Dark Secret (Novella)

"Dark Secret" - Chapter Four

          Emma had two days before her classes in the nearby university started. Even though she was exhausted and a bit jet-lagged from her trip, she decided to be productive and unpack all her things from her suitcases. 

 She put up more pictures of her families and friends around the wall, and put up a print out flag of Canada and Japan and put them above her bed. 

After an hour she was able to decorate her room, and she finished up by putting a picture frame of her family on her desk. She looked around the room, even more tired, but also satisfied with the change in her room. It looked much more homely now. 

She put away her suitcases in the space under her bed and sighed. She looked out her window and saw that the sun was still bright and warm; she decided to go outside to take some pictures around the neighborhood. She grabbed her Nikon D3100 and her sunglasses and headed outside. 

The moment Emma stepped outside, a surprisingly cool breeze greeted her; it was still May so the infamous heat was still not present. She put on her sunglasses and started strolling aimlessly down the road, when she noticed the Tanaka family’s next-door neighbor was watering his garden. Behind him two children, a boy and a girl, were playing soccer together. 

When Emma walked by, the kids stopped passing their soccer ball and looked at Emma curiously. 

The boy ran to his dad and said, “Papa! Gaijin!” 

Emma smiled as she recognized what the boy was saying. “Gaijin” was a word used to describe any type of foreigner in Japan. Emma has heard from her teacher that children would call foreigners “gaijin” loudly, even if they knew the foreigner would hear it. 

The father stopped watering his plants and looked up to where Emma has now stopped walking. He smiled bowed slightly and Emma smiled back and bowed as well. Emma waved to the children as well and they shyly waved back. Emma was about to walk on when she saw another little girl looking at her curiously from the upstairs window. Emma smiled and waved at her too, but instead of smiling back like the other kids, she quickly disappeared. The father had already returned to watering his plants, but the other two children looked up to their upstairs window, and back at Emma, looking confused. 

Emma decided to continue on her little adventure of taking pictures around her neighborhood. As she continued walking on, she found a small community park. As it was a sunny day outside, little children were playing with their friends; some where on the swings, and others on the jungle gym. 

Emma approached the children and introduced herself to them in Japanese. They were very friendly and when she asked for their permission to be photographed, they accepted and went on to play with each other again. 

Emma squatted down and started doing what she likes best, photography. She took a brilliant picture of one of the girl laughing with her friends. Another one of a boy swinging to the highest point with the sun glinting behind him. She kept snapping pictures until she felt like it was enough, and thanked the children for being hospitable. 

Later that day, during dinner, Mr. Tanaka asked what Emma was up to that day. 

“Well I went to take pictures around the neighborhood. I also met your neighbor.”

Mr. Tanaka smiled and nodded. “That is the Morimoto family. Mr. Morimoto has been my friend since our college days. His wife is also a good friend of my wife’s. They work together at the local supermarket.” 

“He seemed really friendly, and his kids too,” Emma agreed. 

“So I see you met Makoto and Nanami. They’re such good kids. Both of them are so nice to our children as well.” Mrs. Tanaka added from across the table. 

“What about the other kid? What’s her name?” 

Mrs. Tanaka looked up from her dish with a confused expression. 

“Who?”

“I saw three children at your neighbor’s house today. A boy and two girls.” Emma explained.

Both Mr. Tanaka and Mrs. Tanaka looked at each other, and seemed to think for a bit. 

Ami addressed her family. “It might have been Keiko, their cousin?” 

“Or their friend, Megumi, that comes over often.” Ai added. 

Mr. Tanaka nodded in agreement. “Yes, I would think it was one of them.” 

After dinner, Emma decided to upload her pictures on her computer so she could edit them and put them up on Facebook for her friends and family to see. While she clicked through the photos of that day, she paused as she saw the mysterious girl from her neighbor’s house in one of her park pictures. She was sitting on one of the swings, looking aloof and lonely. How had Emma not notice that girl in the park earlier? Emma stared at the girl’s sad eyes through the screen, and it felt as though the girl in the photo was looking right back at her.