Bitter Hope

Chapter 5 - Mara Rizzo

I was lying on the bed enjoying the big fluffy comforter that laid on it. I felt like I was lying on a cloud. This bed could eat me alive right now and I would not be mad at it. As I laid there I looked around the room. To the left of the bed on the wall with the door was a sliding door that could only be a closet. I know I should put away my clothes but I couldn't bring myself to get up. I looked to the right and out the windows that lined my other wall. There was not much of a view but at least we seemed to be the tallest building around with all the surrounding buildings being just two floors. So I guess a city view must be hard to come by. The thing I was looking forward to the most was the tv. I could not believe I had my own tv. I could not wait to get caught up on my Netflix shows. A house I was able to binge shows here and there when I was crashing with someone who had an account. Or if I stole a phone or laptop with an account before they canceled or changed their password but never long enough to actually finish anything. There was a slight knock on my door, my door. It felt weird to think, I have of course stayed in rooms with doors before but never one that was mine. Never anywhere where someone would knock.

I quickly sat up and looked to the door.

"Come in?" I more asked than answered whoever was on the other side of the door.

Seconds later the door was opened to relieve Shota standing in the doorway.

"Dinner is ready." He told me.

I had completely forgotten that they said they were going to cook. How long have I been up here?

"Okay," I responded as I stood up knocking my bag off the bed.

"You didn't unpack?" He asked as he looked at the bag on the floor.

"I got distracted," I answered him as I picked it up and placed it back on the bed.

"By what?" He asked as he looked around the empty room obviously trying to figure out what I could possibly have been distracted by for so long.

"The beds really comfortable," I answered as I looked at my shoes.

"I'm glad you like it." He said as he stepped out of the doorway and motioned for me to walk with him.

As we made our way downstairs I got assaulted by a bunch of familiar but different smells. All delicious but confusing at the same time. The two of us made our way to the table where Kiko already sat. Shota took the seat at the head of the table to her left leaving an empty plate in front of her to his right. I sat down and looked at all the food that was spread out over the table. Directly in front of me was an empty plate with a cloth napkin to the left and chopsticks to the right, along with a weirdly shaped spoon. To the top right corner of my empty plate was a small bowl filled with soup. I liked soup, chicken noodle, chicken and rice, ramen but this soup was different than anything I have had before. The broth was a foggy yellow smelled like chicken. There was no meat in it just white cubes and chopped up little green things. To the left of my plate was a glass of water. All the rest of the food was spread out in big bowls over the rest of the table. There was a long rectangular plate that had three large pieces of fish.

It was fish, that's what I was smelling before that I did not recognize. It was real fish with the skin still on. It must have been cooked in a pan because it was crispy. I had eaten tuna before like in a can but never had known anyone who would spend the time and money to buy actual fish. Another bowl was filled with white rice and what I think is a small cut up peace of mushrooms. A smaller bowl had wet-looking thin slices of cucumbers and the last one seemed to be some sort of meat stew. It had a large piece of carrots, potatoes, onions, and some sort of brown meat. Although the food was foreign to me it all looked very delicious. Delicious but scary. I had no idea where to start.