Friday, February 23, 2007

Day 2 – Arrival in Tokyo & Evening

It was as if time had started moving again. Nakamura Michiko watched from the doorway as the carriage from Kamakura pulled into the courtyard. At last, her grandson had arrived. The waiting had been like an eternity.

A groom went to the head of the team of horses and held them as the coachman got down to go to the door of the carriage. He opened it and a young woman emerged. Michiko frowned. Who is this woman? she thought. And why is she holding crutches? Is Hikaru lame? Michiko recalled that the boy had been ill recently. She would send for her husband's physician right away. She started to turn to find a servant, but movement from the carriage caught her eye. The coachman had lifted someone out, and it was another young woman, a foreigner. The first woman helped her stand with the crutches. Why had these two women come to her house? Perhaps they were servants. Yes, they are servants, Michiko decided. She turned to one of her own servants and ordered him to prepare a room in the servants' quarters for the women. She turned back to see Hikaru emerge from the carriage.

Michiko was both delighted and disappointed in the young man she watched in the courtyard. He was so small. She had expected him to be tall like his father. She had also expected him to be more sophisticated, not this long-haired child dressed like a peasant. He seemed to fuss about the foreign girl, making sure she was all right. That was noble of him, but Michiko didn't think it proper that he pay such attention to a foreign servant girl. He would have to be taught proper manners. The group approached the front door where Michiko waited. She bowed and said, “Welcome home, Hikaru. I've been looking forward to meeting you. I'm your grandmother, Michiko. Please come in. I will show you to your room. You must be tired after your journey. Would you like a bath? That can be arranged.” She ordered another servant to prepare a bath and ushered Hikaru into the house.

“Thank you, Grandmother,” Hikaru replied. He stopped briefly at the door to remove his sandals. “It's an honor to be here.” He looked around at the entryway and found himself overwhelmed by it. “I would like a bath, please,” he continued.

“This way,” Michiko said and led him away from the girls. “I hope you find your room acceptible. I chose one that overlooks the gardens.”

Hikaru mumbled a reply and looked back at the girls before allowing his grandmother to lead him away. He followed in silence as Michiko led him to a room on the second floor. He didn't like being separated from Samantha and Midori, but he couldn't do a thing about it.

They arrived at a door, which Michiko opened to reveal a large room with strange furnishings. A pair of servants followed them in with Hikaru's luggage. “Here you are,” Michiko said. “This is your room. What do you think?”

Hikaru looked around. “It's nice.” He went to the balcony to look out at the gardens.

Michiko watched Hikaru as he explored the room. He did look like his father quite a bit, but his eyes were his mother's. There was no mistaking that emerald color as having come from her side of the family. As for his hair, Michiko decided something needed to be done about that. The length of it was easy to take care of – it would simply be cut. But the silver around his face was a problem. She had no idea how to take care of that.

Hikaru seemed to have finished exploring the room. “Where are Sam-chan and Midori-san?”

“What was that, dear?” Michiko replied.

“Sam-chan and Midori-san. Where are they?”

“Oh, the servants you brought along. They've been shown to a room in the servants' quarters. They'll be fed there and shown their duties.”

“What?” Hikaru exclaimed, eyes flashing. “They're not servants. They're my friends. I don't have any servants.”

Michiko was surprised by Hikaru's reaciton. “Oh, dear, I do apologize. I'll see that they get better quarters right away,” she said. His anger was truly something she had not expected. “Make yourself comfortable, Hikaru. I'll go see if the bath is ready for you and find better quarters for your ... friends.” She hurried out of the room.

Hikaru looked at the servant unpacking his things. “You don't need to do that,” he said. “I can take care of it.”

“Yes, sir,” the servant said with a bow and hurried out of the room.

Hikaru started unpacking his bags. He didn't like this large stone house at all. It made him feel trapped. All he could hope for was that Samantha and Midori would be allowed to be with him. He also hoped the bath would be ready soon, for he could feel the fire welling up inside of him.

* * *
Nakamura Takeshi realized something wasn't quite right the day one of his secretaries came into his office with a puzzled expression. “Yonaha-san, si there a problem?” he asked.

Yonaha held out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. “I found this in a dustbin, Nakamura-sama,” he replied. He dropped the paper onto the desk. “I saw your name on it.”

Nakamura smoothed out the paper and read. His look changed from one of mild interest to one of concern. “Where did you find this?”

“A dustbin, sir.”

“Which one?”

Yonaha shifted uneasily. “The one near the door to the outer office,” he said. “Is something wrong? Is that important?” Yonaha had been working for Nakamura long enough to know the man was very angry, even though there were no outward signs.

Nakamura looked up at Yonaha. “This is the letter I wrote to my grandson to invite him to visit me here in Tokyo. I gave this to Ashida to post to Kamakura five days ago. I want to know why it wasn't sent.”

Yonaha was puzzled. “I don't know, sir. Ashida-san left early today, so I cannot ask him about it.”

“Why did he leave early?”

“He said he wasn't feeling very well.”

Nakamura closed his eyes. “I will speak with him tomorrow,” he said. “But right now, I am going to go home. It's been a long day and this has not helped. Good day, Yonaha-san. I will see you in the morning.”

