Withered Petals
By: Aisaki Sumi

Disclaimer: (points at chapter one), this story is inspired by the book Memoirs of a Geisha, and many street names, geisha houses, geisha names are taken from the book, as well as some things that happened often at the time. Parts of the story may appear to be similar to the book, such as fierce rivalry between geishas and harsh treatments from the geisha house owners, but those are actually historical facts. The cause of the apparent similarity between the book and this story is: that's how everything was done back in the 1800s – 1900s. All the researches are credited to Arthur Golden, the talented writer of Memoirs of a Geisha. Descriptions of most kimonos in this story will be similar to Memoir of a Geisha because I've never seen any kimonos in my entire life and have no idea what kind of design they should have etc.

Chapter dedication: this chapter is dedicated to all the people who took the time to review this story! Especially the ones who had added this story to their favorite list! I am very VERY flattered and honored to have my story listed as one of your favorite stories! THANK YOU GUYS! I LOVE YOU! And keep on reviewing! XD

A/N: I LOVE YOU GUYS! After reading a few of your reviews, I felt soooo inspired and encouraged. I really felt like taking a year or so off and only return when I'm a better writer, but oh well, if you guys say it the writing doesn't bother you that much then I'll stay and write more chappies weeee! And hopefully you can put up with my insaneness and horrible writing! XP By the way, I am challenging myself to actually write this fanfiction into a novel (well with the descriptions and all) so the length of each chapter will be rather long. So you've been warned, if you don't like long, very lengthy chapters. It is still not too late to turn around and find yourself something more amusing to read about that has the length you wanted. The story takes place during the 1930's, so yes, it will go through the Second World War. SorryI had to reload this chapter because when I scanned through it yesterday and Inoticed a number of obvious typos in this chapter, due to the result of my extreme laziness (I didn't want to read the load of crap last time I updated this chapter XD)

Chapter 2 Fading into the Unfamiliarity

The foreignness around me seemed to be drawing me into its cold, loveless embrace. I felt its presence. I had never liked being in a foreign, unknown place. It made me feel weird, and invisible, as if I didn't matter; as if my existence was unacknowledged; as if I was transparent, visible to only myself but never the ones around me. I didn't like that, I didn't like being invisible. Before all this, whenever I felt uncomfortable, mother would always be there for me, putting a hand on my head and run it through my hair, murmuring softly to my ears, her angelic, music-like voice echoing in my ears, casting a spell on me, making all the lonely thoughts and feeling go away. But now, I was left alone in this unfamiliar world; I was miles and miles away from home. The thought of my father deceiving me made me turn colder and lonelier than I already was. I rested my head on my knees and let my eyes settle on the unclear window, covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt. It distorted the image of the outside, the passing by countryside.

The man I strongly disdained was sitting right beside me; the chubby, round man, who looked like he had ate too much the night before; who was always grunting unpleasantly – was seated right beside me, snoring out loud. I didn't really remember how long I had been on the train. It felt like forever; like an eternity -- a dreadful eternity that made me restless, and very afraid. Loneliness had always been one of my greatest fears, and I remembered clearly how each time I was afraid at night, mother would come to my tatami and caress my cheeks gently, planting a soft kiss on it and smile at me lovingly. Her beautiful emerald eyes glinting that soft glow, and the two lovely orbs shimmering under the dim light of the moon. But those were already in the past, she had left me, for a better place – according to Oniichan – and she was never going to see me again because when she comes back, I won't be there anymore.

A trickle of tears slid down my cheeks silently. My vision became blurry, and my eye lashes – heavy and wet – flapped a little, with great difficulty, and the crystal-like droplets made their way down my cheeks, washing away one trial only to leave another. I let out a quiet sniff but I did not bother to wipe away the tears. I just sat there on the hard wooden bench-like seat, with my knees tugged close to my chest and my arms wrapped around them, curling into a spherical shape. The view of the dirty window became blurrier than before, to an extent that all I could see were smudged green colors that once was a tree's leaves and brown, which I speculated to be the barren land of the abandoned country side. The world around me was slowly fading away, into nothingness. It was then I realized something, I was alone in this world, I was unimportant. I had no one. Mother had left me and went somewhere I didn't know of. Father had abandoned me and gave me away to this mean-looking, snoring man who always wore that annoying cruel smile on his face. Oniichan and Oneechan didn't stop father from giving me away. In fact, they just sat there in the kitchen, emotionlessly and silent.

