Prologue
It was the height of blossom season in Tokyo as Yuri Kikuchi stood on the rails of an overpass, looking down at the traffic below. She looked out over the streets, the blossom lit up by lights from the apartments, street lamps and car headlamps, creating a bioluminescent glow through the small and fragile blossom. The streets were awash with an unearthly pink haze. The serene beauty of the moment did not dull the hurt and pain she felt. In her final act, she could see the heavy traffic pulsing to and from the heart of the city like blood to and from the human heart. Her heart even. Not that she wished it beat at all. However, there were no tears in her eyes. No regrets or remorse in the action she was about to partake. No fears that she would traumatise some unlucky fellow citizen who was to be blessed by her falling body. She had taken her shoes off and left them at the foot of the rail where she now stood, perfectly in line with her ridged, forward-facing feet.
Her hair blustered in a gust of cold early spring air, taking with it a swirling wisp of blossom petals. It never lasted long in the city. Dejectedly, she reached a hand calmly into her purse that hung limply off her left shoulder, pulling out her phone.
She dialled in the number, put the phone to her ear, and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.
They did. Almost instantly.
A pause.
“Hello, Kikuchi-san.” The voice on the other side said.
Unfeeling, cold, expecting.
“You watching? I’m going to do it. Like you want me to. I’m going to do it.” Yuri found herself surprisingly well spoken, almost calm.
“I can see you. Do it.”
Yuri did not bother to look about her. She lowered the phone from her face to her side and took in a deep breath. She looked down, the heavy flow of traffic still rushing past below her. Even people on the street could not see her. She closed her eyes and began to let her body weight shift forward.
“May the lily, return to the Earth.”