Springtime Surprise

Where… am I?

Who… am I?

So… much… water…

I… can't… breathe…

Chapter one

I opened my eyes and looked up at a ceiling made of sticks. Thoughts were forming in my empty mind: Where am I…? Who am I…? What am I…? Why…?

I sat up, leaned my back against a wall made of sticks, pulled my legs up to my chest and hugged my knees. That's when I noticed two men sitting on the floor on the other side of the room. One man was old and the other was young; they were looking at me.

"Ranko," said the young man, "cover your-self."

I stared at him. I didn't realize he was talking to me.

He stood up, walked over to me, grabbed my ankles, pulled my legs out strait and spread the bottom of my shirt over my lap. "Ranko," he said, earnestly, "sit like this and keep your-self covered."

"Ron… ko?"

He smiled, pointed at me and said. "You are Ranko."

"Ron… ko?"

"Yes, and I am Ranma."

I pointed at him. "Ron…ma?"

"That's right."

"Oh."

He walked back over to where he was before and sat down and talked with the old man. I stared at them. They were the first people I had ever seen. I was both fascinated and frightened. I listened to their conversation but I didn't understand anything they were saying.

Slowly, I began to take in some details of my surroundings. The floor was a bunch of rugs scattered about. I think it was dirt underneath. It felt bumpy. The room was sparsely furnished; just a table and a few things here and there. I didn't know what they were.

The old man was smoking a pipe and wearing some kind of drab clothes that looked like pajamas. Ranma was just wearing pants.

I sat very still with my legs stretched out and my lap covered because I didn't want to upset Ranma again. I looked down and realized that I was only wearing a shirt. I don't know how I knew it was a shirt but I did.

We sat in the room for a while (I don't know how long) until there was a knock on the door. I turned my head toward the noise. Ranma stood up, opened the door and let two old ladies into the room. They talked and bowed and smiled while pointing at me.

Ranma grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. "Ranko," he said, "go with these ladies."

"Go… wi… lay… dees?"

"That's right. Go with the ladies."

The ladies led me down a dirt path surrounded by trees to another small stick building and we went inside. They removed my shirt and began to wash my body, my head and my hair. I can't begin to explain the intense pleasure of feeling hot water for the first time; the sensation was amazing. It was pure bliss; I almost fainted.

They dried me with some towels; rubbing them briskly over my skin. One of the ladies brushed and braided my hair while the other lady massaged my body with some kind of lotion; that was delightful too.

After the bath, the ladies dressed me. They put a pair of pants and a shirt on me with panties and a bra underneath. I didn't know what to think about the bra. Why I needed to have my chest trussed up was beyond my comprehension (I still wonder about that). Oh, yes, they put a pair of shoes on my feet as well.

From the time I first saw them until the time they left me they didn't stop talking and I didn't understand a word they said; not even one.

We left that stick building, walked up another dirt path and entered another stick building. Ranma was waiting inside near a small low table; he was fully dressed and his long hair was wet and tied back with a string. The ladies sat me down next to him. They patted me on the back, said something to Ranma, smiled, patted my back again then left the room. A man brought a big steaming bowl of something out from somewhere and placed it on the table.

"How do you feel Ranko?" asked Ranma, with a smile that wrinkled his nose.

"Feel?" I said. "Um… okay?"

"Did you like your bath?"

"Um… yes?"

"You look very pretty all cleaned up with your hair braided like that."

"Pretty?" I blushed, but didn't know why.

"Um hmm."

"Um… okay?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Hungry?"

"Do you want to eat something?"

"Um…"

"Here, I'll show you."

He stuck some chopsticks into the steaming bowl, pulled out a piece of meat, put it in his mouth and chewed; smiling as he did so.

I picked up the chopsticks in front of me but couldn't figure out how to use them so I took one chopstick and tried to stab something in the bowl. Ranma laughed, pulled a piece of meat out of the bowl with his chopsticks, blew on the meat and then stuck it in my mouth. What a wonderful sensation. Tasting something for the first time was as good as the bath but in a different way. I held the meat in my mouth; enjoying the taste but not sure what to do next.

"Chew, with your teeth." he said, opening his mouth, pointing at his teeth and moving them around.

I gave that a try. It was awkward at first but instinct soon kicked in. I ate until my belly was about to burst. Ranma and I finished everything in the big bowl.

