Little Kiku was excited! He was going to spend the weekend with his grandfather at the fishing town of Minamisanriku. His father the businessman had disapproved, of course, but his mother had convinced him that Kiku would be fine and have a great time.
Kiku played Pokemon on his Nintendo DS to pass the long car ride. He eagerly counted the minutes until they would get to their destination.
At long last, they arrived! It was indeed a good day since they had left from Tokyo, and Kiku was tired. He found himself nodding off to sleep, but the sight of a familiar figure roused him. He flew out of the car into his frail grandpa's arms.
"Konichiwa, Kiku-kun." The withered old face stared kindly down at the child.
"Will he be okay?" Kiku's father asked doubtfully. He scratched something down on a sheet of paper. "If something happens, call this number. This is my cell phone number." He handed the paper to the old man.
"He'll be fine, dear," Kiku's mother assured his worried father with a chuckle. "You fret like an old woman."
"Take care of yourself," his dad instructed gruffly. Then he stepped on the gas and the family's Honda sped off the way it had come.
His grandpa laughed heartily. "Your father was always the worrywart." He placed a bony hand on Kiku's shoulder. "Anyways, you should get some rest. We have a big day on the sea tomorrow!"
"We'll catch lots of fish!" Kiku prophesied excitedly. "Then we can cook them and eat them!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Kiku-boy. The first thing a good fisherman needs is…"
"Adequate rest!" Kiku knew the saying by heart by now. "Yes, Grandpa, of course!" He pounded up the stairs of his grandpa's two-story wooden house.