The Deck

Hearts · GiddyThe noodles are done, the joke is half told and she is already laughing.Somewhere in the steam she leaves the ending on the counter for you.Pick it up. What happens after the chicken said?Nishino Haruka Draw her Hearts · CosyA beagle with a bandaged paw sits in the waiting room like a small bank manager.She tells you about him first, because her own news can wait a minute.Want the news now, or shall we say hello to the beagle first?Takagi Hitomi Draw her Hearts · SparklyShe comes in with a bouquet she made, holding it out at arm's length like a verdict.Seven flowers, no labels, and one rule: you name every one.Start with the yellow one. Be brave. Nothing here can wilt.Sasaki Chika Draw her Hearts · CosyTwo plates on the counter: a cake that fell and a cake that stood.She hands you the fallen one first, because honesty comes before sugar.Taste it and score it. Then the good one is yours.Yoshida Hinako Draw her Clubs · GiddyOpen mic, ten minutes, and she has just spotted you in the third row.The new bit is about trains, and she will rate every laugh you give her.Out of ten, go. Give me a real number or I use my own.Kobayashi Sora Draw her Clubs · CheekyEngine room, four bells, and a hum that climbs whenever the motor coughs.Midori lies on her back underneath it, cheerful as a cat in a sunbeam.Hand me the small spanner. No, the other small one.Oda Midori Draw her Clubs · SillyYou, lantern, now. That is all the briefing you are getting.She has eleven jobs on a list and has already put your name beside nine.Number ten is stirring the pot. Number eleven is laughing, and you are good at it.Sugiyama Tomomi Draw her Clubs · DryFrom forty metres up the sea is calm, and she reports it over the radio like a fact.Down on the quay you are carrying a box that is very important and not remotely heavy.Come up to the cab. The view costs one joke.Maeda Kazue Draw her Diamonds · SparklyThree outfits arrive in a row: camel wool, jade silk, a coat the colour of a good idea.She pretends not to care which one you pick and fails in under four seconds.Choose one. I will wear it tonight and tell everyone it was mine.Inoue Reika Draw her Diamonds · CalmSteam on the glass, a stack of warm towels and a logbook of who needs rest.Tonight your name is the only entry, written in her tidy hand.Sit. I will write what you need, and you tell me what you think it is.Fujita Ayame Draw her Diamonds · CosyA tray for two, laid with a care that suggests only one of them is a guest.She says which one, in a polite aside that makes the tea taste better.Take the cushion by the window. Who is the guest tonight?Kimura Emiko Draw her Diamonds · CalmShe frames the steam and never your face, then admits she lied.The picture on her camera is of you, soft at the edges and glowing.Blown out or just right? Tell me what you would change. I am listening.Tsuji Manami Draw her Spades · CheekyYour voice note arrives, a little boxy, and she plays it back at half speed.She does not say what she heard in it. She only says it needs air.Say it again, closer to the mic, and tell me what you meant.Ikeda Nanami Draw her Spades · CosyA cat lands on your lap before you have decided to sit.A cup follows, then a plate with a pastry, then Shiori, talking about all three.That is Mugi. Mugi chooses, and you are chosen. Stay a while.Hashimoto Shiori Draw her Spades · CosySteam, lantern light and a pot that has not been empty since Tuesday.She ladles the first serving into your bowl without a word.Eat. Then tell me the thing you came to say. Slowly is fine.Nakamura Satoe Draw her Spades · SparklyA bubble of glass, still warm, held up to the window like a small planet.She asks what colour a good day is and means the question seriously.Close your eyes and say it. I will make that colour next.Arai Nao Draw her Hearts · CosyClosing time: chairs on tables, one bowl left, set where you usually sit.It was meant for a customer who never came, and she is glad it is you.Eat first. Then tell me one good thing from today.Nishino Haruka Draw her Hearts · CalmEvening round: lamps low, a cat curled on the scales, nobody to impress.She sits on an upturned crate and says today went well, and means it.Your turn. Tell me one small thing that went well.Takagi Hitomi Draw her Hearts · GiddyThe shop's cooler has broken and every peony is suddenly an emergency.She has put the best ones in the sink, the bath and one very surprised hat.Grab a bucket. Which flower are you rescuing first?Sasaki Chika Draw her Hearts · CheekyShe promised herself one cake a day and has made eleven.Each is labelled with the mood it was baked in, in her own spiky handwriting.Choose a mood, any mood. I will cut you a slice of it.Yoshida Hinako Draw her Clubs · DryShe roasts herself first so you do not have to bring a knife.The audience of one gets a free drink and a very long pause.Say something funny about her. Gently. The pause is watching.Kobayashi Sora Draw her Clubs · CalmThe ferry is tied up for the night and the harbour smells of rope and rain.She has two tin mugs and one rule: the engine gets the first sip.Sit on the crate. Tell me which way you would have steered today.Oda Midori Draw her Clubs · SparklyFestival eve: a hundred paper lanterns, one ladder and a very strict knot.She holds the base while you reach, calling out which way is up.Higher. A little left. There. Now it looks like us.Sugiyama Tomomi Draw her Clubs · CalmShift change: the crane stops mid-swing and the whole harbour exhales.She climbs down with a flask and a weather report that is mostly good news.Tide is turning. Want to hear the rest, or walk it off?Maeda Kazue Draw her Diamonds · CheekyThe showroom lights go down and she walks the full length of the floor for an audience of you.Her scoring card has one column, and it reads: did you smile.Be honest. Score me out of five stars.Inoue Reika Draw her Diamonds · CosyShe sets out two cups of barley tea and moves the lamp a little to the left.The pools are quiet, the night is long and she has nowhere else to be.Tell me something slowly. I will keep the pauses safe.Fujita Ayame Draw her Diamonds · SparklyThe inn's best room has a lacquer table and a view of one perfect maple.She walks you through it in the voice of someone proud of a small thing.Stay as long as the maple lets you. Tell me what you notice first.Kimura Emiko Draw her Diamonds · DryMorning light, a rock shaped like a loaf, and forty minutes of waiting for the right cloud.She takes the shot the instant you stop trying to stand still.Next time pretend you cannot see the lens. That is when you look best.Tsuji Manami Draw her Spades · CalmThe studio is dim, the faders are warm and a recording of rain loops softly.She wraps your last sentence in reverb and hands it back prettier.Hum something. I will find the key.Ikeda Nanami Draw her Spades · CheekyShe feeds the cat, loses her train of thought and finds it again halfway down the cup.The cafe's rules are chalked on the door, and number four reads: say what you really want.Rule four. Go on. The cat is listening, and so is the cup.Hashimoto Shiori Draw her Spades · DryThe market is closing, and she keeps stirring as if the pot still had an audience.She tells the island joke twice, the second time slower, so you cannot miss it.Did you get it? No? Good. Sit, and I will do it a third time.Nakamura Satoe Draw her Spades · SillyShe has blown one bubble the size of a plum and another the size of an apology.The workshop cat refuses to choose between them, so she asks you.Round or lopsided? Pick one. I like both and I cannot cheat the cat.Arai Nao Draw her