I've been in here for almost a week now, five days possibly, and I'm still getting used on the weather, and atmosphere.
The people are all fine, they were nice, but I wasn't able to really have a good conversation with them, since my Japanese wasn't really great...
Indeed, Japan's nice, really nice. They have a lot of nice food and places, and of course, there's the Animes, and mangas I love, so Japan's really one of the places I've wanted to go to.
But I wanted to go was somewhere near my residence. It was the Rikugien Garden, a park, where there are trees of Maples and Zelkovas, which are very beautiful in autumn. I also want to feed the koi fishes under the bridges, but since I still feel a bit sick. I guess I won't be able to do that till the day after tomorrow.
•••
I was suddenly awakened from my nap. I just finished cleaning my room's bathroom, and it was just as tiring as cleaning my room. So I was, of course, a bit agitated being woken, but I stood up from my bed, yawned, and looked at the time in my wrist watch. It was 5:30 in the afternoon, 'who would be coming at this time of the day, I'm not even expecting anyone,' I thought.
I opened my room's door, and walked to the main door of the house, I suddenly felt cold, and I realized that I left my cardigan, and slippers at my room, at the bed, 'Idiot,' I snapped at myself. I was at the door though when I realized that idiocy I've done, so I thought that it would be a waste of time to get those things now. So I just looked at the looking hole in the door, I saw no one. My spine shivered, I remembered something that I've watched back then, a horror movie... I had second thoughts of opening the door, but curiosity got me on its thumbs.
I opened the door, not fully though, half expecting to see a masked serial killer at my door's side ready to swing a bat at my head and rob my home. But there was no one, no one. I looked side to side and saw nobody. I opened the door widely now and breathe in some fresh air. For some reason I suddenly want to come out of my door, so I did.
Crrrrnnncch....
"Ow!!!" I shouted after stepping on something rough and hard. I looked down and saw chestnuts, with a bunch of red maple leaves. I felt spooked... because I knew, after four days of staying, that my front yard's garden didn't have any tree in it. I rashly went in, locking the door from the inside.... I was breathing hard, as if I ran so far and back. I knew it was because of fear, so I tried to calm myself with breathing slower than before.
I was a scaredy-cat, everyone knew that, but I wasn't scared on living alone in here for 2 months, because I wasn't expecting anything unnatural.
I went to the kitchen, drank some water, and thought about what happened. After a few minutes, I've decided that I was just over reacting on things, because this is the first time I was left on my own, and so I thought a lukewarm bath was something helpful. I went to the bathroom, and prepared the bath tub by filling it with lukewarm water. I went to the connected changing room and stripped my clothes, pulled on a bath robe, and went back to the tub.
•••
The bath was indeed really refreshing. I felt like a new person, full of energy, and warmth. I changed in my room, since I haven't unpacked most of my clothes, I wore a striped t - shirt and jeans. I put on my cardigan, and went to the living room. I plugged in our 45 inches flat screen tv, got glad when it worked, and started to watch some television stuff... Later on I felt my eyelids become heavy, and before I even realized it, I was asleep and dreaming.
• • • • •
The dream-
I was bare foot while walking on the forest, and I was all on my own. I hate it when I'm on my own, with no one to count on if something happens. Still, I kept walking. I felt the cold earth under my foot, it was somewhat comforting. For some reason, I didn't want to look in the direction I was trekking. I just kept looking down at the earth, I didn't feel afraid or anything I was just looking down...
After a few more pacing forwards, I heard the gentle current of a nearby creak, and suddenly birds singing, and twittering in the branches of the trees around me was heard. And also the breeze went higher, making its whooshing sound heard as well. It was as if the forest that surrounds me became a beautiful orchestra, with its undeniable natural beauty.
Due to these wonders, I wasn't able to stop myself from looking up, and there it was, the shocking beauty of an autumn forest of gigantic maple, beech and oak trees, with their magnificent autumn colors of bright red, gold and brown. The air got warmer, just as my heart flutters.
Autumn, even though I was just in a dream, made me fall in love with its warm elegance. My heart kept on skipping beats, to the point I was anxious that I might get a heart attack, but my excitement got better of my anxiousness. I kept on walking, feeding my eyes with the beauty of autumn, as my ears kept on listening to the wonderful sonatas the trees and wind composed.
Not from afar I saw a bunch of white-tailed deer, about four of them. I walk towards them, a bit hesitantly, I was nervous that I'd scare them away.
When I was a few feet away from them, the animals stared at my direction. I thought they'd hop away, but to my heart's joy they stayed, and the young ones even came to me. They brushed their heads at my knees, as if telling me that they love me, or as if they were trying to comfort me, so I knelt down and brushed both of my hands at their heads gently. After a while of playing, something from the side caught my eyes, a movement.
My instincts told me not to follow the maker of the movement, but as usual my curiosity won. And I decided to see who caught my attention. I stood up from where I was sitting, and waved my bye to the family of deer, and went on a walk towards where I believe the creature went.
After a few more walking I ended up at one side of the creak that I heard earlier, the sound of its current more dominant now than the wind and trees, even though it went on gently, there was a bridge that connects the two sides of the creak. It was built of wood and painted red, though it looked old. The red paint was starting to fade, and the wood have developed mosses at some areas. After inspecting the bridge, a realization came into me...
The bridge's design was the traditional Japanese bridge.
'So that's why it looked so ancient for me,' I thought
I loved the bridge, and the creak after my realization, since I love some Japanese culture. I walked at the bridge, as I expected, it creaked thought it only creaked once, or twice. When I was halfway through the bridge, I saw something at the other end, a beautiful being, curled up in a ball, asleep in the leaves, beside the other end of the bridge. As I observed it, I made conclusions, the thing is same size as a "Japanese pits," and it has a coat of orange fur, which looked so soft.
