Chapter 8 Aiyama-san

Hinata woke the melodic chirping of small birds rustling the trees outside. Her eyes gently opened to a simplistic six-tatami mat room. It took her a moment to realise she was sleeping on a futon in a stranger's home.

She rolled over onto her back, so she was facing the thatched roof.

Her thoughts slowly moved into a logical order as she recapped over her journey with Miki. It had been a while since both of them had slept in a room on their own.

It made her heart race with concern as to why the village's mayor had left them to the care of a young man. Especially when there was no woman of the house. Her mind had thought on it constantly before she had eventually given up the fight to sleep. She came to the conclusion it was a decision based on space.

She felt somewhat relieved that the young man seemed a polite and well bred person. At least he was a far better host than most of the women she had come across in their journey around the main land. His intentions appeared to be honourable. Still, he was a man and with no woman in the house that would lead to all sorts of unnecessary attention for both of them. Attention wasn't something she wanted right now for Miki's sake.

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"Mama," Miki groaned as she snuggled further under the blankets.

Hinata turned her head to greet her daughter lying on the futon next to her.

"Sleep well my little Sandpiper?" She planted a motherly kiss to her daughter's small forehead, brushing aside the girl's fine sandy-brown fringe.

The girl's round green-brown eyes squinted open as they readjusted to the bright daylight streaming into the room from the wooden ranma above the doors.

They had been sleeping since the young man had shown them around his house and prepared the room for them. It was a blessed and welcome relief, since both of them had been travelling in a truck with a classroom full of kids and two of their teachers from Osaka for days.

Half of the kids were taken into homes in a town called Koumi. Wanting to go as far away from city life as possible, she had chosen to take the journey further into the country with five other kids and their male teacher. Those kids were surrendered to a farm home in the area.

"I wonder if that kind man is still around," she whispered to her daughter, who responded with a hearty yawn.

Hinata shuffled out of the futon and began packing away their bedding in the room's oshiire.

She padded gingerly down the short narrow passageway and slid open a pair of white-plain shoji doors to the main room. A solemn quiet hung about the space.

"Mama." Miki entered the room with her small hands still wiping slept from her eyes. "I'm hungry."

Hinata frowned, wondering if it was okay for her to rummage around the kitchen of someone else's home. She was answered by the sight of a key and note on the low table. It was from the young man who had granted her permission of making herself at home whilst he wasn't around. The note made her smile with a hope that there were still good people left in the world.

She glanced in a better view of the main room, her eyes widened at the aesthetic display of an ikebana perched on the room's Tokonoma. The local green foliage was a delicate and minimalist arrangement in a white vase. It gave her a feeling of calm and balance.

"He did this?" she whispered.

It made her take note of the rest of her surroundings, realising the pristine and precise condition of the table, zabutons cushions, and clutter-free space. She sighed at the peaceful and sober sight of the Kamidana holding two images.

"Must light some incenses later on." She made a mental note on paying her respects.

She slid aside the shoji doors that opened into the sunroom. Most of the room was made up of shoji doors that opened out to the engawa verandah. Daylight beaming through the rice paper panels brought to life a perfect sight of comfort and cosiness with its clean tatami mats. Modest coloured zabuton cushions were stacked neatly to one corner, next to a pair of white and blue floral designed square pillows bearing the design of hibiscus flowers.

Tears welled in her eyes. Cushions like these were the last thing she was prepared to see. She turned her head and noticed the small two-tier bookshelf near the room's oshiire.

Her heart thumped nervously at the sight of the foreign text books and literature that was neatly shelved. There was a handful of English titles she recognised as well as some other language books that she fathomed were German. What were these doing here in the countryside?

"Mama." Miki whined as she tugged at her mother's sleeve.

"Sure." Hinata refocused her attention on her daughter.

She stepped out of the room and closed the doors. They entered the kitchen area to see what they could find to eat.