The forest house had been under snow since the night before.
It seems Tokyo had been snowing since the previous day as well.

News of heavy snowfall was coming in from everywhere.
And yet, here—
the white landscape before my eyes
is simply quiet.

It feels as though sound is dissolving into the air.

Moka walked through the snow.
She buried her face in it,
then moved along with little bouncing steps.
So innocent. So happy.
I feel envious.
Even though we, shivering from the cold,
just want to hurry back inside
to sit in front of the stove.

Before noon, we were supposed to leave the forest house
and head back to Tokyo.

But faced with the beautiful snowy scenery,
I couldn’t quite bring myself to leave.
Taking my time getting ready,
we ended up departing sometime after two.

The snow had already stopped,
and through a break in the clouds,
a hint of blue sky appeared.

On the way toward Tokyo,
the snowy scenery continued without interruption,
and the familiar landscape
looked like an entirely different place.

Even after entering Tokyo, the snow did not disappear—
if anything, it felt heavier
than around the forest house.

When we arrived at the Tokyo house,
the garden was completely dressed in snow,
and the plum blossoms, which had been nearly finished,
had quietly come into bloom once more.

Pink floating in white.
The season is still hesitating.