I had never felt any lonelier in my life than I felt at the moment. It was as if I've being awakened from a pleasant dream and brought into the harsh world of reality. I felt I had been dragged out of the warm blanket which had always provided me some sort of protection and warmth and thrown into the brutal, cold world where I must learn to survive on my own. And all I could think of at the time was how I was suppose get my way through without any love, without a sense of direction, without any guidance, without any friends, without my family, but with a bitter feeling of deception and of betrayal. More tears started to fall as I dwelled on the feeling. The droplets rolled down my cheeks like non-stop. I hugged my legs closer to my chest, attempting to curl into a smaller ball and seeking the only faint warmth I had. The pain tugged in my small heart as I sat there with my face buried into the cotton shirt that I was wearing which served as a dress as well. I could still smell the fresh strawberry scent on it that was now nothing but a fast diminishing memory of my past, because I was going to Kyoto, a place I had only heard about before from my mother when we sat on the porch and when she told me stories about the glorious world that we live in, however, to me, Kyoto was nothing but a vague foreign land that I'd rather avoid.

My eyelid felt very heavy suddenly, and I couldn't help but let my mind slowly shut down and drift to a world where thing would go my way and where I could change things however I want; a world where I didn't have to face the cruel reality; where I could still live in our small house and watch my mother and father and my siblings work on the farm that we cherished so much. And the strawberries… With these content thoughts in mind, I almost convinced myself that none of these horrible things had ever happened to me. Surrounded by the noises made from the movement of the train, and the loud snores of Arai-san, I fell into a deep slumber. Like a fragile child lost in a world she knew nothing of, I slept with my own arms wrapped around my small body because I knew I must learn to depend on myself now.

……

"Oi wake up little girl! I didn't go through all the trouble to bring you here just to let you sleep you know!" The harsh, hoarse voice with a touch of anger and impatience shook me out of the deep slumber. And following that command, I felt a sharp pain shot up from my left arm and snapped my eyes open as I yelped painfully. Arai-san's round, flushed face came into view. His small eyes squinted as he let out a rough grunt. I rubbed my arm where he had pinched me and felt my tears swelling up in my eyelids again. I tried to keep quiet but I heard myself whimper slightly, it was as if my body was out of my control and it did whatever it felt like doing. I received another glare from Arai-san which hinted me to shut up, I fought back the sob that was threatening to come out.

"Now you listen to me you stupid girl. Cry again when I've already told you to shut up, you'll get yourself a beat, you hear me?" He grabbed me by my elbow, bent down to my eye level and hissed the words out. There was a deadly serious look in his tiny eyes that revealed every intention of fulfilling that promise he just made. "I am an impatient man but if you listen to me and do as I say, I will take you to the okiya where you'll have a chance to live. But if you annoy me enough I'll send you straight to the whore-house where you'll work at a slave and die from starvation, understood!" I nodded meekly; the tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes but I managed to hold in the sniff and fight off the tears and make sure they wouldn't slip out. At the time I didn't really know what he meant by a whore house, or what the word okiya meant, but I presumed that neither one of them was good, but at least I will have a chance to survive in the okiya whereas in the "whorehouse", I will die.

"Good. I'm glad you've understood the terms outlined here." He gave me a pat on the head which turned out to be a smack on the head and composed himself again. "I didn't think you were dumb, or else I wouldn't even have brought you here." It sounded like he was more talking to himself than to me, but I guess I should have taken it as a compliment. Although I was in no state of feeling joyous at the comment he made about me not being dumb. I wanted to cry, to run away, but there wasn't anywhere I could escape to. I was trapped in this unfamiliar surrounding. Deciding there was no use, I turned to face the window again. Te sun had gone up and it was shining brightly above us. Mother had taught me how to determine the time according to the way the shadows were. And I assumed that it was already noon, if not, in the afternoon.

I was taken away from my house first thing in the morning, before the sun even had the chance to show its face. Countless hours had probably already passed by, and I wasn't given anything to eat or drink, not that I minded anyway. I was too dreadful in the moment to even worry about my hunger, until I smelled the scent of the freshly made rice balls from Arai-san. Turning my head slightly so I could steal a glance at him from the corner of my eyes, I saw him stuffing a rice ball into his mouth which was now the size of an apple. Gulping, I refused to let my mind ponder on the matter of eating. Mother had taught me how to resist temptations before. Just ignore the smell and concentrate your thoughts on something else. I reminded myself. I returned my attention to the outside of the window, and the trees and barren land were disappearing, and groups of houses started to form.

"We'll be getting off in another hour." Arai-san muffled as he noticed me staring at the outside. I felt his weight shifting on the wooden bench-like seat we were sitting on and heard another grunt from him. "I'm going to take a nap before we get off, and you better stay exactly where you are. If you dare to pull any tricks on me and escape, I will make sure you'll be as dead as the road kills in Kyoto." Arai-san warned me dangerously before closing his small, pig-like eyes. I waited for him to fall asleep, and after hearing his snores, I felt the weight on my chest lifting and let the tears that I fought back bravely earlier to fall. I sobbed quietly in my hands and let my mind replay the memories of mother and the happiness I felt when I was in her arms.

