[GoldenKamuy]Flowers in the Mirror

Before she was Mrs. Hanazawa, before she was anyone else, Hiro was always remembered as "the tall girl".

That was just how mediocre she was, not "the ballet girl", not "the Kanshi girl", not "the girl who went to Cambridge". Just…tall, sometimes even taller than an average man.

When people stared at her on the way to the shrine, she knew it was not her new kimono they were fascinated about. The attention was on her, but not in a way of admiring a beauty—more of a novelty.

She could imagine their critics behind her back: Oh, that girl must eat a lot to grow the extra height. Ah, she's making every man in the room uncomfortable. Or worse, too coarse for a classy young lady's ear—did her mother have an affair with a westerner?

Once upon a time, there was a love letter from a schoolboy, in which he compared her to a cherry blossom tree.

She had torn the piece of paper into a million shreds.

Besides that, she was ordinary. Yes, she had gone to private schools to learn how to read and write, play the piano, and even took a few science courses that enlightened her about electricity and X-rays. But that's just the basics for all children from her background.

She grew up to be just as ordinary. But other girls did change.

( Read more... )