Cherry's Story Chapter 8 - Cheery Birthday (Patreon)

Mima has arrived at the Holiday Steps an hour earlier than planned.

She goes to a nearby cafe and orders some iced tea. After finding a chair and taking a sip, she tries to concentrate on the words in a Yayue children’s book about how vinegar was made, but all she can think about is Cherry.

I’m an adult. This is embarrassing.

Mima looks at her watch. She is fiddling with her hands and her heart is beating harder than it should be. Maybe she’s blushing in public. How does she look in the eyes of the public? Like someone who’s clearly on their first date? Didn’t they have a small date in the cafe… Does it count? Or not? It’s so hard to figure out what’s romantic and what’s not.

The worst part is that today is Cherry’s birthday. She must be coming in with so many expectations.

Gosh, it took forever for Mima to choose her outfit. Would she look nice in a dress? What about that hat she bought while visiting her grandparents? Or maybe a cool graphic t-shirt? She had no idea what to do --

Because it’s my first proper date in public…

All she could pick was her regular old clothing. And a sunflower hat.

I’ve got no taste in fashion…

She tries to read her book again. The book she has is a novella trying to modernize the legends of Yayue for kids. In this original Yayue myth, a young boy was the protege of several winemaking experts; one day, the Emperor of Yayue sent a representative to sample a new batch of wine from the winery, but everyone but the boy was busy. In the end, the boy made vinegar and that is how it became a staple of Yayue dishes. In this modern retelling, the boy’s now a girl who finds out that vinegar can be used for many modern applications. It seems that the book is supposed to educate the young readers about the many purposes of vinegar, which Mima finds to be pretty cute.

Unfortunately, she’s just not in the mood to appreciate such a book.

Her eyes keep glancing away from the book, looking for any glimpse of Cherry.

When will she be here?

She picks up her glass of iced tea and drinks from it. Mima immediately tastes something peculiarly watery. The ice cubes have melted, so the iced tea is now very diluted. She must have forgotten to drink the iced tea whilst concentrating on looking for Cherry.

I’m a mess…

Mima starts covering her face with the book.

This is just so embarrassing...

“Mima!”

The loudness of Cherry’s voice surprises herself. Just seeing Mima lounging in the chair excites her so much.

“Cherry, y-you’re here! And you look so cute.”

“Thank you!”

Cherry twirls around in her sunflower dress.

“And happy birthday!” Mima says. “Did you get any presents yet?”

“Yes, Lexa’s given me a new pocket dictionary!” Cherry takes it out from her pockets. “See, it’s so small and cute.”

“Wow, who’d’ve guessed a librarian would pick out that kind of gift for someone. Well, I’ll give you my present soon, but let’s take a walk around Holiday Steps first.”

Cherry’s heard about Holiday Steps from Lexa and others. Everyone loves the place and it’s a bit amazing for Cherry to actually climb the stairs for the first time. It’s a long series of stores that sell trinkets and souvenirs for people visiting Cadence Isle. They’re on a slope with cobblestone steps that make you feel like you’re traveling through history and time. Even the shops reflect this antiquated look she’s seen in books before.

Just walking with Mima and holding her hands makes Holiday Steps a more invigorating place to see.

When they reach the second level, Cherry is amazed by the shops there. There’s so much nice clothing to try on here and it’s so cheap too!

Maybe I can treat Mima to a dress-up!

Cherry likes to find new accessories for Mima to wear. Necklaces seem to suit Mima well and so do bracelets too! Oh, maybe these earrings would look good. Cherry grabs a bunch and shows them to Mima.

“I thought it was your birthday, Cherry.” Mima blushes, embarrassed and giggling from Cherry’s enthusiasm. “I should be the one indulging you.”

Mima doesn’t seem to mind and tries out all the things Cherry’s handed to her one-by-one. She becomes prettier and prettier the more Cherry thinks about her. It’s so fun to dress her up.

But for some reason, Mima seems a bit disappointed.

“I wanted to dress Cherry up, too…”

Mima halts Cherry with a “stay here” and goes into a store. After a few minutes, she brings a purple ribbon back outside.

“Wear this,” she says. “It might look good on you.”

Cherry puts it on and Mima lets out a squeal.

“What was that?” Cherry says.

“I just, I just think you’re cute.”

“Really?”

“Stay still.” Mima takes out her phone and snaps a picture. “This is so going to be my background. I bought the ribbon just for this moment.”

“That’s too kind.”

“No,” Mima says as she shows her phone background to Cherry, “it’s totally for me. You look so adorable…”

“Okay,” Cherry says as she blushes at the idea of being what Mima sees everyday on her phone.

After a good long trek through the shopping alley, Cherry realizes she's parched.

She wants something to drink. Mima snaps her finger and points to a cafe overlooking the city before saying, “Let’s go here.” Cherry and Mima enter the cafe and Mima orders a double scoop ice cream.

“A double scoop ice cream? Are we eating from the same glass?”

Mima nods and grins.

This is like — this is just like in the movies! Cherry’s heart starts pounding.

