Payback

A Promise Made

Chapter 1

Death is easy. Life is hard. Many people contemplate the meaning of life and seek to improve their life. But what is happiness? What is life? Everyone has different ideas about what can truly make a person happy, but in the end one simple solution doesn't always work. In life we must struggle to survive. We must face hardships in order to live. What is life without challenges? What is life without the dark side? Those who struggle to live are stronger than those who have happiness offered to them. But in this world, the weak survive while the strong perish.

It was a warm spring afternoon in a suburb of Osaka, Japan. The first day of summer is just around the corner, and many people were celebrating the warm weather. I, however, felt ice cold like all of the warmth of my body had left me. My black heels dug into the soft grass beneath them. My black dress hugged the heat of the day to my body as I stood underneath a cherry blossom tree. I stood in front of a freshly dug grave with a tombstone at the other end that read: Here lies Hiroshi Tanaka. Beloved father. Died June 16, 2018.

My father was the only person left in this world that I could rely on. My mother died in a car crash when I was only twelve, and I have no siblings. At least, I didn't think I did until my father told me on his deathbed that I have a younger half-brother. During a time when my parents were separated, I lived with my mother while my father began gambling and picking up young women. A couple years ago a young woman approached him claiming that my father has a son who lives in New York City. He never got in contact with him, and he never saw the woman again. He told me all of this just a few days ago when he was lying in the hospital room dying of lung cancer.

Promise me that you will find him. My father's words echoed inside my head.

"I promise, Otosan." I whispered to the gravestone standing in front of me.

I turned away from my father's grave, not knowing if or when I would be back to see him again. I already booked my flight for New York City. I quit my job as a waitress, and I sold the furniture to the neighbors for some extra cash. I only have two large suitcases and a carry-on bag full of my things. I no longer have anyone to stay here with, so I decided to start a new life in New York. I don't know what will happen, but my father raised me to be able to fend for myself. I got into my car and drove out of the cemetery for what might be the last time. I leave in two days.