Drawing Kairaku-en ((OPEN))

[Kyou Mizumura]

It was on bright, chilly autumn days like this one where Kyou took a visit to the garden in Kanto. There were many other places to visit during the fall, but she chose this particular one because it was truly one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. Artistically, she loved the colors of the flowers and other plants, how they blended and complimented each other. Her other reason would be that it was a peaceful place to come and relax.

Kyou searched for things to draw: people, animals, flowers, a whole scene. She found a bench that was occupied by a middle-aged woman. Unsure if the woman had a companion, Kyou politely nodded to the space by the woman. The woman looked at her for a minute, realizing she wanted to sit. She scooted over to give the student room to set with her. Smiling, she sat down and placed her book-bag at her side.

As soon as the girl sat down, the woman turned to her and asked Kyou: "Do you go to Kanto International?"

Fiddling with her bag, the student nodded to the question. For once, someone asked her if she was in high school. Of course, her uniform played an important role in that.

She went through it and pulled out a bound sketchbook, then some pencils and an eraser. She looked towards the woman. There was a friendliness about the older female. Maybe it was the smile she had, or the sweet voice she possessed.

Her mind was carried into a fantasy world by the gentle sounds of nature. She pictured a similar scene, but with less people. The woman was similar to the one in the real world, except this fantasy one appeared a few months pregnant. A story went a long with why the pregnant woman was in a garden-like place: She and her husband took a walk one day and wanted to go to a garden. The image that Kyou saw was a picture that the husband took of his expecting wife. A little smile crept onto the girl's face at the vision.

"I take it you are in an art class?" Asked the woman.

A voice invaded the short day-dream. Kyou nodded to the question directed to her and opened up the sketchbook she held in her lap. She flipped through a few pages and offered the book to the woman, who happily took the book. The older female was quiet for a little bit, trying to take in the detail that was placed on the page.

"This is amazing, dear." She told Kyou, who gave a smile in response.

The woman handed the sketchbook back to Kyou, who then went to a fresh page and put pencil to paper. As she was drawing, she wondered if the kind lady was willing to pose for her because she was inspiration for an idea she had not too long ago. But how could she communicate, without her voice? Her eyes glanced up to gather any details on the flora in front of her, then back down to her paper to record them. Her lines were sketchy, but for a reason. Details weren't important when starting a drawing; getting the basic shapes were.

Unknown to her was the woman watching as her pencil moved along the white paper. This was when Kyou slipped back into her fantasy world. Drawing often helped to block out her surroundings, or to calm her when she was irritated at something. She didn't know why, but she felt at ease when her pencil was on the paper, making lines.

A few minutes after she began the sketch, the woman got up. But before she left, she had one thing to say to Kyou.

"That drawing you did was amazing, keep it up, alright? It's so good to see young ones like you being so creative..."

She looked up at the woman, who was walking away and talking about the young generation of Japan. Then, she went back to her drawing, back to her little world.