Chapter 21.5: Cherry Blossom

The rain stopped in the afternoon. The streets were wet and shiny. Fumino looked at her phone again.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” she asked. She moved the fruit basket from one arm to the other.

Meai was already eating a banana. She took it from the basket before they even left the station. “GPS says we’re here. Unless Rii-chan sent us to a secret lab.”

“It’s not a secret lab,” Rinn said. She put her camera down. She had been taking photos of the surroundings.

“It’s a private hospital. Heliarch Private Medical. Very fancy. Very expensive.”

The building was fancy. White stone. Glass doors that opened by themselves. A black car was leaving the driveway. Neat bushes lined the entrance. A silver sign said:

HELIARCH PRIVATE MEDICAL

Excellence in Care

“Fancy,” Meai said with her mouth full. “Like, ‘my dad owns a company’ fancy. Sakura-chan’s parents must be ultra-rich.”

“Maybe,” Fumino said. “She never really talks about her family.”

“Yeah,” Rinn added. “I don’t know much about them either.”

They walked through the glass doors. Soft music played. A big shiny light hung from the ceiling. A woman sat at the desk. She smiled at them.

“Visiting hours?” the woman asked.

“We’re here to see Sakura Hayashida,” Fumino said. She held the fruit basket tight.

The woman typed on her computer. “Room 407. Fourth floor. Take the elevator. Visiting hours end at six.”

The elevator played soft music. Meai finished her banana and looked for a place to put the peel.

“Don’t leave that here,” Fumino said.

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You were.”

“Okay, maybe a little.”

Rinn took a photo of the floor. “For the memory album,” she said.

The doors opened. The hallway smelled like flowers and medicine. Room 407 was at the end. The door was open a little. A soft beeping sound came from inside.

Fumino knocked. “Sakura-chan?”

“Come in!”

The voice was weak but happy. Fumino felt better.

Sakura was on the bed with many pillows behind her. Both arms had bandages. One arm had a splint on the fingers. Her left leg was up on a pillow. It had a cast from ankle to knee. A white bandage was around her head. A yellow bruise showed under it.

But she was smiling.

“Fumi-chan! Meai-chan! Rii-chan!” Sakura’s face lit up. “You came!”

“Of course we came,” Meai said. She put the fruit basket on the table. “Did you think we would leave you here alone?”

“I didn’t think anyone would come.” Sakura’s voice was quiet. Then she laughed a little. “I mean, it’s just a small accident. Nothing serious.”

Meai stared at her. “Nothing serious?”

“Mmm.” Sakura wiggled her bandaged fingers. “Just a few bumps.”

“Sakura-chan.” Fumino sat on the edge of the bed. “What happened?”

Sakura’s smile went away for a moment. She looked at her hands. Her voice was softer.

“He didn’t show up.”

Rinn put her camera down. Meai stopped eating.

“I waited at the station for an hour,” Sakura said. “I texted him. Called. Nothing. So I decided to go home.” She stopped. “I was crossing the street. I wasn’t paying attention. A bike came. A motorcycle. I didn’t see it until…”

She moved her bandaged hand.

“The bike hit you?” Meai asked.

“Just a little. The driver stopped. He called an ambulance. He was nice. He kept saying sorry.” Sakura smiled again. It was shaky. “So it’s not a big deal. Just some broken bones. I’ll be fine.”

The room was quiet. The heart monitor beeped.

“That guy,” Meai said slowly, “your boyfriend—”

“Ex-boyfriend.”

“—your ex-boyfriend is trash.”

“Sakura.” Fumino took her hand. “Why didn’t you call us?”

“I know.” Sakura’s voice cracked. “That’s why I didn’t call.”

“Because you would have come,” Sakura said softly. “And I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

The room got very quiet.

Then Meai snorted. “Bother anyone?” She grabbed a chair and sat down. “Saku-chan, I walked across town carrying a fruit basket heavier than my backpack. You think I did that because I was bothered?”

Sakura blinked. “I—”

“I ate half the fruit on the way here,” Meai said. She pulled out another banana. “And I still brought enough for three people. That’s how much I care.”

“I think that’s a compliment,” Rinn said.

“It was a compliment.”

Fumino laughed. Sakura giggled too. Then she winced and held her ribs, but she kept laughing.

“You’re all crazy,” Sakura said. She wiped her eyes. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Meai said. She peeled the banana. “Now eat something. You look like a ghost.”

The door opened. A woman in pink scrubs walked in. Her face was kind. Her name tag said Ririko with little flower stickers around it.

“Good afternoon,” she said with a warm smile. “How are we feeling today, Sakura-chan?”

“Much better, Nurse Ririko,” Sakura said. “These are my friends. Fumino, Meai, and Rinn.”

Nurse Ririko nodded at them. “Nice to meet you. I’m the head nurse on this floor, and Sakura-chan is my favorite patient here.”

She walked to the bed and checked the monitors. Her movements were calm and practiced. She examined the bandages carefully.

“Visitors are good for recovery,” she said, smiling at the three girls. “It’s nice to see she has such nice friends who really care.”

Meai sat up a little straighter.

Nurse Ririko checked Sakura’s temperature and blood pressure, jotting notes on her clipboard. Then she glanced at Sakura’s bandaged head.

“The pain today?” she asked.

“About a four,” Sakura replied.

“That’s good. Last night you said six.” Ririko nodded. “You’re healing well.”

“Take care of her,” she said, then left, closing the door quietly behind her.

“She’s nice… I love her,” Meai said.

“She is,” Sakura agreed. “She’s the best nurse here. She always brings me extra pudding.”

Fumino let out a breath and reached into the fruit basket, pulling out grapes. “Here. Eat.”

Sakura took the grapes with her good hand and put one in her mouth. “These are good.”

At five-thirty, a sound came from the hall. Five minutes left. Meai looked at her phone.

“We should go.”

“Stay a few more minutes,” Sakura said.

Fumino stood up. “We’ll come back tomorrow. Or the next day.”

“You don’t have to—”

“We want to,” Rinn said. “Now smile for goodbye photo.”

Click.

Sakura was laughing. Her good hand was up like she was waving. The light on her head bandage made it look like a crown.

The hallway was quiet. People were leaving. Fumino’s phone buzzed. A message from Rinn popped up in their group chat, showing a photo of all of them. Sakura in the middle, a grape near her mouth. Meai grinning with a banana peel on her head. Fumino laughing. Rinn’s arm stretched out. Sunlight came through the window, dust floating like glowing particles.

The hospital was quiet at night. The halls were empty. The lights hummed softly. Nurse Ririko sat at the nurses’ station. A cup of coffee sat beside her. Patient files were arranged on the desk.

She worked quietly, filling out forms. Her handwriting was neat and careful. She checked each file one by one, murmuring to herself.

“Room 401 — stable. Room 402 — medication given. Room 403 — discharged. Room 404 — complained about the food again. Noted.” She made a small mark on the paper. “Room 405 —”

She pulled out Sakura Hayashida’s file. Her eyes caught something on the page.

“Cause of injury… train accident?” She paused, tilting her head. She tapped her pen against her chin. “Wasn’t she telling her friends she got hit by a bike? Did I mishear?”

She stared at the paper for a moment, thinking.

“The paramedic must have written it wrong,” she said quietly. “He’s a really busy man. Long shifts. Lots of patients. Must be hard for him.”

She pulled her pen out.

“Let me fix it for you.”

She crossed out “train accident” and wrote “bike accident” in neat, clear letters. She smiled at her work.

Ririko closed the file. She took a sip of her coffee.

“It got cold,” she murmured.