Under Cherry Blossoms

a friendship, a book, and a tree

In October 2024, I traveled to India for the first time. This is not a story about traveling through India, though. It’s about a friendship that began somewhere in the air between two cities.

I was flying from Mumbai to Indore, a place many people traveling to India might not know about. But I was excited to see it.

My seat was in the last row of the plane. When I arrived, a young woman was already sitting by the window. I took the seat next to her.

She seemed a little restless, shifting in her seat more than most people do before takeoff. When the flight attendant came by, she asked for water and then turned to me with a small smile.

“I’m so thirsty,” she said.

I smiled back and offered her my bottle of water.

At first, we didn’t talk much. But I noticed the book in her hands. She wasn’t reading it. She was simply holding it.

The cover kept catching my eye. The title sounded interesting, and the illustration was beautiful.

The truth is, I’m actually a shy person. Most people would probably never believe that, because when I’m around others I often appear very extroverted. But the truth is that when I feel nervous around people, I sometimes become a little hyperactive. It’s my way of hiding the anxiety.

I’m not an introvert either. I think I live somewhere in between.

Because of that, I rarely start conversations.

But during this trip I had quietly promised myself that I would try.

So after staring at the book cover for far longer than necessary, I finally gathered a little courage.

With a slightly shaky voice, which I don’t think she noticed, I asked,

“Is that book about food?”

She looked at me and smiled.

“Yes, it is.”

I told her I had been looking at the cover because I love food and was curious about what she was reading.

Without hesitation, she handed me the book.

While I looked at it, she told me a Japanese author wrote it. She explained that she had recently decided to read more books by Japanese writers, and if I remembered correctly, this was the first one she had picked.

I told her I had never read anything by a Japanese author either.

But I did love the cover.

So much, in fact, that I took a photo of it. I told her that maybe I would buy the book myself. And then I shared something that had been sitting in my heart for years.

One day, I said, I would love to travel to Japan during cherry blossom season.

Then something unexpected happened.

She gently took the book back from my hands, opened the first page, and said,

“I would like to gift this to you.”

For a moment I thought she was joking.

I told her she didn’t have to do that, that I could easily buy my own copy.

But before I could say anything more, she had already started writing something inside the book.

Then she closed it and handed it back to me.

Just like that.

A gift from a stranger again.

I was deeply touched in a way that is hard to explain. Sometimes a small act of kindness from someone you just met can feel incredibly meaningful.

I thanked her and promised that I would treasure the book and always remember where it came from.

After that, our conversation flowed easily.

She told me she loved traveling alone. She had just returned from Goa, though her parents didn’t know she had gone. Now she was on her way home for Diwali.

She laughed when she told me that she was very much like her father, who had also traveled solo many times.

At some point I confessed that I rarely start conversations with strangers because I’m shy.

She smiled and said,

“If you hadn’t started the conversation, I would have. I kept looking at your beautiful silver rings.”

Of course that made me smile.

And then I did what I always do when someone notices my rings.

I told her the story behind each of the three.

Before the flight ended, we exchanged phone numbers.

To this day, we still stay in touch. Her name is P., and she has become one of those beautiful friendships in life. The kind where you don’t see each other often, but you exchange kind messages and know that the connection is still there.

I hope one day we will meet again somewhere in the world.

The book she gave me is called Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. On the cover, three people stand beneath cherry blossom trees.

I tried reading it while I was still traveling through India, but between the long days, the excitement of being somewhere new, and very little sleep, I only managed to read the first chapter.

When I came home, life quickly filled my days again, and for a long time the book stayed on my shelf.

Then, in February, during a conversation with two colleagues who love manga, we started talking about Japan.

I mentioned my dream of seeing cherry blossoms there.

One of them looked at me and said something I had never considered.

“You don’t have to travel that far to see cherry blossoms. Just go to Bonn.”

I was genuinely surprised.

Bonn is not far from where I live.

When I got home, I started researching and discovered that every year during cherry blossom season, there is also a flea market and a street food festival.

That was enough to convince me.

So I asked a few friends if they would like to join me for a small day trip to Bonn in April 2025.

In the middle of March, I picked up the book that P. had given me and decided it was finally time to read it.

This time I finished it.

On April 5th, my friends and I took the train to Bonn.

I cannot fully describe the excitement I felt when we arrived.

The streets were lined with cherry blossom trees. Soft pink flowers stretched above us like a canopy.

People filled the streets. The flea market was lively.

And above it all was a clear blue sky that made the pink blossoms look even more beautiful.

I wasn’t in Japan.

But in that moment, standing under those trees with my friends, I felt incredibly grateful to be there.

The next day I wrote to P.

I thanked her again for the book she had given me and told her about the cherry blossoms in Bonn. I told her how special it felt to finally read the story she had gifted me, especially because cherry blossoms also appear in the book.

I sent her a few photos.

Her reply warmed my heart.

“Hello S., thank you so much for sending these beautiful pictures. I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s exactly what I did. I ordered that book simply because I saw the cherry blossoms on the cover. I love these flowers. I’m so happy that you love them too. It feels like a special bond that we share. We were strangers and then we became friends. I will always treasure our meeting as a warm and cozy memory. I hope you know you have a friend in me. Send me pictures of beautiful things you see whenever you get the chance. I’ll do the same. You be happy, you amazing human.”

Dear P., you also have a friend in me.

And I am certain that one day we will meet again somewhere in this beautiful world.

My dream of seeing cherry blossoms in Japan has not come true yet.

But until then, Bonn is only a few train stops away.

With a smile,
GOO:DMOO:ISM