Ivan looked around the big theatre with awe. It was absolutely beautiful and just like Kiku had described it. It was big. The floor was coated in a thin carpet of red. The walls were painted cream and the ceiling had all kinds of Asian drawings on them. Ivan was definitly swept away. Kiku just smiled as he watched him go about and inspect things like a small child.
"Kiku, you didn't tell me this place was so beautiful!" Ivan exclaimed after looking at a two thousand year old vase.
"Yes, well, I wanted you to be blown away the moment you came in here," Kiku replied.
Ivan smiled a sunshine filled smile at him. Kiku blushed and fixed his gaze on a chinese dragon on the ceiling. Ivan continued to look around until a man approached them. Kiku greeted him in japanese. Ivan waited patiently while they talked. He didn't understand a lick of what they were saying but honestly didn't care. He just wanted to see the show that, the previous night, Kiku couldn't stop talking and raving about. Something about his uncle playing the lead.
After what seemed like forever, the man finally began to speak in a language that Ivan understood.
"So, you are Kiku's friend," the man said.
"Yes. I'm Ivan. Iva Braginski," Ivan said.
"I'm his brother, Im Yong Soo," the man said and stuck out his hand.
Ivan shook it quickly. Im Yong quickly lead the two to a small box on the side of the actual theatre room. The stage was big. The curtain was a heavy red. It held designs of all kinds. There was a huge drawing of a chinese dragon on both sides of where the curtain should open. A pheonix, smaller than the dragon was curled at its back feet. A rat made its home on an ox's back where a cat seemed to be chasing them. A snake wound itself around the foot of a horse. A dog was licking a rooster with horns. Ivan was quite surprised at how packed the audience was.
"There's a lot of people here," Ivan said.
"The house is always full when my uncle comes to play," Kiku said, a proud smile resting on his face.
"Your uncle must be really good," Ivan said, leaing against the railing to the box seat.
Kiku stayed silent and just looked at the patterns on the curtains. It was about twenty minutes later when the curtains opened slightly and the lights went down. Ivan's attention was drawn to the stage. Im Yong was standing in the middle with a microphone. He waited until the crowd fell silent before speaking.
"Welcome everybody. I'd like to tell you a tale. There once lived a Prince, who was unlike any other. He was very beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, he was often mistaken for a Princess. On one such occasion, the Prince fled and ran into a poor man. The man was a young traveler from the west. This western man was immediately captured by the Prince's bauty. He fell in love. So did the Prince. But, the Pince knew it couldn't be so he fled back to his castle where he was shocked to find that his father had died. He was placed into the custody of his fathers most trusted friend, who had been lusting after the Prince for years. When the Prince was called to the mans bed chamber, he was raped. His beauty soiled. The Prince finally decided that he would kill himself. He fled to the river but was stopped by the westerner. The Prince felt so ashamed of what happened that he threw himself into the river. The westerner could not save him and the Prince died. This tale shall move you and I hope that at the end of the show you will pray with me and allow the Prince and the westerner to live together in happiness in their deaths," Im Yong said.
The audiece cheered as he quickly disappeared to the side. Ivan looked confused. He turned to Kiku. Im Yong had said everything in japanese, which Ivan didn't understand at all. Kiku noticed his confusion.
"It's a romantic tragedy," he plainly said.
Ivan nodded. His attention was turned back to the stage as the curtains fully opened. There were a lot of people dressed in kimonos. They all seemed to be gushing over one individual. A woman, by the looks of it. She was very beautiful. Her face was painted white while her lips were painted red. Her eyeshadow was a dark blue that made her eyes sparkle. Her long black hair was tied up into and intricate design. She laughed with a few other women. Then, a man walked into the room. All the people went to their knees but the woman. She walked over and bowed to the man before he opened his arms and embraced her. The people laughed. The scene quickly changed to the woman in a dark place. She was leaving, sneakily. She ran, not looking where she was going and banged right into a man with poor looking clothes. They looked into eachothers eyes for a second. The woman smiled. The man did as well. They stayed together for a few minutes, seeming to talk but no words coming out of their mouths. The woman laughed occassionally.
