4. Beauty Meets the Beast
Godzilla stood in the dim soundproof booth of his garage recording studio. Both of his hands rested on the thick headphones to hold them over his stubby ears. The soft, jazzy piano music filtering through the headphones made him sway a little. He liked to move when he sang. The microphone and pop filter Hideo glimpsed earlier were clipped to a stand that brought the Miki exactly level with Godzilla's nose. Placing it there, as opposed to in front of his mouth, let the microphone capture the richest tones in his voice.
At that moment he was coming to the climax of his song, which was called February Song. Hitting "climax notes" in music was the best feeling in the world. Something akin to scratching an itch after hours of standing still.
"Sometimes it's hard to find my ground, 'cause I keep on falling..." he squeezed his eyes shut, leaning into a crescendo and crooning just ahead of the beat as the piano and drums climbed like steps, "...as I try- to- get- away- from- this- CRA-ZY WORLD!" and after that the song sailed over the climax and slowly drifted back into itself. Godzilla went from singing triple forte to just mezzo forte, lightening his tone until the song ended in a whisper. He waited a moment, then played his own performance back to make sure he was in tune. The song was good. Godzilla nodded to himself. It bothered him slightly that he hadn't had any real inspiration for a long time. He was pulling out old poetry he penned decades ago. His albums were all starting to sound the same to him. He wanted something new, fresh and real. He wanted to feel what he sang.
Godzilla sighed and started the next track, but he just couldn't focus. Hideo was due to arrive with his daughter at any moment. The wait proved more nerve wracking than the last three seconds before a performance. This might be his only chance to break this spell. He didn't want to blow it.
.o
Hideo's fishing boat slashed across the water like a knife through butter. The clouds were parting and golden sunlight cast glittering sparkles over the sapphire waves. Miki watched the water scintillate while the wind blew her curly bangs against her forehead. She'd dressed for the cold-a light blue turtleneck, white jeans and a pair of heavy boots under her black winter jacket. Since the cold made her skin blotchy, she had also put on a touch of foundation, blush and a sheer rose petal-pink lipstick. She wanted to add eye shadow too, but she was never very good at applying it. Usually, she had makeup artists to do that.
But not anymore. Miki thought to herself.
Occasionally the boat would send up a salty mist that dampened her brow with water droplets. Neither her nor Hideo said much during the trip, so she finally spoke up.
"Maybe I'll just focus on something good about him," said Miki. She pushed herself up off the railing and poked one of her brown leather suitcases. "It's like talking with a really crippled up person in a wheelchair, just...ignore the chair and focus on them."
Hideo wrinkled his nose. "This is nothing like a person in a wheelchair, Miki. Godzilla is-he's hideous! You can't ignore that when all you can see is those huge teeth."
She shrugged her small shoulders and reached up to tighten her ponytail. Anxiety about what might befall her gnawed constantly at her consciousness. Laughing seemed to be the only way to make it bearable, so she said in a joking tone, "Maybe he'll fatten me up before he eats me."
"That isn't funny!" said her father in a stern tone. Up ahead, the island and Godzilla's home came into view. "I wish we didn't have to do this. I want to turn around and leave."
"Maybe it won't be so bad. We can still email each other or call. I'm sure he'd let me call you," whispered Miki, her eyes now drawn to the lavish home set far away from the rest of Odo island's civilization. The black and white estate against the cloud-streaked blue sky looked like it came off a post card. She even spotted a lighthouse up in the hills behind the huge house.
Fifteen minutes later, Hideo tied his boat to a rock and helped Miki unload her suitcases. They walked silently through the vine encrusted gate. Miki glanced around at the yard, smiling at the pretty sakura tree. She followed Hideo up to the front door. A note had been taped above the doorknob:
'Welcome.
I fixed you both dinner. It's a long boat ride and you must be hungry. If I don't answer the doorbell, just come in and start eating.'
