Footprints in the Snow
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 4: New Life
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon and gain no profit from this fiction. Any original characters, if any, are mine. Any similarities to people, living or dead, real or fictitious, are purely coincidental.
New Life
Serena stood at the terminal that would lead to the train that would take her to Kyoto and to a new adventure in her life. She could barely believe that she had the courage to make such a drastic change and to, in a sense, step out into the world on her own.
Her father was retrieving her rail pass and her mother and brother were at the shop, they insisted they grab her a few candy bars for the three-hour trip. She wished she could have taken the faster train, but sadly, they arrived a bit too late. She realized then that her gift for being late for everything was definitely inherited from her father.
She sat down on a bench but then stood again when she spotted the train pulling into the station. She saw her father walk towards her.
"Here you are," he said, handing her the train pass that she'd need to get to Kyoto without any hassle.
"Thanks daddy," she said, taking it from him.
"Where's your mother and Sami?" he questioned when he notice that they weren't there.
"There they are," she said, motioning her head toward their approaching figures. They stopped and in front of her and her mother gave her nearly a dozen candy bars.
"Momma, why'd you get so many?" she questioned, "If I were to eat all of these the train wouldn't be able to even move." She laughed at the mental image of a train struggling to move.
"I didn't know what kind you liked. Sami insisted that you liked the coconut ones but I always thought it was the caramel."
Before Serena could speak, a voice over the intercom announced that the train was boarding. She hugged her father and mother but before she could hug her brother, he grabbed her around the waist and hugged her tightly, stunning Serena at the show of affection. He was usually a complete brat towards her.
"I'll miss you," he said.
She hugged her brother back tightly. She loved him so much and would miss him like crazy (even though they nearly killed each other a few times).
"I'll miss you too."
They pulled away and Sami gave her a mischievous smirk. "Don't klutz up and make grandma bankrupt meatball head," he said, trying to hold back tears.
"Don't put mom and dad in an insane asylum you useless little spore," she retorted. She turned and slid her card through the gate, then walked through to the train. She sat down next to a window and stared out at her family waving at her. She raised her hand back in goodbye and they began walking off as the platform was cleared.
As their forms faded, butterflies began symbolically hatching in her stomach. She felt really anxious for the train to get going, everything felt so surreal and would probably be even more so when she was actually in Kyoto.
Maybe she would grow into the mature person she wanted to become. It would be sad to graduate high school without her friends in Tokyo, but she would deal with that. She would study hard, make decent marks, she didn't think extraordinary marks were possible for her, and live a fairly normal life. Well, as normal as she could anyway. She would be content and that was still asking for too much.
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Serena was relieved when she finally disembarked from the train and set foot in Kyoto. She didn't leave the train even during the many stops made before she arrived. She knew that she'd probably end up missing the train and having to wait a few hours for another one to arrive.
She saw a huge crowd gathered on the platform, no doubt waiting for their loved ones to get off the train as well. She sighed, not wanting to make her way through the huge crowd and find a taxi to take her to her grandmother's apartment building. Luckily, she wouldn't have to.
She laughed when she heard a familiar voice with a thick Kyoto accent. "Get out of my way you giants. Can't you all see that my granddaughter is here?"
Serena smiled when she spotted a short old woman in a pair of jeans and t-shirt, pushing past some men. Her father always groaned at his mother's choice of dress and hobbies but Serena loved her free spirit. The woman wasn't as dry as so many of her friend's grandmothers. She was the coolest person Serena ever knew.
"Serena! Over here!"
Serena made her way over to her grandmother. With her height being five foot five, she had to look down at her four foot ten grandmother.
"When in the hell did you become a tree?" she questioned, referring to Serena's height.
Serena laughed and hugged her. Her grandmother said that every time she saw her. "I grew," she said.
"Yes, I swear, what are they feeding you in Tokyo?"
"Um…food?" she joked, earning a loud laugh from her grandmother.
"Good to know," she said, grabbing her bags. "Let's get you to my place."
They retrieved Serena's other bags from the baggage clerk and made their way out to her grandmother's car. After loading them in the trunk, they got into the car and made their way to their grandmother's apartment building.
Serena was thrilled as they drove and she took in the sights around her. Regardless of how many times she'd seen this place, it never ceased to amaze her. Kyoto was the center of historical, cultural, and spiritual activity in the nation. It was her favorite place, and that was saying something considering all the places she'd been.
She took in the old buildings that had been there since before WWII. Kyoto was spared from the ally attacks during that time so it was one of the few places in Japan where one could feel the old heritage, and let themselves drift off to a place in the past.
Before she realized it, they'd arrived at the huge apartment complex that her grandmother owned and ran; one of many that was situated around Kyoto. It started out as a simple boarding house decorated in typical classic Japanese fashion. Then it later expanded into more and more apartments, and became more modern.
She pulled into the parking garage under the building and pulled into a reserved parking spot. They got out of the automobile, took out Serena's bags, and entered the elevator. Her grandmother pushed the button to the fifth floor and they began their ascent.