……

"Get up, get up, we're in Kyoto now!" I was awakened by another hard shove and looked up and saw Arai-san already standing with his suitcase in hand. He wiggled a little in his silky blue kimono which looked like it was forced onto him. Due to his large size, the kimono appeared to be tightly wrapped around him and make him appear bulkier than he actually was. I got up and felt the train slowing down. The station came into view slowly and I saw crowds of people in colorful kimonos that I had never seen before. My eyes widened at the new world before me and couldn't help but become slightly fascinated by the way the modern station appeared and the passengers dressed fancily and their strange hairstyles. Back in the village I lived in, people rarely dressed this nice and complex. Mother used to say to me that people who work hard and earn their living by hands dress very simple to make it easier for them to work on the fields, and that only rich people who did not do any work at all wrap themselves in layers of silk.

"What are you looking at? There's nothing for you stare at here." I felt his tight grip on my elbow again and I couldn't help but winced in pain. He dragged me out of the tiny space and through the crowds of people who were getting off at Kyoto station as well. I couldn't see where I was going most of the time because my face was either pressed against someone's bag or someone's butt since I was rather small and short at the time. After what felt like an eternity of no air, I felt extremely relieved as the cool breeze caressed my face and rustled my messy auburn hair. For a moment there, I really thought I was going to die from a lack of air but somehow, I had miraculously survived and got off the train with Arai-san holding tightly onto my elbow. My lungs welcomed in the sweet fresh air and I took another deep breath before Arai-san started to dragging me again.

The air smelled very different from the air back in my little village. The air carried a distinctive fresh strawberry scent, whereas the air in Kyoto had a smoke like odor, touched by a faint gasoline smell – not that I knew what gasoline smelled back then. To me, it was just a foreign air which reminded me of the emptiness I felt when I was taken away from my home this morning.

"Move along." I heard Arai-san's order and fastened my pace. The part of my arm that he was holding felt numb to me, due to his strong grip on it, which I was almost certain, was bruising badly. But I knew, if I yelped in pain or cried out or made any sound in fact, he will give me a good beat and send me off to somewhere else where I will suffer more. Instead, I followed him quietly, without speaking a word, as if I was a dumb who was unable to speak. He led me out of the grand exit of the station where I saw more people hurrying toward their destinations with their bags. A few rickshaws came into view as we strode out of the station itself. The drivers slouched lazily on the sidewalk with their rickshaws beside them. A fair number of them rushed to us and asked Arai-san if we needed a ride.

After a few minutes of bargaining with the drivers, Arai-san finally picked the one who offered him the cheapest price and shoveled me onto the nearby rickshaw. As soon as I landed onto the seat, Arai-san got on as well, but with great difficulties and seated himself beside me. I felt the seat slanting to his side as he settled his heavy weight on it. It started moving and was heading toward the wide street, with automobiles passing by, striding off toward somewhere I didn't know. I was astonished by the sight of modern, slightly bulky cars as I had never seen them before in the village I lived in. I had seen photographs of them but never one in real life. The only automobile I had ever seen was an unattractive, dirt-covered truck that was there to pick up our strawberries and transport them to the cities.

The large stores along the street had all different kind of things, ranging from kimonos to groceries and to accessories. I gawked at the ladies in pretty kimonos on the sidewalk, picking out the kind of ornamentation they wanted. And there were also men in clothes that didn't look Japanese at all. In fact they looked like something the foreigners from western countries would wear, which I later on learned they were called "suits".

Kyoto seemed like a whole new world to me, and nothing here resembled anything from the village I came from. The tall buildings; the factories that were emitting dark smokes into the sky, the chimneys rising slowly and diffusing into the air; the cars racing down the streets; the beautiful ladies in brilliantly made kimonos; the men in western clothing; the hakujin (white people); and the stores that lined up on the sides of the street – all those things fascinated me at great degrees, for a moment there, I nearly forgot about the bitter and lonely feelings I felt on the train. "Where are we going?" I couldn't help but question it out loud. It was probably the first thing I had said in the past several hours. I never kept counts anyway.

"To the okiya, your new home." Arai-san replied, without looking at me. His small eyes were firmly set upon the road ahead. I turned away and fell silent again. Soon, we turned onto an avenue that was even broader than the one we just passed, and I heard a loud screech which turned out to be a streetcar stopping by to pick up new passengers, and there were countless number of people lining up to get on. There were bicycles on the side as well -- on the lane beside the cars. I thought the riders of those funny looking bicycles were like trained circus people who knew how to balance themselves on two wheels.

