This Is Not a Tragedy

30 | ロマンス

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Dawn slowly picks up her teacup with the fingertips of both hands and brings the rim to her lips.

Coming from behind her after entering the café, I lean into her view. "Hello."

She nearly chokes on and spills the tea, startled by my arrival. A bit gets on the table, and she glances down at her shirt to make sure it didn't drop there. Not that you'd be able to see it on the black fabric. "He-he―ah―こんにちは," she blurts as she stands up and bows.

I glance around self-consciously. Yes, I agreed to help her with Japanese, but we're still in London. I see some people shoot us judging glances. Dawn's eccentric clothes probably also have something to do with their gazes.

"おはよう," I correct. "It's before noon."

"Ah! Right, sorry." She runs her fingers through the ends of her hair.

I sit down at the table across from her, and a server comes to take my order. I ask for green tea, of course.

"That's very Japanese," she says in her RP British accent, looking pleased.

"Well, English green tea isn't much like the real stuff."

She nods.

"お元気ですか?" I ask how she's doing.

"はい. 元気です."

I can't help but smile. "Your pronunciation is pretty good, but the 'desu'―"

"Oh. I... thought it'd be cuter." She repeats what she just said in incomplete Japanese.

I try not to laugh. "アニメが好きですか?"

"Ah-nee-meh? Ah, anime! I like it but―" She flushes and covers her face with her hands. "I promise I'm not one of those annoying―!"

I shake my head. "It's okay. You can learn a lot from anime. I'll tell you when real-life speech is different."

She nods her head. "You've lived in Japan? I remember... your answer when I asked if you were Japanese was a bit hesitant."

"Ah. Yeah." I scratch my head, thinking about how my natural hair color stood out in Japan and how I don't have to hide anymore. "My father was half Japanese, half white. My mother was Korean of Japanese nationality. I lived in Japan from... twelve to eighteen."

Dawn blinks. "Your parents... past tense?"

I glance away. "My father left when I was young. My mom died almost a year ago."

Dawn has spindly, dark eyelashes, and the way they offset her pale skin and green eyes has a way of making her gaze shine with emotion. She leans forward. "Me too! I was too young to remember when my father left, but he was white, and my mother was Japanese. She had to give me up when I was small, but when I turned 18, we reunited. And... my mum died last year." Her eyes glisten. "Sorry," she says with a chuckle while wiping underneath her eyes. "We were very close."

"Do you have other family?"

She shakes her head.

"Me either. There are some people who take care of me, but..."

Dawn grins. "It really is a miracle." Her back shoots up straight as she says, "Sorry! I know just because we have things in common doesn't mean anything. But I'm really glad to meet you."

"Same," I reply with a weak smile, wondering if I've made a friend. "I'm glad we met."

Dawn and I forget about Japanese. We talk and talk. We talk about growing up multiracial―the positive and negative looks and whispers about our differences—the compliments, the insults. Dawn's black hair is only dyed, its natural tone dark brown. She was born in Japan and, at two-years-old, left back for England with her single mother. Young and unable to care for them both, her mom reluctantly put her up for adoption. After growing up in foster care, Dawn turned 18 and tracked her down. They lived together for a year. During that time, her mom taught her a bit of Japanese. We talk about the differences between American, British, and Japanese schools. Dawn's fascinated by both the differences and similarities. And then it comes time for me to pick up Nina from school.