I googled “Sakura trees at night.” It’s funny how things like that sometimes happen. I can’t think of anything that could have prompted me to look up these trees. At least nothing I was consciously thinking of. Regardless, or “irregardless,” as an old friend used to say constantly. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her seemingly favorite word was not a word at all. Anyway. Irrespective of where the sakura thought came from; I’m grateful that it did. Scrolling past endless pictures of these trees brought me peace and hope. I close my eyes.

I imagine myself beneath their enchanting boughs, watching the small Sakura flowers here and there ballet their way down to the ground.

When I see people obliviously walk past these trees or cast barely a glance their way, I wonder if they are perhaps witnessing a completely different world. I look at these trees, and their beauty completely arrests me. I stare intently, wanting to take it all in, knowing that this moment is as fleeting as a shooting star. It’s at moments like these that I wish time stood still for a short moment. Yet, the tree itself is a testament to the constant changes all around us.

I wish I were beneath their enchanting boughs, watching the small Sakura flowers here and there ballet their way down to the ground.

I loosen my grip on time in my imagination, and as the night falls, the lanterns set the trees gently aglow. They become galaxies of flowers against the night sky. Each flower, a world suspended in space and time. I would lay here on my back all night long if I could: blindly contemplating my beloved imaginary trees. Alas, I begin to lose my battle against sleep.

I am now beneath their enchanting boughs, watching the small Sakura flowers here and their ballet their way down to the ground.