Completed Chapter 38: "The letter"

Chapter 38 of Completed

Kata was looking through some mail in her home office. She heard a knock at the door. She asked, “Who is it?” A young male voice responded, “It’s Hiroyuki. I am here to show you what I wrote in Granny Yubi’s letter. Kata said, “Oh, come in!” 

Hiroyuki opened the door. He handed her an unsealed beige envelope. She lifted the envelope’s square flap. She took out the folded letter. She caught a strong whiff of lemons. She said, “It smells very citrusy. And the paper feels very crinkly.” Hiroyuki grinned and said, “I thought it would be a good idea to spray some citrus perfume on the letter because Granny Yubi likes that smell. But I accidentally sprayed a bit too much.” 

Kata nodded. She unfolded the letter. She inspected the contents. She folded it back up and said, “I confirmed that there’s nothing suspicious about the letter. I will have someone send it to the post office. Granny Yubi should receive it in about a week.” 

Hiroyuki’s lips formed a wide smile. He said in a joyful tone, “That’s excellent news! Thank you Miss Fujiwara!” Kata was charmed by his smile. She responded in a delighted tone, “Yes, anything for my dear future son in law!” He said, “I’m going to be heading out now. I got plans to eat lunch with Kura in the courtyard. I will see you later!” 

Kata beamed and waved him goodbye. Hiroyuki walked towards the door and closed it. Kata leaned back in her chair. She said to herself, “I’m glad to see Hiroyuki making efforts to grow his relationship with Kura.” After Hiroyuki shut the door, he silently pumped his victory fist in the air. 

He began walking downstairs. He said in his mind, “I knew that would work! She wouldn’t expect a hidden message on the back! I have to hope that it gets across to granny Yubi.” He walked through a glass door that led to the mansion’s courtyard. 

He saw Kura in a pink floral spring dress. She was sitting down in white iron garden tea table. She was eating a slice of red velvet cake. Hiroyuki sat down in a chair across from her. She said, “You’re late.” 

Hiroyuki said happily, “Sorry, I was busy talking to your mother.” Kura looked up at him. She noticed his bright expression. She set down her fork. She asked, “What were you talking about?” Hiroyuki asked the maid if she could bring him an iced tea. 

Hiroyuki glanced back at her. He said unapologetic, “Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said. I was a bit distracted talking to the maid.” Kura picked up her fork and stabbed violently into the cake. She cried out, “I asked about your conversation with my mother!” 

Hiroyuki said, “Ah, that. I was just showing her the contents of a letter I wrote to granny Yubi.”  Kura looked at him with doubt. She asked, “What were the contents of the letter?” Hiroyuki said, “I told her news about our marriage and asked her to come. I asked how she was doing and told her how much I missed her.” 

Kura took a sip of her tea. She said, “I see.. But I don’t get why you have such a cheerful expression on your face? I don’t see how this would make you happy.” 

The maid brought over the iced tea and set it in front of him. He thanked the maid by bowing his head. He used the metal straw to twirl the ice cubes inside the glass. He said in a calm voice, “Maybe because I am slowly accepting our marriage.” 

Kura slammed the table with her hands. She shouted, “That’s a lie!! Two weeks ago, you were strongly against the idea! What are you planning?” 

Hiroyuki grinned and said in a disturbing tranquil tone, “I’m not planning anything.” Kura gritted her teeth. She got up and walked off. She thought in her head, “He has got to be up to something! I don’t know what it is but he’s acting very suspicious. It got to be something with granny Yubi. I need to find out what it is.” 

She went upstairs to her mother’s home office. Her mother was organizing some documents. Kura slammed the door open loudly. She said in a demanding tone, “Mother, where is Hiroyuki’s letter?” 

Kata was spooked by the sudden noise. She jumped from her chair. She said a bit angrily, “Kura, what’s with the sudden outburst?! You know better than to slam doors open! You have to knock!” 

