Welcome
back! I have another sample from my current work-in-progress, The Plum
Blossom Covenant. In the previous
three Saturdays, we've met the hero, Yasa Tanaka, his parents, and the heroine,
Yumiko. They're childhood friends, but there's something dark in their past.
Yasa has just returned to Japan from several years in America. Here, they meet
again.
****
Yasa
couldn’t sleep. His mind raced
with all the things he wanted to do once he reached home. He couldn't wait to
see all of his family, of course.
And his many friends. But
most of all there was his pet project, one he had been planning since leaving
America. He had always been
interested in the development of new plants, heartier varieties, and during his
days at the Agricultural College, he had spent more time in the laboratories
than anywhere else. During his
time in America, he had met growers who had generously allowed him to tour
their gardens and examine their plants.
One grower, Hiram Becker, had become a close friend and had actually
given him some plants and seedlings to take home and try. It would be interesting to see if these
plants would grow in the cooler Hokkaido climate.
He
dressed and tiptoed out of the house.
When his mind raced, he needed to walk. He had spent the last two weeks cooped up on the ship, where
walking was limited. Now that he
was back on dry land, he could walk.
He was familiar enough with the area around his uncle’s house - he would
be safe enough. Mindful of his
mother’s tendency to worry, he left a note for her in case she awakened early,
and slid noiselessly into the night.
The
smells of the city assailed him as he made his way to the main street. They were the scents of humans living
in close quarters - rotting garbage, human waste, and bad sake. Yasa held his
breath and walked more quickly to the open area in the marketplace. As he
neared the area, he realized his solitary time was not to be. Angry voices
arose from the crowd gathered there. Three women, one Japanese and two
Caucasian, were surrounded by a group of men. Some of the men waved
papers. Yasa was relieved that
they didn’t seem to pose a physical threat to the women. They were simply
perturbed. Still, it bothered him
to see these men harbored ill will toward the women. What was the problem? He stepped closer.
“You
are poisoning the minds of our women!”
“Take
your idiotic ideas back across the ocean with you!”
Ahh,
the women were feminists. He had
seen some of them in action in America.
The women there were much more outspoken than Japanese women, and some
of them actually wanted women to have the right to vote in elections! Had some of them come over here to get
the Japanese women to join their cause?
Yasa wondered if the women would need help, but a constable’s stern voice broke
through the complaints.
“All
right, men! Leave these women alone! Go on back to your homes before I cite you
for creating a disturbance!”
Grudgingly,
the men left. Yasa shook his head at the difference between this crowd and some
of the crowds he had witnessed in America. In that country, it would have taken
more than one lone constable to break up such a large, noisy crowd. There might
have been physical violence. But here, authority was respected and directions
were followed without question. Yasa looked over at the women, who seemed to
have recovered from their ordeal.
The constable was speaking with them.
“You
ladies need to get to your destination. It is far too late for you to be
walking outside unescorted.”
“I
will accompany them.” Yasa spoke before he could think.
The
three faces swung toward him. One
face looked vaguely familiar -
“Yasa?”
“Yumiko.”
The nickname came on a sigh, and his mind went back in time. Lazy summer days,
fishing at the stream behind his house. Happy times. And one excruciatingly painful
time.
“You
know these women, sir?” The constable’s voice broke into his reverie.
Yuki
shook off the cobwebs in his mind.
“Yes, sir. This woman is a childhood friend. I will see her and her friends safely to their destination.”
The
man nodded and left.
Yasa turned a rueful smile toward his former friend. “So,” he sighed, “we meet
again.”
****
Thanks
for stopping by! Please let me know your thoughts, and make sure to read the
excerpts offered by other authors today. You can find links to their blogs at Sweet Saturday Samples.
If
you want to know about Yasa's parents, be sure to read The Samurai's Garden, published by Astraea Press. You can get it HERE.