Miki and Hideo glanced at each other. Then Miki rang the doorbell. She waited, then rang it again and still got no reply. Her eyes moved to her father. "I guess we should just go in." Miki shivered slightly despite being bundled up. "It's too cold to wait around out here."
Nodding, Hideo pushed the door open and they both shed their boots and entered, Miki dragging her suitcases on their little rollers. Hideo noticed a coat rack placed near the door. They removed their winter gear. Scents of hot food immediately made their mouths water. The table was set for three, but only two plates had been dished up. The meal was calamari with steamed asparagus and rice bowls on the side. Both western silverware and chopsticks were provided. Wineglasses of gold sparkling cider shone eerily under the overhead lights.
Miki blushed when her stomach protested its emptiness. She sat down in the nearest chair and picked up a fork. "I guess we should dig in."
Hideo picked up the rice bowl in one hand and the chopsticks in another. He muttered a small blessing and started to eat. Miki began eating when he did. The food was rich, juicy and prepared to utter perfection. The first morsel tasted just as wonderful as the last. Miki ate everything, but Hideo just picked nervously at his food. Sympathizing with him, Miki rested her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
Suddenly, the door beside the pantry creaked open. A pair of lifeless white eyes and a snout full of gleaming teeth shone in the darkness before Godzilla fully emerged into the kitchen. He closed the door behind him with a bang. His pitted gray face frightened Miki. But, remembering what she'd said on the way to the house, she swallowed her fear. Ignore his ugly face and huge teeth. She pushed away from the table and bowed politely. "Hello, Godzilla. I'm Miki Saegusa, Hideo's daughter."
Godzilla appeared a bit startled, though Miki didn't know why. Maybe he was surprised that she didn't scream at the sight of him. He blinked a few times and returned the polite bow. "Good evening," he said smoothly, trying his hardest not to frighten his guests. "Was my cooking to your liking?"
His politeness surprised Miki a bit. And his voice...it was so smooth, soft and light, nothing at all like she expected to hear. The fact that he spoke at all was amazing. Not wanting to stare, she turned her attention to the cider in her glass. "It was great! Thank you. I'm so full." Then she nudged Hideo until he mumbled a thank you of his own.
"Good. Then...it's time for you two to say goodbye."
A rush of grief hit Miki like a wave. She bit her lip and turned to hug her father, whose eyes also welled over. "I'm doing this because I love you, daddy. Oh...don't cry... Come on now, w-we shouldn't keep him waiting. I'll try to call you."
Hideo didn't want to move. He wanted to stay with Miki. Then he wanted to grab her arm and run out the door without ever looking back. He cupped her cheek in his rough, wrinkled hand and gazed straight into her shining eyes. "You are the bravest woman I have ever seen."
Miki sobbed and grasped his wrist. "I learned that from you."
"Can we hurry this up?" Godzilla grumbled, moving to the door and opening it. Cold air blasted into the warm house. "There's another storm on the way. You don't want to be caught short again."
Miki glared over her shoulder at Godzilla. Turning back to Hideo, she coaxed him to his feet and hugged him tightly. Then she helped him into his winter gear, biting back tears when he kissed her forehead. She barely choked out a soft, "Bye, dad. Be careful out there," before Godzilla pushed him out the door and closed it. Upset, Miki cried out, "I may never see him again! You didn't have to rush us like that!" Then she began to cry while Godzilla stared down at the top of her head.
"I...uh...guess I'll take your things up to your room," said Godzilla. He sounded uncomfortable about the whole situation.
"My room? But I thought that-"
He curled his lip. "What? You want the lumpy couch?" When Miki shook her head, he went on, "then follow me upstairs."
With that, he picked her bags up as if they weighed nothing and started towards the stairs. He forgot about his tail though. When he turned, it swept her feet out from under her. Miki fell on her butt and gave a shout.
