My Modern Kaidan

Chapter 12

My dad is busy whisking eggs for what will undoubtedly be tamagoyaki. I sit down at the counter and watch as he bustles around the kitchen.

"It's my turn to cook dinner. Pretty soon, it might be your turn," he says, teasing me. "What do you think about that?"

I shrug. "I guess."

"You guess? What will you make?"

"I don't know."

"Mm," he murmurs. "Mail came for you today." He motions to a tiny stack sitting on the far side of the counter.

I reach over, hoping whatever's there can help distract me.

On top is a letter from my friend Sophie back home. She had jumped at the chance to write me actual letters and here was her first one, her writing printed meticulously on Chococat stationary.

Underneath is a postcard from Shanghai. I turn it over and read:

Hachidori-chan (Amaya),

I'm sorry this little postcard is all I have been able to send so far.

Shanghai is beautiful!

Maybe we can go some day.

Thinking of you!

Love,

Auntie

I frown, thwacking the postcard down on it's side. The whisk in my dad's hand moving steadily against the side of the bowl is the only sound in the room.

"Dad," I say. "Did you see this?"

"What is it?"

"This postcard from Auntie."

He sets the bowl down and takes it from my fingers. "Shanghai," he says, raising his eyebrows.

"She says she hasn't been able to send anything yet. But remember the hummingbird she sent when we moved in? It was from Kanagawa Prefecture."

"Well, you know Auntie travels a lot. And," he lower his voice like she's in the room with us. "You know, she can be forgetful."

"Since the accident," I say on queue.

He nods, picking up the bowl again. "She's still sensitive about it, even to this day. Best not to mention the mistake this time, ne?"

"Right," I murmur, digging the corner of the postcard into my nailbed, trying to let the small twinge of discomfort distract me from what's really making me uncomfortable. Meawhile, my right leg is going crazy attached to my foot which is bounding up and down off the rung of the stool I'm sitting on.

My dad has turned away from me, but a moment later says, "Your eyes are burning me, Mai-chan."

"Rinchizoku," I say.

"Rinchizoku," he says, subtly correcting my pronunciation. "A classic."

I sigh, getting up from my seat.

"I've been waiting for the day when my daughter would be interested in my work," he says. "Even if it's for reasons I didn't originally intend."

"What do you mean?" I ask, leaning against the wall.

He shakes his head. "I don't know if you've been hearing things from your schoolmates, but I don't think it's a coincidence you're asking about this book at the time you're asking about it," He pauses. "You should just know, that even though I'm a man of pen and paper, I will always do anything I can for my family."

"I know," I say.

A minute goes by, then he says, "It was a dove."

"Huh?"

"That I was burying. It must've run into one of the windows."

"Oh."

"I know you like birds," he says, then smiles. "Dinner in five minutes."