The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

Words hold such immense power. A book is a door to the unknown; it warmly welcomes those who step inside and transports them to all sorts of times and places.

And, Mr Kikukawa - saying this makes me feel a bit presumptuous, but there's no need for you to be so afraid of forgetting. Once created, memories and words will never be erased. Even if you forget yourself completely, that will never mean that you did not exist. You see, when a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, it will still make a sound.

How am I supposed to accept that I can’t talk to you anymore?

A book is a door to the unknown; it warmly welcomes those who step inside and transports them to all sorts of times and places.

You can’t count a hundred years on your own, of course. But there are two of us. If we each count fifty years, then together, we can live alongside one another for a hundred years. So please promise me that we’ll be together for the next one hundred years. And that we’ll celebrate our golden anniversary by having a dance, just like we are right now. Can you promise me this?

If only the world knew that certain things were not meant to be measured by metrics like efficiency and profitability.

Once created, memories and words will never be erased. Even if you forget yourself completely, that will never mean that you did not exist. You see, when a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, it will still make a sound.

My star will be just one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens… They will all be your friends⁠—

I’m afraid that’s something even I can’t say for sure. Miracles are capricious things.

As she continued to read

As you may be aware, generally speaking, there are two ways in which the word “dream” is used. One of them illustrates what we aspire to be in the future. The other is something that only appears in our sleep, a kind of nonsensical virtual space that we create for ourselves. Personally, I find it fascinating that this is true not only for Japanese and English, but for many other languages around the world.

What made the tree unusual were the strange colors of these flowers. The nearer they were to the tips of the branches, the deeper they were in shade, gradually transitioning from the white and pale tones of a somei-yoshino, or Yoshino cherry, tree to the vibrant hues of a bell-flowered cherry. It seemed as though this single tree was painted in every imaginable shade of pink and red. From time to time, a gust of wind swept through the branches, creating marble-like swirls of white, scarlet and light coral on the ground.

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?’ she said. ‘Indeed. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.

I bet this couple will always be destined to meet, no matter how many times they’re reborn.

This is the amazing thing about the human imagination. You could say that through imagining them, such flows of time have come into existence. Words and the human imagination are that powerful.

Was it a bookshop with a coffee shop attached to it? Or a coffee shop with a big collection of books? It had to be one or the other. It did seem to have the atmosphere of a traditional coffee shop, but there were books everywhere she looked. There were bookcases arranged along the walls, and on top of the larger tables were mini bookcases holding small paperbacks and manga-sized books. There were even books on the edge of the counter, wedged between bookends. In short, the whole place was brimming with books.

Perhaps life was just an accumulation of such strange and trivial mysteries, Mio thought.

When that happens, the door opens. As the old saying goes, a book is “a door to another, unknown world”.