"Oh, damn! I'm so sorry!" Godzilla dropped the suitcases to run back and help her. One suitcase sprang open to spill multicolored bras and panties on the floor. Miki's face turned bright red. Godzilla, mortified, tried to sweep the underwear up with his tail, but only succeeded in getting them stuck to his ridged skin. He tried to shake the panties off without actually using his hands. Now it was Godzilla's turn to look embarrassed. He clapped a hand over his face and shook his head. Miki didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but since people tend to laugh the hardest when they aren't supposed to, she started to giggle. She covered it up by pretending to cry harder.
You idiot! Godzilla berated himself. Now you've gone and humiliated the poor girl. Nice job! That will make her like you! Next, you should go through her diary because you're such a winner. Ugh!
Miki rubbed her backside and reached out to carefully lift the underwear off Godzilla's tail. She stuffed everything back into the suitcase.
"I am so sorry about that. Are you okay?" Godzilla hurried over to pick her luggage up and resumed his trek to the stairs.
"I'm not hurt. I've done worse while rollerblading." She wiped tears from her cheeks, waiting for Godzilla to clear the stairs before following.
They stopped at the second door. Godzilla nudged it open with his shoulder and flicked on the overhead light. A beautiful double bay window looked out towards the north, giving a view of the lighthouse Miki saw while offshore. The tops of the windows were stained glass in a pink rose design. This motif repeated itself on the Tiffany fixture of a small sconce lamp with a pull chain positioned near the bed. Miki's eyes wandered to the queen sized bed set up diagonally in the far corner. The sheets were soft purple and reminded her of her bed at home. A small recessed shelf in the wall housed a pewter dragon's claws wrapped around a sphere. Inside the sphere was a round clock face. There didn't seem to be a closet, but a large, antique-looking oak wardrobe stood just to the right of the door. Next to it was a huge step tansu that reached almost to the ceiling, and each step was decorated with pink silk roses, a pewter carousel, a tiny jade zen step-fountain and crystal figurines. The corner opposite to the bed held a desk with an adjoining bookshelf. Hanging on the wall between the desk and tansu was a beautiful hand-carved Chinese dragon with hooks to hold hats. It was set above an expensive entertainment center-a stereo and a TV with a built-in DVD combo. An oriental rug that matched the bedspread broke up the monotony of the marble floor. It was a lovely room-a bit cold looking, but the pinks and browns warmed it up nicely.
"It's...it's nice." Miki said. The situation felt suddenly awkward and she didn't know what else to say.
"Thanks. The bathroom is just around the corner. It has a bathtub and a shower." Godzilla scooted past her and left her suitcases in the middle of the floor. "I um-the remote on the desk there works both the TV and the stereo. You can get cable in here. Now...I'll leave you alone now. You can have anything in the fridge and go anywhere you want in this house...except for the garage. It's the door I came from earlier."
"What's in the garage?"
"Nothing!" he snapped, "Just don't go in there."
Temperamental, much? Miki thought to herself. She wanted to giggle at how utterly absurd Godzilla looked standing in the middle of this lavish bedroom. He might have fit in as a statue, but not as a living thing. "Hey, I have a question."
Godzilla paused with his hand on the door handle. His featureless eyes gave her the creeps-she couldn't tell if he was looking at her face or her chest! It wasn't until he tilted his head a little that she saw outlines of his pale silver irises. He was looking into her eyes.
"When you saw me...you looked kind of surprised."
"Oh, that," he chewed on his bottom lip a bit. "I-saw your picture in an ad for jeans once. Are you a model or something?"
She blushed and averted her eyes. The thought that Godzilla ogled her picture in a catalogue made her uncomfortable. "I hope to be, someday."
"I see. Well, g'night."
