Daughter Of A Dancing Girl
~The Promise Of Another Tomorrow~
~The Promise Of Another Tomorrow~
Okay, so I said I was going to write a book and here it is. I'm thinking of various things as I go.
A small summary:
Sarah Walsh, a 13 year-old girl living in a wealthy English family one day finds out that she's different. Different as in Japanese. As she sets out to find her real parents she encounters many people both good and bad.
But it's not simple to just jump in on a plane to Japan, she is living in the early 20th century, a time when Japan was still little-known. Join her in a quest to find her family, past and future.
With many various surprises, I hope you like it!
k, here's chapter one which starts off with Toshiko (Sarah's real name) as an old lady of 80 telling her life story to others. She introduces her sons and daughters and gives a little insight of what she's reached. The current year is somewhere in the 1990s.
Chapter 1
I was sitting in a small tatami room, looking ahead to the enchanting garden through the glass screen door. Many an occasion a gentle gust of wind would enter the room and brush itself against my skin like a purring cat. It played with my grey hair as if it were a single ball of thread. I knew I had little time before my grandchildren return from school so I decided to spend twenty minutes meditating. As I meditated I felt my spirit soar into the skies and join the passing clouds. I was in such a state I was completely oblivious to the fact that my whole body was shuddering.
"Hey, granmama, wake up!" I heard a familiar voice of a boy, followed by laughter from other children. It was music to my ears. Alas, in my mind I was hit by a plane and began to fall back into my body.
"She's meditating, " I heard a much older, feminine voice "Leave her."
"No, let them stay," I said suddenly opening my eyes. The whole room was filled with children of various ages. They are my great-grandchildren. I flexed my body and turned around to face a tall, middle-aged yet beautiful lady. Kyomi, my daughter.
"Are you sure?" she flashed her smile. I nodded, ignoring the newly formed wrinkles on her lips. One little girl, Aikomi was her name, rushed to me and cuddled my arm. She had big, juicy cheeks which I would've loved to pinch... Although Aikomi was the most spoiled child in the family she certainly wasn't mean or cocky.
"Are you going to tell us one of your stories, grandma Toshiko?" she asked, and as soon as she said it all of the chikdren (there were roughly around 10) surrounded me with curious eyes.
"I don't know..." Kyomi frowned. I rolled my eyes. Sure I'm quite old, 89-years-old, but I always felt like a child. I wasn't allowed to do many things such as cook or clean. As if I enjoyed doing those things anyway. The thing that I'm actually angry about is not being allowed to fight. Being a daughter of a fighter I was born with a katana in my arms. And while others may feel that a katana is as heavy as a bucket of water, to me, it was as light as a single rose petal.
I am old and I feel that my tree of life has only one leaf left before it dies away. But that only proved I had one more thing left to do in this life.
"Kyomi!" I called my daughter "Call everyone you know in the Gion and invite them for tea tommorow evening."
"Why?"
"You'll see for youself when the time comes. Tell 'em Nakamura's daughter calls them."
"Who is Nakamura, mother?"
"It doesn't matter for heaven sake!" I yelled, I wasn't sure if it was from excitement or anger, "Just do what I say. Invite them over tommorow evening around 6:00pm, understand?"
"Yes, I'll invite as many people as I can." she nodded, a bit confused and ran off, while the children (who were long gone from the room) played in the garden, their laughter echoed inside of me. I couldn't wait to tell them of my own childhood, which I never had.
It's today that I feel like that last leaf on a tree barely holding on as the wind trie to separate it from the branch. But I was still strong for the time being.
We all sat in a large room of a teahouse. The whole room was crowded with people I knew. The screen doors kept on opening and closing, making a sort of a sighing noise. The light outside dimmed, announcing the late hours of summer, and the maids lit up some candles to set the mood. The atmosphere became stuffy and I soon realized I was gasping for air. A beautiful geisha with a light green, decorated with golden leaves kimono opened the window next to me to let the fresh air in for me to breathe. I nodded to her and thanked. She bowed down even lower and smiled at me as she sat up. Her smile was so clean and perfect I felt as if I was in the presence of a Holiwood star, I couldn't help but stare. She immedeately hid her teeth behind her blood-red lips and excused herself. As I followed her with my eyes I felt I should've told her how beautiful her smile was, now she probably thinks the exact opposite.
"Excuse me, everyone!" Kyomi spoke louder trying to quench the loud murmur. She stood up and gently shushed everyone. Not so polite in my case... "My mother and I are very thankful that you have all found the time to come here tonight. Some of you I called were from different parts of the world, we hope to help you relax in finest hotels here in Gion."
