acquaintance .” After this , she turned back to father and began talking with him , seeming to ignore me standing there beside them .
‘ Mayhap geisha are not fond of children ’ I thought , as I watched her speak with father . But perhaps I was seeing things , for it seemed that she kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye , as if she wanted to speak more with me . It made me wonder further if I knew her from somewhere , for she looked familiar to me as I tried to think about where I might have seen her . Of course , that didn ’ t make any sense . I had never met a geisha such as her before . The more I thought about it , the more certain I was that I had never encountered her until today .
I watched Kozue intently , taking in every detail of her wardrobe . She was truly a magnificent work of art that matched the day , the cherry blossoms and the loveliness of the other geisha wandering about , perfectly . The colors of her kimono and accessories all mingled together so well , making her a part of the landscape itself and thus a part of the artistry that was my world .
It seemed barely a minute later when their conversation ended . “ I really must go Akito-sama . I have an engagement I must soon attend .”
My father ’ s face darkened briefly with a troubled look , but returned to its smiling , cheerfulness almost immediately . I had never seen such a look on his face before and it made me wonder why it should be there at all .
“ If you must go Kozue-san , I will not detain you any longer . Good-bye then .” My father bowed as Kozue did . He then put his hand on my shoulder , nudging me forward to make my manners .
I bowed to her in the proper manner , saying , “ Sayōnara Kozue-san . It was very nice to meet you .”
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