They split and the woman cried for a couple of minutes. Then she retuned where the man that previously hugged her was lying on a bed with people surrounding him. Another man walked to the woman and put a hand on her shoulder, muttering something. The woman fell to her knees, just looking at the man. Ivan could only assume that he was dead. The scene changed while the woman was on her knees. Now, another man, older looking walked up behin her, hands on her shoulders. She looked at him and embraced him, crying into his shoulder. After a few more minutes the man pushed the woman to the ground. She looked confused. Confused and scared. The man immediately began to rip at the woman's clothes. She tried to escape but the man was strong. The kimono was ripped open and Ivan was surprised to find that the woman was actually a man.
Ivan looked at Kiku.
"That's my uncle," Kiku whispered, pointing at the 'woman'.
"That's your uncle?" Ivan asked, disbelieving.
Kiku nodded and focused his attention back to the stage. Kiku's uncle was on the ground, on his stomach, arms held behind his back by the mans hand. Ivan turned to Kiku.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"My uncle plays the prince who just got betrayed by his fathers closest friend," Kiku explained.
Ivan nodded and turned back to the stage. The man left Kiku's uncle on the ground, sobbing. After a little he picked himself up and dressed the best he could with the ripped up kimono. The scene changed to an outdoors place where water was portrayed as a long blue silk cloth. The prince looked at it and took a step when the man that the prince met when running away came. The prince looked at him, the sorrow completely evident. The man took a step forward and the Prince jumped. The 'water' pulled him instantly. The man was too late when he pulled the Prince out. The man let loose a cry of despair and the curtains closed.
The audience cheered loudly. Almost everybody stood to applaude. Kiku stood as well. He shouted in japanese. Ivan clapped but didn't stand. After the audience settled down, Im Yong was in the middle of the stage again. He was speaking more japanese. Ivan sighed. Suddenly everybody began to mutter in japanse with their heads bowed. Even Kiku. After, people began to leave. Ivan looked at Kiku for an explaination.
"You see, we all prayed so that the soul of the Prince and the Westerner will find eachother and be together, for all time," Kiku explained.
"Oh," Ivan said.
Kiku stood and motioned for Ivan to follow. He did. They walked down into the back of the stage where the actors were all celebrating. Ivan, from where he was, could easily see Kiku's uncle among all the others. He was in his casual wear now. A simple shirt and pants with his hair let out. He was conversing with one of the staff members. Kiku immediately went up to him. Kiku's uncle turned and saw him.
"Kiku!" He exclaimed.
"Hello, Uncle Wang," Kiku said.
They hugged.
"Kiku, how many times have I told you? Call me, Yao," Yao said.
"If you insist," Kiku said, smiling.
Yao turned his attention to Ivan.
"Who's this? Boyfriend?" He asked.
Kiku's entire face turned red a he quickly shook his head, quickly talking in japanese. Yao laughed and replied in japanese. Ivan just stood there with a smile on his face. Yao then turned his attention back to Ivan.
"So, did you enjoy the show?" He asked.
"Yes, very much, though it was a little short," Ivan replied.
"Well, it was't much of a story but it was very emotional," Yao said.
Ivan nodded. Yao smiled.
"What do you think about me?" He asked, playing with a strand of hair that escaped from behind his ear.
"You were great," Ivan said.
Yao's smile widened.
"You thought I was a woman when you saw me, didn't you?" He asked.
Ivan laughed.
"Yes, actually," he said.
Yao laughed as well.
"Your friend is very entertaining, Kiku," he said.
"As is your uncle," Ivan said.
"Hey, I've got an idea. How about you invite your boyfriend to the cast party tomorrow?" Yao suggested.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Kiku shouted.
"I'd love to attend," Ivan said.
"Great. I'll see you both there then. Bye, Kiku and Kiku's little friend," Yao said as he began to walk away.