The Geisha Way

Ch 3- An Opportunity Presents Itself.

"If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity for moving closer to it."

 A long, strenuous year has passed since that day in the courtyard. Okasan has kept a close eye on her, and made sure she never had time to train. Okasan was smart, but Miomomo was young and craftier. She didn’t get to train as much as she would have liked, but she made do with what she had. When she was sure Okasan was asleep, and Hana was locked away, she would slip outside and train. It was during the wee hours of the night when the sky was at its darkest; she didn’t get much sleep, but nothing else mattered. Every morning she would get only a few hours of sleep. The only one who knew about her training was Toph, Which was only because of the fact that Toph would always take most of her chores when she could. She was the only person who could understand Miomomo’s determination. Toph once told her about how no one understood why she willingly wanted to be a geisha—she has always been called an ugly duckling; getting picked on and bullied. She wanted to become a geisha so she could be beautiful like her mother; so her father wouldn’t be ashamed of her or maybe even pay the slightest bit of attention towards her. Toph wasn’t an ugly girl by any means; she was a Hyūga who was self conscious of her eyes. Her mother was also a Hyūga, and she was a beautiful ninja before she died.

 Her story made Miomomo respect her more, made her look being a geisha in a whole new light, for the simple fact that she didn’t have a reason for why she wanted to be a ninja. She simply woke up one day and decided that is what she wanted to be. When she voiced this to Toph once, Toph said that she respected her, despite the fact that Miomomo was seven—three years younger than she. She said:

“I find your dream more inspiring than mine.” Miomomo nearly choked on her rice cake.

“But how? I don’t have a reason…I just decided it’s what I wanted to do with my life.” Toph smiled warmly at her.

“You once said that being a ninja pays well—that you wanted to take care of your family financially. Is that not a reason?” Realization hit her like a wave crashing onto a beach. Toph continued to mind blow her. “And yet, even now that your parents have gone, you did not let that break your spirit or dream. I may have the reason; but you have the determination.”

Every time Miomomo looked back on that fond memory, it makes her content. Whenever she felt like she was slipping, or wanted nothing more than to give up, she thought back on how someone she looked up to gave her those kind, encouraging words.

“Miomomo!” She stopped polishing the floor to look towards the direction in which her name was called. Okasan stood there with her bony arms on her hips, staring down at little Miomomo with irritated eyes and tapping an impatient foot. The distressed lines in her face became more prominent when she frowned.

“Yes Okasan?”

“I have been calling you for the last three minutes, did you not hear me?” Miomomo gulped. She did not want to get whipped with the bamboo stick again.

“I-I am sorry Okasan.” Those were the only words she could manage out of her mouth. Okasan sighed heavily and released her arms off her hips and let them fall to her sides.

“It is fine. Listen, I know today is the anniversary of your parents death.” Her heart dropped. Okasan remembered that her parents died this same exact day? Did this mean she really cared about her? “You have been behaving really well, so I am going to let you go out into town to run some simple errands. While you are in town you can go visit your parent’s graves.” Miomomo was confused; her parents had graves? They possibly couldn’t afford it. She decided to voice her confusion verbally.

“How did my parents afford have graves made?” Okasan’s face softened, her worry lines almost disappeared.

“I paid for it.” She said simply. That struck a chord in Miomomo. She smiled for the first time in that day.