Naruto was led to a topless white sport Jeep Wrangler. He picked up his suitcase and threw it in the back before jumping into the passenger's seat. They drove away from the airport, maneuvering through heavy traffic in a cityscape that looked like any other big city in the world. Soon, the traffic became thinner, the buildings fewer and further between. The driving lanes lessened to two instead of four.
The road started to incline slightly. Cookie cutter homes crammed into subdivisions gave way to single dwellings situated on a large plot of land. The ocean ran parallel to the road, visible in the wide spaces between the lushly landscaped properties before being blocked out again by densely packed areas of trees and bushes and other leafy green vegetation.
Finally, the black pavement ran out and the road turned to gravel, all the while climbing further upward. They were going up more of a big hill than a mountain though. Just before the road became a dirt path, she turned into a winding driveway covered in crushed, bleached clam shells.
"Hey, Kit, you're gonna love this house!" Riko gushed, parking on the semicircular concrete driveway in front of the white rectangular house.
The house looked like a large metal box, a shipping container more specifically. Only a single door allowed entrance in the front. There were no windows. How bizarre.
Naruto followed her around the back, stepping on circles comprised of decorative rock and cement sunk down into the black volcanic rocks outlining the house. Once there, he could see the house was actually two of the repurposed shipping containers positioned in an L shape. The walls along the entire back were made completely of glass. That was all the windows this place needed.
Naruto could see there were two bedrooms, one on each end of the L. There was also a living room, a kitchen, and another room that appeared to be an office. Good thing this house was built on top of hill with no others nearby. No curtains offered privacy.
The unusual house fit his aunt though. Unique, a tad strange, but beautiful. Aunt Riko had a flair for the weird and wonderful. She was weird and wonderful. Those qualities were two of the many reasons he loved her dearly.
A small rectangular pool with an attached hot tub dominated the backyard. Large bushes with massive green leaves formed a natural perimeter, offering a modicum of shelter should there be any prying eyes. A little white building, most likely a storage shed of some sort, sat at the back corner of the house.
Naruto's big blue eyes strayed to the ocean. He studied the medium sized waves rolling in. The waves looked great today. Perfect for casual, relaxing surfing.
"There are surfboards in the shed. We can go surfing whenever you like," Riko informed him as if reading his thoughts.
"Awesome," he murmured, watching the water circle upon itself, rolling up to form an excellent tunnel.
Naruto's stomach growled, reminding him it had been while since he had last eaten. He was also tired. It was a long flight. He yawned as if to prove the point to himself that surfing would have to wait.
"So lunch and a nap?" she suggested, taking him by the hand to pull him into toward the house.
"Sounds like a good plan," he replied, stifling another yawn.
Riko pushed open the glass sliding door which had not been locked. She walked through the all white, including the carpet, living room furnished with a two person couch, a papasan chair, and a coffee table. She tossed her keys into the fish shaped green bowl in the middle of the counter. The only seating in the tiny kitchen was at the counter on spindle back barstools with puffy sky blue cushions on the seats.
"I fixed your favorite," she said, opening the refrigerator. "I prepared it before leaving so the noddles might be a little soggy."
"That's all right. I'm sure the ramen will still be good," he yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.
Riko handed him a bottle of water after putting the bowls of ramen in the microwave. She twisted off the cap of her own bottle, taking a sip.
"This will be your home away from home for the next month," she announced, glancing around the small but nicely decorated little house.
"Where are you calling home these days?" he asked, finishing off his water. Before he could ask for another, she retrieved a second bottle from the refrigerator.
"I'll be staying here for a while. Maybe until Christmas," she said.
"Are you going to come home...I mean home home," he paused, his eyes meeting hers with a silent plea,"at Christmas this year?"
Before she could answer, the microwave beeped giving her an excuse to ignore the question. She had not been home in eight years; not for his birthday, not for Christmas, not for anything.
For reasons neither she nor his mother would divulge, Aunt Riko had packed and left the night after her graduation from high school. He remembered hearing the two of them arguing, screaming at each other, but he could not understand the words. His Dad had yelled at both of them to be quiet. He had never heard his father raise his voice to his mother before or after that night.
Naruto had been terrified, too frightened to come out of his room to see what was going on. Aunt Riko had not bothered to say good-bye, leaving him hurt and confused.
She did not come home for Christmas that year. No calls or letters came from her. Soon after the cherry blossoms dropped from the trees, his father answered a call from an overseas phone number. Riko called every Saturday after that, speaking to him and his dad, but his mom flatly refused to talk to her sister.
Naruto admired his dad for being a peacemaker. Minato Namikaze had performed a miracle of negotiation, being the one to build a bridge between the two prideful and hardheaded sisters. After a tentative reconciliation around the middle of June, Riko requested that her nephew be allowed to come see her for his summer vacation.
The offer of an all expenses paid trip and the perpetual whining and moping of a child was all his mother needed to agree to Naruto taking the vacation to Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Balearic Islands. So began a yearly tradition. Sadly, with his impending graduation, then entrance to university, and, in turn, real adult life, these yearly vacations would be coming to an end.
"Are you going to come to graduation at least?" Naruto questioned her, digging into the big bowl of ramen she set on the white counter in front of him.
"Baby, I don't know," she sighed, avoiding making eye contact with him. "Let's just enjoy now, and we'll see what happens."
"Please, come. You can stay a few weeks. We can view the cherry blossoms like we used to. Do you remember? You would hold my hand as we walked under the trees. The flowers would get stuck in your hair, and I'd pull them out for you. Remember?" He poked idly at the soy sauce ramen having lost his appetite.
"I remember." She stirred the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks showing no real intention of eating them. "So would you want me to hold your hand? You'll be eighteen after all. It might be a little embarrassing."
They both laughed.
"I'm sorry," Naruto apologized, not knowing what else to say.
Riko kissed him on the cheek, stroking her thumbs over the streaks on his skin. "Go ahead and eat. You need a nap after your eight hour plane ride. We'll talk later."
"Will we?" he retorted, stuffing his mouth full of noodles.
"You listen to me, young man. There are some things you don't need to know. Some things you will never know," she returned, her voice low, slightly menacing. Her blue green eyes narrowed, keeping him from seeing their lovely color. "Just like your mother will never know about the nude beach."
"Do they have any of those here?" he asked hopefully, giving her one of his patent foxish grins.
"Absolutely not!" she answered pointedly.
They both laughed again, further off setting the stifling atmosphere. Let the fun times begin.