Friday, January 19, 2007

Day 2 -- On the Making of Beds & the Rest of the Journey

Even though there were servants available to make the bed, Nakamura Michiko enjoyed doing the morning chore herself. It was almost a ritual for her each day. She did not feel she could have a good day if she wasn't allowed to make her own bed. It gave her time to reflect on the things she had to do in the upcoming day. On this particular day, Michiko was putting fresh sheets onto the bed, and as soon as she finished her own room, she would go and make sure the bed was made in Hikaru's room.

With the help of Ashida from her husband's office, she was able to send a letter to Hikaru in a way that made it look like it had come from his grandfather. Michiko was excited to meet her grandson. She had so many hopes and dreams as to what he would be like. She was going to try to put her dislike for the boy's mother as well as the terrible way her youngest son had left the family behind her. That was all in the past now, and she was looking forward to life with her grandson. She had such great plans for him.

Michiko hurried down the hall to the room she had picked out for Hikaru. It was a nice room with a balcony that overlooked the courtyard and gardens at the front of the mansion. A large four-poster bed sat along one wall where the morning sun would greet whoever slept there. Fresh linens were waiting nearby. Michiko smiled as she started to make the bed and turned her thoughts to Hikaru.

She unfurled the first sheet and let it fall gently onto the mattress. She mused about what Hikaru looked like. She hoped he would look like his father. Yoshihiro was a tall man with fine features. Many women had considered him handsome and were disappointed when he left all those years ago. She imagined Hikaru to be tall and strong like his father.

She smoothed the sheet and tucked the edges under the mattress and proceeded to the top sheet. As she watched the sheet drift through the air, she went over the plans she had made for Hikaru's education. He was just fifteen years old, she knew, but his schooling was more than likely lacking. Kamakura was not Tokyo, after all. He would attend the finest school in the city. On second thought, as she readied the pillows, she decided a private tutor would be called in. The grandson and heir of a diplomat would have private tutors. Nothing but the best for her only grandchild.

Michiko stopped to catch her breath before she put the blankets and pillows onto the bed. She looked around the room with great scrutiny. Nothing could be out of place here. A good impression must be made. It was very important. She spread the blanket over the crisp white sheets and let her thoughts wander again. Smoothing out a wrinkle that wasn't there, she had the sudden fear that Hikaru would be base and wild like the nobody his mother had been. No, that was impossible. He wouldn't be so common. His mother had run off when he was just a small child. He had been raised by a samurai. He would be noble like his father. Of course, he would be a samurai and would have the dignity of his station.

At last, Michiko had made up the bed in Hikaru's room. She stood back and admired her handiwork on the bed. The spread was immaculate and there was not a single wrinkle to be seen. She smiled to herself and was sure Hikaru would be impressed with the room. She made sure the drapes were open to let in the sunshine. A sudden thought that the room was stuffy made her open the doors to the balcony before she left.

Bed freshly made, the room perfect in every way, Nakamura Michiko left to continue her day. It was going to be a long day as she waited for the arrival of her grandson. She was not, by nature, a patient woman.
* * *
The second day of the journey was much better for Hikaru. He was more relaxed than he had been, but was still a bit nervous about meeting his grandparents. Midori was watching out the window, and Sam was sitting with her eyes closed. The heat and the motion of the carriage were making her feel sick.

Hikaru looked over at her and asked, “Sam-chan, are you feeling all right? You look a little pale.”

Sam opened her eyes. “What did you say?” She wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. Had he just called her Sam-chan?

“You look pale. Do you feel sick?” he asked.

“Um... I do feel a little tired. It's too warm, and the rocking of the carriage isn't agreeing with me.”

“Do you want to stop? We can stop.” Hikaru never gave her a chance to answer. He had already turned around and opened the little window to speak to the driver. “Please stop the carriage. Sam-chan wants some fresh air.”

The coachman acknowledged Hikaru and pulled over to the side of the road. Hikaru helped Sam out of the carriage and carried her over to the shade of a tree. “How's this? Do you need something to drink?”

“Yes, this is fine,” Sam said as Hikaru sat her under a tree. “I'll be all right now. You don't need to make a fuss over me, Hikaru-san.” She actually felt a little embarrassed for having caused him to worry.

Hikaru wasn't paying close attention to what Sam was saying, as he was looking around to see if there was someplace he could get some water. “I'll go find you some water, Sam-chan,” he said and was off down the road in a flash.

Sam watched him run off in disbelief. “Did he call me 'Sam-chan'?”

Midori nodded. “Yes, I heard it, too. What has gotten into him? Yesterday he was so subdued and nervous.”

“I know...” Sam said with a sigh. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.

Hikaru ran off down the road a little ways and noticed a farm house off to one side. There was a fence running around the field separating the farm from the road. He walked along until he found the gate. He reached out to open it and pulled his hand back quickly as if burned. He looked at his hand and saw that the skin was turning red where he had touched the gate. He checked the gate, but couldn't see anything unusual about it. Looking toward the farmhouse, he could see someone moving about. “Excuse me,” he called out.

The person looked up and ambled over. He was a tiny old man, who fixed Hikaru with a baleful stare. “What do you want?”

There was something about the old man that made Hikaru feel uneasy. “My friend doesn't feel well,” he said. “I was wondering if I could have some water for her.”

The old man sharply said, “No water. There is nothing here for the likes of you. Go away.” He then turned his back and walked back to the farmhouse.

Hikaru stared after the old man for a moment before turning back to where he had left Sam and Midori. His hand was beginning to hurt, but he wasn't about to let either of the women know about it. It took a couple minutes to get back to the tree where Sam was resting.

Midori looked up as Hikaru approached. She smiled and asked if he had found any water. When he answered that he hadn't, she said it was too bad.
Sam opened her eyes at the sound of Hikaru's voice. “It's all right,” she said. “I didn't want you to go to any trouble. I'm actually feeling a little better, so we can go back to the carriage.”

Hikaru reached out to help Sam up, forgetting about his sore hand. He winced and gasped when she took his hand.

Sam and Midori both noticed Hikaru's reaction. Sam looked at his palm and saw that it was blistered as though it had been burned. “Hikaru-san, what did you do? Your hand is burned.”

Hikaru pulled his hand away and sank to the ground by Sam. “The gate,” he said. “I touched the gate and it burned.”

“What gate?” Midori asked.

Hikaru pointed down the road. “There's a farm there. I reached out to open the gate to go to the house for some water. The old man there said he had nothing for the likes of me. I don't know what he meant.”

Sam reached over and took Hikaru's hand. “I don't know what he meant either, but I do know this needs to be treated. You don't want it to get infected. Midori-san, could you fetch my small bag, please? I have something in there I can use to wrap this up until we reach Tokyo.”

“Yes, Sam-chan,” Midori said and went to fetch the small bag.

Sam found a handkerchief which she carefully wrapped around Hikaru's injured hand. “Now, promise me you'll take care of that burn when we get to your grandparent's home.”

Hikaru watched quietly and nodded in agreement as Sam looked after his hand. Her touch was gentle, like nothing he'd ever known before.

With the help of the coachman, Hikaru got Sam back into the carriage, and they continued the journey to Tokyo. Hikaru looked at his hand and wondered why it had been burned by the gate. He couldn't figure it out, nor could he fully understand why Samantha took care of the burns like she did. It was something he would ask about later, after they arrived in Tokyo. He looked over at Sam and smiled. He was happy that Takeda-sensei had sent her with him. He felt so calm when she was near. He closed his eyes, still smiling, and dozed lightly the rest of the way to Tokyo.

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