[INTERLUDE] Of Peach Blossom Born

Snippets from Momoka's childhood.

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Until Momoka started her third year of elementary school and was no longer interested in throwing beans at her father, for Setsubun, the man would pretend to be an oni and never mind the amount of beans he and his daughter would have to sweep from their flat afterwards. One such playtime became especially memorable: Momoka decided to pretend she was Momotarō, fighting the "oni" for a stash of "buried treasure" (pillows in the mattress closet). "I kinda wanna be Momotarō," said Momoka as she and her father busied themselves gathering every last bean after the fun time was over. "Then I can fight nasty monsters and bring home treasure, then we'll be rich!"

"You're not afraid of monsters? That's my brave Momo-chan," her father said. Momoka however didn't giggle, smile, or seem delighted by her father's words; in fact, she looked dismayed.

"But Momotarō is a boy, and I don't wanna be a boy," she said. "How am I gonna find treasure now? We're never gonna get rich!"

Her father chuckled, then asked, "Do you know what your name means?"

Momoka cocked her head. "Doesn't it mean 'peach flower'?"

"Yes, but that's not all. You're named after Momotarō; I gave you this name so you can be pretty like a peach blossom and strong like a hero who fights monsters. Even if you're a girl, I want my daughter to grow up to be great and do great things, just like the hero in the story. You don't need to want to be Momotarō, you are Momotarō."

Momoka was no longer sad, and so she smiled beamingly at her father's words. Just like a hero, she would have her own adventures, fight her own monsters, and perhaps save a handsome prince along the way.

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Among the bedtime stories Momoka's father told her, one stood out most of all. Once upon a time, there was a man who had a peach tree behind his house, it went. The tree bore no flowers or fruits, but had a beautiful fairy living inside it. One day he and the fairy met; they fell in love and married. The fairy then gave the man a gift: with her powers, she made her peach tree bloom a single giant flower, at the center of which lay a baby girl. The man was blessed with a daughter, but both the tree and the fairy disappeared. He never saw his love again.

Momoka was already aware of the absence of her mother in her household, but it took a while before she understood what this fascinating tale actually alluded to. Long after, when her father too departed the world, she said,

May you find happiness by the side of the "fairy" who gave her life for my birth.