Yonaha bowed and said, “Yes, Nakamura-sama, until tomorrow.” He went back to his desk and finished the work he had started earlier. He did not look up as Nakamura left the office.

A short carriage ride later, Nakamura was home. He noticed a strange carriage leaving the grounds ouf the estate and wondered if someone had been calling on his wife. He put it from his mind as he entered the house and went up to his rooms to put on comfortable clothing. Michiko was nowhere to be found. He went down to his office and read until a servant informed him dinner was ready.

He was puzzled to see that there was a third place setting at the table. He couldn't recall inviting anyone to dinner that evening. Michiko greeted him with a smile and a question about how his work day had gone. He answered that it was busy, but left out the letter. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the staff waiting to serve the soup. He looked at Michiko, who was looking at the door. She seemed impatient. “Is something the matter?” Nakmamura asked. “Is there any particular reason I'm waiting for the soup?”

Michiko frowned, excused herself from the table and left the room. A few minutes later, she returned with someone in tow. Nakamura was surprised to see it was Hikaru.

“Now apologize to your grandfather for being late for dinner,” Michiko said. “Hopefully the soup is not cold.”

Hikaru bowed and said, “Good evening, Grandfather. Forgive me for being late.” He sat at the place reserved for him, never looking either grandparent in the eye. Any attempt at conversation with him was met by silence or very short answers.

Nakamura did not press Hikaru, nor did he make much conversation during the meal. Michiko was chattering enough for the three of them. He did, however, keep an eye on Hikaru while they ate. The boy hardly ate a thing.

Finally, dinner was finished and Hikaru left without excusing himself. Michiko sighed, “That boy,” she said. “That boy needs to be taught some manners. I'll have Naguchi-san teach him proper etiquette. It will take some time, I suppose, but I'm sure Hikaru will become a proper gentleman. What do you think, dear? Who shall I have in to helphim with his grooming? Tsubasa-san or Yoshikawa-san?”

“When did he get here?” Nakamura asked, now that Michiko had stopped talking long enough for him to speak.

“Just this afternoon. Wasn't that a wonderful surprise? I was so surprised to see him. I wasn't expecting him. I was also surprised to see he brought two servants with him. I surmise the one is his cook, but I can't guess what the gaijin girl would be.” She thought for a moment. “And what about that Takeda that left with our son? I suppose he's still around and will be showing up sooner or later. We could probably find something for him to do on staff here.”

Nakamura could not believe his ears. He hadn't heard Michiko chatter like this in years. It usually meant she was nervous about something, and he was starting to get a suspicion about what it was. He stood up from the table and asked, “Which room did you give him?”

“The one overlooking the gardens. The sun will greet him every morning. Shall we go see him?”

“No, I wish to speak to him alone,” Nakamura said as he left the room. He went to Hikaru's room and knocked. “May I come in?”

The door opened and Nakamura entered. The first thing he noticed was the mattress had been taken off the bedframe and was on the floor. He heard the door close behind him and turned to see Hikaru standing there. The boy did not look happy. “Well, Hikaru,” he said. “This is quite a surprise. Why did you come?”

“I was following your instructions, Grandfather,” Hikaru said quietly.

“My instructions? What do you mean?”

“In the letter you sent. I came like you told me in the letter.”

Nakamura was beginning to realize what had happened, but he needed to see for himself. “Do you have the letter? May I see it, please?”

Hikaru went to the desk where he had put the book he brought along. The letter was inside. “Here,” he said as he handed it over.

Nakamura read the letter carefully. “I didn't write this,” he said. “The letter I wrote was never sent. Yonaha-san found it in a dustbin today. I would never have written this. I had an agreement with Takeda-sensei that you would be the one to decide when you came. I said that in the letter I wrote. I invited you to visit, not to live with us.”

Hikaru stared at the floor. “Oh,” he said even more quietly than before.

Nakamura took a good look at Hikaru. It was obvious something was wrong, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. “Are you feeling all right? You hardly ate any dinner.”

“I wasn't hungry.”

“Is that all? I suppose you're tired from the trip, aren't you? Well, I'll leave you to rest now. Tomorrow we'll talk some more, all right? You get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning.” He turned to leave the room.

“Where are Sam-chan and Midori-san?” Hikaru asked.

Nakamura turned back. “What was that?”

“Where are Sam-chan and Midori-san? I told Grandmother that they're my friends and not servants. She said she'd find them better quarters. Where are they?”

“I'm not sure where they are, but I'll see that they get better quarters right away. I'll let you know as soon as they're moved. Is there anything else you need?”

Hikaru glanced at the fireplace. “May I have a fire in there, please?”

“Of course, I'll send someone up to start it for you. Good night, Hikaru, it is nice to see you, even though it was completely unexpected.” Nakamura left the room. He sent the first servant he found up to Hikaru's room to make a fire. He found it quite odd that the boy wanted a fire while it was so hot outside. The next thing on his mind was to find Samantha and Midori and get them a room near Hikaru. The final thing on his mind once the girls had been moved was the letter Hikaru had given him. He had a good idea who had written the letter and a good idea why it was written. He just wasn't sure how to approach his wife on the matter. That was the difficult part.

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