Peering up at me from beneath her pink bangs, Nanako held up the bags and smiled warmly. "Hi Ethan, I've come over to cook dinner for you tonight."
I don’t know how long I stood there staring at her, working my way through the conflicting thoughts her words sent zooming through my mind. Foremost was the liberating relief that came from realising I had not hurt her feelings yesterday morning. Second was the sheer delight that I finally had an opportunity to spend time with her. This was followed by panic because I was due at my parents’ house shortly. There was no way I could fit dinner with Nanako and with my parents into the one evening. Then of course was the gut wrenching fear associated with the knowledge that it was not permitted for a single guy to be alone anywhere or at any time with a woman who was not a member of his family.
I realised I had to send her away, but as I stood there looking down into her hope filled face as she waited for me to let her in, I knew I couldn’t disappoint her again.
“That sounds wonderful – please, come in.” I said as I stepped back to let her in. As she walked past me, I noticed Councillor Okada standing a couple of doors down, either playing the part of chaperone, or watching to make sure she arrived safely at her destination, if not both. I wondered if I should ask him to come in too, but he bowed politely and walked away before I had the chance.
Nanako dumped the bags on my miniscule kitchen bench – the kitchen was beside the front door. She started digging through the drawers and cupboards beneath the stove and bench.
The view of her of slender thighs exposed between her over-knees striped socks and the shirt was so mesmerising it took a great deal of effort to find my voice. “Sorry, I don’t have much stuff.”
“Oh, that’s fine, I’ll make do,” she said cheerfully as she pulled out two dented saucepans and a battered wooden chopping board that I bought second hand at the market.
"I have to make a phone call," I said as I reluctantly tore my gaze from her thighs back up to her beautiful face.
"Oh – I haven’t interrupted your plans for this evening, have I?" she asked while chopping carrots with a speed I didn’t think was possible. I would have chopped my fingers off if I tried that.
"Oh no, it’s just some minor thing I can reschedule for another night," I assured her. Yeah, just a minor thing like working out my wedding date. "I'll be right back."
My flat was narrow but long, extending from one side of the building to the other. Opposite the kitchen was the enclosed bathroom with shower, basin and toilet. Next was the dining room with the dining table and an old ratty two-seat sofa that faced the TV. The dining room morphed into the bedroom, which was occupied solely by my double bed. Next to the bed was the rear window and back door that lead to the balcony.
I grabbed the phone from the shelf beside to the bed and rang my father. This was not gonna go well.
"Jones residence," my father answered.
"Hello Father. Look, I'm sorry, but something very important's come up and I can't make it tonight."
"Do not be absurd, Ethan. The King's are already here and your mother and sister are about to serve the meal. Get over here right now," he ordered brusquely.
My head burned red hot from the pressure of the fix I had gotten myself into. I knew the correct thing to do was to obey him, but when I glanced at Nanako studiously preparing our dinner, I knew I would have to defy father for the first time. "Father, I am otherwise detained and it’s not something I can get out of."
"What are you talking about, Son? Are you suddenly bereft of your senses? You knew the King's were coming tonight to finalise the wedding’s details. How can you be otherwise detained?"
"I'm sorry, Father, but as I said, I'm literally unable to come. Please pass my apologies to the King's as well."
"Wait a moment." He snapped, and he must have placed his hand over the receiver, because I heard nothing for a couple of minutes, and then, "Son? I have passed on your message to the Kings, and they are most displeased, as they should be. However, after much apologising, they have agreed to return tomorrow night."
I let out a huge sigh of relief, as I thought he was going to insist that I come over until I caved in. "Right, thank you. I will be there. As I said, I'm sorry."
My father slammed the phone down before I finished talking, causing me to wince. I was gonna get a major dressing down tomorrow night. Something to look forward to.
