Arranged Marriage
Chapter 3 "A Language all its Own"
By LadyHawk225
Anna sighed softly as she stared out the window of the train. Sage sat beside her, his eyes shut as he dozed softly, his arms crossed against his chest. She smiled into the reflection of the window, watching his chest rise and fall softly.
Focusing her eyes once again on the Japanese countryside out the window, she let her mind wander back to the last few weeks she had spent in China with her new husband.
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"Ohayo."
She turned from making the bed as he walked in the door, a bouquet of fresh lilies in his hands.
"Ohayo." She replied, smiling widely as he handed her the flowers with a grin and a soft kiss on her hand.
"Arigato." She said softly, burying her nose in the bouquet and breathing deeply the sweet scent found there. He smiled at her softly and retreated to the bathroom as she placed the flowers in a vase and began to dress for the day.
Over the last few weeks she had managed to pick up several Japanese words. She knew the words for "Good Morning" and "Good Night", "Thank you", "No", "Yes", "Please" and "Your Welcome". She was pleased with her progress and she could tell Sage was as well.
Brushing her hair in the mirror over the dresser, she smiled as she thought of her gentleman-like husband. He still slept either on the balcony attached to their hotel room, or on the couch in front of the television. He gave her space, leaving the room when she indicated that she wanted to dress and never made too many advances towards her. Oh, he kissed her hand and occasionally her forehead when he thought she was sleeping, but never more than that. He was gentle and kind, always considerate of her privacy.
He exited the bathroom and nodded towards the door, a questioning look on his face. She nodded, and they left the hotel after a pleasant breakfast and took a train to a small town near the border of Mongolia.
Exiting the train, she looked around with a confused look on her face. Where had he taken her? He took her hand and led her to a small shop near the far side of town, nestled between two cherry trees. A small Chinese woman greeted them at the door and led them inside. Anna was still confused. Who was this woman? A relative? Sage seemed to know her, but she couldn't be sure.
The inside of the shop was obviously a clothing store…traditional Chinese and Japanese clothes were hanging everywhere, fabric and sewing machines dotted the tables and shelves nearby. Sage spoke rapidly to the little woman who occasionally looked at Anna and nodded her head. After a few moments, Sage stopped talking and turned to Anna, smiling gently. Taking her hand, he pointed to the racks of clothes and then at the old lady. The woman pulled a measuring tape out of her pocket and began measuring Anna's shoulders. She was surprised, but it was obvious that the woman wanted her measurements for clothes. She nodded at Sage and smiled softly and he went to a chair by the door to sit down and wait.
Anna allowed herself to be measured, laughing softly as the little old woman mumbled to herself. When she was done, the woman took her hand and led her to a large rack of clothes. Anna gaped at the fine silk embroidered kimonos and dresses, every color imaginable. The little woman grabbed several articles off the rank and shoved them in Anna's arms, piling more and more on top. Finally, she was led to a small dressing room at the back of the store to try things on.
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Sage grinned broadly at the bewildered look on Anna's face as the little woman began piling clothes on her arms. He had asked the woman to make Anna feel like a princess, and judging by the expensive clothes she was picking out, she was doing just that. He watched as Anna disappeared into the dressing room and the little woman went in another door in the back. She returned a moment later with a steaming cup of tea in hand and gave it to him. Thanking her, he watched as she poked her head inside the dressing room to check on Anna. She pulled her wrinkly little face out of the curtain and winked at Sage, before pulling his blushing wife out by the hand.
He gaped at her. She was in a kimono of the finest green silk. White cherry blossom petals decorated the silk sporadically, reminding Sage of falling snow. Her white sash with silver embroidery tightly wound around her waist showed off a perfect hourglass figure. Anna blushed and twirled around as Sage watched, grinning happily. The Chinese woman nodded approvingly and brought Anna a pair of traditional white sandals, which she slipped on her feet.
He couldn't believe it. She was so beautiful his eyes almost welled up with tears. He frowned slightly when the woman pushed Anna back into the dressing room, chuckling at his expression. A few moments later, Anna emerged wearing a deep scarlet kimono and black sash, silver embroidery lacing up the hems. Sage smiled broadly, clapping his hands in appreciation. He chuckled when Anna blushed and bowed then retreated back into the dressing room to try another on.
An hour, and dozens of colors and patterns later, Sage paid the woman for the green and white kimono Anna had first tried on. He took the gift box in hand and waved goodbye to the woman, taking Anna's hand as they left.
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I can't believe how much fun that was…those dresses were beautiful. Anna thought to herself as she and Sage walked back towards the train station. She grinned broadly and walked with a slight bounce, happy with her husband. She had never done anything like that before, and it reminded her of home.
"Arigato, Sage-san." She said, softly, squeezing his hand. He grinned down at her, his eyes twinkling with merriment.
"I know you can't understand what I'm saying, but I just wanted to tell you how much I really appreciate that." Anna continued in English. Sage looked at her thoughtfully then nodded for her to go on.
"It reminded me of home, in America. My friends and I used to go to the mall and try on the prom dresses for hours sometimes. It was so much fun to pretend we were princesses and get all dressed-up and pretty. We'd even take pictures of each other in the dresses." Anna sniffed.
"God, it's been so long since I've seen them. When Steve adopted me, he never let me see them, or even call them on the phone. Now, I'm here, and I'm even further away from them. I miss them so much." Anna stopped suddenly when she realized she was crying.
Sage was looking at her with concern in his one-visible eye. Annoyed at herself for crying on such a wonderful day, and worried the he'd think it was something he'd done, she smiled, and surprising both of them, reached out and hugged him tightly.
Burying her face in his chest, she sniffed slightly and tried to control her tears, after a moment's hesitation, she felt his arms wrap around her and she smiled again. They stayed like that for a few moments, standing on the side of a nearly deserted street, his arms around her shoulders as she held onto him for dear life. Finally, she looked up at him again, smiling gently, all traces of her tears gone. He stared down at her, concern in his eyes though he smiled.
"Arigato, Sage."
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The shrill sound of the train whistle brought Anna out of her thought with a jolt. Beside her, Sage yawned and rubbed his eyes, smiling at her. Standing and stretching, he reached above them and pulled down their luggage. Handing her the box containing her kimono, he grabbed their two suitcases and led her off the train and onto the platform at Osaka Station.
-AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, this is a horrible chapter. I'll admit it, but I wanted to try something different with my writing style, and obviously it didn't work. Sorry that it sucks so hard. I promise the next one will be better! -LadyHawk225