The rickshaw took another turn and this time down a smaller alleyway of wooden houses. The houses all looked alike, and were tightly packed together, but they lacked a certain lively spirit that most houses in our village had and this send a cold feeling down my veins and made by stomach turn upside down. I couldn't help but tighten my grip on the handle of the seat that I was sitting on and allowed the uneasiness settle in me. I then saw women in kimonos rushing around on the little street. A few of them had their face painted ghostly white as if someone had spilled flour on them, and those women wore elegantly beautiful kimonos that I had never seen. The other wore plainer kimonos and no make up, but their clothing was still very elegant to me since all I had wore before were cotton shirts that were long up to my knees. As I later on learned, the plainer looking ones were maids and the ones in beautiful kimonos were actually geishas, the type or woman I was going to become.

We came to a stop in front of one of the houses and Arai-san pushed me off the rickshaw. I fell forward but managed to regain my balance and prevented myself from falling onto the dirty road. He paid the driver of the rickshaw and the driver hurried off to catch new customers. Arai-san pushed me forward until I nearly bumped into the large wooden door of the house and then he raised a hand to knock loudly, which sounded like banging to me. A few moments later, I heard indistinctive footsteps which grew louder as the person came closer. And then, the red wooden door swung open, revealing a middle-aged women in a dark blue kimono with lily shaped flower petals attached across it. My eyes widened at the beauty of the kimono, but the woman wasn't all that beautifully looking as a few of the geishas I had encountered on the streets, but she had a pleasant motherly aura around her.

"Ahh what a pleasant surprise Arai-san!" The woman exclaimed, her lips curling into a wide smile. "I didn't think you would be able to make it today." She greeted him with a little bow. Arai-san grinned back lazily and merely leaned forward as his return of her bow.

"Maa (well yah). You know I'm a busy man, and today's the only day I can come here myself and drop off this thing." Arai-san eyed me and titled his chin upward as he wiggled uncomfortably in his kimono.

"Of course, of course." She acknowledged half-heartedly, there was a slight lack of interest in her voice hidden under all the formality. It was then I felt her eyes settling upon me. My face grew hotter and I couldn't help but lower my gaze to avoid her eyes as she observed my face with great interest. "Oh my, is she the one you were talking about on the phone the other day?" The woman reached out a hand and picked up my chin, forcing me to look at her. Her hazel colored eyes widened as my eyes met hers in an awkward stare. "Goodness…such brilliant green eyes. Remind me so much of emeralds." She commented as she turned my head to the right and then to the left and inspected me in the same way Arai-san did at my house, but she was much gentler to me than he had been.

"Hmm…pretty nose, nice lips, and a lovely face." She murmured as her eyes studied my face carefully. "With a bath and a kimono, she'll look very fine. And my…such a round head, she's very clever too." The woman let go of my chin and turned to Arai-san again with the same smile on her face. "She has potentials Arai-san, and you'll make plenty of yens out of her when she becomes a geisha. After all, you were the one who had discovered her and brought her to us."

Arai-san's grin widened and I could see the greediness flashing in his small pig-like eyes. He let out a laugh and replied. "I hope so too. I'll just leave the training work to you and hopefully you'll be able to turn this filthy girl into something more elegant, like your head geisha." Giving me a rough shovel on the back, he pushed me into the woman and said. "Anyway, she's all yours now and I'm gonna go head back to my hotel and get ready to make my trip back. I don't trust those idiots at my factory. I'd better get back before they do something stupid and damaging to my business." Grumbling, his thick eyebrows furrowed, meeting each other in the center as he rubbed his palms together.

"Good day Arai-san!" The woman waved politely after Arai-san as he headed off to catch another rickshaw. She then diverted her attention back to me and smiled gently. "So tell me little girl, what is your name?" She asked in a very kind tone, her eyes had a pleasant glow that reminded me of my mother. I didn't reply at first since I wasn't sure if I could trust her. After all, Arai-san did make the okiya sound terrible, and I didn't want to get hurt again or get sold off to somewhere else. Mother once taught me that silence is the best way of protecting one's self, if you remained silent all the times, people would not be able to tell what you're thinking and therefore they cannot hurt you without thinking a second thought.

One of her hand went into her other sleeve and I instantly jerked away from her, as natural survival instincts kicked in. I suspected her taking something out to hurt me for not replying to her question. But instead, she took out a white handkerchief with small flowers spread across it. "Don't be afraid. I know this is a new place for you and you probably miss your parents. But this is your new home now and you've got to learn how to adapt." The kindness of her words caused tears to swell up in my eyes again. Those were probably the kindest thing someone had said to me the whole day and I couldn't help but feel miserable again. Her right hand touched my cheek and held it there where her other hand wiped the dirt and tearstains from before off my face, as well as the tears that were forming in my eyes.