My face was boiling hot and my conscience felt as though it had been pierced by a red-hot poker, but I returned to the kitchen and leaned against the fridge to chat with Nanako as she prepared dinner.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"It's all sorted," I assured her as I watched her pop small balls of fish meat into a saucepan bubbling with boiling oil. “Doesn’t Councillor Okada need you to translate for him tonight?” I asked.
“I told him I wanted the night off,” she said as she started peeling potatoes.
“And he let you?”
“Of course,” she replied, as though the answer should have been obvious.
“Do you mind if I ask how you can speak English so well, but he doesn’t?”
“I went to primary school in Inverloch,” she said. “My parents thought it would be good if I could speak both languages.”
“They were right. Imagine the trouble you and I would have trying to communicate if you only spoke Japanese,” I laughed.
“I don’t know.” She smiled. “You understand Japanese well enough.”
“Yeah, and that’s kind of weird.”
"Why's that?"
"Because I never learned it."
"Really? Then why do you think you understand it?" She studied my face carefully.
“Can’t say, to be honest.” Which was true, I really couldn’t tell her it may be because of my abnormal abilities. I decided to change the subject. “Hey, how did you know where I live?”
“Councillor Okada asked an official for your address. He said he wanted to drop by and say thank you.”
“I see.”
“That was okay, wasn’t it?” she asked, suddenly concerned.
“Of course.” I gave her an encouraging smile. “Hey, do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“One of each,” she replied. “My brother is ten, and my sister eight.”
I waited for her to return the question, but when she didn’t, I volunteered the information anyway. “I have two sisters, one twenty and the other twelve.”
She nodded as she continued cutting vegetables.
"What are you cooking?" I asked, my interest piqued by the appetising smells filling the flat.
"Oden," she replied. "It's a Japanese winter dish. I was lucky to find some of the ingredients in North End and most of the others in the markets. I had to make my own fish cakes, though. We normally eat rice with the dish, but we'll have to make do with bread rolls since Newhome doesn’t grow rice."
"I see. Hey, you're an amazing cook, you know. The obento you made was the best lunch I've ever had."
"Oh no, you are too kind – my cooking is nothing special."
"You're too modest," I laughed. "Where'd you learn to cook?"
"I’ve had a lot of practice."
Suddenly, I could contain my curiosity no longer. "Nanako, if you don't mind my asking – how old are you?"
Her dark brown eyes peered out from beneath her fringe. "I'll be twenty-one in a couple of weeks."
I was dumbfounded. She was years older than she looked and older than me as well. "You sure hide your age well. I figured you were seventeen at the most. In fact, you're a couple of months older than I am. I turn twenty-one at the end of February."
"Then we are virtually the same age," she said, rewarding me with another of her winning smiles.
“Yeah, amazing hey?" I laughed, before asking, "What do you do in Hamamachi, are you, you know, the town’s translator or something?”
She shook her head, “Oh no, there are quite a few of us that speak English. Actually, I’m a forager like you.”
“You’re kidding! Where do you do your foraging?” Maybe they came to Melbourne sometimes, and if so, perhaps we could bump into each other from time to time.
“Mostly abandoned country towns, but I’ve been to Melbourne’s eastern suburbs too, looking for anything old tech – mobile phones, computers, tablets, and books, of course.”
“Books from outside Newhome are banned here,” I said sadly.
“Why?”
“Apparently, they can plant subversive ideas in our minds. All the same, it doesn’t stop me reading them when I’m out foraging,” I admitted slyly.
“How long have you been foraging, Ethan?”
“Two years.”
“What did you do before that?” She began adding number of ingredients into the larger saucepan – boiled eggs, potatoes, carrots, white noodles, her hand-made fishcakes, and a vegetable I hadn’t seen before, kind of like a large white radish. She must have bought it in North End because I’d never seen it in our markets.
“It’s a long story,” I answered.
“I don’t mind long stories.”
I didn’t want to go there, but as she wouldn’t let the matter drop, I didn’t have much choice. “Honestly, I don’t remember. After I left school at seventeen, I started foraging, but a few months later, I suffered a head injury that caused me to have amnesia and very bad epileptic seizures. All I remember is waking up in a hospital after the operation that stopped the seizures. My memory of that year never returned.”
