Chapter 3: Friendly Talk

The two looked outside the door, looking at how much the rain was coming down like comets of liquid. They would look into the distance and see only blurred visions of the structures that lay in the short distance like the shed. Joaquin was leaning on the side of the door looking at the forest, wondering how deep it went, what he would see, and how much is there to see. Hana was sitting down cleaning his boots, a friendly gesture of hers. "Oh Jacky san, won't you come sit, I would like to hear a little about yourself." Joaquin walked over to her taking off his army jacket revealing a shirt of his old platoon logo, 106th Special Recon, U.S. Army Special Forces. The logo had a sword with two crossed arrows with the expression 'De oppresso liber', the Green Berets. She looked at his arms, meant for strong and agile power, a couple of scars she noticed, possibly from combat he was in. She clears her throat, and asks "So tell me Jacky, why you came to Japan?" He looked at her with a grin and says "I just heard how splendid it was and decided to see it for myself; I actually wanted to do it for quite some time in my life. I had a friend in my unit who was vacationing here and recommended it to me when I got out. Gotta tell ya, he was right. Japan is a beautiful country with a rich culture." Hana smiled at him "I'm glad you like it as well as your friend, if you don't mind, where he is now?" Joaquin looked away from her with a regretful look. "He was killed in combat next to me on a mission. He's buried back in his hometown in Nevada." Hana' smile turned into a frown along with a sad face to follow. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring anything bad up, I'm so sorry once again." She said in distress. He looked at her with a small smile. "It's all ok, you didn't know. He did his duty as we all did." He said. Hana gave him some tea to warm him up from the rain. He sipped it and loved it. "Wow this is great, what kind of tea is it?" She smiled and said "Oh just my own recipe, its my own little secret." She laughed and smiled at him as he laughed as well. They seemed to be getting along very well. He looked around and saw a picture of her and two children. He decided to ask. "Are those your kids?" He asked.

"Oh yes, there names are Yuki and Ame." She said to him.

"Wow, those two look like they have a great life here." He said while taking a sip.

"Well I tried you know. A mother has to provide for her babies." She said with a smile, thinking about the memories of them running around and causing a commotion.

"Hey, it's all we can do, try our best. It looks like you do a great job of raising them." He said looking at the other pictures. "By the way, where are they if you don't mind me asking." He said to Hana while putting down the cup. Hana turned her head down and started explaining. "Well, Yuki is at a high school living in the dorms. The high school is far from here so they had to build them dorms to live in, otherwise people would have a hard time getting back and forth to school." She explained.

"Sheesh, how far is the school?" He asked.

"Oh about a three to four hour drive." She answered.

"H-o-l-y crap, that's one way for gas stations to make money. Maybe that's their secret." He said sarcastically.

"That honestly would not surprise me." She said while laughing.

"What about Ame?' He asked.

Hana looked at Joaquin with a sad look on her all of a sudden. He looked back and responded. "I'm sorry was that not ok to ask? I'm sorry if I offended you." He said.

"No you didn't, don't worry. Ame went away as well." She said sadly.

"To another school?" He asked

Hana looked at the forest and was then relieved by the wind. To her, it marks his presence to the forest. "No not a school, its just-" the power went off and on from the thunder.

"Huh, looks like the storm's really picking up." Joaquin said. He went to his bag to get a flashlight ready and a lighter he had. Hana looked at him getting ready. "My you came prepared." She acknowledged.

"Better to have this stuff and not need them than to need them and not have them an old saying where I'm from." He said getting his stuff.

Hana decided to get a bed ready for Joaquin as the day passed. He saw what she was doing and thought it would be best to tell her. "Oh Ms. Hana its ok, I can call a cab and wait. You don't have to set up the bed." Hana looked at him and said "Do you really think a cab is going to come out here in this storm?" Joaquin thought she had a good point. She got the bed ready in her children's room, and was getting dinner ready. Joaquin just thought "I don't want to be a bother." Hana got a little annoyed at this and responded with "How many times do I have to tell you? You're not a bother, take it easy." Joaquin then shrugged his shoulders with acceptance "OK then." He thought.

Hana made BBQ chicken, her famed delicacy. Joaquin tried it and loved it. "Wow, I didn't realize I was staying with a five star chef." She was happy and humble to him. "Oh no I'm not, it's just something I made for many years." She said happily. Hana then placed a plate by the driver's license; Joaquin looked at the license with curiosity. "Was he your husband?" He asked Hana. She looked the license and smiled, "He was the best thing that ever happened to me. He gave me two beautiful children and a sense of want I never felt before. There's no other like him." Hana said smiling with a tear coming down.

"Sounds like you truly loved him." Joaquin said.

"I still do and always will." Hana said.

"He's lucky to have you." He responded. Hana looked at him with a glitter in her eyes and a thankful sigh.

"Oh you should finish your dinner there soldier." She said jokingly.

"Yes ma'm." Joaquin said.

He finished his meal and decided to listen to the radio with Hana. The radio announcer came on with an announcement. "The storm is suspected to keep on going through the night. Roads have been closed due to recent flooding in some areas. Residences are advised to stay indoors through the rest of the night. Be safe out there." The radio then went on to music.

"Well, good thing I set up a room." Hana said.

"Yea tell me about it." Joaquin responded. He was concerned about his bike not working, along with wondering if he was overstaying his welcome, but then again he thought she would have kicked him out already. Besides, she is helping him in the morning. Where can one find kind hearted people like this anymore? He saw many things and nothing compared to this kind of peace and trust. He then turned to what was wrong with his bike. Could be the fuselage, or the ignition was off, perhaps there wasn't enough fuel. Then he thought 'nah, I still have half a tank left. I'll just have to wait 'til morning. Hana looked at the clock and decided to get ready for bed.

"Jacky san, you should get yourself ready for bed, it's getting late." Hana said. Joaquin thought it was funny because he felt like a kid again, so he did. He decided to pull out some sleep ware he kept after leaving the army, took a bath and lay down in the bed. The bed was surprisingly comfortable. He was dosing off, but the sight of Hana's shadow in the next room caught his eye. She looked like she was holding something, but he couldn't make it out. He then heard something in the wind, it sounded like wolf's howl. But the Japanese wolf went extinct in the early twentieth century. Must be his imagination, he thought. He proceeded to fall asleep and call it a day.