My Modern Kaidan: Meibatsu

Chapter 4

I run a brush through my hair and apply a coat of lip balm. The search for the truth will have to wait today, because today is Kenji Iwata's birthday. Well, actually it was last weekend but his family was out of town.

I flash a cheeky peace sign at the mirror, then sigh a full, lip sputtering sigh. Never the kawaii Japanese girl, always the awkward hafu.

But maybe that's okay. Kenji and I have been getting along great lately and he's become one of my closest friends at school. Of course, that could stem from the absence of Miyako Nishihara, who I haven't seen since I watched her emerge from hiding that day on the news.

Although, I will have to walk by Miyako's house today, I think begrudgingly as I grab Kenji's present, a navy blue Banks beanie, off my dresser.

But nothing, including Miyako's stupid house, could keep me from seeing this beanie pulled over Kenji Iwata's adorably handsome face.

My hair is just as determined to stick to my lips the whole way as I am to finally get there but when I do I'm lucky enough to catch Kenji outside. He's gripping two large wooden buckets as he makes his way around the side of the house.

"Kenji," I say, waving.

He turns and looks at me, then sets the buckets onto the ground.

"Tanjoubi omedetou," I tell him, most likely mangling my pronunciation as usual, so I add, "Happy birthday."

He grins sheepishly. "Thank you," he says. "Amaya-san."

I hold up the paper gift bag with his gift inside.

"Ah?" he says, raising his eyebrows. He picks the buckets back up and nods me forward. "Down there."

I follow Kenji past the house, where the grass gradually slopes into the woods behind the neighborhood. A few steps past the first row of trees sits a small brick building no bigger than a garden shed, clinging precariously to the side of the hill.

"What's this?" I ask.

Kenji sets one bucket down and opens a wrought iron gate, green and speckled with moss. My ears instantly prick up to the sound of running water.

"It's a spring," Kenji explains.

"Oh," I say.

"We use it to brew the tea," he continues, but my apprehension must be noticeable. "Anooo. . .you can wait here," he tells me, picking up the other bucket and stepping inside the tiny shelter.

I wait outside, frozen in place. He disappears into the darkness but I can hear one bucket dip into the water and the thunk thunk of the current hitting the wood. A minute later I hear the winding of a pulley system creaking and groaning as he pulls it up. I should be in there, watching all that, I think, mad at myself. I haven't told Kenji all the details of that night at my house, that the fountain in our garden has been dry ever since and the sound of moving water churns my stomach.

Kenji returns, toting two full buckets of silkily clear water.

I hand him the gift bag, and he takes it tentatively, before lifting the beanie out. "Waaa," he murmurs, glancing up the hill towards his house before smiling back at me. "Suge." He pulls it over his head, strands of thick black hair splaying out like branches above his eyebrows, then crosses his arms and makes a very serious face.

My heart folds into itself, an origami crane that flies into my throat and then my brain, its wings slicing neurons so that all I manage to do is offer a simple thumbs up.

He grins and cute Kenji is almost as good as the smoldering one. "I have a surprise too."

"Huh?" I say.

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a silver keychain, the arched H of the Honda symbol catching a flicker of sunlight.

I gasp. "Kenji, did you get your license?"

He dons a mischievous poker face and I follow him as he moves steadily back up the hill, dropping the buckets of water on the porch and rapping at the backdoor before leading me around the side of the house to the driveway and a waiting white Honda Jazz.

"It was my mother's," Kenji says, rubbing the back of his neck.

I nod. "It's great."

"Want to go?" he asks me, the lock clicking open.

"Okay," I say, my heart beating in my neck. I get into the passenger's seat as the engine whirls to life. "I didn't know your mom was into this kind of stuff," I say over the Japanese rap that comes out of the stereo.

Kenji turns the volume down haphazardly. "This isn't my first drive," he says, turning to me. "Demo, you are my first passenger."

I lean forward, pretending to check my seatbelt so my hair brushes over my blushing cheeks.

The island is only so big and the trip to town to pick up a shipment of leaves for Kenji's family's business doesn't take long. On the way back, he takes the long way along the coastline, a winding road that hovers precariously over steep rocks.

While the view outside is beautiful, I know I've seen the ocean a thousand times. What I haven't seen so much but could get used to is the way Kenji's strong hands grip the steering wheel, or how the sleeve of his shirt creeps up and down the curves and grooves of his upper arm as he turns it. I lean back, pretending to look out his side of the windshield.

I don't know what causes my eyes to shift over but they do just as thick, white steel rises into view.

My breath stills in my throat.

The way we're approaching it makes this place unmistakable. We're headed towards the bridge where Sachi died.

"Amaya?" Kenji says. "Are you okay?"

My body is so tense but I can't seem to relax no matter how hard I try.

"Are you scared of bridges?" he asks me, sounding far away.

"No," I say. "Maybe just this one."

I feel him slow the car down for my sake as the tires of the car cross over onto the bridge. I stare at the guardrail as we edge towards the outermost corner of the bridge. It's almost mesmerizing until something breaks my view. Pale legs under a billowing blue skirt. Someone walking on the side of the road. No, I think as I stare into my empty passenger's side window. Nobody there. A mist has begun to creep in from the coastline, blanketing the road as our car zooms on just out of reach.

I slide down in my seat. I can't take it anymore. I need to know the truth.

Please comment the kpop or jpop star I should cast Kenji as when My Modern Kaidan is made into a movie.