“When was the operation?”
“December 2120.”
“And you don’t remember anything about that year? About what you did before the accident or your time in hospital?” she asked.
“Not a thing.”
“Have you tried triggering the missing memories, like going back to the hospital?”
“I’ve been back a few times for checkups, but it didn't spark any memories. I don't think there's anything left to remember, the accident did too much damage.”
We made idle chatter until the meal was ready. As she cooked, my gaze continually strayed to the tantalizing glimpse of her exposed thighs. I tried to fight the impulse, but try as I might, I failed miserably. I was afraid she might catch me ogling her legs and then I’d just die of embarrassment. Fortunately, if she noticed, she said nothing, but acted as though my behaviour was nothing out of the ordinary.
I must admit I was rather confused when she set two places at my small dining table instead of one. Two bowls, two cups, and two plates stacked with bread rolls. She indicated that I should sit and after sitting opposite me, served the oden into both of our bowls. This was a most pleasant surprise. She was gonna eat with me rather than of waiting on me and eating later, as did Newhome’s women. She handed me two wooden sticks.
"You want me to eat with chopsticks?" I asked.
"Yes, please," she replied. There was a twinkle in her eye.
“But I’ve never used them before.”
“You’ll do just fine.”
I picked up the chopsticks and dug into the oden, while she did the same. To my astonishment, I could use the chopsticks quite proficiently.
The oden’s ingredients had been cooked in a soy-flavoured soup, giving them a wonderful flavour, including the potatoes and boiled eggs.
As I watched Nanako noisily slurping down noodles, I gave her a heartfelt smile, which she immediately returned, her eyes sparkling merrily. I was immediately struck by the growing attraction I felt for her, which both confused and surprised me, since we’d known each other for such a short time. If someone had told me a week ago that this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Another thought popped unbidden to my mind. I imagined I married Nanako instead of Sienna. That we ate together like this every day, and that I might have a future filled with joy rather than endless frustration.
I picked up a large piece of radish, which had changed from opaque white to translucent brown. As I did, another 'spike attack' tore ruthlessly through me. Not wanting to concern Nanako, I tried to hide it by concentrating on eating until it passed. The image that accompanied this attack was of a bathroom mirror and a cluttered basin, including two toothbrushes, soaps, shampoo and conditioner, washing-cloths, and cotton balls. I was convinced I had experienced this exact moment before – eating oden with Nanako while seeing this vision, but my rational mind dismissed this as mere nonsense. What’s going on in my head?
My next scheduled check-up with the hospital neurologist was in two days, so I figured I should tell him about these turns. Just in case.
"You okay, Ethan? You look pale all of a sudden."
"Just tired, I guess." I smiled, hoping she hadn't noticed the attack.
She studied me intently, as though trying to see into my mind. I did not want to mention the strange turns that defied all logic so I asked the second question I had been dying to ask her. “When are you and Councillor Okada returning to Hamamachi?” I dreaded she might answer that she would return tomorrow. She had brought such light into my gloomy, dark life and I didn’t want her to go.
“Your town council is preparing a selection of items that Newhome manufactures and wishes to offer in trade with Hamamachi. As soon as they are ready, your Custodians will escort the samples and Councillor Okada back to Hamamachi.”
“But what about you? Aren’t you going with them?” I asked, thinking she had left her name out by accident.
“No, I’m not going back."
"What, why not?"
"Because there's something here I want,” she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her slightly upturned mouth.
I wracked my mind, trying to think what she was referring to. “Oh, and what is this thing you want?”
She giggled. “Oh Ethan, you’re a smart guy, but sometimes you aren’t too bright.”
I thought there was a compliment in there somewhere, and a massive hint of what she wanted, but try as I might, the answer eluded me. “You’re not gonna tell me what it is?”
“Nope, you’ll have to work it out by yourself.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m glad it’s keeping you here,” I said.
