Good Morning 2018

Part 2

This is the part I've struggled with the most. In my first draft, I skipped over it, hoping inspiration would strike later.  There is still room for improvement but I'm fairly happy with it and glad it's done so I can move on.

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"What movie would you like to watch, Hana-chan?" Nao asked after they had eaten.

"This one!" she exclaimed, holding up a case showing a brightly colored animated scene.

Uehara groaned. "Again? Oh, alright." While he put the disc into the player, a giggling Hana climbed onto the couch and into Nao's lap. He sat down next to them, resigned to watching as the sugary-sweet characters with their cutesy, high pitched voices broke into song and dance.

Halfway through the movie, during which he'd been flipping through a magazine, Uehara glanced over to see that Hana and Yoshikawa were both fast asleep. Relieved that he didn't have to listen to anymore silly singing, he turned off the television and took out his phone to call his brother.

"Hisashi," Takuya answered, "I'm sorry we haven't been able to pick up Hana yet. We should be done within an hour."

"Don't bother," Hisashi replied quietly.  "She's asleep already so she can just stay the night. We'll bring her back in the morning."

"Are you sure that's alright?"

"Yes. If you come now, you'll wake Yoshikawa. Hana wore her out."

"Thank you for your help during our move. We'll get her first thing tomorrow."

Once he'd ended the call, Uehara gently lifted Hana from Yoshikawa's arms. Supporting his niece with one arm, he awkwardly used the other to arrange a blanket over his sleeping roommate's body.

"'Sashi-koo?" Hana mumbled. "Is it bedtime?"

"Shhh. Don't wake Yoshikawa. Yes, you're going to stay here tonight." He carried her to his room, where he grabbed a tee shirt from a drawer, then took her to the other bedroom. "Let's get you changed." Once he had put the tee shirt on her, he laid her clothes on the chair and tucked her into Yoshikawa's bed.

"I get to sleep in the pink bed, like a princess."

He smiled at that. He'd sometimes thought of Yoshikawa as a bit of a princess. Her parents had been somewhat indulgent of her and had never really pushed her to study more or to try new things. They seemed to accept that she was a lazy student and was messy and scatterbrained. It wasn't until she had moved out that she had developed some homemaking skills. He was convinced that living with him was part of what had motivated her to learn to cook. When he had been hospitalized with exhaustion and poor nutrition early on, she had made it her mission to take care of him.

"Yes, Hana-chan, just like a princess."

"I need a bedtime story," she proclaimed.

"A bedtime story? I'm not sure..."

"One with a princess. And a dragon!"

"Ummm, okaayyy," he stalled. He took his time pulling the desk chair closer to the bed and making himself comfortable in it. He wasn't sure what kind of story to tell her. "Once there was a princess... who...okay, got it! Once there was a princess who decided to move out of her parents' castle to live on her own for a while. But when she went looking for a house to live in, she met an evil troll who tricked her into living in a tower with a dragon..."

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In the living room, Nao awoke to find herself alone. She heard voices coming from her bedroom and rose to investigate. Uehara was talking to Hana. Was he reading her a fairy tale? She wasn't sure where he would have found such a book in their apartment but where else would he get a story like that? He was very smart about figures and language, but didn't have much of an imagination. She guessed he'd lost any child-like fancifulness when he lost his parents. She listened outside the door as he continued.

"The dragon was angry that he had to share his tower, and the princess was afraid at first, but over time the dragon grew less angry and the princess became more brave. Eventually they learned to help each other and became friends. Everything was going well until one day when the villagers found out about the princess trapped in the tower with the dragon and decided to go rescue her. She didn't want to leave but the villagers insisted that a tower was no place for a princess and took her away. With the princess gone, the dragon became very lonely. He had gotten used to having her around and even though she came to visit him sometimes, he missed her."

Nao realized that he was telling a fairy-tale version of their own story, and was touched. She stepped into the room and stood behind his chair with a hand on his shoulder. Seemingly self-conscious, Uehara stopped talking.

"What happened next?" Hana implored sleepily.

Uehara fidgeted in the chair. "Ummm... I don't know."

Nao came to his rescue. "Well, the princess was sad too, so she wished on a shooting star that one day she and the dragon could be together again. Then a fairy godmother visited the dragon and made a deal with him. If he could be patient for two years, and if the princess still wanted him, then they could be together again. So the dragon worked and learned to help people and was sometimes angry - because he was a dragon after all - and the princess still visited him. Finally the two years were over and the fairy godmother asked the princess if she wanted to go live with the dragon. When she said yes, the fairy godmother magically transported her back to the tower. Then she turned the dragon into a handsome prince and told them to live happily ever after. And so they did."

Uehara was smiling at her as she tucked the blanket around the now-sleeping Hana. They quietly left the room and as soon as the door closed behind them, she reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"That was a nice story. I never thought of our situation as a fairy tale."

"It was going well until you got rid of the dragon."

"No one got rid of the dragon. He always was a prince. He just acted scary to keep people away."

Uehara rolled his eyes. "It was just a silly bedtime story," he scoffed before stalking to the couch to play a video game.

Nao smiled behind his back, knowing better.