After eating, we went to another building made of sticks and walked inside. The room was furnished with two mattresses on a dirt floor covered with rugs. One of the ladies came and took me down another path to a bathroom (made of sticks) to show me how to use the toilet. There was also a sink with running water and the lady showed me how to wash my hands.

The lady brought me back to the room and tucked me into bed. Ranma wasn't in the room and I wondered where he was. The lady smiled, patted me on the shoulder, blew out a candle and left the room. I soon fell fast asleep.

Chapter two

The sun shining through the cracks in the walls woke me up the next morning. I looked over and saw Ranma sleeping on the other mattress and sat up on the bed. I didn't know what to do so I just remained quiet and stared at Ranma while he slept. I realized I was hugging my knees again and I stuck my legs out strait; I didn't want Ranma to see me sitting like that. I felt some pressure in my lower regions but I just held it in. I remembered about the Lady and the bathroom but I wasn't sure if I could find it again.

My memory only went back to the day before when I woke up in that other little cabin made of sticks. I couldn't explain who I was or where I came from and I was hoping someone would tell me. So far the only person I understood was Ranma and I barely understood him.

He began to stir and mumble in the bed. I watched him curiously. He looked good to me. His body was big and well built. He had a nice handsome face and his long hair was flowing over the pillow. I suppose I was looking on him as a father figure; something like when a little bird first sees a parent.

He opened his eyes and looked at me but didn't move.

"Good morning, Princess." he said, with a sleepy smile.

I had no idea what he meant by that.

"Goo… mor… nin?" I said.

He chuckled as he sat up on the bed and tied his hair back.

"Put your shoes on Ranko." he said.

"Shoes?"

He pointed at my shoes on the floor by the bed.

"Oh."

I moved my legs around and put the shoes on my feet. Ranma grabbed my hands, pulled me up and said. "Let's go." He walked quickly out the door and down a path; I had to run to keep up. We stopped at the little cabin with the bathrooms inside. He went in one door and told me to go in the other. He was waiting outside for me when I finished.

"Ranko," he said, "did you wash your hands?"

"Yes." I said, nodding my head.

"Good."

He smiled and gently touched the side of my face. It made me happy to be praised by him, even for such a little thing. To see his smile and feel his fingers brush against my face was a wonderful sensation. I think I would have gone with him to the end of the world and jumped off if that was what he wanted.

He took hold of my hand and said. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

We walked down a long winding dirt pathway surrounded by trees until we came upon a clearing and stopped to take in the view. There was a long wide expanse of water; not one big mass of water but thousands of little pools; each surrounded by a small pathway of land. It was an amazing sight. It went on and on; I couldn't see the end of it.

Ranma led me through the maze of pathways. "Be careful not to fall in." he said. I stayed close beside him and held on tightly to his hand until we stopped by one of the little pools. He sat cross-legged on the ground and pulled me down next to him.

"Ranko," he said, "this is where you were born."

"Born?"

"Yes, you were born in this pool of water yesterday."

"Yes…ter…day?"

"I would tell you the story but I don't think you would understand. In time, I think you will, it can wait."

We sat quietly by the pool; watching the sun, the shadows and our reflections dancing in the water.

"We will be leaving here after breakfast." he said. "I wanted you to see this before we left."

"Lee… ving?"

"Yes, we're going home."

"Home?"

"Yes, our home is far away in another country." He sighed. "I know you don't understand, just come with me, okay?"

"Yes."

He jumped to his feet.

"I'm hungry." he said, squatting down. "Get on my back."

I climbed on his back and put my arms around his neck. He held onto my legs and ran through the maze of pathways until we reached the place where we had eaten the night before. He laughed and I giggled all the way.

Chapter three

After breakfast and another stop in the bathroom we went back to the room we had slept in the night before. He told me to sit down and went to one of the corners to get a bag lying there. He brought the bag over to where I was sitting and pulled out a pair of thick, sturdy boots. He took off the shoes I was wearing and began to put the boots on my feet.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find boots this small." he said. "You have such tiny feet."

"Ti… nee… fee?"

"Yes." He tickled the bottom of my unshod foot. "This is a foot and these are feet."

I laughed while he finished putting the boots on my feet.

"You need these boots because we're going to be walking a long way."

I just smiled; I felt so comfortable with him already. He smiled and pulled me up on my feet. He grabbed a jacket and a wool hat out of the bag and put them on me.

"We're just about ready." he said, donning his own boots, jacket and hat.

He then strapped a backpack to my back and strapped a much bigger backpack to his own.