“And why’s that?” She leaned forward, her gaze suddenly intense.
I blushed, turning bright red in the process, no doubt. “So you can keep making me these marvellous meals.” Which of course, was not the reason at all. I wanted to tell her it was because I wanted to keep seeing her – sharing meals with her, talking to her, and daydreaming about the impossible.
“Is that right?” she smirked. “In that case, I’ll make you udon tomorrow night – you’ll love it.”
“Can we make it the day after? I have to go out tomorrow night,” I said as I served myself another potato and fish ball.
“Really – where are you going?”
I squirmed in my seat and looked at my hands as I replied. “My father's chosen my bride and our families are meeting at six tomorrow night to finalise the wedding date.”
Nanako choked and sprayed a mouthful of water over the table, her eyes wide with horror and dismay. “Who is this girl?”
I could only glance at her as I replied miserably. “Remember Sergeant King, the leader of the Custodians who helped rescue you on Monday? It’s his younger sister. I met her last night for the first time.”
"Do you…love her?" Her voice waivered as her eyes bore holes through mine.
"No, of course not," I replied without hesitation. "All she cares about is using the marriage to help her get into North End. My father told her father I am capable of accomplishing anything."
"Then tell your father you won't marry her," she said.
“I can’t,” I replied sadly. “All marriages in Newhome are arranged by the fathers. The children have no say in the matter.”
“That's crazy," she said, and then after a long pause, "When do you think the marriage will take place?"
"Probably within the next two months."
At that news, her face paled quite considerably. “Where are you meeting with them tomorrow night?”
“At my parent’s house.”
She nodded and then rose to collect the dirty dishes. She took them to the sink and washed them, making no further attempt at conversation. I put the leftovers in a plastic container and left them on the bench to cool down.
After that, we adjourned to the sofa and although I tried to draw her into conversation, I soon gave up. If she responded at all, it was never more than a word or two.
Her reaction clearly had something to do with my impending marriage, but I could not understand why she took it so badly. We barely knew each other. I had assumed her interest was only to repay the debt she thought she owed me for saving her life, but with her cryptic comments tonight, I suspected that was not the case. And if it wasn’t, then what was her purpose in pursuing me?
"I had best head back, it is getting late," she said as she retrieved what appeared to be a working Smartphone from her pocket.
I watched in childlike wonder as she activated it. "Councillor? Owatta. Hai hai, ja, mata."
"Your phone works/" I virtually squeaked when I found my voice.
"Certainly does."
"But, their batteries are all dead, the digital programming has perished, and there are no satellites to connect them to," I protested.
"That was the case, but we’ve learned how to repair them and make new batteries. We even found a suitable satellite that survived the Apocalypse."
"I'm impressed," I practically drooled. It occurred to me that if I had one of those phones I could talk to Nanako any time. I couldn't just come out and say that. It would be too forward. So I said, "Hey, if I had one too, could I talk to anyone?"
She nodded, though without enthusiasm. "Well, the only people you'd know with Smartphones are Councillor Okada and me."
"Then maybe I could ring you?"
There was a sharp rap at the door before she could answer. Councillor Okada had arrived. I don't know where he had been this evening, but it was obviously close by.
I hurried to open the door and returned the councillor's polite bow. As Nanako joined him, I studied her downcast face and wished there was something, anything, I could do to lift her spirits again. "Thank you for a wonderful evening and delicious meal, Nanako," I said.
She didn't reply, but rose to her toes and pecked a light kiss on my cheek. She turned and left with the councillor without a backward glance.
I glanced quickly about to see if any Custodians were around to see her leave my apartment, but was relieved that none were in sight.
After I closed the door, I slid to the floor and just sat there, at a loss. I touched the cheek she had kissed, and my emotions and thoughts swept into a storm of confusion. I hated to see her so sad. It tore me up inside, as did the fact that the night ended on such a negative note.
I hadn't even confirmed if she was still coming over the evening after next.