Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Journey -- Day 1

It was another unusually hot day when the carriage came to take Hikaru, Midori and Samantha to Tokyo. He was nervous about the trip and it was beginning to show. They left Kamakura late in the morning and the trip seemed to be taking forever. Samantha was watching out the window as they rode, and Midori was dozing next to her. Hikaru sat across from them and looked down at his hands; they were starting to turn silver. He quickly hid his hands inside his sleeves.

Sam noticed the sudden flurry of movement and said, “Hikaru-san, are you all right?”

“What?” Hikaru asked, looking over at her. Her voice sounded as if it was coming from far away.

“Are you all right?” she repeated. “You look a little nervous.”

“It's nothing,” he lied. “I'm tired. That is all.” He gave a weak smile, hoping to reassure her that nothing was wrong.

Sam narrowed her eyes. She could tell he was hiding something, but she wouldn't press him.

Hikaru leaned back and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep, and the journey continued in silence until the coachman announced they were in Yokohama, where they would spend the night. They would continue to Tokyo in the morning. The coachman got three rooms at an inn. Hikaru claimed he wasn't hungry and went straight to his room, leaving Midori and the coachman to help Sam out of the carriage. The women stayed down in the dining room for dinner. It felt so good to be out of that carriage.

As they ate, Sam's thoughts turned to Hikaru. It definitely seemed as if this trip was bothering him in some way. She wanted to help, but wasn't sure what she could do.

Midori looked at Sam and finally broke the silence. “What's wrong, Sam-chan?” she asked. “You've been rather quiet all evening.”

Sam set her bowl down and stared at the miso. “I'm worried about Hikaru-san,” she said quietly. “He's been acting strange all day. I asked him if anything was wrong, and he said he was tired. And then going up to his room right away when we got here. I know he doesn't need to eat like we do, but that wasn't like him.”

“Well, he's probably nervous,” Midori said. “It's a big change for him, going from little Kamakura to Tokyo. He's meeting his grandparents for the first time. That must be a bit frightening for him.”

“I can understand that. I was raised by my grandmother and always got upset if I had to meet my parents. My older brothers and sisters are strangers to me. I never liked visiting them. I just wish Hikaru-san wouldn't shut me out.”

“It may be how he is. He's probably not used to having someone to confide in,” Midori said. She thought for a moment and continued, “I have an idea. Let's take something up to him, and you can talk to him. Reassure him that he's not alone. I'll carry the tray and you can do the talking. Will that be all right?”

Sam nodded and the two of them ordered some onigiri and tea to take up to Hikaru. Sam knocked at the door. “Hikaru-san, may we come in?”

There was a muffled reply from within the room.
“I didn't quite get that,” Sam said. “May we come in?”

Sounds of someone moving around came from inside the room and the door slid open. Sam hobbled in on her crutches followed by Midori and looked around. Hikaru was nowhere to be seen. “Hikaru-san, where are you?”

“Here,” came a voice from under a pile of bedding near the door.

“What are you doing under there?” Midori asked. “Won't you come out? We brought some tea and rice balls for you.” She set the tray near the futon and then helped Sam sit nearby.

There was no reply from the pile of bedding at first, but eventually it moved around until a set of glowing green eyes was visible. Hikaru looked at the tray and shuffled over to it. A silver hand darted out and grabbed a rice ball.

Sam reached over and pulled the blanket off Hikaru's head. She couldn't help but smile at how he looked. His hair was messed up and his clothes rumpled. He looked like a small child that had just been awakened from a serious nap, except for the fact that he was completely silver from head to toe and had fiery green eyes. Sam tried to stifle a giggle, but was unsuccessful. “So that's what's bothering you,” she said. “Why didn't you say something earlier?”

He mumbled a reply without looking at either Sam or Midori and took a bite of onigiri.

“We didn't quite catch that,” Sam said with a sigh. “You need to talk to me.”

Hikaru contemplated the half-eaten onigiri for a moment and then said, “I'm stuck.”

The women looked at each other and then back at Hikaru. Midori said, “Stuck?”

Hikaru nodded and held up his hand. “I noticed my hands were silver in the carriage today. I tried to stop the change, but it kept happening. That's why I came up here right away. I couldn't stop it.”

Sam took his hand. “So you've been up here trying to change back,” she said. “It still would have been nice if you had told me about it. You're not used to asking for help, are you?”

Hikaru shook his head. He looked up at Sam and said, “I can't go like this. Grandfather has seen me this way, but no one else has. I'm not going. Midori-san, tell the coachman to go back to Tokyo without me. Make up some excuse. I don't care. I just can't go like this.”

Sam looked over at Midori and said, “Don't you say anything to the coachman. We're still going to Tokyo no matter what somebody may say.”

Hikaru started to protest, but the look Samantha gave him changed his mind. He wasn't sure, but he may have found someone that could be just as stubborn as he was.

Sam turned back to Hikaru. “As for you, Nakamura Hikaru-san,” she said. “I know you can be incredibly stubborn about lots of things, but this is one time I won't let you get away with it. You're going to Tokyo to meet your grandparents whether you want to or not. And you're going to be calm on the outside. Any nervousness, misgivings, or what have you are going to be on the inside and only on the inside. You got that?”

Hikaru nodded. He was completely stunned by Sam's outburst. He stared at her as if truly seeing her for the first time. He had never seen anyone so beautiful before.

“Now stop gawking and eat your onigiri and drink your tea before it gets cold.” She turned to Midori and continued, “Could you help me up now? I'm a bit tired and want to go to bed.”

“Of course, Sam-chan,” Midori said and helped Sam off the floor. “Goodnight, Hikaru-san,” she said as they left the room.

“Goodnight, Midori-san... Sam...chan,” Hikaru said as Midori slid the door closed. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but he knew something had gone on because he fell so much calmer now. He looked at the half-eaten rice ball he was still holding and noticed his hand was no longer silver. He quickly checked the rest of his body and was happy to see he had changed back to normal. He started to laugh and finished eating the onigiri. There was something about that foreign girl that made him feel so good. He finally understood what Takeda-sensei had meant when he told him not to let go of Sam-san. No, not “Sam-san,” but “Sam-chan.” Hikaru knew he could call her that and not feel it was wrong.

After finishing the tea and onigiri and putting out the lights, Hikaru settled in for the night. For once, he was actually looking forward to the rest of the trip to Tokyo. He knew that as long as Sam-chan was with him, he would be happy and could face anything.

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