"Are you ready?" he said, gently touching my cheek.

I nodded my head; I would have followed him anywhere.

We left the room and started walking down a path. After a brief stop to say goodbye to the old man with the pipe and the old ladies; we left the village. We walked and walked and walked and walked through mountainous terrain and woods and big open areas, around lakes and through thickets and that was just in that one afternoon. Ranma showed me things and tried to teach me things along the way; I tried my best to understand.

When it was becoming too dark to continue we saw the light of a fire up ahead. Ranma hid me in the hollow of a tree and told me to stay there until he came back. I sat shivering in the total darkness (though it wasn't really cold) but never doubted Ranma would come back for me.

He came a short while later and led me to a small campfire. Three men were sitting by the fire. One of them stood up as we approached. He was tall with long white hair and ornate clothes. His bearing was what I would call now, regal or extremely confident (some might say haughty). He walked over to where we were standing and stared at me with his piercing eyes.

"This is astonishing, Ranma." he said. "You say she was in Nannichuan after you jumped in?"

"Yes, that's right." said Ranma.

"I've never heard of such a thing. It certainly didn't happen when I jumped in."

"So you've been cured?"

"Yes, shortly after our battle."

"It's a good feeling, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is." He turned and motioned toward the fire and his companions. "Come and sit; enjoy our food and hospitality."

We walked over to the fire and he introduced me to the other two men. I say they were men but I wasn't really sure because they both had animal ears and tails. They bowed and told me what an honor it was to meet me. I nodded in return.

We sat down and one of the men pulled some kind of meat out of the fire and handed it to me on a small plate. I took a bite and enjoyed the wonderful taste. As we ate, Ranma and the man with the long white hair talked about some battle they had; either with or against each other, I not sure which. I sat quietly eating and tried to take it all in. I soon lost track of the conversation; the food and unusual drink were making my head swim.

Later, Ranma set up a small tent near the fire and told me to get inside. I went in, stretched out on a sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Chapter four

We walked for days; all day every day, only stopping to eat. If we approached some people or a village; Ranma would hide me and leave me in the hiding place. Sometimes he would come back cut, bruised or bloodied but wouldn't tell me why (I was too afraid to ask). Other times he would bring food or other things we needed. We avoided people as much as possible. If it wasn't possible he would keep me close beside him.

We walked each day until it was too dark to walk anymore. We would stop and Ranma would make a fire. He would cook something and we would eat. After that, he would set up the tent. I slept inside and he slept on the ground outside.

Late one night I was awakened by the sound of rain pelting the top of my little tent. My first thought (after some of the fog of sleep evaporated from my mind) was of Ranma outside in the rain. I peeked through the slit of the tent and was about to say something but was silenced by what I saw. Ranma was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hands, palms up, in the air. His face was looking up at the sky and he was drenched from head to toe. Rivers of water were flowing down his face, down his shirt, off his pants and into a puddle on the ground; and… he was laughing… pure, joyful, uninhibited laughter.

"Ranma?" I said, timidly.

He stopped laughing and looked at me but the smile remained on his face.

"Do, do, do you want to come in out of the rain?"

"No, Princess, I'm fine, go back to sleep."

"Are, are, are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Chapter five

We were still walking at this point in the story. The newness and fascination had turned into drudgery. My legs and feet hurt. I was exhausted and wondered how much longer I could go on. A village slowly became visible on the path up ahead. Ranma hid me as he usually did and walked on to the village. I welcomed the rest. He soon came back, took my hand and led me to a place where a small group of people were milling about. I heard a rumbling sound and looked up to see a cloud of dust and a large rolling thing approaching. I hid behind Ranma and clung to him shaking. I thought maybe it was some kind of monster. The big rolling thing stopped in front of us with a screech. I was scared but Ranma gently coaxed me into the big thing. There were rows of seats in the thing from the front to the back. I heard a grumbling, rumbling noise coming from the front of it; I thought maybe the monster was angry. Ranma followed close behind me and chose some seats near the back. We took off our backpacks and put them on the floor in front of our seats. Ranma sat me in the seat next to the window. I freaked out when the thing started moving and clung to Ranma's arm, crying hysterically. He talked soothingly to me and soon I got used to the movement and settled down. We rode for hours. I don't know how many because I fell asleep.

I woke up and we were still in the big rolling thing. My head was on Ranma's lap and he was gently caressing the side of my face. Being so close to him and feeling his touch was reassuring and pleasurable.