I cried hard against the white handkerchief, soaking it wet with salty fears. I had never felt so miserable in my entire life and sight of her kind face just seemed to have brought out all the sorrow I had been bottling up in my small heart. I thought she would get mad at me for crying like that in front of her since she was merely a stranger I just met, but she didn't and allowed me to let out all my pains and sadness. "It's alright…it's alright…" She muttered softly as her other hand stroked my hair. "Just let it all out, let it out…" The words sounded like a repetitive melody, echoing in my ears and casting a spell on me that eventually slowed down my rough sobs. My shoulder stopped trembling and I looked up at her through tearful eyes which distorted her image just slightly while sniffling.

"You can call me Auntie, and don't cry. You won't be beautiful anymore if you're sad." She whispered gently and smiled again as she passed the handkerchief to me. "Here, take it, Mother doesn't like it when girls cry in front of her, and you must dry your face up before you meet her." Auntie advised me and took my hand into hers as she led me into the house. Her hand felt warm, and reminded me of my mother's hand, but hers was less rough. When she mentioned mother, I thought she was going to take me to her mother, whom I assumed must be very old since Auntie was a middle-aged woman herself. I took a quick glimpse at her as we walked down the darkened corridor. Her ink colored hair was woven into a tight not, and held in place with a pin of some sort. She had lines around the corners of her hazel eyes, but her face was pale and slightly yellowish. However her eyes, revealed nothing but kindness and understanding.

We soon reached the end of the corridor and a beautiful courtyard came into view. On right side, there was a large cherry blossom tree and beside it was an ancient well. A maid in blue cotton kimono had her body tilted forward, to lean closer to the well. Her sleeves were pinned up so they wouldn't get to her way. She appeared to be pulling something out of the well. When she heard our footsteps, she turned around and bowed respectfully at Auntie and Auntie returned her bow with a little nod of acknowledgement. It was then I realized something, this place was covered by a thick layer of formality and demanded good manners silently. The entire courtyard had a mossy look, with small trees on the sides and beautiful flowers and other exotic plants planted along the stepping stones trail that eventually led us to the storehouse in the back. A disgusting odor of human excretes invaded my nostrils and I couldn't help but held my breath, hoping it would block away the disgustful smell.

The structures of the okiya was beautiful, reminded me of the fancy bathhouse in our village that only a few people could afford going into. I had never been in there before, but I had passed by it a few times, and each time I walked by it, I would slow down my pace and take a good look at it. And now, I was seeing a house similar to that up close and actually being its courtyard, the feeling was rather strange. My eyes traveled along the house's side, a ramp of polished wood running along the side of the house, which I later on learned was not for servants. Servants had their own dirty corridor to walk through. Along the side of the roof, especially on the edge of it, were occupied by small sculptures of dragons and phoenixes. I've never seen anything so captive before. The wooden sculptures of the dragons appeared to be so lively, for a moment there one would've mistaken it as real at first glance.

The entire okiya was decided into various sections and structures, the plainly looking ones with the odor of dirt and excretion was for servants of the house, and fancy, elegantly looking rooms shielded behind the wooden sliding doors covered with paper screens were for the family of the house. There were even separate toilets – one for the upper family and one for the maids and servants. I had yet to learn that what they called a family, wasn't really a family, in fact, the mother Auntie had mentioned earlier was the owner of the house. She and the head geisha of the okiya, whom I yet to had met, were considered as the upper family of the okiya, the rest of us, including Auntie, were considered as the lower family. But Auntie was in charged of the maids and the errands and had a higher status in the okiya than the rest of us.

We passed another section of the large house and my mind pondered where Auntie was taking me to. She mentioned earlier about mother, but I wasn't sure if that was where I was going. Either way, I let Auntie lead the way and followed her closely. The meandering trail created by countless stepping stones finally brought us to the main house. I gawked at its elegancy and brilliance. It was like a golden palace to my eyes, since I had rarely seen anything so grand and magnificent as such before. It was then Auntie hauled me to a stop. The sudden movement made me fall backward. I felt myself being spin to a different direction, within seconds, before I could even make some senses out of it, I found myself staring into Auntie's eyes. She had a rather serious look, the soft smile form before disappeared from her face without a trace, replaced by a more pensive one.

"Now listen little girl. The last time a girl came to meet Mother, she was sent away right away because mother found her plain and didn't like her very much. Now you wouldn't want that to happen. Trust me, life might be hard here in the okiya, but it is better than off the streets. You would want her to keep you if you want to continue to live. I don't have much saying in the decision making of to keep you or no. You're lovely but you must somehow impress mother because she had seen many lovely girls in her life and she only liked a few of them." Auntie informed me, her eyes boring into mine. She looked at me meaningfully as if she was trying to pass a deeper message to me through the brief eye contact we had which lasted only about a few seconds.