Kura took a deep breath. She said a bit calmer, “Sorry, mother. I was just wondering where Hiroyuki's letter is?” Kata said a bit annoyed, “You came here just for that? The butler already sent it to the post office.” Kura clenched her fists. She said loudly in her mind, “Damn it!” 

Kata glances at her. She sees the frustrated expression on her face. She asked, “Was there something wrong with the letter?” Kura shook her head and said, “It’s nothing. I was just curious.” Kata said, “Is that so?” Kura nodded. She was about to walk out of the room.

Her mother asked, “How was your lunch date with Hiroyuki?” Kura turned around. She said in a fake joyful tone, “It was nice.” Her mother said, “Is that all? I thought you would have more to say.” Kura laughed nervously and said, “It’s just a normal lunch date. Nothing special happened.” 

Her mother looked a bit surprised by her response. She said merrily, “Well that’s okay! You two should take your time with that stuff! Not all dates are going to be special. What’s important is to spend some quality time together! And I am extremely delighted to witness your relationship blossoming each and every day!”  

Kura’s face grew heavy. She looked down at the ground. Her lips frowned. She felt a lot of pressure from her mother’s words. She said, “I’m going to relax in my room. I will see you later, mother.” 

Kata nodded and said, “See you later, my dear!” Kura walked out of the room. She walked quickly towards her room. She shut the door and slid her back onto the door. She hugged her knees and started to cry. She whispered to herself, “This is what my mother wanted. I need to follow her wishes. I can’t let her down.” 

She had a flashback of two weeks ago when Hiroyuki cried out, “I know that you never once loved me. You’re just obeying your parents’ orders. Stop being a coward and admit how you really feel about this whole situation!”

She held onto her dress fabric tighter. She whined, “I can’t! This is my duty. I have to do it. My feelings don’t matter in this. I am scared of disappointing others.”

An elderly lady with golden rimmed glasses was sitting in a wheelchair. She was glancing through the window. The window showed the stars shining in the night sky. A maid said, “Ms. Yubi, you got a letter in the mail.” Yubi looked at the maid and asked, “Who is it from?”

The maid said, “It’s from someone named Hiroyuki.” Yubi’s ears perked up from the name. She said, “Hiroyuki? It’s been so long since I last saw that boy. Let me see that letter.” The maid took a paper knife from a nearby drawer. She used it to open the envelope. She passed the letter to her. 

Yubi unfolded the letter. Her nose instantly caught the strong scent of lemons. She said, “That’s a nostalgic smell.” She read the letter. 

The letter said, “Dear Granny Yubi, I’m sorry it took me so long to contact you. I have been quite busy in my life. I’m doing well in my studies. My family is doing good too. I wrote this letter because I was curious about how you were doing. I heard from Mr Fujiwara that you’re living in a summer home in america. I hope you’re living well there. I also wanted to inform you that Kura and I will be getting married in a month. And you’re invited! I hope you can make it! Do you remember when you used to show me your lemon trees at your old house? You always said this one phrase, “Lemons are very awesome.” I can never forget it!” 

Yubi clenched the letter tightly. Yubi had flashbacks about the time when she showed Hiroyuki the lemon magic trick. She started to spin her wheelchair away from the window. The maid asked, “Ms. Yubi, where are you going?” 

Yubi said, “The study room. Don’t disturb me!” She headed towards the study room. She turned on the table lamp. She put the letter up in the light. Brown words started to appear at the back of the letter. Yubi flipped the letter to the other side. She read the brown words. 

The brown words said, “I need your help granny Yubi. I am stuck at the Fujiwara’s residence. Miss Fujiwara is not letting me leave and is forcing me to marry Kura. She took away every means of communication. I don’t love Kura anymore and Kura doesn’t love me. We both don’t want to get married to each other. But Kura feels obligated to follow her mother’s orders. I can’t risk anything because Miss Fujiwara threatened to crush my dad’s company. Mr Fujiwara has no idea about what’s going on. And our marriage is coming up next month. I desperately need you here. I hope this message gets through to you.”