"Good ni-" but the door had already closed. The back of it was actually a full-length mirror. Miki sighed just as rain pattered against the window, signaling the approach of another nasty winter storm. She began the long process of unpacking her belongings and making the room feel more like home. The first thing to go up was a gorgeously embroidered wall hanging depicting the goddess, Mothra, that her father bought years ago. It seemed perfect on the wall by her bed where she could see it at night. She put her favorite white kitten plushie on the soft purple bedspread. Next came her clothes. The wardrobe had more room than her old closet. It sported beautiful wooden hangers that were better for her outfits than the old wire ones. On the bottom were spaces for shoes. Her pajamas, underwear, makeup, toothbrush and things for her hair went into the tansu, which could double as a dresser. Finally, Miki unpacked her laptop. Then came her modeling portfolio, her Discman, CDs, a few DVDs and personal photographs. She placed them on the desk. She then put her new G album into the stereo and turned it on. The stereo gave such a pure sound that she swore this wonderful baritone was standing right there in the room with her.
"I can't understand it...the search for an answer is met with a darker day..." G's voice resonated around the walls.
"Let's see if I can get online." Miki said to herself. She booted up the laptop and let it search for a net connection while she put her socks away. Before she had even closed the drawer, she heard a trilling sound.
perfectsomeone35411: MIKI! ;D
Her night brightened with that simple line of green text. She ran over to reply.
MikiMew: YES! i have net here! oh i'm so happy to see you ps! -hughughughugs-
perfectsomeone35411: its so good 2 see u can still get on
perfectsomeone35411: i missed our afternoon chat a lot...
MikiMew: me too
perfectsomeone35411: how is the new place?
perfectsomeone35411: do u like it?
MikiMew: it's a huge place. i haven't seen much yet. the guy i'm staying with is really...unusual.
perfectsomeone35411: how so?
MikiMew: well...he isn't very attractive to start. but he was polite and kinda awkward.
MikiMew: lol
MikiMew: i think he and i are just gonna stay out of each others way for awhile
perfectsomeone35411: so he's butt ugly? does he have over 9000 warts on his face? is he as nasty looking as godzilla?
MikiMew: ROFL XD OMGGGGGGG ROFL ROFL ROFL -dies- you could say that!
The laughter left Miki grasping her sides in attempt to stay silent. If only perfectsomeone35411 knew just how right he was! She leaned up just in time to see him responding to her last message.
perfectsomeone35411: lmao wow he must be sooooo horsefaced
perfectsomeone35411: hey maybe he isnt a terrible guy
perfectsomeone35411: used 2 know an old man who looked like a twisted old tree. every1 thought he ate kids. turns out he was blind and tied brooms for a living and told funny stories about how he tripped over things.
Miki leaned back with a smile, reading her online friend's words. His presence was a comforting familiarity in the otherwise dismal circumstances. Combined with the softness of G's voice, she swore she could close her eyes and pretend she was at home.
MikiMew: i guess i need to get to know him first. but it's hard because he doesn't seem very talkative.
MikiMew: and it's hard not to stare. he looks so weird. i mean it's a guy i've seen around and just never up close, you know?
perfectsomeone35411: yeah
MikiMew: man i'm tired. i think i could sleep for a week or two.
perfectsomeone35411: lol
perfectsomeone35411: ur so funny
MikiMew: you too. ugh i gtg, i need sleep.
perfectsomeone35411: ok, we can chat 2morrow if ur on
MikiMew: works for me. night ps!
perfectsomeone35411: c u l8er.
Miki sighed as she logged off AIM. She changed into a pair of pink Hello Kitty pajamas, shut off the light and climbed into bed. The fluffy sheets smelled freshly washed and the mattress felt so soft, like lying on a cloud. Still, it was just a harsh reminder that this was not her bedroom at home.
Miki cried herself to sleep.
Downstairs, Godzilla sat at his kitchen table, illuminated by the faint glow of his laptop screen. He'd been trying to write another song and failing miserably. His mind was too wrapped around the events of the day.
I'm out of my freaking mind. Godzilla thought to himself. He held his head in his hands, Out of all the girls in the world, his daughter happens to be her! She's gorgeous and I'm...oh, God, she must hate me right now...I've taken her away from the world she knows and thrust her into this mess! What the hell was I thinking? Oh, God, I hope I can win her over or I am royally screwed.