Izumi admired the garden painted over the silk wrapping. A smile spread over her lips even if she still had no idea what was inside it.
“Please open it,” Toshio said.
Izumi untied the silk knot, letting the cloth puddle around a simple wooden box. She lifted its lid. A fresh, green scent, blended into the sweet fragrance of candied fruit, wafted outof it. Izumi’s smile brightened at the smell and the sight of the dark green leaves it came from. Gyokuro. It was the highest grade of tea, carefully grown in shaded plantations. Brewing it required as much care, but Izumi looked forward to every meticulous step. Taking the time to coax its flavors out was worth the luxury of escaping into them.
“I hope it is to your liking,” Toshio said. “This is the standard exchange for all the items brought to the pawnshop.”
“Standard? Then why did you have to examine my choice?”
“To check if it was worth this tea.”
“I could have just bought this tea myself.”
“You could have, and it would probably taste wonderful. But it would not be this tea that I am offering you now. It would not be the tea that you are taking in exchange for a choice that broke your life in two. It would not be the tea that you will finally be able to enjoy without your mind drifting back to a ramen shop and the memory of the man who waits inside it. I may send all my clients home with this tea, but it will no longer be the same tea once they sip it from their cups.”
“What do you mean?”
“No two people unshackle themselves from the same choice. Each person has his own idea of what freedom tastes like. For you, it might be soothing and warm like the joy of staring out the window on a rainy day, not wanting to be anywhere else. For my next client, it might taste like courage, intoxicating and darkly sweet.”
Izumi closed the box.
“Do you agree to this exchange?” Toshio said.
“This pain is all I have left of Junichiro. I have lived with it for so long that I do not think I will be able to recognize myself without it.”
“Then consider this your opportunity to find out.”
“But what if I change my mind? What if I want my choice back?”
“This is a pawnshop, not a store. If you wish to retrieve your choice, all you have to do is pay me back.”
Izumi exhaled, relaxing her shoulders. “Good.”
“With interest.”
“What kind of interest do you pay on tea?”
“We can talk about that if you change your mind, but if you did, you would be the first.”
“None of your clients have ever come back to claim their choice?”
“Not one,” Toshio said. “And if choices are left unclaimed at the end of the week, the pawnshop keeps them.”
Izumi chewed on her lower lip. “That does not seem like a very long time.”
“How long does it take you to decide whether or not you feel like smiling? I am not forcing you to make this exchange, Takeda-sama. If you are having any doubts, you are free to take your choice and make your way back to the ramen restaurant.”
“Will I be able to find you again?”
“I have no power over who walks through the pawnshop’s door.”
“So this may be my last chance to leave this choice behind.”
“Yes.”
“Then I will take your tea.”
“Are you certain?”
