[Hanako] Nuvole Bianche

Nuvole Bianche


Dull light creeps in through our open blinds, creating a blinding sensation as my eyes peel open for the first time this morning. I peer over to the window and notice that it has most definitely snowed, a perfect situation for this three day weekend off from school. I start to get up from our bed without thinking, quickly coming to the realization that Hanako is pinning my arm to the bed with her body, while her arms are wrapped around my neck. Her eyes are still sealed shut tightly, but she's a fairly light sleeper. I tactically remove my forearm from underneath of her, followed by slowly unwrapping her arms from around my neck. Suprisingly, she doesn't stir one bit, and I'd think this would be strange until I look at the clock on my nightstand.

It shows 7:22 AM.

God damn. Even on a Sunday, I cannot manage to sleep in one little bit. I dip my head a bit in disappointment before walking over to my windows, staring out at the ground below. I'd say we've gotten a good six to seven inches of fresh snow, and it's still coming down fairly heavily. I smile to myself. Winter is obviously a painful time of year for me, sparking memories of my 'incident'...

But this year, it's different. It feels like my life has been renewed, as if nothing had ever happened to derail it. This is the second year we've been out of Yamaku. Lots of major changes have happened in our lives in that short period of time: we graduated and both decided on attending the same university, which didn't come as much of a shock. The more surprising thing, though, was when I proposed that we both rent an apartment together and she agreed without putting any thought into it.

Coming back from my state of recollection, I focus my eyes again to the ground below me, thinking of possible activities the two of us could do outside today. I know we've never actually had an opportunity to go outside when there's been a lot of snow on the ground, so this should be an interesting, play it by ear kind of day. I step back from the view and creep out of the bedroom, cautious about waking up my sleeping girlfriend this early in the morning.

I head out into the small kitchen that we have and begin heating water in our tea kettle with hopes that by the time she's awake, a nice cup of tea will be sitting across from me at the table. I turn and make myself a pot of coffee, the way that I normally start of my day. I set out two plates on the table and create a light platter for breakfast: a few pieces of toast and various fruits that we purchased from the store earlier in the week.

Within a few minutes, the table is set with a full blown breakfast, a wonderful aroma of tea, coffee and fruit rising up into the air. Obviously it managed to drift over into our bedroom, as the door creaks open and Hanako stumbles out of the room, rubbing her eyes and yawning in the process. I can't peel my eyes away from the beauty that stands before me, her messy hair draping down over her shoulders and face bare of makeup. She blinks a couple of times and takes in a big breath of air in through her nostrils, the mixed scent of fruits and other morning time goodies dancing into the them. Her eyes immediately light up at the smell, her lips smiling at me brightly in contrast to the pale morning outside.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." She blushes at my statement, drawing a hearty grin out of me. She seems surprised at me having made her a breakfast platter this morning, as it's normally the other way around, but the look on her face is quite genuine.

"Y-you spoil me too much, you know that?" Her stutter has progressively gotten better ever since we graduated. No longer does she stumble over every single word she speaks, but only a couple here and there. I still find the occasional stutter out of embarrassment to be completely adorable, as it completely suits her shy and loving personality.

"I do not! It's normally the other way around, considering you do things like this for me almost every morning." She blushes a bit and looks down, a couple strands of hair falling down over her face. She quickly looks back up and pushes the loose hair out of her eyesight, another thing that she's started doing frequently. I stand up and postion myself behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders and guiding her over to her chair at the table. I fill her tea cup full of water and place a bag in it, an act that she shows her appreciation of by giving me a light peck on the cheek.

I quickly seat myself and we sit for a few minutes in silence, munching on fruits and toast while occasionally sipping at my coffee. On the other side of the table, Hanako nibbles at an apple while letting her cup of tea cool down a bit, settling to eat and read the next chapter of her book that she had recently purchased at the campus bookstore.

Within a few minutes, breakfast is finished and we're cleaning up the table and dishes. Hanako runs some soap and water over our dirty plates as I carry them over to the sink, setting down the last of them before wrapping her in a hug from behind. She nearly flings the plate she was cleaning across the room in surprise, recovering just in time to save the dish. I laugh a bit as she puts the plate down and places her hands over mine. I smile warmly, as this is something we don't have an opportunity to do while we're busy with school and work.

"So, my love, are you interested in going outside with me today?" Her expression turns to that of a child opening up their largest gift at Christmas. She turns around and looks up into my face, wrapping her arms around my neck before speaking to me.

"Really? You know, w-we haven't ever gone out in the snow together, even though we've been together through nearly two winter seasons..." She trails off a bit, catching herself mid thought. She understands why I haven't been the biggest winter supporter over the past few years. She blushes profusely at her mistake, and stutters out a quick apology. "I'm s-so sorry! I completely f-forgot about-"

"Hana, you know that I've come to terms what happened. It's okay." I respond with a smile on my face to further emphasize my point before completely changing the topic. "Hey, why don't we go get ready and head outside? I know you packed a sled and some winter clothes when we moved in a couple of years ago, maybe we should head over to the hill down the road!" It's made clear when she approves of this idea when she goes up on her tip toes, places a kiss on my cheek and bounds out of the kitchen and into out bedroom.

She really is like a kid sometimes. But, that part of her personality may be an alluring factor to me.

I go and join her in the bedroom to prepare myself for the day. In a few minutes, I've got on my thick winter coat, two layers of sweatpants, some boots and a pair of gloves. I finish getting ready before her, as she decided to head to the bathroom and do her morning rituals before joining me out in the living room. She emerges in a long, fluffy purple coat, accompanied by a pair of what looks to be thick pants, snow boots and a pair of earmuffs. I must admit, she looks absolutely stunning in her outfit, even though it's nothing special. I hop up out of my seat and offer my arm to her, which she graciously accepts. Shortly after, we're on our way out of the apartment and down into the snow covered depths below.

