"Have a pleasant trip." The air stewardess smiled warmly, showing her two dimples on the left cheek. Yanagi returned back a shy smile before disappearing into the cabin.
"What a sweet pretty thing…" murmured the stewardess.
In the flickering evening lights, a ruggedly handsome youth leaped over the gate to his house. He smoothly turned the key to the house and swung the door open, not noticing the adoring stare of his neighbour. She was not his first admirer in the neighbourhood, since he moved in. Many young girls blushed shyly when they glanced upon this energetic 19-year-old. His features had matured since the big fight when he was sixteen and he was in the prime of his youth.
Recca switched on the lights in the bright sunny house, while busily munching his sandwich. Yet, he did not give any of them a glance, with the light of his life constantly in his mind, the rest did not stand a chance.
He hung his knapsack by the door and shrugged off his jacket. He trudged to the bathroom but paused when he passed the calendar. Changing his mind, he turned back and entered his study. The letter pad with the imprint of willows in the background being his favourite thus far.
Just six more days… He mused before he reached for the dark blue pen beside. Settling back against his plush indigo chair, he began to write. Normally, he did not write letters. He was never good at writing, the reason being that he found language lessons a bore. However, he had realized just how precious letters were and how much more sincere they were. And, with her all alone in Tokyo, he wanted to give her all the warmth and sincerity he could find in his heart.
Dear Yanagi-chan,
How's the beautiful princess doing today?
So he had learnt and started to write, realizing finally that letters were personal things and that you did not have to follow the guide books. Letters were beautiful if they were truly messages from the heart.
I hope this letter reaches you before you board the plane back to home. Finally. Yes, finally. It's been what? Eight months since you left back for the Tokyo-teacher-training-University.
*****
Yanagi clicked on her seatbelt and reached into her sling bag for letters. She smiled, ever since the practice he started, she no longer looked at letters with dread. Instead, anticipation and excitement tingled faintly each time she shifted through her letters, hoping to find… just as she found she was hoping now for…
Everyone misses you dreadfully. Darn… I always seem to repeat this sentence in every letter, hope I'm not getting influenced by all those dreadful soap operas that mom makes me watch when I go over on weekends. I miss you terribly too…
A benign expression settled over her face. She expertly slit open the cream coloured envelope with the imprint of willows on them. And she thought she could almost smell the scent of the house, their would be home.
"Letter from a dear one?" the elderly granny sitting beside her asked mischievously. Yanagi blushed and the granny laughed softly. "I understand the feeling young one." She winked before calling the air stewardess for a nice cup of cocoa.
Yanagi's soft brown, orange tinged eyes softly read the letter, savoring it as she always did.
I can't wait to see the face that lit up so brightly, when I asked you before you left on that clear dark night, with the velvet box in my shaky right hand if you would… and you did.
Yanagi laughed softly in rememberance. She remembered every detail. How he had looked so acutely shy, nervous, innocent and… absolutely breath-taking in his immaculately neat and pressed shirt. She had been so amused when his face took on such a worried and anxious expression before mustering up the courage, that she had never seen lacking in his fights or close shaves with death, suddenly failing him now, reducing him to the schoolboy that he still was. She wondered how he could ever think she would or could say no.
Our house is still standing. Nope, Fuuko has not knocked it down with her fuujin yet, nor did Domon forget to use the door, after I reminded him… in let us just say not a very subtle way? We just need the curtains, decorations and little bits and pieces that I'll leave to your tasteful way of handling these sort of things.
Yanagi resisted the urge to shake her head at his ignorance. These little things as he called them were what made up a home. He obviously did not know how longs she would spend pouring over interior designing catalogues, worrying which was the correct colour or was it too harsh.
She blinked when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned her slightly unfocused gaze to the friendly air-stewardess who handed her the dinner with a smile. She politely took her tray, feeling just a little embarrassed. Making sure the air-stewardess was now no where in sight, she ate her food without tasting it, while continuing with the letter.
Can you believe it? I'm now fully qualified to be a ninjitsuu instructor at the gorgeous ancient temple I found. I told you before I was taking in students and I think they all have a lot of potential. Guess what? There are two girls too and some of the boys are a little ashamed at how agile they are. Kage was so elated when I told her the news. It's the all new Hokage generation!
From the slightly rushed handwriting, Yanagi could tell just how excited he was over this. It had come as no surprise to her when he announced a year or more ago that he was thinking of setting up the Hokage ninjitsuu class. After all, she knew just how well he got along with children ever since the secondary school days when he helped out at the Children's nursery.
I'm going to train our children extra hard too when we…
Yanagi blushed and could see from several cancel marks that he was still the same easily embarrassed self. An ink-stain followed, which was the usual telltale symbol that he was trying rephrase something in his mind. She brushed the crumbs from her fingers slowly as she read the next sentence…
{ Well folks, our next upcoming dedication is from *shuffling of papers* Patrick Kenston to Miss Andrea sylph. Awww… this is so sweet. He says that he's thinking of you Andrea every minute of the day while you're in Atlanta and he's in New York. Are you thinking of him too?
Let us wish these two love birds all the best!… the upcoming song by Britney Spears, "Where are you now?" }
{ Calling out your name… }
Recca's gaze shifted to her photograph on his desk.
{ Your face is everywhere
I'm reaching out to you to find that you're not there }
She was smiling radiantly in her graduating photograph that she had sent him a week ago. Her studies were finally over…
{ I wake up every night to see the state I'm in
It's like an endless fight that I never seem to win.
I can't go on, as long as I believe
I can't let go, if I keep wondering… }
Too deep in his thoughts, he missed out the next part of the song as it played and he wrote to her simply and sincerely.