"So you're awake." he said.

I sat up and gazed at his handsome face. "Yes," I said, "I am awake."

"How do you feel, Princess?"

"I feel fine. It's not so bad as I thought in this monster."

He chuckled. "It's called a bus."

"Abus, I see."

He smiled and shook his head. "You're so cute."

"Socute?" I scratched my head. "I thought I was Ranko."

"You are Ranko." He laughed. "Cute is... never mind, I'll explain it to you another time."

"Am I stupid?"

"No, Ranko," he said, suddenly becoming serious, "you're not stupid. You're smart. In fact, I'm amazed by the things you are able to say and do already.

I was stunned by what he said and didn't know how to respond.

He put his arms around me and pulled me close. I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. I still felt so helpless and confused. The steady thump, thump, thump of his heart comforted me.

Chapter six

The bus stopped, we got off and started walking again. We walked for days and days until we reached a large body of water. Water as far as the eye could see; not like the springs with its multitude of little pools, but one big huge expanse of water. I looked up at Ranma and then looked back at the water. It seemed to me we were at a dead end. "Ranma," I said, "what are we going to do now?" He looked down at me, smiled his reassuring smile and squeezed my hand.

We walked along the shore until we came to a small village. I noticed many large boats floating on the water. Ranma hid me outside the village and left me for a while. When he came back he led me to one of the boats and we went aboard. There were a lot of other men on the boat; they scared me and I started to cry. Ranma put his arm around me and led me to a room under the deck. We sat down on the floor and I felt the boat move.

We sat in the moving boat until it became too dark to see. I saw a light floating down the steps and men following the light. One of the men said something and pointed at me. Ranma jumped to his feet. They had what sounded like an argument and then the men charged toward us. I closed my eyes and cried. I was so frightened I rolled up into a little ball on the floor. I heard all kinds of screaming and banging and thumping and all manner of noise. Then it stopped. There was complete silence except for creaking wood and the sound of the water brushing up against the boat. I wanted to know what had happened but was too afraid to open my eyes. I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Ranma's face; he was holding the light in his hand. "Come with me, Ranko." he said. "We should go up on deck." I stood up and noticed that the men who had come down the steps were scattered around the floor. I thought they must have gone to sleep. I followed Ranma up the steps and onto the deck of the boat.

We stayed up on the deck under a shelter for the remainder of the journey. The men on the boat were extremely polite and helpful and kept us well fed. I was much happier on the deck because I loved looking out over the water and feeling the sun and the breeze on my face. We were on the water for many days when I noticed something up ahead.

"Ranma," I said, pointing at what I saw, "what is that?"

"That's Japan," he said, "the end of our journey."

"Is that where we're going?"

"Yes."

"They have strange looking mountains."

He smiled and put his hand over his face. "Those are buildings, Princess."

"Bill…dings?"

"Yeah, you'll be able to see them more clearly when we get closer."

Ranma explained to me that this was a city and many, many people lived there. They built many, many buildings for the people to live and work in; buildings that shot up into the sky, way, way high. He also told me many other things about the city; some of the things I even remembered. I watched in fascination as the city grew bigger and bigger in front of me.

The boat stopped by the city and the men tied it with a rope to the ground. We waited until it was dark then Ranma led me off the boat. The men on the boat bowed and wished us well.

Chapter seven

There were so many people in the city and so much noise and strange lights and hard ground and big things moving around on wheels; I didn't know what to make of it all and was very frightened. I clung to Ranma as we walked on the strange hard ground; hard black ground with white ground on the sides. Ranma stopped at one of the buildings and opened a door. We walked inside. The walls were solid and hard and white and everything was clean. Ranma talked to a man standing behind a counter. He gave the man something and the man gave him something back. Ranma took my hand and led me down a corridor. We stopped by a door and he stuck the thing the man behind the counter gave him into the knob. He opened the door and we went inside.

The room had beds sitting up off the floor, a table and some chairs, a counter with some things on it, some strange lights all around, big pictures on one wall and a big mirror on another wall.

We took our backpacks off and laid them on the floor. I took off my hat and Ranma helped me take off my jacket and boots. He led me to the bathroom at the back of the room, opened the door and said. "You go first."

He gently pushed me inside and closed the door behind me. I looked around the bathroom and wondered what I was supposed to do. I hadn't actually seen a bathroom since the stick building and this was nothing at all like that.

