Indian Summer

[Butterscotch]

Just a short Rachel/Soseki one-shot. Kind of hurt-comfort. 

Indian summer. There is something magical about that time, when the chill of autumn suddenly gives way to the warmth of summer, when the weather is hot and the skies are blue and the trees are red and gold.

The change was especially welcome because the autumn that year had been unusually cool and rainy. When the weather suddenly cleared and grew warm, the residents of Echo Town left their houses and spent as much time out of doors as possible, as if they were trying to soak up as much of the sunshine and warmth as possible and set it aside for the winter. Anyone who's work kept them inside was out of sorts; they kept glancing wistfully at windows and sighing.

Soseki had no work and was free to spend his time outside as he wished. Hardly anyone in town had really enjoyed the rainy weather, but even fewer disliked it as much as Soseki had. He had stayed holed up indoors, with a big stack of books on the floor and had read through them steadily, hardly leaving his house at all. No one could really blame him for staying inside, but few people understood the real reason Soseki had been so miserable.

Today, though, the weather was fine. Soseki decided to head for the mountains but without any real destination. He moved slowly and stiffly at first., but the sun and exercise warmed him and he moved more normally as he climbed higher. He still moved slowly, though this was out of choice. He stopped frequently to look at the wild flowers that grew on the mountain. Some of them were familiar, they had grown near his hometown as well. Others were unknown to him. He was less interested in the animals he saw and mostly ignored them.

Soseki's stomach growled. He glanced up at the sky, taking note of the sun's position. It was later than he had thought. He walked a bit further, looking for a good spot to sit. Not much further he saw a large rock surrounded by soft grass and soft delicate flowers. There was a tree nearby but at that time of the day it provided little shade. Still, it was an almost ideal spot.

Soseki sat down, leaned against the rock and sighed. The walk had taken more out of him than he had realized. He produced a small lunched that he had packed and ate slowly, savoring his meal and tried not to think about the long walk down the mountain.

Few people in Echo Town knew Soseki's age. Most of the them had guessed at how old he was, but they were all off by several years. Soseki was aging well. He had lines or wrinkles on his face, no gray hairs on his head. His eyesight and hearing were excellent. From the outside Soseki looked many years younger than his true age.

But his body had betrayed him. For many years he had lived with severe pain. Soseki had seen many doctors, but nothing worked. Eventually he had been forced to give up his job as a reporter because the pain had left him practically crippled. He'd come to Echo Town to live quietly. To his surprise, the local doctor, Klaus, had been able to diagnose and treat his condition. He could never be cured, but the pain could be managed. It was more than Soseki could have hoped for.

Soseki finished his lunch and leaned back against the rock, feeling he warmth of the sun on his face. He closed his eyes. His meal and the exercise and made him sleepy and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

While he slept, shadows shifted, covering him. When Soseki awoke, it was cool and he felt stiff and sore from sleeping in such an awkward position. He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning at his predicament. Before he could decide what to do, he heard footsteps coming up the path.

It was the local farmer, Rachel. She'd changed her hair again. When Soseki had first come to Echo Town, Rachel's hair had been blonde and down to her waist. Since then she'd changed the color and style many times. The other day she'd been wearing it it a ponytail and had dyed it a soft green. Today, her hair was shorter and pastel pink. She was wearing it in pigtails. The sweet innocent look suited her better than the last hairstyle.

Rachel jumped in the air and grabbed a small butterfly. As she went to put it in her bag, she noticed Soseki for the first time. Startled, she let go of the butterfly and it flitted away.

“H-hi, Soseki.”

“Hello, Rachel. You changed your hair again.”

Rachel tugged at one of the pigtails, a shy look crossing her face. “Yeah, I thought I'd try something new. But I think I'll keep it this way for awhile.

“It suits you.”

“You think so? Thank you!” Rachel said, beaming. “Oh yeah, I have...something.”

Rachel began rummaging in her bag, eventually producing an old coin. She handed it to Soseki. He was surprised. While Rachel was always friendly and pleasant, she only rarely gave him gifts. Touched Soseki blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Thank you. This is one of my favorite foods.”

As soon as he said the words, he realized how stupid they were.

“Food?” Rachel repeated. She pressed her lips together, trying hard not to laugh.

Soseki threw back his head and began to laugh at his stupid mistake. A moment later, Rachel let loose the laughter she'd tried so hard to hold back. They laughed for so long that Rachel dropped down to the grass next to Soseki, breathless with laughter.

“I can't remember the last time I laughed like that,” Soseki said when he finally calmed down.

“What did you mean to say?”

“Things, I guess. I don't know why I said food.”

“Well, it's important to get iron in your diet,” Rachel said with mock seriousness. Soseki snorted with laughter. “But if you're hungry, Soseki, I have food in my bag.”

“My mother taught me that it's unlucky to accept too many gifts in one day,” Soseki replied.

Rachel nodded. No one in town ever accepted more than one gift in a day, even if they were given something they hated. They usually cited different reasons, such as haven their hands full, but Rachel had learned that the belief that accepting too many gifts was unlucky was a fairly widespread one.

They sat together for a few moments, neither saying anything. It was a comfortable sort of silence silence and both were reluctant to break it. Finally though, Rachel stood up.

“I'm sorry. I really have to get back home. I need to get my livestock indoors,” she said brushing leaves off the back of her dress.

“I should go home to,” Soseki replied. He hesitated a moment, then added, “Can you...help me get down the mountain?”

Rachel agreed, but out of politeness asked no further questions. She helped Soseki to his feet and supported him as they walked. It was awkward because Soseki was so much taller than she, but Rachel was a strong young woman and they managed without much difficulty. She could tell that Soseki was in pain, bu he never uttered a word of complaint, instead keeping up his end of the conversation in a light joking tone.

“Thank you, Rachel,” Soseki said when they finally reached town. “I don't know how I would have gotten home without your help.”

“You're welcome.”

“I guess I overdid it....but the weather was so nice today.”

“Yes. According to the paper, we're supposed to have this same nice weather for the next few days.”

“Is that so? Maybe I'll go for another walk tomorrow...only this time not so far.”

“Maybe...maybe I could join you?” Rachel asked suddenly. Soseki's eyes widened in surprise but he said nothing, so Rachel, feeling foolish went on. “In … in case you overdo it again. That way I could maybe help you...and I could pack a lunch!”

“Real food or old coins?” Soseki said with a grin. He'd gotten over his surprise.

“Well, I was thinking real food, but if you'd prefer money I can bring that.”

“No, no, food is fine.”

“So, tomorrow then? About noon?

“Tomorrow,” Soseki agreed. By then they'd reached his house. They said their goodbyes and Rachel headed back to her farm. Soseki watched her skip off, wishing he was strong enough to see her home properly. He reached into the folds of his kimono, fingering the old con she'd given him, smiling to himself.

Yes, there really was something magical about Indian Summer.