Return to the Old-Life

Summer Break had begun; The last examination had drained my soul and body entirely. Luckily, Misako and I had studied our butts off, and passed with flying colours. Hiroshi, on the other hand, had to attend summer school for the entirety of summer-vacation. A much-needed punishment for his laziness. He cried when we received our results, wishing he could’ve come with us to Osaka. Misako hadn’t even invited him to come with, but he made plans with us like he was invited. He promised to come with Yuta during the weekend, so that we could go to the beach for the day. We were fine with that; Misako’s condition was that only Yuta and I were allowed to stay at her mom’s house – he had to rent an apartment if he wanted to stay in Osaka.

“How much longer?” I asked Misako.

“Another twenty minutes, we’re nearly there.” She replied.

Misako and I had taken a train to Osaka, it was simple and convenient. I sat opposite her as we watched the scenery moved passed us. It was beautiful, a picturesque landscape as we neared the station. Misako was beautifully dressed, too. She wore a light-green dress that complimented her hair amazingly, and her hair was loose - my favourite styling of hers. I battled between looking at the scenery, or looking at her, I decided to just keep my eyes on both.

“W-What?” She asked me, catching me eyeing her.

“N-nothing. I was just thinking you looked good…in that dress.”

“T-Thanks…”

A little girl, no older than Yuta’s age, sat beside us on the train. It was unordinary to see such a small person travel by themselves, but I assumed she was on vacation or travelling to visit family.

“Mister! You must tell your wife she looks beautiful!” The little girl stated.

I jumped in my seat. And so did Misako.

“C’mon! Tell her!” She said again.

“Y-You look, beautiful…” I said to Misako.

Misako was once again, red all over. The little girl laughed, kicking her feet.

“I hope to get a husband too, one day.” The little girl said.

We could not reply, we said in an embarrassed silence.

‘How much further is the station!’ I asked myself.

We finally arrived at Osaka station, I grabbed our luggage, and we made our way to the pickup zone, waiting for Misako’s mother to arrive. Osaka was beautiful, the architecture and city-planning was like nothing I’d seen even before. Mounds of people moved their way off the train, as they did, I saw the cultures of diverse people. The air was fresh, and the sky was blue, I would not have minded staying in Osaka from my first impressions of it.

“What’s your mom like?” I asked Misako as we waited.

“Different…”

“Different?”

“She the opposite of me in every aspect.”

And there, Miss Ishihara arrived. She stood out of her blue-minivan and came to greet us.

“Misako!” She yelled, leaping to her daughter with her arms wide-open.

Her mother smothered her, and she pressed her face into Misako’s.

“M-Mom…please.” Misako begged.

Her mother did not care, she continued to hug her daughter.

“It’s been two years, I have the right to cuddle my daughter.” Miss Ishihara exclaimed.

‘Two years? Misako’s never been back in so long?’ I wondered.

After moments of intimacy together, Miss Ishihara greeted me.

“Hello! You are David?” She asked me.

“I am, Miss. David Taylor.” I greeted her.

Miss Ishihara scanned me; with a hand on chin, she rotated around my frame, inspecting me from head to toe. She nodded to herself as she did so.

“Hmmm.” She mumbled.

“Mom?” Misako added.

Then, she backed away from me. She smiled widely and clasped her hands together.

“You guys hungry?” She asked us.

“Not really, we ate on the train.” Misako replied to her.

“Well, let’s go out for a drink then!” She exclaimed.

“Mom, not now, can we just get to the house first?”

“Party pooper…” Miss Ishihara said, grabbing Misako’s wheelchair.

She helped her daughter in the car, and we made our journey to her home. I sat in the front passenger seat, Miss Ishihara insisted I did, I could not decline her. As we drove through the busy traffic, I recalled what Misako had informed me before we met her mother:

“She’s divorced…but she carries on like she was never married in her life.” Misako said.

“How so?”

“She works as a hostess. Brings in a lot of money from her private guests. She met my father in the club one day, and they never stopped seeing each other. He was the first male to tame my mother. But now…after the incident…I dunno.”

‘A hostess…’ I repeated internally.

I watched Miss Ishihara as she drove us, she was indeed absolutely beautiful. Her long-green luscious hair – like her daughter’s – was majestic. Misako was a near copy-cat of her mother. Her mother did have a bundle of makeup on, it amplified her beauty ten times fold. I wondered…very internally…how Misako would turn out as an older woman. Somewhere, I knew Misako would be -if not more – beautiful than her own mother.

“Where are you from, David?” Miss Ishihara asked me.

“Britain, Miss. Born and raised.” I replied respectfully.

“Wow! And you can speak in perfect Japanese?”

“I taught myself from a very young age, but I had some help.”

“Smart as well… you’re a double whammy.”

“Excuse me, Miss?”

“You’re a good-looker, got some strong, big muscle on you.”

“T-Thanks.”

“Mom!” Misako interrupted.

“Oh, you know it’s true, Misa.” Miss Ishihara exclaimed.

I turned to inspect Misako in the backseat, she held her hands in front of her face to cover her expression.

“If you two aren’t dating, maybe I can get a shot myself~” Miss Ishihara teased.

“You will not!” Misako yelled.

“Jealous?” Miss Ishihara gloated.

I could hear Misako whimper behind me. Miss Ishihara looked at me as she drove, and she winked at me. I gulped, nervous to say a single word.