I took my clothes off, threw them on the floor and sat on the toilet.

Ranma yelled through the door. "Go ahead and fill up the tub and take a bath."

I looked around and tried to figure out what a tub was.

I yelled. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That big bowl like thing; fill it up with water."

I finished peeing and opened the door. "Can you show me?"

He looked at me and frowned. "Ranko, why did you take your clothes off?"

"I, I, I don't know."

He sighed and walked over to the tub. "This is a tub." He turned some knobs on the wall. "This is hot and this is cold. You adjust them until you get just the temperature you want, okay?"

"I think so."

"Just turn the knobs off when the tub fills up." He moved toward the door. "Listen, Ranko, it's not a good idea to let people see you naked, not even me, okay?"

"But what about when you…?"

"That was just that one time." he snapped. "Have I asked to do it again?"

"I'm sorry, Ranma." I said, shaking and crying. "Don't be angry."

"Oh." He sighed and gently touched the side of my face; rubbing some tears off my cheek with his thumb. "I'm so sorry, Princess. I guess I'm just tired and irritable."

I grabbed his hand and pressed it against my wet face. "No, Ranma, it's my fault."

"No, Princess," He shook his head and looked kind of sad, "it's my fault. Just, just take your time and enjoy your bath, okay?"

"O-okay."

He left the room and closed the door behind him.

We were referring to the time when Ranma examined my naked body. He said he wanted to find out for sure if I had his body or not. That didn't make any sense to me. He had his body and I had mine; but I would have let him do anything he wanted to do.

I walked over to the tub and stared at the water running out of the faucet. I turned the knobs and the water stopped. "That's not so hard." I said, running my hand through the water. "Mmm, nice and hot." I stepped into the tub and sank down into the water. I felt like I was in heaven.

I was still soaking in the tub when I heard a knock on the bathroom door and Ranma's voice. "Princess, I left some clean clothes hanging on the door knob."

I got out of the tub and dried myself off with a towel. I opened the door a crack and picked up the hanger off of the knob. I closed the door and looked at the clothes on the hanger; there was a shirt and a pair of shorts. I took them off of the hanger and a clean pair of panties fell on the floor. I wondered where they came from. I knew we didn't have this stuff in our backpacks. I put on the clothes and they fit perfectly. I wondered how Ranma was able to know my exact size.

I opened the door and said. "Ranma, what do I do with the dirty clothes?"

"Just leave them in the bathroom." he said. "We'll have them washed later."

"Oh, okay."

When I came out of the bathroom I saw Ranma sitting in a chair looking at a box. People were inside the box talking to each other. "What, what, what is that?" I said, surprised and a little scared. "Are there people in that box?"

"No, Princess," he said, smiling the way he usually smiled when I said something stupid, "those are just pictures of people sent to the box from someplace else." He stood up. "Have a seat and watch for a while. You can learn something about Japan and the people here. I'm going to take my bath now."

I sat in the chair and watched the people in the box. I was mesmerized. I didn't even hear when Ranma came out of the bathroom. I didn't even see him until he waved a hand in front of my face. I looked up at him, startled.

"Did you learn anything?" he asked, sitting on the floor next to my chair.

"He likes her but she likes someone else and someone else likes him and…"

Ranma laughed. "Maybe we should watch something else." He picked up a little thing off of a nearby table. "Do you mind?"

I shrugged.

He pushed something on the little thing and the picture changed. He handed the little thing to me and said. "Push this." I pushed it and the picture changed again. I pushed it again and again and the picture kept changing.

He shook his head, smiled and said. "Let's decide on one show, okay?"

Ranma had food delivered to the room; different kinds of food I had never seen or tasted before. Everything was a new sensation.

That night I slept in a big soft bed for the first time.

Chapter eight

The most wonderful thing happened. We were sitting in the room watching the box when we heard a knock on the door. Ranma stood up and asked me to stand directly behind him. I was used to that because he had hidden me so many times. I was my usual frightened, anxious self when something new was happening.

I heard the door open and I heard the voice of a woman. "I'm here, Ranma." she said. "What's this all about?" Ranma moved me around in front of him and I looked up at the face of the kindest, most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, that's not what I was thinking at the time but it's the truth.

She was the woman who would later become my mother and I love her with all my heart.

She wrote a story about the beginning of our relationship and I decided to add a little part to it.

I'm going to read it to Dad, Mom and my little brother tonight.

I hope they like it.

The End