Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth: Modern Times
Chapter 1: There's Always France
France. Modern day tourist-proclaimed "City of Love." Any street you walk down, odds are there's a shop or a restaurant with a high class setting and a high class budget, too. Some shops sold cheap knock-offs of original priceless paintings or genuine hand-crafted ones by only the most skilled. Go to a restaurant and maybe try some exquisite cheese with a glass of Moulis.
But here in this city a new story is about to unfold...
Click. "Perfect," said a male voice. The voice in question, Cody Eisenmann, age 21, had snapped, in his opinion, the perfect shot of a couple walking along a bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower under the spring sun with his black Nikon D5100. He smiled a smile of straightened teeth after several years of braces. He closed one light blue eye and focused his open one downrange to a new possible target of trees blossoming. The wind gently teased his dirty blonde locks and his unbuttoned forest green shirt over his dark blue shirt. He was also wearing light blue jeans that are fringed on the bottom of the legs and worn out white tennis shoes.
"Cody. Again? Really, how long are you going to keep this up?" said a teenage female voice. Cody turned around to see a girl that stands a few inches shorter than he does. This is Kailyn Eisenmann, age 17, Cody's younger sister. She had matching hair held back with a black hairband, but her eyes were light green as opposed to his light blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt with blue jeans and a pair of black thong flip flops on her feet along with matching nail polish on her fingers and toes. Around her neck was an oval locket and inside was a picture of her, her older brother, and their baby sister, Serenity.
"I want to see it, Cody," said a younger female voice. The little girl was jumping up and down, trying to take a peek at the picture. This is Serenity Eisenmann, age 10, baby sister to Kailyn and Cody. Her blonde hair was put up in a French braid (not intentionally putting that there cause they're in France) and her eyes were the same as her brother. Her teeth were a little crooked, but she never refused to smile. She was wearing a grey t-shirt of her big brother and sister's high school. She was wearing khaki colored shorts and was wearing blue flip flops on her feet, but her nails were bare unlike her sister. She wore a leather bracelet on her left arm that her and her siblings' names on it.
Cody finally brought the camera down to Serenity's height so she can see it. "Wow, big brother. That's a good picture," she said, smiling.
"See? At least someone appreciates my pictures," Cody teased. Kailyn responded by sticking out her tongue. The three walked down the street and came upon a gallery (indoor row of shops in France), which had tempting smells coming from inside. Cody heard someone's stomach growl. Kailyn blushed and laughed a little.
"Sorry. I forgot to eat breakfast, so I'm a little hungry." Cody smiled and walked inside, trying to find the shop in question. Serenity ran a little further ahead.
"Serenity, not too far ahead," Kailyn said.
"She'll be fine." The two found the cart and ordered a powdered beignet. Everyone had stopped and turned around to the sound of loud clomping on the black and white tile floor. The sound in question turned out to be a little girl with her coal black hair tied up and decorated while she was wearing a flowery patterned Japanese kimono and the traditional Japanese sandals and socks with it. She looked with awe at the dishes in the display cases.
"Cody, who's that?" asked Serenity, pointing to the girl.
"Serenity, don't be rude," Cody said, putting her arm down.
An old man with an associate carrying his bags walked behind the girl. "Yune. Do you like France?" said the man in Japanese.
"Hai," the young girl replied.
"Cody, I thought 'hi' meant 'hello'," Serenity said, looking a little puzzled. Cody chuckled a little.
"Serenity, hai is Japanese. It means 'yes.'"
"Cody. It's good to see you again," said the old man. He was dressed in a three piece business suit with his graying beard reaching his chest. His brown eyes held a gentleness that only a parent could have. His round belly jiggled like Santa when he laughed.
"And to you, too, Oscar," he replied, shaking the man's hand.
"Hi, Oscar!" waved Serenity.
"Aww, looky here. Little Serenity and Kailyn," he said, hugging the two.
"So how was Japan?" Kailyn asked.
"Great. Come into the shop and I'll show you some things I got while I was there." He nodded to the attendant who went ahead of the group. Everyone walked inside, including the little girl, and waited to see what Oscar brought back from his travels.
"Hey, grandpa. Is that you?" said another male voice from inside the shop. Down the steps walked a young man about Kailyn's age walked from the back. His hair was a little longer than Cody's, but was darker. His gray shirt showed signs of soot from his metal and glass work. His jeans had black streaks from where he wiped his hands off.
Around the shop were various metal work arts and hand blown glass art as well. Yune looked in awe at all of the crafts around the shop.
"Careful, Yune. It's all very fragile," Oscar said. She nodded and joined him at the center of the shop.
"Grandpa, who is this?" Claude asked.
"This," he said, placing his hand on Yune, "is Yune. Her mother wanted her to learn some new customs and have some business experience as well. Yune, introduce yourself."
"Okay," she answered.
"Hey, she does know a little French," Serenity said. The girl knelt on the ground and brought her upper body to the floor, bowing. "My name is Yune. Nice to meet you, master," she said in her sweet voice. Claude became very shocked at this, then exploded.
"Grandpa! You're such a perv!" he shouted.
"Now, now. This isn't my doing. This is Japanese tradition as a sign of respect!" Oscar said.
"You're lying!" Claude shouted back.
"Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy," Cody said. Yune looked up to see the two bickering and she stood back up, looking confused.
Serenity walked over to Yune to introduce herself. "Bonjour. Mon nom est Serenity." She extended her hand. Yune looked a little confused, then got what she was told.
"Yune. Mon nom est Yune," she answered, shaking her hand.
No one heard the two. They were either arguing (Oscar and Claude) or breaking it up (Cody and Kailyn).
"Est-il toujours comme ca? (Is it always like this?)" Yuna asked.
" Pas toujours. C'est calme, parfois (Not always. It's quiet, sometimes), " Serenity answered.
"What were you thinking!" Claude shouted.
"Hey, hey. Calmez-vous (Calm yourself), " Kailyn whispered. Claude sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply.
"Porqoui moi? (Why me?)" Claude asked.
"Her mother wished to have business experience and she's a good friend of mine, so I offered to take her," Oscar answered.
"Okay. Well, since she's here, why don't we show her around?" Cody suggested.
"Not bad. Well, Yune, What do you say?" Oscar said to the young girl in Japanese.
"Sure," Yune nodded ecstatically in her native tongue. Serenity took Yune's hand and followed the others out of the shop and back on to the main street.
Well, Mama, Yune thought to herself, smiling at Serenity who looked back, smiling at her, looks like I've made some friends. Maybe they can teach me what I want to know.