The Streets Of Japan

I Can Still Hear It

Come to think of it, I never had met Reo's parents before. If I'm being honest, I never thought about it. It was always just Reo and Mao to me.

But here I am, standing directly in front of Mr. and Mrs. Ito. They don't look old enough to have two young-adult children. Mrs. Ito shows minor signs of aging with smile lines at the corners of her eyes and lining the edge of her lips. Mr. Ito looks to be older with his gray hair and wrinkled forehead. If I had to guess, they were in their mid-fifties. 

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you guys to be home so early," Reo says as he gives his mom a hug before moving on to his dad. 

"Yes," the mother begins. Her accent is so thick that it's barely intelligible if you don't pay close enough attention. "We were assigned to leave again tomorrow so they let us come home for the day and see you."

"Are you going to introduce us?" His father asks, his accent also thick but slightly easier to understand. 

"Oh yes sorry. Mom, Dad, this is Carmen. She is from America here visiting her cousin for the summer." I offer them a small wave and shake Mr. Ito's hand when he offers it out. Mrs. Ito immediately pulls me in for a short hug. 

"Nice to met you," I greet while offering them a small smile.

"Do you not speak Japanese?" Mr. Ito asks. 

I shake my head. I can tell that they don't often speak English due to how slowly they speak. 

"This is her first time in Japan. I have been showing her around and helping her out so you guys will probably see her around often." The two adults pause as if to register what Reo was saying but soon enough they nod.

"Helping her out with what?" Mrs. Ito says, hinting that she assumed there was something more between the two of us. 

"Mama, it is nothing like that," he pauses to think. "She just has a summer history assignment about Japanese lore that I need to help her with." I've got to hand it to him, that's a pretty good lie considering he came up with it right on the spot. 

"Yōkai?" His dad asks. 

"My specialty," Reo jokes back.

I watch as both of his parents' faces drop. They try to hide their uneasiness, but I can tell by the glance they exchange that they're worried. Reo notices too.

"Why?" He asks. 

They exchange another glance as if communicating their next words through their eyes. "We just do not want you to get scared. We know someone who got scared after finding a book about them in your papa's desk." As soon as the words leave Mrs. Ito's mouth, the atmosphere of the room shifted. Although it felt tense, his parents quickly changed the subject to a much lighter one.

"Would either of you like tea?" His mother offers, plastering a smile on her face.

"Actually, Carmen has to head out. Ava needs her back home."

I watch as the mention of my cousin lights up Mrs. Ito's face and her lips spread into a smile. "Oh, so you are related to Ava? You are welcome at any time." 

Reo gently grabs me by the wrist and I wave goodbye to his parents as he guides me through the door to his car. 

"They seem nice," I say as soon as I shut the car door. 

"Yes, they are great. It just sucks that they are not home too often."

I offer him a sympathetic smile as he starts the car and carefully pulls out of the driveway. "I understand. My dad used to leave for weeks at a time on business trips when I was younger. At least my mom was around though."