"I thought you lived on the third floor," Serena said, confused as to why they were going two floors higher.
"Tell me Serena, how old are you?" her grandmother questioned and turned to gaze at her.
"Seventeen," she answered.
"And when will you be eighteen?" she questioned.
"This June," Serena replied.
"Exactly! Don't you think a girl that is going to be eighteen very soon deserves to have her own apartment? This is my birthday present to you," she said with a small smile.
"What! Are you kidding?" Serena said in absolute shock. "Really? My own place?"
Her grandmother chuckled at her enthusiasm and nodded.
"Thank you!" Serena exclaimed and hugged her tightly.
"You are welcome my Little Bitt," the woman said, causing Serena to chuckled over the old pet name.
They arrived on the fifth floor and Serena followed her grandmother to the apartment at the end of the hall: apartment 512. Her grandmother unlocked the door and they went inside.
Her eyes widened at the cute apartment that seemed to fit her personality perfectly. The living room was painted light pink and all the furniture was dark brown and contrasted with the pink beautifully. She was thankful there was no white because it was killer to keep clean. There was a sliding door with a round window above it. Draped over the doors were cocoa colored curtains. She looked down to see black carpet on the floor, another thing Serena was extremely grateful for since she was accident prone to spilling things.
Serena could see the black and white kitchen from the living room: there was an opening in the kitchen wall that had shutters on each side. If one wanted to conceal the kitchen from people in the living room, those shutters could be closed and effectively block prying eyes.
"The bedroom is through here," her grandmother said. Serena followed her down a tiny all and into a larger room.
The bedroom was blue and gold with a bay window and a moderately large closet, especially for an apartment in Japan. The bed was a black brass bed with blue bedding. On the bed were several pillows including a few bunny shaped ones that Serena recognized as being ones she had as a child. The window had gold curtains that were currently pinned back with small blue ropes.
The extravagance of the apartment didn't really surprise Serena considering the way her grandmother was. Since her great grandparents made so many investments their family was very wealthy and, much to her father's chagrin, her grandmother always spoiled them rotten. Her father never used much of the money he inherited; he wanted to take care of his family himself. The only thing he ever really splurged on was completely paying for the house and the car that they had. She couldn't blame him. There was something special about taking care of oneself and the people one loved. It was a responsibility she didn't understand until she became Sailor Moon.
"I'll leave you to get unpacked and get some rest. There's some money in a box on the kitchen counter that should last you a few weeks. The grocery store is right down the road. I didn't know what you wanted so I figured it would be better to let you go buy the things you'll need."
"Thank you grandmother," she said. "Do you need help with anything? That is why I am here after all right?"
"Not really," her grandmother stated flatly. "Your father assumed that I wanted you to come here to help me. Actually, that wasn't the case. You see Serena, for some reason I've always been able to tell when my family needs something. My heart was telling me you needed to make a new start."
Serena gasped and sat down on the bed behind her roughly. "Yeah…I did. How did you know that?"
Her grandmother went over and sat beside her, resting a hand on top of Serena's. "What happened?"
"I broke up with my boyfriend. It didn't feel right for us to stay together so I wanted to start things anew. Find some sort of place for myself. A place where I could be happy."
"Then I guess my intuition was a good thing," her grandmother said.
"Yes, it was," Serena agreed.
"Tell you what, we shall just let your father stay ignorant on the matter and let him believe what he wants to believe. Now, you should get some rest and then get some shopping done or you could do your shopping first. Whichever you prefer. We will register you at the local high school tomorrow. Do you need me to go shopping with you or do you think you can handle it?"
"No, I think I can do just fine," Serena said. "Like you said, the store is just down the road, not very far at all."
"Oh, that reminds me. You can drive can't you?" The woman questioned as she stood up and reached in her pocket.
Serena nodded slowly and was surprised when her grandmother gave her a set of keys. "That was your grandfather's car. I had it fixed up for you. I hope you like it."
Serena looked down at the keys in her hand and smiled at the memory of her grandfather. "Thank you," she said, looking back up at her grandmother.
"It's the little blue one," her grandmother stated.
"Yeah, I remember," she said.
The old woman gazed at her granddaughter with a small smile then leaned in to kiss her forehead. "We'll get to school at 8am the day after tomorrow instead of tomorrow morning. You need more time to settle. Goodnight Little Bitt," she said.
"Goodnight Grandmother," Serena replied and watched as she left the room. A moment later, Serena heard the door to her apartment shut.
Her apartment. That sounded so wonderful. It was a step of freedom, as if she'd been released from a confinement that she barely acknowledged the existence of. One minute she thought she would have to follow everyone else and things that were dictated for her, the next she was free. She never thought that a word would have so much meaning to her.
She laughed and fell back on her back, looking up at the ceiling above her. Free…
AN: If you've never lived on your own, you tend not to understand what it's like to have that freedom. It's something that people tend to misunderstand when they are content in their surroundings. There's nothing like it, especially if your current living situation is horrible.
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Author code: RW 2009