Nukumi

Without fail, Nukumi begins their day with an unofficial delivery. It is the first lesson they ever taught their student, Yuragi: the most important messages are delivered by hand, not by decree. Their formal training in the winding, bamboo-lined streets of The Great Panda City concluded long ago, but the lessons never stopped. Nukumi still teaches them how to use their cane to read the cobblestones in the dark, and Yuragi teaches Nukumi how to find warmth in the city’s freezing winds. The apprentice has long since surpassed the master in every way but one—the art of saying everything with a single, carefully chosen cherry blossom, left on a windowsill just before dawn.