Red Spring

The bright and sunny Spring day had an overlaying layer of dread.  The wind blown leaves and rays of sunshine had an unsettling gloom about them. An unwavering feeling waged upon me as I made my way to the Kurosawa estate. I had not been to this place in a long time.

             I wished I did not have to go, but the pressure of power of the both of our families was to immense. The one person I dreaded most to see was Kurosawa, Jun. He had betrayed me. He went behind my back and did the most despicable of things. I tried to forgive him but it had not worked out. He never cared; it was not in his nature.

             He was naive and aloof. He cared only for his personal gain. No matter how much you warned him of the dangers of his actions he went on with them anyway. He was strong willed in that matter but he had one down fall. He had an unknown flaw to most everyone, except for me. His weakness was not pride or lust but gluttony. He wanted and wanted; that's all he did. One could have given him 10 million yen and he'd say, "Is that all — humph — well, I deserve more." He never appreciated a single gift. He always wanted more.

                These careless thoughts flooded my brain as I rode up to the estate, sat upon my stallion. I was greeted by the servants. One took my horse off to the stables and the two others led me into the large mansion.

             The building had not changed much since I was last here. There was the same splitting wood door frame and the same algae covered coy pond out front. I could feel my heart tighten as I ascended the stairs behind the two servants. Memories washed over me as we went further and further through the house. Finally stopping at a door, that I presumed was Jun's office, I felt something snap inside me. It was something I tried to bury for the occasion but it was back again and I knew it wasn't leaving anytime soon.

            The servants had long but left but I still stood outside the door. Anger was now what festered inside my body. The euphoric memories that filled my mind had dispersed. All that was left was the uncontrollable hate I had for the man on the other side of the door. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself but I knew it would just be a hoax to get through this meeting. Finally with enough of my anger suppressed I opened the door.

            The first person i saw was Jun's mother, Haru. She was a kind women, however she was oblivious to her son's actions. Past her, at a large, ornately made desk , was Jun. His dark hair was pulled up into a topknot and his noble garb was flamboyantly colored. I could tell they didn't realize my presence and that was to be expected. I was never had a very strong air about me.

         Finally after about a minute of them not acknowledging me I gave a deep bow and bellowed, "Sorry for the intrusion. I was said to meet Kurosawa, Jun here." I lifted my head and straightened my back to see the two of them staring at me. I could see a mix of emotions in their eyes. Haru looked happy but somewhat sad and I didn't know why. When I looked into Jun's eyes they were cold, almost as if he didn't want me here. That was probably the truth but he hid it well, as lying was one of his many talents.

        "Hello Emi." Jun greeted, rising from his chair. Wow, he didn't even have the decency to use my full name! I should have seen it coming but it still made me angry. Haru rushed over to me. Giving me a slight bow , she politely said, "Nice to see you Watanabe. It has been so long since you were here last." I gave a slight grin to reassure her and replied, "Indeed it has Mrs. Kurosawa. I would also like to give my respects for the loss of Mr. Kurosawa. He was a good man." She nodded with tears glistening in her eyes.

        "Enough with the idle chat. We must get to business." Jun stated, sitting back down in his seat with a huff, "Mother could you please excuse yourself." His mother gave a weak node and left, only turning back to give me one last glance. I walked closer to the table. "Why did you call me here?" I asked bluntly. He gave a smirk and I could feel my anger rising again. "As you must know , my father died" He replied, the smirk vanishing from his face. "Yes, I am well informed" I said as best I could without letting my anger seep out.