"So, why did you call so many of us?" Said someone in the far corner of the room. Kyomi was in a loss of words and glanced at me.
"You came here to say goodbye to me," I said, not bothering to speak up because I was already the most important person in the room. People gasped. Kyomi lowered herself and kneeled down, her eyes on me. I laughed, although it felt like a caugh. "Well what did you expect, a wedding? No, you came to hear a real story from me."
I heard murmur, I knew there were grown men and women, too old for fairy-tales. However, I knew I had to tell them.
"I didn't start off as a geisha, you know. Neither as a village girl," I began. The people's voices were louder than before. I continued speaking through. them. No one listened. This maddened me.
"Hey, granmama, wake up!" I heard a familiar voice of a boy, followed by laughter from other children. It was music to my ears. Alas, in my mind I was hit by a plane and began to fall back into my body.
"She's meditating, " I heard a much older, feminine voice "Leave her."
"No, let them stay," I said suddenly opening my eyes. The whole room was filled with children of various ages. They are my great-grandchildren. I flexed my body and turned around to face a tall, middle-aged yet beautiful lady. Kyomi, my daughter.
"Are you sure?" she flashed her smile. I nodded, ignoring the newly formed wrinkles on her lips. One little girl, Aikomi was her name, rushed to me and cuddled my arm. She had big, juicy cheeks which I would've loved to pinch... Although Aikomi was the most spoiled child in the family she certainly wasn't mean or cocky.
"Are you going to tell us one of your stories, grandma Toshiko?" she asked, and as soon as she said it all of the chikdren (there were roughly around 10) surrounded me with curious eyes.
"I don't know..." Kyomi frowned. I rolled my eyes. Sure I'm quite old, 89-years-old, but I always felt like a child. I wasn't allowed to do many things such as cook or clean. As if I enjoyed doing those things anyway. The thing that I'm actually angry about is not being allowed to fight. Being a daughter of a fighter I was born with a katana in my arms. And while others may feel that a katana is as heavy as a bucket of water, to me, it was as light as a single rose petal.
I am old and I feel that my tree of life has only one leaf left before it dies away. But that only proved I had one more thing left to do in this life.
"Kyomi!" I called my daughter "Call everyone you know in the Gion and invite them for tea tommorow evening."
"Why?"
"You'll see for youself when the time comes. Tell 'em Nakamura's daughter calls them."
"Who is Nakamura, mother?"
"It doesn't matter for heaven sake!" I yelled, I wasn't sure if it was from excitement or anger, "Just do what I say. Invite them over tommorow evening around 6:00pm, understand?"
"Yes, I'll invite as many people as I can." she nodded, a bit confused and ran off, while the children (who were long gone from the room) played in the garden, their laughter echoed inside of me. I couldn't wait to tell them of my own childhood, which I never had.
It's today that I feel like that last leaf on a tree barely holding on as the wind trie to separate it from the branch. But I was still strong for the time being.
We all sat in a large room of a teahouse. The whole room was crowded with people I knew. The screen doors kept on opening and closing, making a sort of a sighing noise. The light outside dimmed, announcing the late hours of summer, and the maids lit up some candles to set the mood. The atmosphere became stuffy and I soon realized I was gasping for air. A beautiful geisha with a light green, decorated with golden leaves kimono opened the window next to me to let the fresh air in for me to breathe. I nodded to her and thanked. She bowed down even lower and smiled at me as she sat up. Her smile was so clean and perfect I felt as if I was in the presence of a Holiwood star, I couldn't help but stare. She immedeately hid her teeth behind her blood-red lips and excused herself. As I followed her with my eyes I felt I should've told her how beautiful her smile was, now she probably thinks the exact opposite.
"Excuse me, everyone!" Kyomi spoke louder trying to quench the loud murmur. She stood up and gently shushed everyone. Not so polite in my case... "My mother and I are very thankful that you have all found the time to come here tonight. Some of you I called were from different parts of the world, we hope to help you relax in finest hotels here in Gion."
"So, why did you call so many of us?" Said someone in the far corner of the room. Kyomi was in a loss of words and glanced at me.
"You came here to say goodbye to me," I said, not bothering to speak up because I was already the most important person in the room. People gasped. Kyomi lowered herself and kneeled down, her eyes on me. I laughed, although it felt like a caugh. "Well what did you expect, a wedding? No, you came to hear a real story from me."
I heard murmur, I knew there were grown men and women, too old for fairy-tales. However, I knew I had to tell them.
"I didn't start off as a geisha, you know. Neither as a village girl," I began. The people's voices were louder than before. I continued speaking through. them. No one listened. This maddened me.