The Day Human Kind Were Taken

People to Meet

A second later they turned toward the door spotting me. The boy was more attractive than I originally thought. He had piercing deep dark brown eyes paired with shaggy black hair.  Perched on his thin nose was a pair of clear-rimmed glasses. He wore a plain white singlet with impressive biceps and a pair of stone-washed jeans. I flushed what a ridiculous thought.

"Uh, hi?" I said uncertainty, my nerves leaking into my voice.

"Hi" he said slightly cheekily, a charming smile on his face.

Grr, why was he so distractingly handsome.  Stay focused, WHY DID HE HAVE MY BAG!?

The boy stared for a second then said. "I went to find your bag.  A man on floor 12 put it in the hall."

He went to find my bag? That was awfully nice of him to do for someone he didn't know.

"Thanks." I said a few seconds too late. "It was really nice of you."

He eyed me for a moment. My cousin must be taller than me since her red shirt was to big for me. It looked really big on me since I couldn't fill out the front, I flushed pink.  I wondered for a moment what she, my cousin, was like. Was she the same kind friend she was when we were little?   The boy got up and stuck out his hand.

"Hi I'm Takenaka Noboru," He said with a awkward smile his eyes still alit with mischief.

I shook his hand a feeling of uneasiness rose in my throat, my stomach filled with red hot butterflies. "Isla." My voice cracked.

Takenaka released my hand and laughed a bit. This boy was really arrogant. Would it hurt to show some respect? He laughed again, I must have pulled a sour face, and waved goodbye. Somehow in the hour I had been in Tokyo I had already embarrassed myself multiple times.  Life here was going to be harder than I thought, but it was still a fresh start. I could be who ever I wanted to be and no one would be wiser.

I take my suitcase to my new room to begin unpacking. My Aunt ducked her head in once or twice to see how I was going but otherwise I was left to unpack in peace. I sat on my new bed and fiddle with the course edge of my bug net. I had hung the photos of Mum, myself and my friends on the left wall and put all my clothes in the tiny wardrobe in the corner. There was nothing left to do but sit and stare at my new room. It was small but it had a kind of cozy feel, I would cope.

I stared out the window, all I could see was the neighbouring bland building. I could hear car motors, loud voices, honking but no birds. It was awful, there was no nature here. I would greatly miss the little garden we had in Sweden, the gorgeous flowers that reflected all the colors of the rainbow, the little birds that sat high in the apple trees branches singing to the sky each mourning. The cute little fairy doors that were tucked behind a flower pot, or stuck into the tree would be sorely missed as well. But most of all I would miss the little bench that Mum and I would sit on. She would sing merry songs with odd lyrics and the birds would fly over and add their cheeping to the melody. She would weave brightly colored flowers into my long golden hair and I would feel so at peace. Imagining my hippie like Mum brought back the sense of wrongness to my stomach. I missed her already but I didn't dare to touch my phone, not yet.

The noise of the front door opening snapped me out of my pitiful daze. A group of female voices saying their goodbyes washed over me before the door closed again. I guess that means Mamiko was here now.

I heave myself up off my little bed and walk back into the living room. Inside was a pretty girl who was very obviously half Swedish and half Japanese. She had long glossy black hair, a tall thin stature, clear skin and full lips. We didn't look related at all, she was all Disney princess with her strapless lavender dress while I was looked overly nerdy.

I raise my hand awkwardly, "Hey...." 

I didn't quiet know what else to say, my nervousness was rapidly becoming plain obvious.

I stumbled forward over my own feet into the white couch. The top dug into my hands as I caught myself. Great now my cousin thinks I'm an idiot too.

Mamiko smothered a giggle.

"Nice shirt." She said after a moment of awkward silence.

I look down, I had forgotten about my improvised borrowing.

"Errr, sorry. Some girl at the airport spilt her drink on mine and the elevator stole my bag soo...." I said without thinking. I probably sounded inconsiderate. "I'm sorry, pink fruit juice and white shirts don't mix to well, do you want it back?" I attempt to amend tripping over my words probably making my first statement look good.

"Nah keep it, I never liked it much. Consider it a housewarming present." Mamiko giggled.

Housewarming present to me? That was nice of her. Mamiko did look extremely feminine, maybe it wasn't pretty enough for her.

Mamiko  gracefully swept herself onto the couch beside her mother leaving me awkwardly standing there. Seconds ticked by and I was frozen, what should I be doing? I wanted to move but I couldn't, I felt like a fool. I stare down at my feet again, my gangly legs threatening to knock into each other.

It looked like this trip was going to be one of the hardest, most embarrassing things I had ever done. But maybe, just maybe I could make it work.