Threads of Us

Chapter One

"Ring, Ring!" Li jing woke up to the sound of ringing. At first, she thought it was her alarm clock, going off at the wrong time. But her husband, Kiyoshi, sat up in his bed, his eyes half closed as he fumbled for his phone. He sat on the edge of the bed, pressing the neon green button on his phone. As soon as the ringing stopped, Li Jing pressed the pillow against her face, hoping to quickly fall back asleep. "Hello?" Kiyoshi greeted, his tone switching to lively and friendly, which he always did when talking to anyone. Li Jing could only faintly hear the voice on the other end of the phone, but she could tell it sounded distressed. Kiyoshi had his back turned to her, so she couldn't tell how severe the situation was, but she stayed aware and awake. Li Jing noticed his grip on the phone tighten. "Please tell me you aren't serious, mother?" Kiyoshi's voice quivered. Miss Ito never called Kiyoshi unless it was something important. Really important. "I'll be there tomorrow." Then silence. Kiyoshi rested his phone on his lap, slumping over, and staring out the bedroom window, out at the beautiful lit up city. But, the mood in the room made the city's lights seem dark. Li Jing sat up, covering herself in the blanket, as it was cold that night. "Kiyo..." Li Jing trailed off, unsure of what to say. She didn't know the severity of the situation, making her careful of what to say, since she didn't want to make Kiyoshi more upset. "What happened..?" She waited, but he didn't answer. "Kiyosh-" He interrupted her, his voice shaking, with a mix of confusion and distraught. "Nanami's gone." He said it so quickly, Li Jing didn't process it right away. But she could basically hear the tears in his eyes. "Gone? Like, she ran away?.... Or..." Li Jing only met Nanami a few times, and she was very energetic, and competitive. Nanami was Kiyoshi's younger sister, and controlled the family company in Japan, which is where Kiyoshi lived before he joined Li Jing and her daughter in New York in order to control the company in New York as well as Japan. "Kiyoshi..." Li Jing reached over to put her hand on his shoulder, but he stood up the second her hand brushed his shoulder. "I'm going to go get a drink." He stood up, walking around the bed and leaving the room, closing the door silently behind him. That was the first time Kiyoshi pushed her away, or anyone, really. He was known for being incredibly kind, helping anyone and everyone, he was patient and always understanding. Li Jing pondered going down to talk to him, but then asked herself; "What would Beth say?" Beth was Li Jing's cousin and best friend, who always did the right thing. She decided to leave him alone, letting him think.

The next morning was just as beautiful as the night before, the warm golden light shining through the large windows, and the bustling city down below. Recently, their neighborhood in Manhattan has been much more calm then usual, and not as trashy. When Li Jing awoke, she expected Kiyoshi to be back in bed, but he wasn't. She slipped on her robe and hurried downstairs, where she found breakfast already cooked and out on the table. But, only two plates. "Kiyoshi?" Li Jing called. He didn't answer. Li Jing trudged tiredly back upstairs, and entered Kiyoshi's office. The faint smell of dandelions hit Li Jing as she entered. Kiyoshi sat at his desk, seemingly working to distract himself. But as Li Jing got closer, she saw that he was looking at pictures. Pictures of him and Nanami. "Kiyoshi, listen." Li Jing hugged Kiyoshi from behind, her long black hair falling in front of his face. He brushed her hair away, and before Li Jing could continue, he interrupted. "I made breakfast, since it's six am and Lin should wake up at any time." Lin was Li Jing's daughter from a relationship before she married Kiyoshi. She was fifteen, and very smart for her age. Li Jing thought for a moment, wanting to talk, but assured herself it wasn't the time. Before letting go of Kiyoshi and opening the door to leave, she said one last thing "Honey, please, let's talk after Lin leaves for school." Kiyoshi stayed quiet, but nodded ever so slightly. Li Jing closed the door gently and went downstairs again. This time, Lin was awake. Her pure black shoulder length hair with blonde highlights glittered under the lit window near the table, where she ate. "Lin darling, I recommend staying away from Kiyoshi for the time being." Li Jing sat at the table, lifting the fork to start eating the breakfast Kiyoshi prepared for them. "What? Why?" Lin stopped eating for a moment, and stopped scrolling on her phone. Li Jing sighed. "It's not something you need to know. Yet." She paused for a moment. "But; He does need to leave for a few days. By airplane." Lin bit her lip, thinking it might just be some business trip that Kiyoshi is stressed to pursue. "Aight-" Lin said, placing her fork onto her empty plate and skipping up the stairs to her room. After a moment, Li Jing turned to the stairs and walked up them. Upon entering her bedroom, she pulled out a tight gray dress. She slipped it on along with her sparkly silver high heels. She wasn't going anywhere today, but she planned on going onto the balcony. So of course she had to look good incase anyone saw her. After all, Li Jing was an extremely famous singer, who rose to fame as the "World's Youngest Music Artist" when she was just eleven. She was able to sing, play the guitar, piano, and violin, as well. Li Jing unlocked the door to the balcony in her room and stepped outside. Immediately hit by the cool but hot air. The city bustled by, even though Li Jing lived in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Manhattan, it was still Manhattan. She picked up her guitar. Black hair flapping into her face every once and a while. She tied the guitar's band to her shoulder and placed her hand on the strings. Down below, she heard laughing. She peered over the railing and saw Lin walking with Madison to school. Madison was Lin's best friend, and was always very proper. Compared to Lin, she was very quiet. "Oh." Li Jing said, putting the guitar down on its pedestal. Though disappointed that she wasn't able to play yet, she had promised to talk to Kiyoshi once Lin left for school.