Introduction

Looking out of the airplane window, Tsukushi could see the clouds floating. She felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

I'm getting further and further away from home but nearer to him.

"And this time, I'll be able to see him as much as I want!" she thought with happiness. For she was going to stay in New York!

The airplane roared on.

A few months before

"I got it!" Tsukushi muttered to herself in disbelief, starring at the slip of paper in her hands. That precious letter had arrived.

"We are pleased to inform you, Tskukushi Makino that your application for a scholarship in New York University has been approved. Attached with this letter are…."

And on and on the letter went. But Tsukushi barely registered the contents of the letter that had been sent to her by one of the academic boards in Tokyo. All her hard work had paid off. The past year since Domyouji had left for New York had been an exhausting one for her. She juggled her job and revised her schoolwork till late at night. Not a spare moment went that she did not do anything. She worked, ate and slept. Why?

Because of Domyouji.

After he left, she felt a gaping hole in her heart that wouldn't be filled up, no matter how hard she tried. She decided to join him there and made up her mind to go to college in New York after she graduated. However she needed a lot of work to get a scholarship. She had to continually revise her academic work, study English and balance her part-time work. It was tough on her but the image of Domyouji's smiling face spurred her on and she never gave up.

And now she finally succeeded. Her grades ranked her among the top students at Eitoku and she passed the entrance examinations for New York University. Plus her English was now as good as a native speaker. Well almost. Better than Domyouji's at any rate.

It was a miracle, what she achieved in one year. But the power of love makes you stronger.

She remembered her scholarship interview.

"Tell me Makino-san, why New York for your college education?"

Because the thing that matters to me most is there.

Back on the airplane

"The plane will now be landing in a few minutes. Please buckle your seatbelts."

The voice from the intercom brought her attention to the present. She had finally arrived.

The planed landed smoothly and the passengers began to take their belongings. Tsukushi grabbed her carrier bag and joined the crowd.

She took a deep breath and walked out to the terminal of JFK airport.

New York, a land of opportunities.

What would it bring for her?