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"𝐇𝐎𝐖 was the date with Ali, minus the village idiots crashing?" Rebecca asked as she and Daniel walked towards the backyard of Mr. Miyagi's home.
Daniel smiled fondly at the thought of the beautiful blonde, then replied. "It was great, but she beat me at all the arcade games. I really like her Becca."
"Hey, she's absolutely crazy about you." Rebecca smiled
"Oh yeah? What does she say about me?" Daniel asked
"Hey, you may be my best friend, but Ali's practically my sister. I'll never kiss and tell." Rebecca said
"Fair enough." Daniel said, as he opened the wooden gate for the both of them as they walked in, and both were in pure awe. It was pure paradise. "Wow, this is beautiful. Hey, Mr. Miyagi, this is great, man." Daniel said, then looked towards the pond. "You got real fish in there?"
"I've got to hand it to you, Mr. Miyagi, this is beautiful." Rebecca smiled.
"I know, it's outrageous right?" Daniel said, as the two teenagers walked across the wooden bridge towards Mr. Miyagi, who was sanding the side of a wooden floor board. "Man, I thought Chun Lee's Chinese restaurant was nice. You beat his act." he said making
"This is beautiful Mr. Miyagi. Did you do this yourself?" Rebecca asked as she sat down next to him
Mr. Miyagi nodded in reply. "Hai."
Daniel and Rebecca sat down on the wooden board when he noticed the sanders. "Are these bongos? Hey, I got it. I got it. I got it." Daniel picked them up and began singing the Hare Krishna song and Mr. Miyagi and Rebecca just laughed at him
"Ah, Daniel-san, you much humour." Mr. Miyagi said as he smiled a little
"What are these?" Daniel asked
"Japanese sander." Mr. Miyagi said
"What do you do with them?" Daniel asked
"Funny you should ask." Mr. Miyagi said. "Right circle, left circle."
"Wouldn't it be easier to go back and fourth?" Daniel asked
"Hai, hai, hai, but you go in circle." Mr. Miyagi said, as he gave Rebecca a pair of sanders, and she began sanding the floor. "Right circle, left circle, right circle, left circle. Breathe in, breathe out. Right, circle, left circle." he said as he walked away, and the two teens sanded the floor
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It was night fall, the two teens had sanded the floor, breathing in, and breathing out. Mr. Miyagi walked out of the dojo. "Hmm, very good Daniel-san and Rebecca-san. Splinter all gone." Mr. Miyagi said
"Yeah." Daniel and Rebecca both said
"We're finished." Daniel said as he and Rebecca both stood up. "Mr. Miyagi. We're beat. Our shoulders."
"Good." Mr. Miyagi nodded. "Go home. Get rest. Come morning. Start early. 6:00."
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Daniel and Rebecca arrived at Mr. Miyagi's house. When they arrived, they saw Mr. Miyagi sitting on his knees holding chopsticks in his hand, they realized he was trying to catch the fly.
"Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything." Mr. Miyagi said
"You ever catch one?" Daniel asked
"Not yet." Mr. Miyagi said
"Can I try?" Daniel asked
"If wish." Mr. Miyagi said
Daniel and Rebecca sat with Mr. Miyagi, and he grabbed a couple of chopsticks and the brunette watched as they both tried to catch the fly. Pretty soon, Daniel caught the fly. "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Miyagi, look! Look!" Daniel said excitedly
Mr. Miyagi stood up and walked outside. Not before stopping at the door and looking at Daniel. "You beginner luck." Mr. Miyagi said
"Yeah, I guess that mean I can accomplish anything." Daniel said as he, Rebecca and Mr. Miyagi walked into to the back yard. "Eh, Mr. Miyagi?"
"Hai." Mr. Miyagi said, and Rebecca just shook her head.
"No sweat." Daniel said
"But first you accomplish paint fence." Mr. Miyagi said as he gave both Daniel and Rebecca a bucket of paint and a paint brush.