"What am I supposed to do here?" I asked, unaware that I had spoken again when I was supposed to keep silent to protect myself from the unknown surroundings, but my childish curiosity always got to the best of me.

"If mother likes you and allows you to stay here, you will work as a maid until she sign you up for geisha lessons. There are a lot of papers to go through, but that doesn't concern you. Your job is to be obedient as possible and don't ask questions, and work very, VERY hard to become a geisha, because that is the only way for you to live a better life than now. But for now, just bow as low as possible, do not speak or answer any of the questions thrown at your way. I will answer those for you. However that is all I can do for you. It is up to you to make Mother notice your uniqueness and your brilliance and the potential you have to become a successful geisha. Understand?" I nodded silently as an indication that I had fully comprehended the terms outlined before me. Though I didn't quiet understand the kind of figure mother was, but I knew that she was the most powerful woman in the house, even Auntie had to listen to her.

Auntie smiled at me again and exerted a force on my back and urged me to move forward. I did so and took off my dirty shoes the way Auntie did with her wooden slippers. I watched her place them neatly on the stone staircase that led us to the entrance of the main house and did the same thing myself. As I stepped onto the cold well-polished wooden ramp that extended out of the house, my bare foot squirmed a little at the coldness that came into contact. This time Auntie walked in front of me and led me through the door and down the darkened corridor. I felt as nervous as ever and inside my head, Auntie's words rang. I didn't fully understand the reason behind it all, but I was certain of one thing, if mother didn't like me, she'll kick me out and round me up and feed me to the street dogs – that was what my childish mind interpreted as an unfortunate event.

We stopped before a room down the corridor and through the thick paper covered sliding doors, I could make out a faint light illuminating the room before me. Auntie kneeled down, her fingers grabbing onto the handle that curved inward into the wooden frame of the sliding down and pushed it to her right side with little difficulty. As the door slid open, a woman who was roughly the same age as Auntie was revealed. She wore a red kimono with white flowery patterns on it, and I could tell, the fabric of it was woven of fine silk, and I assumed it had to be very expensive. She was seated on a comfortable tatami pad and in front of a small tea table, her hands were cupped around the porcelain tea cup and I could see the steam rising from the warm liquid in it.

"Mother, the new girl recommended by Arai-san's here." Auntie bowed at Mother first and pointed at me. Her eyes gave me the flicker of bend down and bow. I jumped a little and remembered the reason of my being there. I nearly forgot about the things Auntie told me to do and not to do before we entered the main house. Feeling the warmth crawling toward my cheeks, I bowed as low as I could and kept silent as Auntie had taught me to, I felt utterly embarrassed for freezing there and staring at mother so openly like that. I heard a faint fabric rustling sound and speculated that mother was rotating her body around so she was facing us. I didn't dare to look up, so instead, I kept my eyes on the floor, as if they were the most fascinating thing on earth.

"Get up and come closer, I want to see your face." I heard mother's raspy voice. A sudden hesitancy restrained me from moving forward, I tilted my head slightly so I could see Auntie and my eyes begged her for her advice. "I thought I told you to come closer. Are you testing my patience little girl?" This time the demand sounded a lot harsher than before, causing me to whimper a little but Auntie gave me an encouraging push, hinting I should move forward now. I stood up and slowly made my way across the room. Every movement of mine seemed to be extremely visible and loud and was accompanied by quiet yet sharp squeaks.

I stopped as the strong lavender scent grew stronger. I suspected that to be from the perfume mother was wearing. I bent down again, keeping my head low and bowing to her politely, showing my respect. But her rough hands grabbed my chin and pulled it forcefully upward, a sharp pain sparked down my nerves, drawing out a quiet squeal from me. My eyes met hers, there was something about her cold raven colored eyes that sent shivers down my spine, and paralyzing every part of my body. I felt my self control slipping away, replaced by an overwhelming fear and urgency to escape her piercing gaze.

I stared directly into her eyes and I saw the black pupils widening, her jaws dropped just slightly, but the difference was very significant – at least to me. Mother had a quiet round face, her skin tinged slightly yellow and sagging around the corners of her eyes and on the bottom of her chin which made her look older than Auntie. Her mouth was small, and parted, they were dyed scarlet red, which I thought matched her outfit perfectly. "Such lovely green eyes." She gasped, scrutinizing at my eyes with her own peculiar ones. I could see the orbs sparkling with astonishment, but I dared not to say anything as Auntie had told me before.

"Aren't they? That's what I thought at first too, when I met her at the door. She seems like such a lovely and clever girl, and I think she'll adapt to the life here just fine. And look at the size of her forehead!" Auntie commented, pointing at my head. Her voice was slightly pitched and excited, as if she was selling me to someone and they liked what they were seeing.