First thing I notice when we reach the outdoors is how cold it is. The heating in our apartment keeps the temperature at an extremely comfy level. Hanako drops the sled and drags it behind us as we begin our short trek to the nearest hill. As we walk, I can't help but take a couple of peeks over at the beautiful woman beside me. She stares forward with a childish smile on her face. I guess she's a bit more excited about our little adventure than I was first expecting.

Within a few minutes of walking, we reach the hill, which is surprisingly empty barring three other people. We climb to the top of the slope, revealing a sprawling view of the town below, all topped off with a nice layer of white powder. Hanako and I stand for a moment and just stare the goregous scenery before us, our hands and arms still locked together from the journey that led to this point. She drops the string to the sled and sits on the front of it, leaving just barely enough space for me to fit onto it with her. Once settled, she turns her head for a moment and plants a kiss on my nose, giggling like a schoolgirl. Before I can return the favor, I feel the momentum of the sled creep forward, sending us flying down the hill. Hanako hangs onto the side for dear life, screaming and laughing with immense joy as we continue.

Upon reaching the end, we both flop off the sled into the snow, laughing and carrying on like two children. Maybe that's what we are today; just two children trapped in adult bodies. I army crawl my way over to her, laying my arm across her stomach. She rolls over and pushes her forehead against mine, giggling and smiling in a manner that I've never seen from her before. She leans in and gives me a kiss which stifles our laughter, the warm sensation sparking my body in the brisk winter air. She pulls back and gets up on her feet, brushing snow from her bottom and torso. She offers me and hand and pulls me up, picking up the sled after and leading me up the hill for another ride.

A few hours fly by in what feels like an instant. The joy the two of us got out of something as simple as riding a sled down a hill multiple times was unmatched by anything else in recent memory. Eventually, Hanako comes up with the idea of building a snowman together, something that sounds interesting enough. So, we climb back up the hill once more and head out into the clearing at the top. We begin rolling up the very bottom portion of the body, and after a short amount of time, we manage to roll what looks like a perfect sphere. Hanako decides to roll the head while I do the mid section next, which causes a couple of hilarious situations. While Hanako rolls the snow around, she manages to push so hard that her momentum going forward sends her gliding over the top of her section, causing her face to plant in the snow.

At first, I panic and run over to make sure she was okay. But, the stifled crying I believe I'm hearing turns out to be girlish laughter, as she rolls over and allows me to help her onto her feet. We both laugh about this for a few minutes, one of those moments where you wish you could have recorded what happened. With the moment subsiding and coming to an end, we finish up our portions of the body and complete the thing in its entirety. Stepping back and looking at our masterpiece, Hanako poses a question to me.

"Hey Hisao, what do you think we should put on it?" In response, I walk over to a nearby tree and break off one of the dead branches, snapping it into multiple pieces until I get a twig that seems to be a sufficient length. I poke the twig into the center of the head, deciding that it would make a solid nose for our little project. Hanako reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a scarf that she wasn't wearing and decides to drape it around the neck area. Before backing away, she also takes out the two replacement buttons for her jacket and situates them into place for the eyes, creating the majority of the snowman's facial structure. She steps back for a moment and surveys the work of art in front of her, when I quickly come to the decision that it could use an addition to it's torso. To cover it's mid and part of its lower portion, I remove my heavy winter coat and drap it around the frozen figure.

I step back and take my place beside Hanako, the sun now beginning to set as we evaluate the masterpiece before us. With a satisfied grin on my lips, I turn to the beauty standing at my side, clinging to the long sleeve of my shirt. Her face is lighting up the darkening space around us, her smile and twinkling eyes still ever present, as they have been ever since we left the home this morning. She moves her head to face me and envelopes my body in a soft hug. The embrace is meaningful, as she clings to the back of my shirt with her hands, her head resting against the center of my chest. She looks up at me with that gorgeous twinkle in her amethyst eyes, elevating her lips to meet mine. After what feels like an eternity, our lips part, and she breaks the silence that has settled between us.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For always being here for me." I smile and ruffle her hair a bit, which draws a light blush of embarrassment from her.  She closes her eyes lightly and smiles back at me, something that I'll never ever get tired of. "Hey, why don't we head home? I could go for a nice cup of tea, you know?" She nudges my side playfully with her elbow and begins heading back towards the apartment. I look back at our snowman before we leave, not bothering to go back to retrieve the scarf and coat that we left behind. Dragging the sled behind us after I catch back up to her, we trek back home.

Upon arrival, I realize that it's already eight in the evening. She removes her winter wear and replaces it her nightgown quickly before I have an opportunity to get changed myself, returning to the kitchen and putting the kettle on the stove. Once I return from the bedroom, dressed in my bed clothes, she's already got two cups of tea ready for the two of us, the refreshing aroma of mint and berries filling the air. I pick my cup up from the table and sit on the couch in the living room, stretching my legs out and patting a small space in front of me. She takes the inviation and joins me on the couch, taking a moment to gently sit her cup down on a coaster. I flick on the TV as Hanako cuddles up nice and tight against my body. She wraps my arms around her torso for me, and within a few minutes of watching TV and sipping on tea, sleeping beauty is once again... well, sleeping.

I smile to myself, give her a light kiss below her ear, whispering my final words of the night onto deaf ears.

"I love you, Hanako."

Or so I thought, anyways.

"I love you too, my dear."



'Nuvole Bianche' is a composition by Ludovico Einaudi.