The light rises in the East and sets in the West. This is one of the first things we remember learning as children, the first visible consequence of the fact that the Earth's rotation is counterclockwise.
Chapter 1: A Thousand Faces
Naoko, as she did every morning, prepared to tend to her plants in the tiny apartment located in the Shimogyo Ward, south of Kyoto, dreaming of living in Nishijin, deeply immersed in the ancient traditions of this country. There, she hoped to live one day.
It was an ordinary morning, and Naoko headed to the subway station to begin her daily journey. Eyes lowered, hands clasped around her bag, she moved like someone who had traversed the same path a thousand times.
On the other side of the city, Tozai was preparing for a similar journey, but he didn't know it yet. The inevitable sacrifice of the 'warrior' in search of the perfect balance between what one gets paid for, what one is good at, what one loves, and what the world needs: one's raison d'être. He worked in Osaka, employed in the electrical industry, like many. His mind was occupied with schematics and wiring, and his soul belonged, in the deep-rooted duality of this contrasting country, to a world of ancient traditions.
Both boarded the same carriage, facing each other without noticing. It was as if destiny, among the multitude of unknown faces, was guiding them toward an inevitable encounter. The crowd was dense, and she moved through the mass of people. She was like a leaf carried by the current. Suspended.
Chapter 2: Tozai and Naoko
Tozai lifted his eyes from his book as the train stopped at the next station. His gaze met Naoko's for a fraction of a second, but enough for an invisible bond to form between them. It was as if time had stopped for a moment, and Tozai felt something different in that brief eye contact.
Naoko was an unassuming girl, with dark, shiny hair tightly gathered at the nape, as required by the strict corporate dress code. She worked as a salesclerk in a fabric store, and, like the fabric, she had to embody perfection. This was how she had to appear to the public.
She immediately lowered her eyes, blushing slightly, and he returned to focus on his book.
Chapter 3: The Tea Ceremony
Coincidentally, but increasingly often, the two found themselves on the same train carriage.
One day, Tozai approached her. "Excuse me," he said calmly, " I've noticed that we take the same route. I work in Osaka. You?" Naoko, surprised but happy, replied with a smile.
From that day on, they shared the daily routine of the journey, a small bubble of calm in the frantic multitude of everyday life.
Their shared passion for the tea ceremony emerged during one of their conversations. So, they decided to attend a tea school together. In the heart of Kyoto, among Zen gardens and ancient temples, they found a tea house where they would learn the art of respect and grace, and forget every aspect of material life.
Chapter 4: The Rhythm of Life and Tea
The tea chapter begins here.
Every gesture in the ceremony, from dressing to arranging objects and guests on the tatami, to pouring water and whisking the matcha, followed the fundamental principles of the ceremony. Everything had meaning, everything came to life. Spaces of fullness and emptiness balanced in harmony in the present moment.
Tea, with its slow and meditative ritual, became the guiding thread of their story as it continued.
But to leave room for your imagination, I decided to conclude the chapter and my tale right here, with a shared sip of tea and their hearts blended like matcha powder in a cup.