"All in wrist. Wrist up, wrist down. Wrist. All in wrist. Up. Down. Long stroke. Up. Down." Mr. Miyagi said. Daniel looked at Mr. Miyagi. "No look me. Look fence. Eh, up, down. Good. Bend wrist. Down stroke, both you bend, okay." Rebecca and Daniel did as Mr. Miyagi said, getting the hang of his technique. It was definitely different from her painting. "Ah good. Long stroke. Up, down. Very good. Knee, bend the knee. Come down. Hai, up. Hai. Very good, Daniel-san, and Rebecca-san. Don't forget to breathe. In. Out. Up, down."
As the two continued to paint, Mr. Miyagi brought more paint. "Ah. Very good Daniel-san and Rebecca-san." Mr. Miyagi said as he brought the buckets of paint for the two teens. "Up, down. Up, down. Uh, small board, left hand. Big board, right hand."
"But we're almost done." Daniel said
"Whole fence." Mr. Miyagi said, as he gestured to the fence. "Big board, right hand. Small board, left hand."
When it was nightfall, Daniel and Rebecca finished painting the fence, and her shoulder was very tender, but she wasn't one to complain.
"Hai, Daniel-san and Rebecca-san, very good job." Mr. Miyagi said. "Come morning start early."
"Daniel, wait out front for me." Rebecca said, to which Daniel nodded and left
"Mr. Miyagi?" Rebecca said, getting Mr. Miyagi's attention
"Oh Rebecca-san. Must go home and rest." Mr. Miyagi said in a fatherly manner
"Okay, but my shoulder is really tender." Rebecca said as she held her shoulder
Mr. Miyagi rubbed his hands together, he then proceeded to move her dainty hand, he held her shoulder and moved it so she no longer felt pressure on her shoulder. She just looked at her shoulder and then at him in amazement.
"How did you do that?" Rebecca asked in amazement. He just gave her a smile and a small wink while walking back into his house
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The next day, they arrived to Mr. Miyagi's to find a note on the door to paint his house. "No Up-Down. Go Side-Side" with arrows showing.
"Damn it! I can't believe it." Daniel complained. Rebecca just shook her head and began painting.
When night fall came, Daniel was on a ladder so he could paint higher. Rebecca was painting the bottom. "Oh! Missed a spot!" Mr. Miyagi said
Rebecca looked at him and chuckled and went back to painting. Daniel, however, was annoyed. "What spot? Hey, hey, how come you didn't tell us you were going fishing?" Daniel asked
"You both not here when I go." Mr Miyagi said.
Daniel was agitated. "Maybe we would've wanted to go. You ever think of that?"
"You both karate training." Mr. Miyagi said, and Rebecca continued painting the house.
"We're what?" Daniel asked. "We're bein' you're goddamn slaves that's what we're bein' man. Now we made a deal here."
"So?" Mr. Miyagi asked and Rebecca finished painting the house and got up to follow them.
"So?" Daniel said. "So you're supposed to teach and we're supposed to learn, remember? For four days, Becca and I have been busting our asses and we haven't learned a goddamn thing!"
"Ah, you both learn plenty." Mr. Miyagi said
"We learned plenty." Daniel said. "We learned how to sand your decks, wax your car, paint your house, paint your fence. We learned plenty. Right."
"Ah. Not everything is as seem." Mr. Miyagi said
"Oh bullshit. We're goin' home, man. Come on, Becca." Daniel said
"Daniel." Rebecca said, as she stood behind Mr. Miyagi
"Daniel-san. Daniel-san." Mr. Miyagi said, making Daniel stop in his tracks
"What?" Daniel asked
"Come here." Mr. Miyagi instructed. Daniel turned around and walked back over to the two.
"Show me sand the floor." Mr. Miyagi instructed.
"I can't move my arm, all right?" Daniel said.
Mr. Miygai clapped his hands together and began rubbing them together very quickly, just like he did with Rebecca. He then put his hand in Daniel's shirt, pressed on his shoulder, then pulled his hand back.
"Now show me sand the floor." Mr. Miyagi repeated.
"How did you do that?" Daniel asked, rotating his arm as the pain in his arm was gone.
"Show!" Mr. Miyagi yelled, making the two kids slightly jump.