Mother continued to study my face, her gaze then traveled to my nose and my lips and then the sides of my face as she turned it to the right then left. Inside my head, I wondered why all the people I had met so far liked to inspect me as if I was some kind of product, some kind of meat they were buying. "She has such lovely structure and delicate features that further enhance the beauty of her eyes." Mother added, her index finger tracing the shape of my lips and then nose. Her touch was rougher than Auntie's and lacked that certain motherly gentleness that Auntie had, causing me to yank backward to get away from her fingers. It was something I shouldn't have done, but I just couldn't control my movement.

Mother frowned, displeased with what I had done, and held my chin tightly once again. "Listen little girl, you're going to learn to be very obedient in this house, because I am in charge here, and if I see you doing anything that displeases me. I will throw you out. I don't intend to keep people who don't understand my orders around. I like the okiya to be organized and orderly. If you cause any disturbance, I will kick you out and leave you on the streets to starve to death." She paused for a moment, letting the words to seep through my skulls and went on. "You're in Kyoto now, not some little village you used to live in. I'm not interested in knowing your name or where you are from, or what you have done in the past. From now on, you're going to work hard, very hard, and please me by showing me that you're not so useless after all."

"Don't leave the okiya without my permission. Don't wander around in the courtyard either. You will be assigned chores and work tomorrow, and what you will do – that I will leave it up to Auntie to decide. If you learn to stay out of trouble and be very quiet and obedient, you will be able to start your geisha lessons in two or three months. But if you are not and does something that annoys me, you'll never become a geisha. If you think you can stay here as a maid, well think again, I've got plenty of maids working for me there, and I don't need anymore of them." Mother averted her attention to Auntie for a brief moment, and then returned her gaze to me to see my nod. I nodded as she had expected and she allowed herself to smile a bit.

"Here in the okiya, people gets punished for getting into troubles. I'm usually the one giving out the beatings here, so you'll be very sorry if you ever do anything wrong because I will make sure it's going to be your last time doing anything bad in your entire life you understand? Sometimes Auntie will give out beatings, but she is far to kind to you filthy little girls who do not understand anything I say." Mother looked at me hard for another moment and decided it was time to end the lecture on the rules of the okiya.

"Auntie, could you please get her into something clean and check if she has any lice? While you're doing that, take her to the servant's room and show her around so she doesn't get lost while doing chores tomorrow. I don't have to time to launch a search party to look for her." Instructed Mother and Auntie gave her a nod and then a little bow.

"Come along little girl." Auntie stood up gracefully and picked me up from the floor as well and pushed my head downward to bow to Mother once again. With that, we slowly backed out of the room, our heads lowered and front facing Mother. It was the way lower class women exited the room. Traditionally, their backs had to be facing the exit but their front will always be facing the person with a higher status. It was how the geishas exited the rooms occupied by the most powerful men – as I later on learned from my geisha mentor.

I waited patiently for Auntie to slide the door close and I saw her letting out a small sigh. "Come on, I'll take you to the servant's room and you can take a bath there and clean out any lice you have." She got up from her knees again and straightened out her kimono and went ahead of me, while her hand signaling me to follow her. I did as I was told to and she led me out of the darkened corridor and out to the courtyard once more. A heavy dreary feeling settled in my small heart and I couldn't help but wonder the sort of life I would have here at the okiya. Tears pooled in my eyes before I could think of a way to stop them, and I felt miserable as I remembered my own mother while the images of my new mother flashed in my mind. I sniffled quietly and set my eyes upon Auntie's kimono and watched how the ends fluttered as she walked. With my vision glazed, the ends of her kimono slowly blurred into a lighter shade of blue.

She suddenly came to a stop and swiveled around elegantly, "Don't cry little girl. As long as you do what mother tells you to do, you'll be fine. Your goal was to impress her, and you've accomplished it quite well. Be proud of yourself. You're a clever girl and will make a fine geisha." Once again, her kind words drove away part of my misery and I really felt safe around her. She took me by my hand and smiled as we left the corridor.

As we departed the main house, my ears picked up an indistinctive singing voice, but it was faint and beautiful, probably the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. I couldn't make out the lyrics well, but as we continued down the path, it grew clearer and louder. The ballad sounded extremely familiar to me, it reminded me of the song mother used to hum to me when I was little, but I never heard of the lyrics it since all mother did was humming the tune. I listened hard and tried to catch the words, but all my sharp ears caught were a few phrases. "Tachidomaru jikan ga… Ugoki-dasou to shite 'ru… Wasuretaku nai koto bakari…" My pace was slowed down and my hand slipped away from Auntie's, and eventually, I came into a stop without realizing I had done so. I felt I was enchanted by the angelic voice and my body seemed to have grown a mind of its own. It moved without any of my controls.