 

Yubi slammed her fist loudly into the table. She yelled out, “That damn stupid daughter in law! And my spineless son! These two are going to be the end of me! How dare she do this to my precious Hiroyuki and Kura! That snake!” 

The maid rushed into the room. She cried out, “What’s that noise?” Yubi said in a grouchy voice, “It’s nothing.” The maid saw a small dent in the wooden desk. She quickly inspected Yubi’s hand. Purple and black bruises were forming onto her hand. The maid exclaimed, “Ms. Yubi! You bruised your hand! I’m going to get some ice.” 

She ran to get an ice pack from the first aid box. She put the ice pack on Yubi’s bruised hand. Yubi clicked her teeth and said, “This is nothing compared to the anger I feel.” The maid said, “No matter how angry you are, you can’t hurt yourself! You need to be careful at your age.” 

The maid’s words went through one ear out the other. Yubi was formulating a plan in her head about how she was going to help Hiroyuki and Kura. 

After the maid pressed the ice pack on Yubi’s hand for about thirty minutes, she left the room. Yubi quickly took the letter and put it in her pocket. She said in her head, “I have to find a way to get to Japan. I can’t let that maid find out. If she were to find out, she wouldn’t let me go. And she would inform Kata about it. I knew that Kata sent me to America for a reason. It was suspicious when she insisted that I stay in america out of nowhere. That cunning witch! When I get back to Japan, I am going to give her a beating. I’m going to have to sneak out of the house without the maid knowing. After I sneak out, I have to call a taxi to bring me to the airport.” 

The maid came into the room again. She said, “Granny Yubi, it’s time for bed.” Yubi said, “I know.” She helped push her wheelchair into her bedroom. The maid helped Yubi brush her teeth and get ready for bed. She lifted Yubi onto the bed. She put the blankets over her. She went to turn off the light and wished her good night. Yubi said, “Good night.” 

She waited for the sound of the maid’s footsteps to disappear. Yubi got up from the bed and turned the lamp near her bed. She struggled to get onto her wheelchair. She moved towards the closet. She grabbed a blue bag from a closet and stuffed it with a few clothes, passport, a foldable walking stick, money and medicine. She wore a jacket over her sleeping pajamas. She placed the bag onto her lap. 

She pushed her wheelchair back to the bed. She took a pillow and shoved it under the blankets. It resembled someone sleeping in the bed. She went to silently open her door. She checked to see if the maid was around. She saw no sight of the maid. 

She quietly spinned her wheelchair out of the house. She managed to get out of the house without anyone noticing her. She went down the ramp of the entrance. She continued moving the wheelchair faster away from the house. She saw a taxi driving by. She waved towards the taxi. 

The taxi stopped. The driver helped her inside the car. He put the wheelchair into the taxi’s trunk. He said, “Where to?” She said, “The airport.” The driver laughed and said, “At this late of night?” She said, “It’s none of your business what I do.” The driver nodded. He said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t be so nosy. It will take about an hour to reach there.” 

Yubi said, “Good. Now, step on it!”  The driver grinned and said, “You’re one hot blooded granny. And I like that!” Yubi clenched her bag and said, “I’m going to be there soon, Hiroyuki and Kura!” 

Author's Note

ignore grammar problems, please tell me what you think of it? I hope you enjoy chapter 38 and thank you for waiting patiently for each chapter! I would also like to shoutout to my friends who help me edit all my chapters! I created a discord group that I can give you updates when a new chapter comes out. Here's the link to my group: https://discord.gg/vyQrfME

Reviews

[Kari Rakitan]

I had a moment of panic there when she smelled the letter.

Go Granny, go!!!!!!

[Nariko]

haha yeah but Hiroyuki managed to make a good excuse! And Yes go granny Yubi! Thanks for your review, Kari!