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Post by devilinthedetails on Jul 1, 2020 22:02:58 GMT 10
Series: Spring Cherry Blossoms
Title: Ripples in a Pond
Rating: PG-13 for references to suicide.
Event: Fun in the Sun-Making a Splash.
Words: 200.
Summary: At the Imperial Court, Shinko and her brother make a splash.
Ripples in a Pond
Shinko sat on a stone beside her brother Naoki, faces reflected in one of the Imperial gardens’ many placid ponds. Fading cherry blossoms past their prime still stubbornly clinging to the branches that provided shade against the spring sun hovered overhead. Shinko could see their diminished glory mirrored in the pond while their withered pink futures were foretold in the fallen petals that floated in the water.
“Who knew we’d make such a splash at court?” Naoki’s finger was a brush in the pond painting waves.
“Our parents should’ve known, because it’s our parents who made the splash at court.” Shinko felt a sharp surge of bitterness toward the people who had created her—the parents who had been ambitious as cherry blossoms and had fallen like cherry blossoms. The parents who had been accused of treason by the emperor, Shinko’s uncle, and ordered to commit ritual suicide. The parents who had abandoned her and Naoki to the cruelties of court. Snatching a pebble from the path, she tossed it into the pond’s center, creating ripples that conquered the entire pond. “Our parents were the pebbles that made the splash at court, dear brother, and we are only the ripples.”
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Post by mistrali on Jul 2, 2020 7:06:21 GMT 10
This is lovely, Devil. I can see both Shinko/Naoki’s side and their parents’ side of things - being ordered to commit suicide means you have to carry it through, but that means Shinko and her brother were left to the merciless court.
The metaphor of cherry blossoms and water throughout is wonderful.
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Post by Kypriotha on Jul 2, 2020 20:17:57 GMT 10
I really like this comment of Shinko's - I think it really captures her practical, but also poetical, way of thinking.
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Post by devilinthedetails on Jul 3, 2020 2:22:51 GMT 10
mistrali, thank you so much for commenting! I'm so glad you found this lovely. I was picturing a lovely garden scene with cherry blossoms and a little placid pond as I wrote this, so I'm glad that some of the loveliness of my mental scenery came through in my writing :)I definitely understand Shinko and Naoki's side of feeling abandoned to a cruel court by their parents, but at the same time, you're totally right as well that if ordered to commit suicide, one has to do it, and certainly Shinko and Naoki's lives would be no easier and probably more difficult if their parents hadn't obeyed orders. And I'm so happy that the metaphor of cherry blossoms and water worked for you throughout. Metaphor was one great way to try to say a lot in a few words in this story! Kypriotha, thank you so much for commenting! You highlighted one of the lines that I felt was most powerful and packed the most punch as I was writing, so yay Writing Shinko for me is often a matter of balancing her practical and poetic sides, so I'm so glad you felt both sides of her were showcased in that line!
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