Princess Aiko and the Cherry Blossom

A tale to help young children with grief by Claire Philip

Princess Aiko lived with her parents and beloved Grandmother in the misty mountains of Japan in a beautiful castle.?

While her parents were busy ruling over the land, Princess Aiko walked, talked and played with her grandmother each day.?

Every evening, Aiko's grandmother would put her to bed. They would gaze up at the inky blue sky through an open window and Aiko's grandma would tell her stories about the different star constellations.?

Aiko's favourite was about Monoceros, a unicorn with special healing powers.

One morning, Aiko's grandmother said that she needed to stay in bed, rather than play. She was feeling very poorly. Aiko said she would read her fairy tales and keep her company.?

She picked her favourite stories – one about a willow tree that came to life as a beautiful maiden and one about a princess that turned into a firefly.

Very sadly, Aiko's grandmother felt worse as the days went on. One day, Aiko's mother pulled her into a huge hug and said that grandmother had become a twinkling star.??

Poor Aiko felt as though a lump of stone was sitting in her heart. She didn't know what to do without her grandmother. She cried and cried and cried.?

The days that followed were very hard. Aiko would walk in the gardens on her own and pretend that it was all just a bad dream. It was early spring, and the cherry blossom was just coming out.?

When Aiko noticed, she smiled through her tears. Her grandmother had told her that the flowers showed how precious life was, because soon the pink petals would fall to the ground.?

One night, not long after, Aiko couldn't sleep. A beautiful lunar moth was flying around her bedroom, and its fluttering was keeping her awake. She got up to shoo it out of the window, and as she did so her door popped open.??

"That's strange," said Aiko. The moth flew out of the door, and Aiko was overcome with a feeling that she must follow it.?

She tip-toed through the castle, following the moth until she came out onto a large balcony and there, to Aiko's surprise, was a unicorn. It looked just like the one she had imagined in her Grandmother's story about Monoceros.?

"Hello!" Aiko cried as she rushed forwards. The unicorn lowered its head and let her stroke him. His fur was soft and warm, and Aiko felt soothed. Then, in a calm voice, the unicorn spoke. "I'm sorry for the loss of your Grandmother, Aiko."

Aiko began to cry, but this time she began to feel a little better as the tears fell. It was as though a tight ball in her chest was loosening. "Come," said the unicorn, “let’s go for a walk.”??

Aiko climbed on the unicorn's back and together they trotted out of the castle. They followed a long, winding path through the countryside, beside a fast-flowing river. It was still night, but the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.?

It wasn't long before they came across a fisherman in great distress. He had lost his rod and line. "How will I feed my family?" he called to Princess Aiko and the unicorn. "I fell asleep and the water swept it away! I should have stayed awake!"

The unicorn walked towards the man and whispered to him. "It is gone, my friend. But soon, you will be able to buy another."

"But how?" the fisherman called. “I’ve had that one for years! And I don’t want a new one!”

The unicorn pointed its horn towards the water and sent a beam of light to the river. Before Aiko could ask what was happening, dozens of fish flew up and out of the water and landed neatly in the fisherman's basket.

"Sell these at the market, and buy yourself a new rod," said the unicorn. The fisherman was amazed. He thanked the unicorn over and over again in tears.?

As they trotted on, Aiko turned around and watched the fisherman as he tried to hug the fish. He was laughing and crying at the same time.?

Grandma wouldn't want me to be sad, Aiko thought to herself, and she smiled as unicorn began cantering. Maybe she could make some new friends…

"Where are we going?" asked Aiko. "Nowhere in particular," said the unicorn.

Aiko was confused, but she decided to trust the unicorn. "Ok," she said as they continued along the path. A flurry of Japanese white-eye birds flew past them and settled in the cherry trees. "Beautiful, aren't they?" said the unicorn.

All of a sudden, they heard someone shouting loudly. "Who is that?" said Aiko. "Let’s find out!" said the unicorn and they galloped towards the noise.

Soon, a man came into a view. "A warrior," said Aiko.?

The man was furious. He was pacing up and down with clenched fists and looked as though he was ready to enter a battle.

The unicorn stepped forwards and spoke to him, "Please, tell us why you are so vexed."

The man looked up and called out. "My best friend has been taken by an illness in a distant land. What use am I as a warrior if I cannot fight for my friends. In war, I can search out the enemy, but this sickness… I cannot fight it."

The unicorn nodded sadly, and stepped forwards. "My friend, I am sorry for your loss. Have you thought about spreading word of this disease? Travelling to the towns and villages yet unaffected so they can prepare?"

With wide eyes, the warrior answered. "No, but that is what I shall do. That is my new mission." His temper was calmed. He picked up his sword and said goodbye.?

Aiko watched him march off. "What is my mission?" she asked. "To give grown-ups hope, Aiko,” said the unicorn, “and remind them how magical it is to be a child.”

Aiko thought about all the ways she made her mother laugh when she played with imaginary animals in the garden, and how her father lit up when she kissed his nose.?When was the last time she had done either of these things??

Before they had time to travel on any further, a young woman walked around the corner. She looked as though a heavy raincloud was hovering over her, and she was crying silently.

When she saw Aiko and the unicorn she ran over and said, "Oh! For a second I thought you were my horse. My brother has moved across the country and taken him as well!”

The poor woman began crying even more. Aiko slipped down off the unicorn and walked over to her quietly. She picked up a cherry blossom that had fallen to the floor and tucked it behind the woman’s ear.??

The unicorn walked over too. He stopped just in front of her and began nudging her with his nose. The woman looked up, then put her arms around the unicorn's neck. They stood there for a long time, and when the woman finally let go, she looked peaceful.

Thank you so much, she said with a long sigh. I shall go back to my family now. Aiko climbed onto the unicorn's back once more.

‘She just needed some kindness,’ thought Aiko.

We are going to the temple on the hill now," the unicorn said. And soon it came into view.

There, on the steps, was a very old man. "Go and speak to him," said the unicorn. Aiko walked over and said hello. "Greetings," said the old man. He was holding an unusual ceramic pot in his hands – it was covered with thin gold lines.?

He handed it to Aiko and spoke. This pot was my father’s. I dropped it and it broke into many pieces. At first, I was very upset and nearly threw it away, but instead I have remade it with gold, and now it is even more beautiful than before.?

He shut his eyes and poured some water inside the pot as Aiko held it. A gust of wind blew through the trees and around them, and lots of cherry blossom fell to the ground. Some of the petals landed in the water. The man shut his eyes and smiled peacefully to himself.??

"Please keep it," he said, before standing up, bowing to them and entering the temple.

The unicorn trotted up to Aiko and said it was time to home. They returned to the path, and Aiko thought about how happy the man had been to give away his pot, even though he had loved it.

Before she knew it, Aiko was back at the castle – the journey was much quicker without interruptions. When they were on the balcony the unicorn spoke one last time. "I must go now, but if you look to the stars, Aiko, you can speak to me, or your grandmother, whenever you wish."

Aiko kissed her new friend goodbye and walked back to her bedroom. Everything looked the same, yet somehow, she felt quite different – much more like herself.??

As she lay in her warm, soft bed, she let go and relaxed. And as she fell deeply asleep, she could feel her grandmother’s love in her heart, right where it had always been.

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