Page 41 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

"I think we should—" The word gets stuck in her throat when we are suddenly surrounded by music and so many things happening I don’t even know where to look. "Holy shit."

“What the-” I mutter at the same time, when I see the same thing she does.

The room is vast and completely dark, if it weren’t for the vibrant flowers projected onto the walls and even the floor.Cherry blossoms go from blossom to bloom to wilt within what feels like seconds, and scatter over the canvases in an ever-changing scenery. It’s downright hypnotizing.

When I look down at her, even in the dim light, I can see the awe on her face and the sparkles in her eyes as she looks at the room in wonder. The music playing through the speakers, that seemed intense at first, suddenly doesn’t sound so loud anymore and there’s a scent of flowers in the air.

This museum is completely immersive, and I have to say I'm really fucking impressed.

"Look at that. You can touch them," she whispers in awe, pointing at a couple standing in the corner that are tenderly touching the walls. "I want to touch them." She hurries over to the wall and lays her hand on one of the flowers. To our surprise, it immediately starts to bloom and open up under her palm.

"Holy shit, how is this interactive?"

I walk closer until I’m right next to her and reach out my hand to lay my palm on the flower right next to hers, my eyes growing wider the more the flower opens up.

"This is incredible. So much more impressive than watching someone else do it online," she says softly, amazed eyes darting around in an attempt to take everything in.

Was there something we needed to talk about? At this point, I can’t even remember. I’m too immersed in the experience, too amazed by how beautiful it is in here.

The museum is like a big, interactive labyrinth, each corner revealing new, beautiful images that take Lily's breath away, and her reaction to it, the childlike wonder in her eyes, takes mine away.

Continuing the labyrinth, we find ourselves in a dark corridor with walls in moving purples. Neon flowers are projected onto the ground and crows are flying – although since they’re on the ground, it looks more like swimming, evading the visitors' steps.

Just like the flowers on the wall in the room before, the projections on the ground open up once stepped on.

And just when I wonder if they have anything aside from flowers, we step into the next room. The sound of rushing water greets us as we step into what looks like a huge waterfall. There’s even mist, right where the walls and floor connect.

Lily freezes next to me, mouth agape as she takes it all in. There is even a little hill, making people who stand up there look like they’re in the middle of a waterfall stream. Some birds fly along the walls in a beautiful dance, and for a few moments, we stay glued to the spot, just taking it all in.

I could spend days in here. It’s so serene, so peaceful, and with Lily by my side, I don’t think I ever want to leave.

Suddenly, I feel her fingers around my wrist as she points to the ground. The water stream actually starts to flow around us and I shake my head.

“This is almost too perfect,” I mutter, and she nods vehemently. Then I catch her staring at the hill.

"Want me to take a picture of you on there?" I ask her, and she wordlessly hands me her phone and shoots me a thankful smile.

A couple is currently having their picture taken on there, but once they free up their spot, she hurries up there and strikes a pose.

It takes me a few moments to have the settings for her camera changed so the picture turns out well, and just as I press the shutter, the projection behind her starts to change. I quickly change it to video, filming her still posing as little sunflowers start to appear behind her, becoming bigger and bigger until they extend over half the wall, with her in the center.

Finally, I lower the phone and motion for her to turn around so she can look at it from up close. I can even hear her soft "Holy shit" all the way down here.

She is beaming when she makes her way back down the hill contraption and I shake my head when she asks me if I want a picture up there as well. We stay for a few more moments, letting the water projections amaze us, before we continue our way. After walking for few minutes, she reaches for my arm and I look at her, confused, when she begins to clutch onto it, fingers digging into my skin.

"Is everything okay?"

She nods, but when I raise my eyebrow at her, she hurries to explain.

"I’m sorry, am I hurting you? My balance is off with not being able to see where I'm going and all the moving parts and thesounds." She waves her hand through the air, and I nod in understanding.

Walking in here feels a bit like wading through clouds, and honestly, I can think of way worse things than having Lily hold on to my arm. She can just never let it go again if it were up to me.

The next little corridor is completely dark, aside from several grey highlighted Japanese characters slowly floating along the wall.

"You think something happens when I touch them?" she asks in a whisper, already extending one of her hands. When she does, the sign slowly vanishes, and gold sparkles appear in its place.

“Oh my God, this is so cool.” Her voice is still not louder than a whisper. “That was the sign for ‘gold.’ I wonder what happens if I touch ‘rain.’”

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