Chapter 6

Hanako's entire break was spent on catching up with her mother. They talked about everything and anything as she helped her mom around the coffee shop.

Every Saturday, the cafe would have a delivery of flowers. Her mother always made it a point that every week, the flowers inside the cafe would be different from the week before. That was because of her fascination with flowers. It was a good thing that the Akutagawa's, a few blocks away, had a good relationship with Iris. They were willing to let her rent their flowers week after week, and they even helped with the arrangements for the said flowers because that's their business—a flower shop that also does home services for flower arrangements.

And that day is today. When Mr. Terasaka Akutagawa, the old man who owns the flower shop, started unloading the flowers from the truck, everyone busied themselves with helping around. Of course, the father-and-son duo, who were originally the cafe's helpers, were also there to help.

"Aren't you blooming today, Iris?" Mr. Terasaka smiled at my mother. "Must be because of Hanako here, huh?" he added as he patted Hanako's shoulder, who was standing next to him.

Hanako chuckled. "Is she? My mom always looks blooming to me, though. It's because she's naturally pretty, right?" she said, smiling.

"Oh, you two! Stop flattering me; I won't reward you for doing so." Iris then laughed as she continued arranging the flowers. And as they continued arranging the flowers, they didn't notice the little kid, who's about 5 years old, get out of the truck that Mr. Akutagawa had brought to deliver the flowers and enter the shop.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing when they heard a loud thud, followed by a loud cry of a little child, presumably a boy. They all rushed over to where the sound came from, and they all found a little boy crying on the floor by the shop's display area.

The display area was a space that had low-level bookshelves, and the wall was plastered with the shop's varying permits and paintings for the shop's aesthetic. The centerpiece was the painting of a woman standing in a field of blooming irises. It was the painting Hanako had gifted her mother because it reminded her of her. There, on the floor, was the crying little boy; beside him was the book that had a plain dark green cover, and in the middle was a little flower bud along with the book's title.

"Hoshi!" Mr. Terasaka called out, which made the kid stop crying and look up.

"G-Grandpa... it hurts," he sobbed, showing his back to his grandpa.

"Terasaka-san, I didn't know your grandson was here," Iris said as she helped the child up.

"My son came for New Year's. He brought his wife and this son of his," Mr. Terasaka answered before crouching down to level with his grandson. "Did you fall? What about your head? Did you hit it?" he asked, and his grandson nodded, then shook his head.

"What were you trying to do? How'd you fall?" Hanako couldn't help but ask.

"I..." Hoshi looked at Hanako shyly, then rubbed his cheek with his index finger, which everyone found cute. "I was trying to get the book," Hoshi continued.

"The book?" Then Hanako's eyes were drawn to the book beside the boy, and she walked over to pick it up. It was her book, *The Lost Bud.* "This? Do you like books?" she asked, and the child nodded excitedly, making him look like a woodpecker.

"You should've looked for me or an adult to ask for help, Hoshi!" Terasaka scolded his grandson.

"Don't do something like this again, okay? It's fortunate that the shelves were low, and you weren't hurt badly," Iris said.

Everyone went back to their work as they left Hanako to look after the kid, who was now sitting at one of the tables drinking hot cocoa. Hanako found the kid cute and she ruffles Hoshi's hair.

"Hey, kid, what's your name? And how old are you?" Hanako asked as she was now poking the kid's soft, plump cheeks.

Hoshi got irritated by the continuous poking and pushed Hanako's hand away from him before answering. "I'm Aster Akutagawa! I'm five, and we live in a faraway place. We rode a plane to get here."

"Aster? Then why does your grandpa call you Hoshi?" Hanako asked, putting her chin on her knuckles as she watched the kid curiously.

"Because Mommy said that Aster and Hoshi mean star! Because I am our family's shining star!" the kid answered, smiling widely at her as he continued to babble more and more things that Hanako didn't listen to since she was too engrossed in the kid's almost animated expressions, and it made her chuckle. She was sure this child would grow up as a ray of sunshine.

"Ah!" the kid exclaimed, surprising Hanako.

"What? What is it?" she said, almost in a panic.

"..." the kid blinked at her as he stared at her face for a full minute before laughing. "*Laughs* You looked funny! Are you surprised?" he snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," Hanako sarcastically commented, rolling her eyes, forgetting the fact that she was talking to a five-year-old kid. "So, what is it?" she asked again.

"I don't know your name yet, Onee-san," the kid said as he wiped his mouth because he had already finished his cocoa.

"Oh, I'm Hanako. Nice to meet you," she said, ruffling the kid's hair again.

They talked for a while longer before Mr. Terasaka called for Hoshi because they were done here and would have to go back home. As the two were about to leave, Hanako asked them to wait for a while as she went upstairs and got her copy of the book before going back to where the gang was.

She handed the book to Hoshi. "Here, you can have this, but don't read it yet, okay? Only read it when you grow older."

Hoshi took the book with sparkling eyes, but he looked at Hanako, confused as to why he couldn't read the book. "But why?" he asked, pouting, making his cheeks plumper than they already were.

Hanako pinched the kid's cheek gently so as not to hurt the child. "It's because this book is meant for grown-ups," she explained. "So, promise me you won't read it until your Mommy says it's okay. Understand?" she added, but the kid just stayed silent, puckering his lips in protest. Hanako chuckled and put her pinky finger up. "Promise?"

Hoshi, even though unwilling, entwined his pinky with Hanako's. "Promise."

And Hanako watched as the truck slowly faded into the distance. Iris, who was standing next to her daughter, tapped Hanako's shoulder. "Seems like you really liked the kid, huh?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I somehow do. He's really cute, right? I hope I could see him again next time," Hanako answered with a warm smile on her face.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you will," Iris said before urging Hanako to go back inside the shop.