Daniel showed him sand the floor. He managed to complete them all. Soon it was Rebecca's turn. Rebecca managed to block his jabs, she did better than Daniel did. She realized there was a method to these chores. They now understood the same karate he was taught by his father in Okinawa. Karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands.
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The next day, Daniel, Mr. Miyagi and Rebecca were at the beach. Daniel and Hope looked back at Mr. Miyagi who was standing by his truck. "Learn balance! Go water, make kick. Learn balance!" Mr. Miyagi said
Both teenagers walked into the ocean. Daniel was trying not to fall over. The two managed to get their balance in the water. Daniel noticed something and tapped her shoulder. Rebecca looked and saw Mr. Miyagi balancing on a small wooden stump.
When they got back to Mr. Miyagi's house, Rebecca changed into her regular clothes and they spoke before the two teenagers had to leave "Mr. Miyagi?" she asked
"Yes Rebecca-san?" Mr. Miyagi replied
"What was that you were doing on those stumps at the beach?" Rebecca asked
"Called crane technique." Mr. Miyagi said
"Does it work?" Daniel asked
"If do right, no can defense." Mr. Miyagi said
"Could you teach us?" Daniel asked
"Ah, first learn stand, then learn fly. Nature rule, Daniel-san. Not mine." Mr. Miyagi said
"Where'd you learn it from?" Rebecca asked
"Father teach." Mr. Miyagi said
"You must have had some father man." Daniel said
"Oh yes." Mr. Miyagi said
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"So how was your day?" Dean said as he, Sam, and Rebecca sat at the dinner table eating dinner
"It was good. Daniel and I have been learning karate with Mr. Miyagi." Rebecca said as she ate her dinner
"The maintenance man from his apartment?" Sam asked
Rebecca nodded as she set her can of cherry coke down. "Yes. His way of training is unusual to say the least."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked
"Well, Mr. Miyagi is very wise, and his lessons in karate are actually life lessons as well in their own way. I've really learned a lot." Rebecca said. "Take for example, he has these Japanese sanders we use for sanding the floor, and we painted the fence up and down and his house side to side."
"Well, that's quite unusual but fascinating." Dean said
After dinner, Rebecca walked down the hall to do her nightly routine. After talking to Ali for a few minutes, she went to bed.
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Rebecca woke up in her bed, and smelt her mother's perfume, which was Dior's Diorissimo. Getting out of bed, she looked around. Standing by the window, was her mother in all her beauty and sophistication.
Turning around, Lisa smiled warmly at her daughter. "Rebecca."
"Mom." Rebecca said as she embraced her mother, who returned the embrace. "I can't tell you how much I've missed you."
"I miss you too, my sweet baby girl." Lisa smiled as she held her daughter in her arms, then pulled away from the embrace and held her daughter's hands. "I'm so proud of you. You've made a good life for yourself here. I've always told you, life is all about chance encounters. If you hadn't have gone to the beach party that day, you never would have met your two best friends, and you never would have met Bobby, or your friends who have become your brothers. It's all about encounters. They change your life." Lisa said
Rebecca tearfully nodded then spoke. "Yeah."
"I want you to have good stories okay? Make art, use your voice, have adventures, let Bobby give you your epic love story, the one you deserve, and be every bit of yourself. Because the very best of me is in you." Lisa said.
Rebecca just didn't know what to do. All she could do was pull her beloved mother into an embrace. "I love you, mama." she said through the tears
"Oh, my sweet baby girl. I love you too." Lisa smiled as she held her daughter. "You are my peace."
"How do you do it? How do you say goodbye to the ones you love?" Rebecca asked
"When we love someone, that love doesn't die when they do. It stays in our hearts forever, but we do have to say goodbye to the life we shared with them. I know it's hard, but let go of your grief. Be happy, you have found your balance. Go on with a new life, Rebecca. A chance at happiness. I'm happy. I want you to be happy." Lisa said
Rebecca didn't want to let go or wake up. But she knew she wanted her mother to find peace. She knew that with Mr. Miyagi's training, it was the balance that she had been searching for all along. Lisa kissed her forehead and dissolved away.