I stopped just in front of the opened room at the end of the okiya, and I could tell that the singing came from that particular room. Unaware of my own actions, I trailed away from the stone road and approached the opened paper sliding door and eventually reached it. There, I saw a girl around my age with long raven hair sitting on the floor, in the center of the room, her composure was graceful and her back was perfectly straight. I couldn't see her kimono very well because of the dimly light, but my keen eyes caught a glimpse of blue fabric with some sort of white petal-like designs on it. Her hair scattered onto her back and the ends were tied loosely by a faint violet ribbon that really stood out from its surrounding. I simply gazed at her and inwardly admiring her beauty and gracefulness.

"Do you like the song?" Auntie suddenly asked me, snapping me out of my own thoughts. I nearly jumped when I heard her voice behind me. Startled, I looked at her with widened eyes, but she merely smiled at me. "Doesn't she have the most beautiful voice ever?" Auntie asked me again. I turned to study the girl once again but this time with greater carefulness, and nodded.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Auntie called out, and I saw the girl turning to our way. My mouth formed an "o" shape and my eyes widened with shock, amazed by how beautiful her face was. Her eyes were the colors of amethyst, yet there they lacked the shine I see in other people's eyes – they were rather dull in comparison. But she had an oval shaped face, and creamy skin which brought out her delicate features.

"Okaasan?" She inquired, her tone of voice soft and velvety, full of child-like innocence. It sounded as if she was singing the words out instead of speaking them. "Is that you?" She questioned, and then fell silent again as she tried to concentrate on something. "Is someone there with you?" I stepped back a little as her looked at my way. I could feel my heart pounding rapidly, and my face burning up -- nervous to meet her eyes. I lowered my gaze and let the sudden inrush of unworthiness enter my heart, I felt extremely filthy and ungraceful compared to her.

"Hai, it's me, and here's someone with me. She appears to be the same age as you Tomoyo." Auntie responded, but this time, her tone seemed to have softened greatly and she had a sad yet loving look in her eyes. It was then I felt Auntie's hand settling upon my shoulder. "Do you want to go introduce yourself to her?" She whispered softly, her breath tickling my ears. I froze on the spot, unsure of what to do. A part of me wanted to, but I suddenly remembered what this place was and how I was sold off to where I was, I hesitated and did not move. However Auntie gave me a little jostle and caused me to step forward.

Tomoyo smiled at my way. "I'm Tomoyo. Anata wa?" Her head cocked to the right, waiting patiently for my answer. A great hesitancy showed on my face as I tried to make up my mind. I thought it was quiet obvious, but she didn't seem to notice it.

"Sakura…desu…" I answered quietly, letting the syllables flow out of my mouth.

I saw her smile widening, "such a beautiful name... and you have a sweet voice…you must be very lovely." The compliment was accompanied by another friendly smile, all the dreary feelings I had earlier seemed to have been melted by the friendliness she had offered me. At that time, I didn't know she was going to be the best friend I'd ever had and someone who would stay by my side throughout the tough times during our geisha years. Another thing I didn't know of back then was her blindness – Tomoyo couldn't see. But at that moment, I didn't know. I returned her smile and letting my contentment shown, just for that brief moment, I allowed myself to relax in the unfamiliar surroundings.

It was the beginning of my new life at the Okiya…

a/n: Alright, that was a veryyy long chapter. But like I've mentioned above, I'm going to try to make this fanfiction into some sort of short novel. The future chapters will be around this length as well – at least that's what this fanfic appears to be heading toward, but then again, I might change my mind later on and decide it's too much of a challenge for me. Syaoran will be introduced in the next chapter and you'll see how him and Sakura are going to meet before Sakura became a geisha. Keep on reviewing everyone and hopefully I'll get the next chapter up next weekend! XD

IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you want to be notifyed when I update this story again, or in fact, any of my stories, please go to my profile page where you'll see the link of my fanfic notify list. Sign yourself up and I will email you the link of the new chaps once I update it!

This story is a bit hard to write, since there are a lot of historical facts and all, and I don't want to make up random things as I go along. Back in the 1900s, okiya were run by women, and those owners were often referred to as Mother or Auntie, but they were not blood-related. They were just called that and I have no clue why. Also, I'm not really sure how the okiya should look like, so my description about it is relatively vague, and the same goes to the kimonos. So I apologize for the lack of detailed descriptions there.

Liked it? Hated it? Let me know what you thought of this chapter (other than the part that it's too long XD). Review minna-san! Thanks!

Reviews appreciated. Flames ignored. Constructive criticisms considered.