{ Where are you now?
What have you found
Where is your heart if I'm not around? }
*****
I wish you were here with me… instead of just memories of you… of us…
She did not notice when the trays were taken away as she silently echoed that sentence in her mind.
I can't pretend and try to put what I feel through words but I know that you'll understand… you always do. Now, do I realize how much I treasure you.
Yanagi's eyes misted over slightly, so that everything took on a frosted glass covering. She had realized over the years that behind the rugged and strong youth she loved, there was a gentle tender side that had amazed her over and over again. She treasured this side and had learnt to appreciate it when it did come.
That is why I say I miss you… you always do and I just hoping that tonight you are gazing at the same pale moon I am seeing. That the silver saucer will act as a conduit for us so that I may see your face reflected in it…even for a while.
Contentment, happiness, and total warmth suffused her entire being for a while before they subsided leaving behind a dreamy smile. His simple words meant were enough for her.
*****
In the airplane cockpit, Captain Dregs gave a final check of the controls and leaned back satisfied. The old girl was doing fine and he leaned back to gaze at the lazy shifting night sky. The stars winking silently and peacefully. It was all so calm and contrite.
He blinked and blinked again. He could not believe what he was seeing. His mouth fell open as he stared in horror at the small but deadly tornado appearing before him. An ice cold hand moved across to the sensor dials mechanically only to find them silent.
True and fast fear struck him as he realized that they were spoilt. No wonder he had not realized anything. It had been calm… too calm and he had been naïve and gullible to believe that it was just his lucky day. Lucky? How could he be lucky in the middle of the monsoon season.
"James?" He called his co-pilot, voice just a mite bit too high and squeaky. The handsome young one looked down from his seat. "James?" He continued… "Did you kiss your wife before you left tonight?"
*****
We've been through much…
Yanagi smiled. That was a simple way of putting it.
Luckily though, we overcame everything still in one piece, with you still by my side. You're probably why I'm bringing this up after all these years? I don't know why too… but I guess it's just that I never got a chance to tell you how I drew so much strength from your just being there always when I needed you. And now you're coming back to me… right? Stupid of me to worry.
Yanagi wanted to give his hand a squeeze and tell him that it was never to stupid to worry about something like that. She felt so lucky to have someone as wonderful and sweet as he. She felt she had too much happiness but smiled.
She blinked and rose her head to the sound of the captain speaking through the inter-com.
You know? We've got so much to do when you come back. So many things that it seems impossible to ever finish all of them…
"Everyone… I think we have a problem." The captain started then gulped. "… I'm… sorry." Puzzlement and commotion rose with that phrase and people started gripping each other's hands.
Don't call me greedy but I can't wait to taste your curry speciality again. You'll come back just in time for Mikagami's birthday. That's right. So we could go to the birthday bash together…
It started with the creaking of plane and then everyone had the feeling they were being hauled to the right and then left. The intercom had broken down but everyone had guessed what was going to happen. Some prayed, some cried, some stayed silent in shock, some started to laugh.
I've got an entire crate of specially made fireworks sitting in our backyard just waiting…
The letter lay forgotten on her lap. She started shaking every so slightly, just trembling and trembling. Her eyes blurred over and she shook her head over and over again. This was not happening to her. Not after all they had been through.
We could sit together on the swings in the nearby park again or go walk under the late autumn leaves.
She found she could not cry. It was too painful in her shattering heart for her to express the emotion. Trembling and hugging the letter to her chest, she breathed in soft gulps of air which was increasingly little because… her unfocused eyes noticed for an instant that a hole had appeared nearby. Wait. A hole? Or three holes?
If you're feeling up to it, we might go visit the children's home. I know how they love you and you love them. As long as you're with me… anything is fine.
Seats were starting to be drawn to the those big gaping holes. She realized how all her senses seemed to have failed her except her sight. She noted with mute horror that her seat was one of them. Not knowing why, she jumped out of her seat and grabbed at a tall pole nearby. She had to hold on, find a way to… she gulped… live on.
I guess I'm just in the mood for reminiscing today. Ever since I first saw you in the park with the Sakura blossoms, I realized my sense of purpose and direction in life was changed.
As her delicate numb fingers slowly but surely slipped from the ice-cold metal rod, it changed into a silver long serpent who hissed and screamed at her. Her whole mind focused on holding on, just for awhile, because it was important, almost vital…
I became and always will be your ninja. I had a new mission and dedication in life which you gave to me.
It seemed that everything was deathly quiet, or maybe it was just because her senses were numbed and her mind could only watch and weep silently as her unfeeling fingers slipped finally…
For once, I felt part of this world. Strange is it not? I felt like I belonged here because you were here with me. So I'll swear here again as I swore before…
It was important to hold on to life, for her… for him.
I will protect you till the end of my last breath and beyond. Because…
Crystal tears rolled down her smooth porcelain cheeks as she fell out into the dark tormented night sky. Her anguished and pained eyes watched helplessly as the letter slipped from the folds of her dress and floated away into the night… She had to stay on for him… she had to… Because…
… I love you
… "I love you" She whispered finally before the strong winds spirited her away.
Forever and eternally your ninja,
The letter continued it's flight downwards to the earth and passed the moon. The dry brittle parchment briefly becoming illuminated by the pale silver light. It bore the name of someone who would soon pick up the phone soon… the name of someone who would scream out in anguish… the name of someone who loved another so much…too much... the name of someone who would ask the heavens above why did dreams not come true… the name of someone whose heart would be broken…shattered into a million minute shards.
Hanabishi Recca