don't have to mind it. Rather than that, would you like to try some of this rose water out?" Hanabusa suggested, pointing at the bottle.

"If you don't mind giving me some then I wouldn't mind," I shot him a small smile that would stop him from worrying.

He added a few small drops of the rose water into my tea and I could already smell the aroma coming from it. I brought the rose-scented tea to my mouth and took a sip.

'Ah… a sweet and heartrending aroma… it brings back memories of the ones we've lost…'

"The moment I have it in my mouth, the aroma of roses expands but it's a very natural aroma. It's like I'm in a rose garden in full bloom," I voiced my visions out loud as I closed my eyes.

'The feeling that if his father was one moment sooner, he would have been able to deliver it to Hanabusa.'

I looked at the grim expression he had as he stared at his father's last memento.

"I thought making a rose cake would be risky, but after hearing the theme for the first round, I've been wanting to use this somehow with Ella Fournier's rose cake in mind…" Hanabusa faintly explained though his words seemed bleak of hope.

'The theme is "A cake to enjoy with family". If we can pull this off, we'll definitely win against Team Ichimatsu.'

I stood up abruptly which surprised him.

"Let's make it, Hanabusa. A rose cake! Wouldn't it be nice to at least fulfill this one dream, even if it's now?" I suggested to him as he thought for a bit. "I know you will make a wonderful cake for sure."

"A rose cake, huh…" Hanabusa said quietly to himself before answering my suggestion.

"Yeah, let's do it!"