But since it was curled up, the real figure is obscured from my view... so I went closer to it to have a better view.
When I got closer, at the same time the creature yawned, I discovered that it was a fox, a red fox. It looked elegant, I stared at the sleepy creature as it lay its head back to the ground, and started to fall back asleep.
An idea came into my mind, a thought, about the lovely autumn, and the fox in front of me, how they were so similar from color to what they seem to symbolize, or so…
But as I kept on admiring the elegance of the sleeping fox, I suddenly trip myself due to a patch of wet moss, and fall on the other side of the bridge, I was sure that I completely startled the creature, and woke it up.
I already felt scared, and guilty by startling the fox, but when I heard it growl, I heard anger… and it made me twice more afraid.
I was facing backwards, so I didn't really saw the fox's face, but even though I was really, really scared, to the point that my whole body was shaking like a leaf in the breeze. My soul still found courage to look at it, and so I did.
My mouth fell agape, I knew I was in a dream but still it felt shocking. When I moved to look back at the fox behind me, I was expecting it to be there in the bridge, standing in a defensive position, just like it was now, but I didn't expect it to be so huge. It seems to grow ten times bigger than its normal size, and its eyes, they weren't looking normal, there were no white parts, only reddish-orange, and it was as if glowing, glowing with anger, hatred, and irritation.
It raised its claws, which were all looking razor sharp, then swung it towards me… and I was ready to give my dear life… and then… then I woke up.
– End of Dream.
• • • • •
I woke up screaming for dear life, contrast to my calmness in the dream. I wasn't sure why I was so ready to give my life to the demon looking fox, when all I did was accidentally waken it.
I felt so confused, my heart was pounding hard. I thought it might get off my chest on its own.
"Why, what happened back there?", I ask my confused self, it was just unreasonable.
"Why am I so calm?", I asked myself but even before I can think of a reason, my tummy grumbled.
I stood up from bed, and went to the bathroom. I washed my face, brushed my dark brown straight hair, and brushed my teeth as well, then I went out, took my glasses, from my bedside table, turned off my night lamp and went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.
•••
I felt full after eating the rice omelet I've prepared, I made brunch already after seeing that I woke up late, and now I was watching a anime movie, titled, "I want to eat your pancreas" at the tv, at Netflix.
I love watching anime films, even though most of the endings were sad, just like this ones. I'm already at the part where, Takahiro, a main character, learned that Sakura got stabbed, and I was crying endlessly. I was touched by the story of the movie, even though I'm not interested with romanticism in real life, I still get emotional at these things. I'm not numb for god's sake.
After some time more, the movie ended, I was left there, eyes red from crying, lying on the couch, on my own, thinking about the stories I've written. None of them were as famous as the best sellers. I love reading, but even so, my works have gathered many readers that supports me. "One day, I want to publish a story, detailed enough, that the readers will feel how the characters really felt," I said to myself, and I lay there, staring at the ceiling.
I still didn't plan on going out. I've adjusted with the atmosphere, but I'm still doubtful about going outside. In a world I'm not really used in.
The bell rung, I've opened my eyes, I didn't knew that I've napped, but I guess I did. I stand up from my couch, and felt that my head was light, I yawned, and went to the door.
The person was a neighbor of mine, her name is Miss Yamada. She was a English teacher in a nearby middle school, so unsurprisingly she was good at speaking the English language.
She brought some California Maki for me, because she made so much more than what she can eat, since she's living on her own. She saw me a few day from now when I arrived, and was a bit curious to why was I not leaving the house, so she checked on me today.
"I'm actually fine miss Yamada," I said as I placed the food my guest brought on a fine plate. They look delicious, but I was still full, so I thought I'll just eat it later.
"Please just call me Yua, I'm your neighbor, there's no need for formalities," she said.
I was still shocked on how good her English was. It was as if she was born with knowledge about English language already.
"Umm.. okay miss Yua, but you shouldn't have made me these food. You must've gotten really tired," I said, giving her a glass of orange juice, while looking at the food in the plate.
"Oh, that's nothing, I was just happy making those. I end up making too much, and I got worried you weren't coming out of your house, so I thought of giving you the extra," she said.
After drinking, she looked at my eyes, and asked,
"You must be new here, how's your stay so far?"
"I've been here for a week now, and I'm only here for vacation, these house is my parent's house so I'm staying here for a while," I answered.
"I see, so you're?", she asked.
I felt struck. I was so unprepared for miss Yua's sudden visit, that I let her in my house without introducing myself.
"Umm... my name is Jeramie Marquez, but please call me just Jem," I said.
Miss Yua stared at me, as if looking for something in my face, some sort of resemblance, and it made me feel uneasiness, so I was sweating, just a bit in the forehead.
Then she suddenly laughed softly, and smiled at me in a comforting way.
"So you're Misha's daughter, you do have her eyes, and hair. I guess your skin took from your father, I'm glad to meet my godchild after so long," Yua said, still laughing.
I knew my mouth fell open. I'm in pure shock that the person in front of me is one of my many godparents, with me unknowing...
She came to me and hugged me in a motherly way, and said,
"You've grown just as beautiful as your mother was."
After a few more moments of talking, Yua said her good bye and left. I still in shock showed her to the door, and hugged her before completely parting...
Once alone inside,
"So now I'm not really alone here," I said to the air.
I went to my room and grabbed my phone, opened it and video called my mum, and after a few minutes of ringing she answered...