smile, please. just a smile and i'll have a reason to go on.

in spring, cherry blossoms by night.
in summer, the stars.
in autumn, the full moon.
in winter, the snow.

these are always enough,
to make sake delicious.
if it ever tastes bad,
that means there is something
sick inside of you.

finished reading 28 volumes of rurouni kenshin. good manga, good manga. the character that stands out the most is of course, the one and only, soujiro seta. kenshin used to be my favorite when i followed the anime series, but then i realized that it's not cool to have the main character as the favorite character since that means i am unable to see beyond the surface and deeper into other characters. now i vote off the main character from "my favorite" candidate since the very beginning.

soujiro seta is amazing. any person who is able to supress all, and i mean all, of his emotions, deserves a standing ovation. after being adopted by an abusive family and being treated as a slave, soujiro learned that people would give up beating him up if he laughed instead of crying, so he kept a smile on his face, the whole time. a smile when he is angry, a smile when he is sad, a smile when someone he loves gets hurt, a smile when he is about to kill someone, a smile whenever he faces danger, a smile, whenever that sword is being drawn from the sheath. it's fake, maybe. but even if it is, think. how easy is it to fake a smile when you're overwhelmed by emotions? your beloved pet just died. can you not show a sad face, not even for once, and keep a smile on your face the whole time? your parents passed away. can you not show a sad face, not even for once, and keep a smile on your face the whole time? forget these extreme examples. you've studied your ass off for a class, and you still failed. can you not show a frown? can you not say a complain? can you not hold disappointment in your heart? can you keep a smile on your face and for once, say "it's alright, it's no big deal" and mean it?

fake, maybe. but it's not easy. it's harder than just hard.

they say that white plum has the ability to soothe a confused heart.
the smell of white plum always brings back memories.
does it remind you of something?

i think i'd need some white plum, and a smile.