My Karate Kid 3

Chapter 3 ~Mr Miygai's Little Trees

"What a moment! What a moment! You are now crossing over to the right side of the tracks." Marie smiled at Daniel's amusement as the train in front of them finally passed, allowing them to drive over the tracks as Daniel knocked on his door.

"What that?" Mr Miyagi asked, confused by the banging.

"That's opportunity knocking. Straight ahead. Right up there.Your dream come true, and there's plenty of free parking. Right here, Mr. Miyagi." Marie winced a bit as her eyes landed on the run down store, stopping right in front of it.

"This place?" She asked, trying to seem excited for Daniel's sake.

"This place. Wait till you see it up close." Mr Miyagi shut off the car as the trio exited, walking towards the store. "So, is this the opportunity of a lifetime or what?" Daniel asked, smiling as he gestured to the store. Almost like he could read Mr Miyagi and Marie's thoughts, he continued.

"Now, I know you're worried about this area, but the landlord says this neighbourhood is up and coming. We're in on the ground floor over here. Look, a pottery shop across the street. We could set a deal, get some planters made up for the bonsai." Daniel was rambling at this point, very excited as Marie and Mr Miyagi followed him to the door. "Wait till you see inside, man. This is going to be great. This is going to be great."

Mr Miyagi seemed very timid as he looked around, following after Daniel as he walked inside. "Mr. Miyagi, welcome to your dream." Marie had to bite her tongue to keep a straight face as she observed the inside, which pretty much matched the outside of the store. Mr Miyagi was clearly worse at hiding his reaction.

"Now don't let this throw you. Looks can be deceiving. We have to think potential here." Daniel began pointing to everything around them. "Think potential, all right? You see all this stuff? Everything in here? You own it. Everything. It's all yours. You could use this stuff. This is good wood. We can make shelves out of this stuff. Back here, I thought this would be a great spot... up here, to do like a bonsai display. All those pine trees you have? We could show them in different stages. You know, the possibilities are endless." Marie and Mr Miyagi followed after Daniel as he walked around, showing his ideas.

"Over here, right, I thought this would be a great spot...for a little work area. Over here we got like a bonsai hospital. The little guys get sick. Take care of them. I work for free. And I thought of a name. Check it out. "Mr. Miyagi's Little Trees. " Simple, direct, catchy." Daniel continued. " It doesn't look it now, but this place is a gold mine. I know you can make it work, Mr. Miyagi. If anyone can, you can." Marie looked over at Mr Miyagi, who was shaking his head at the least, which confused her.

"What did I do? Did I forget something?" Daniel asked, his tone shifting to worry.

"Hai."

"Well, what did I miss?" Daniel asked.

"Your names on lease, next to mine." Marie's breath caught in her throat as she bit her tongue. She threw a fake smile onto her face as Daniel moved over, excited.

"Partners?" Daniel asked, a large smile on his face.

"Partners." Miyagi said with a nod.

"Yes! Mr. Miyagi, this is gonna be great." As Daniel thanked Mr Miyagi, Marie died on the inside, keeping the smile on her face.

She hadn't told either Daniel or Mr Miyagi she was leaving. And the fact that she had to was tearing her apart.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey guys." Marie spoke as she walked into Mr Miyagi's little trees the next morning. In her arms was a small bonsai that Mr Miyagi had gifted to her a while back. Marie's plan was to bring a few bonsai over before she left, knowing she wouldn't be able to take care of them properly.