Dreams We Had

Chapter Sixteen - Momo Miki

We both stood on the moving walkway moving towards the front half of the airport. I watched each person move past us, taking the couple seconds they were in front of us to study their faces. Kian slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, checking his messages. I turned completely around, now watching and observing everything that was behind us. There was an army of butterflies in my stomach fighting their way towards the surface. I was so nervous I was shaking.

"They're here. At the entrance." He said in broken Japanese, tapping on my shoulder to get my attention. I turned forward again, almost tripping as I did so.

"I never in a million years thought this day would ever come." I half-heartedly said, letting a bout of nervous laughter slip through my lips. The butterflies were winning.

"Me neither. It's kind of incredible."

As we got closer to the end of the walkway I felt my blood run cold. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not ready."

"Nor am I, but everything will be fine. Okay? I promise."

"Promise, promise?" I asked as we stepped onto the glistening concrete floor.

"Yes. When have I ever lied to you?"

"A lot of times actually."

"Oh shush. You're scared, remember?"

"Mmhmm..."

Together, pulling our luggage behind us, we walked through the sliding doors. The moment the midsummer air hit my skin I felt like I was going to faint. It was hot, more than hot, very hot and very humid. Just standing outside made me sweat more that I'd ever in my life. Despite the dreadful heat, it was a clear day and the sky was a crisp blue with only a few wispy, white clouds scattered about; a picture-perfect sky.Set in front of that picture-perfect sky was our family, our real family. They were standing right outside of the doors, waiting. I took yet another big breath to try and calm my raging nerves.

Our grandmother Fumiko was a short, stout Asian woman with shoulder length, fading black hair, and our grandfather, Gerald, was a tall, lanky, white man with silvery white hair. He had taken her last name, which apparently was a common thing to do.  He promised  before the trip to help us with the language barrier and translate when needed. Our grandmother did speak english too, but preferred to speak her mother tongue. 

The moment they saw us, our grandmother perked up, tapping on her husband's shoulder to get his attention. A huge smile forced its way onto my face.

"Oh my! I can't believe you two are really here right now! Oh! You both have grown up so beautifully! Momo-chan you look just like your mother, you too Kiki-san! Oh Kiki-san has his mother's eyes, but his father's good looks!" She gushed.I felt myself blush, and I was sure that Kian was probably blushing worse than I was. 

"Aha. Thanks!" He smiled and nodded, bobbing his head in a small bow.

"And! Momo-chan, you've grown up so fast. The last time we saw you you were tiny, and now you're a young woman! And oh how bright your eyes are! Full of life and youth!" I giggled some more at her outward excitement and thanked her in the same way my brother had.

We took the Narita express train from Narita to Yokohama, which was an hour and a half ride that consisted of miles and miles of fields and houses until we got into the city. The train pulled into the station and we got off, beginning the walking portion of the trip home.