They’re now sitting at a table where there’s a breathtaking view of the shore and the port. Mima sits across Cherry and watches her with a smile. Cherry starts to hesitate. Um, what do people in the movies talk about when they’re alone together?

“I-I love video games!”

That’s the first thing Cherry says. Oops.

Mima bursts out laughing.

Does it sound weird to Mima? What if she doesn’t like me after this? Are video games too niche?

“Cherry, you are… just so great.” Mima holds Cherry’s hands and starts caressing them. “What kind of games?”

Mima’s hands are so soft and delicate. Her fingers tracing Cherry’s hands feel so intimate and safe. Cherry wants to stay like this forever.

But she has to answer Mima’s question. Um, should she be honest here? She did promise herself she’d be true to herself and sincere, especially with Mima.

Maybe this is the push I need to trust Mima.

“Um, it may sound silly. But I really like this shooting game called Eastern Ways.”

“Eastern Ways?”

Cherry feels a bit tense. This is the first time she’s ever said a word about her interest in video games. She often hides it from people because she prefers to be seen as a serious person.

But this is Mima. I love her. I think it’s fine to tell her about the embarrassing things I like…

“Mhmm,” Cherry continues, “you play as priestesses who shoot down mythical creatures and save people. I really like the tidbits of stories you get and the characters are so cute. Um, let me show you on the phone.”

She takes out her smartphone and finds a video of someone playing Eastern Ways.

“Ah, I used to play games like this,” Mima says. “There’s an arcade near here that I used to go to when I was in school. We can go there later if you want.”

“R-Really?” Cherry blinks.

“Yeah, this game looks harder though. There’s so many beautiful bullets... I’m not sure how I would do at this.”

“It is hard, but I like it.”

“You love the challenge of things, huh.” Mima interlaces her fingers with Cherry’s and starts to get closer. “I want to see you play it.”

Cherry feels strange sensations reverberating around her. Her heartstrings are being pulled because Mima actually listens to her. Then, Mima rests her head down on top of Cherry’s shoulders. The weight reminds her that this is real and she is actually dating the love of her life.

“Ah,” Mima says, “it’s the boss.”

The boss of the stage gazes at the protagonist before the fight truly commences. People have written so many theories about what that gaze means.

“I really like the boss design,” Mima says. “She just looks cool.”

“H-Huh?”

“Hm, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Just thinking how we’re a perfect match.”

The theory Cherry subscribes to is that the gaze is of love. Her favorite character is the protagonist, so hearing about how Mima likes the boss design makes her heart jump a bit.

The geek within Cherry feels very blessed...

As the two walk down the steps, Mima stops and looks at the clock. She says to Cherry, “Look up at the sky.”

“The sky?”

Cherry looks up into the warm orange sky. She can see shades of purple blending into the clouds.

Then, she hears a swoosh and a boom.

Flowers made out of fire materialise over them. The people around them start to exclaim in awe at the fireworks in the sky.

“Happy birthday, Cherry!”

Cherry looks at Mima who’s smiling back at her.

“You, you made fireworks for me?”

Mima scratches the back of her head in embarrassment.

“Not exactly. I have friends who thought it’d be nice to celebrate your birthday and —“

“Thank you!”

Cherry hugs Mima tightly as she hears the fireworks fly up into the sky. She starts to sob happily into Mima’s clothes.

This is the happiest day of my life…

Amidst a crowd of people unaware of who those beautiful displays are for, the two sit on the steps and watch the fireworks together.

Dear Diary,

Mima celebrated my birthday with me! We went up the Holiday Steps and it was funny. I bought her so many things, even though it was my birthday! She did buy me a cute purple ribbon and then took a picture of me. Now she has it on her phone and my heart is beating over how she can look at me every time she brings up her phone. We also had the most delicious ice cream. I felt like I was in a dream, but I know it is real. The purple ribbon in my hair is still there… I can touch it and feel it. Also, I got a bit silly and started talking about my favorite video game. I thought I was going to embarrass myself, but Mima was very attentive and listened!

I feel so happy to have someone like Mima…

Later on, I saw fireworks with her and I found out those were for me.

It is wild that Mima can do so much for me in so little time.

But…

But that makes me wonder what will happen in the next few weeks? I will have to leave Cadence Isle and Mima behind… I don’t want to do that.

But I have to.

And then, Mima and me will be so far apart from each other. How are we going to communicate? Even Wondr can’t do everything. The more I fall in love with Mima, the more I become so scared when I leave her.

I don’t want to…

I am so scared…

I want to be with Mima...

Stop it. Stop it.

Today is my birthday. No pessimistic thoughts! Happy thoughts only. Mom said never have sad thoughts on your birthday or your birthday will be ruined for eternity. I will think happy thoughts.

Happy thoughts like being with Mima.

I want to make more happy thoughts with Mima and we can have picnics or meet her grandparents who want to meet me now. Those will be fun.

I am going to think positive.

No more sad thoughts.

I will not cry.

I will smile when I meet Mima.

Because I love her so, so much...

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter