The Gift of Rio (The Gift of the Elements)

by C. S. Elston

  “Really?”

  “Really. Even if your father still lives here, he may have built a new house on the same lot. Do you know whether or not he does still live here?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Only one way to find out. Did you bring a gift for him?”

  “No. Should I have?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then why’d you ask me that?”

  “Well, it’s customary, in Japan, to bring a gift when you visit someone’s house. But, I guess that’s more for like when you’re invited over for a dinner party or something. I don’t know. This scenario is pretty much brand new to me, too.”

  “Like I said, I don’t even know for sure if he lives here. And, if he does, I don’t know if he’ll be home. And, if he is, I don’t even know if he’ll invite me in. As you can tell, I really don’t know anything.”

  “You’re right.”

  “That’s kind of mean,” Rio teased.

  “No, I mean, you’re right that you don’t need a gift. You’re good. Just go for it.”

  “Aren’t you coming with me?”

  “Oh,” Luke reacted, genuinely surprised by the invitation. “Sure. Yeah. I’ll come with you. Let’s go.”

  They each climbed out of the van and walked to the front of the house. They stopped side-by-side, neither sure exactly how to approach the door. Rio had been so brave and optimistic up to this point. Suddenly, she found herself unsure. But, that wasn’t about to stop her.

  Rio glanced around at the white wall surrounding the property. It was only a few feet tall and had rounded, gray shingles lining the top of it. The entrance to the property was at least twice as tall as the wall and made from wood. It was covered by a roof that sloped down on either side and was also covered in the same gray shingles.

  “Okay,” Rio said out loud. She had psyched herself up and Luke followed her through the gated entrance. The property on the other side of the wall had well-manicured green vegetation and the grounds all looked like they had been well taken care of for many years. Rio particularly liked the trees that looked like layers of perfectly rounded puffy green clouds.

  Approaching the front door, Rio raised her hand to knock.

  “Wait,” Luke said, stopping her. “If you’re going to knock, only knock twice.

  “What?” Rio asked, sincerely confused.

  “In America, we tend to knock three or four times. Here, they only knock twice.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why are there so many rules?”

  Luke simply shrugged his shoulders.

  “Bring a gift. Don’t bring a gift. They’re this particular on the number of knocks on their doors but they don’t care about numbering their houses sequentially? Seriously? This is absurd. Are you tricking me right now?”

  “No,” Luke answered sincerely. “I promise. If you don’t want to test the waters, just ring the doorbell.”

  Rio smiled and, in a display of trust, raised her hand and knocked twice. She was a little surprised when a woman about her mother’s age answered the door. She quickly decided that it would make sense for Sota to be married to another woman by now. After all, her mother had remarried a long time ago.

  Luke was impressed when he heard Rio properly introduce herself in Japanese by saying “Hajimenmashite, Marlow Rio to moushimasu.” He followed Rio’s lead and introduced himself as well. After the woman took her turn, Rio realized it was not Sota’s wife. In fact, after a few minutes of conversation, they discovered that the woman had never even heard of Sota Tanaka.

  Rio and Luke walked away with Rio disappointed but not defeated. It was only the first strike and she still considered herself very much up to bat. They climbed back into the van and Luke immediately started the engine. He quickly changed the stereo to track number six and the song “Blitz” by Audio Adrenaline started to play all over again. This quickly brought delight back to Rio’s face.

  “Ready to see the outreach?” Luke asked.

  “The what?”

  “The outreach. The ministry. Where I work.”

  “I suppose. Although, I should probably figure out where I’m staying tonight and how I’m going to get around tomorrow.”

  “I’ve already got you covered.”

  “How’s that?”

  “First of all, I’ll drive you where you need to go. And, second, we have dorms that no one’s using right now because there’s no camp. You can stay there.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “I was just planning to find a hostel or something.”

  “Have you seen a Japanese hostel?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t want to stay there.”

  “Why? Is it not safe?”

  “I don’t think it’s any less safe than other hostels. But, the ones I’ve seen here are like walls of double-decker rooms barely bigger than coffins that look like dryers at a laundromat.”

  “That’s appealing,” Rio stated sarcastically.

  “Yeah. Not really.”

  “Will your co-workers be okay with me staying there?”

  “Absolutely. We’re missionaries. You’re my current mission. They’ll get it.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “I agree. Someone’s looking out for you, Rio.”

  “Yeah, you.”

  “I’m just a servant,” Luke told her as he started to drive. “The One looking out for you is a lot more significant than I am.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Spicy Beef

  As Luke drove the van into the parking lot of Christian Youth Outreach International, Rio couldn’t help but think that the campus looked a lot like a school back home. There were five buildings. The biggest one was used for indoor sports like basketball, ping-pong and gymnastics. There was a second building used for indoor water sports like swimming, diving and water polo. What the staff called the main building was used for administrative purposes and housed the cafeteria. Finally, there were two dorms - one for boys and one for girls. Surrounding those five buildings was a track and several fields used for sports like soccer, baseball and cricket. Rio also spotted some tennis courts. She was very impressed and even remarked to Luke that it all reminded her of an Olympic training facility. Of course, in reality, it wouldn’t measure up to those standards. But, for a sports camp, it really was quite extraordinary.

  Luke told Rio about how busy it gets when the campers arrive as he led her into the main building. Loud was one of the words he used. It was almost hard to imagine for Rio because it was currently so quiet. However, she had been in enough school cafeterias and on enough playgrounds to know exactly what he meant.

  They set Rio’s luggage down next to a table in the cafeteria and pulled chairs down from on top of the same table. Sitting down in the chairs, they unpacked the paper bag they had picked up at a local Japanese fast food restaurant on their way in. It contained two dinners. Both were beef bowls, which were basically just beef on rice, because Luke swore it was the best thing on the menu.

  Rio teased him about eating nothing but beef since that’s what they had for lunch. Once she tasted it, she understood and informed him that she hadn’t grown up consuming a lot of beef but that he was quickly turning her into a beef girl. He took it as a compliment, picked the bowl up off the table, and sat back in his chair with a hint of satisfaction and accomplishment showing in his body language.

  “Looking kind of proud of yourself over there,” Rio pointed out.

  “I think what you just told me is that I have really good taste,” Luke said in defense. “So, yeah, I take a bit of pride in that.”

  Rio’s face displayed full-on flirtation mode as she responded, “You do and you should, Sporty Spice.”

  Playing along, Luke jabbed back, “Sporty Spice? From beef and pride to Sporty Spice? I don’t see the connection.”

  “No connection there.”

  “Clearly.”

&nbs
p; “But, you’re obviously Sporty Spice. Look at what you do for work.”

  “Oh, okay. Got it. Now it makes some sense. So, which Spice Girl does that make you? You don’t seem frightening enough to be Scary Spice.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Your hair is black so, you can’t be Ginger Spice.”

  “True.”

  “That leaves Baby Spice and Posh Spice.”

  “Neither.”

  “You have to pick one.”

  “Then I’m Sporty Spice.”

  “You can’t be Sporty Spice. We already made me Sporty Spice. In fact, you made me Sporty Spice.”

  “Then we’re both Sporty Spice.”

  “We can’t both be Sporty Spice. It’s like the Highlander. There can be only one.”

  “The what?”

  “The Highlander. You’ve never heard of the Highlander?”

  “Guess I missed that one. What is it?”

  “It’s not just one thing. It’s like three movies and a TV show.”

  “Oh. Okay. Guess I missed them all.”

  “Alright. Let’s say there can be more than one Sporty Spice. What’s your sport?”

  Rio suddenly realized she’d gone the whole day without talking about swimming. She couldn’t remember the last time that happened.

  “I swim.”

  “You do?”

  Rio nodded.

  “Competitively?”

  Rio nodded again as she spoke, “I’m on scholarship at the University of Hawaii.”

  “Oh, wow. Impressive. You’ll have to check out our pool.”

  “I’d love that. What’s your sport?”

  “Basketball and baseball. I played both in high school. Probably could have played baseball in college. But, I went to seminary instead.”

  “Also impressive.” Luke and Rio shared a flirtatious look that abruptly ended when Rio heard some loud clanging, followed by a squeal. She cocked her head and scrunched her eyebrows. Then she heard what sounded like a repeated thud sound, each followed by something akin to the tearing of paper. She looked at Luke.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, with real concern.

  She didn’t respond at first. Then she heard the clanging sound again and asked, “Do you hear that?”

  “I don’t hear anything.”

  Next, she heard a bigger thud, followed by the sound of air being released.

  “Is someone here?”

  “Maybe in the offices. Why?”

  “You really don’t hear that? It’s so loud.”

  “Stay here. I’ll check it out.”

  As Luke stood up and walked away, Rio squinted her eyes. She was surprised to realize that his movement was excruciatingly loud. Luke’s footsteps sounded like the thud and paper tearing pattern she had been hearing but, even louder. As he disappeared from view, the volume decreased until it balanced out with the first sounds. Then she heard him open a door and walk about twelve more steps before he began to speak to someone. She could hear every word as clear as if it were happening just a few feet away.

  That’s when Rio realized that what had happened to her eyesight was now happening to her hearing. Wanting to gain control of it, she looked across the room and out a window. As she focused her eyes on a tree just a few feet outside of the window, the conversation between Luke and a man he called Isaac disappeared and it was replaced by the ribbit sound of a tree frog. Suddenly, the tree frog also came into view as if it were only a couple of feet in front of her face. Rio sat back in her chair, probably looking a lot like Luke had when she admitted he was turning her into a beef girl, when a hand on her shoulder sent her leaping to her feet in alarm.

  “Uh,” Luke started with a little embarrassment showing through, “Isaac, this is Rio.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Goodknight

  Rio quickly collected herself and shook Isaac’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” she stated, nervously.

  “Likewise,” Isaac responded without a hint of skepticism. “Luke tells me you’re here looking for your birth father and you need a place to stay. I hope our dorm rooms aren’t too cramped for you.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Rio lit up with enthusiasm as she realized Luke had been right. She was welcome to stay. “Better than fine. I’m sure they’ll be fantastic. Thank you, so much.”

  “It’s our pleasure to have you. He also tells me you’re quite a swimmer. If you stick around long enough, we might have to put you to work as a coach.”

  Rio grinned as her eyes darted from Isaac to Luke and then back to Isaac again.

  “Well,” Isaac said as he extended his hand a second time, “it’s nice to meet you and I’ll look forward to seeing you around. Go finish your dinner.”

  “Thanks again,” Rio blurted out.

  “Of course,” Isaac insisted as he turned and walked away.

  Rio and Luke sat down and finished their dinner. Luke beamed as he saw how excited and appreciative she was of the opportunity she had been given to stay in the CYOI girls’ dorm. He was even more pleased when she expressed relief and even excitement when he told her that he acted as a Resident Director when the kids came and, therefore, resided year-round on the first floor of the boys’ dorm.

  When they were finished with their dinner, they threw the containers away and left the main building. Luke escorted Rio to the girls’ dorm, unlocked the first door on the right side of the hallway on the first floor, and gave her the key to her dorm room. It looked a lot like the dorm rooms she knew from visiting her friends back at college. Once again, she was thrilled.

  They placed her bags inside and began the official tour. Luke showed Rio where all the important places were like the bathroom and the laundry facilities before they left the dorm. He also showed her his room so she could find him if she needed anything. They walked around the campus and even went back to the main building for a more thorough tour. But, Rio’s favorite spot was, of course, the building they called the Aquatics Center. They agreed that a swim was likely an activity they would need to add to the calendar for the following day. However, it had gotten late and Rio wanted to call her mother before bed. So, the last stop on the tour was a pay phone in the lobby of the girls’ dorm where the tour had begun. They agreed to meet in that same spot at nine o’clock the next morning. Luke said goodnight and walked out of the building. Both were sad to see the night come to an end but, knowing that they would get to have another day together when they woke up made it all better.

  Rio pulled her calling card out of her wallet and picked up the phone to start dialing. Looking at her watch and doing some quick math, she realized her mom wouldn’t be at home yet.

  Toki was on her feet, behind her desk at the university, gathering her things and was about to start for home when the phone rang. She briefly debated about whether to answer it. Finally, she picked up the phone and answered as she usually would. When she heard her daughter’s voice on the other end of the line, her tone quickly transformed into one of relief and excitement as she dropped back down into her chair.

  She was thrilled to hear that Rio was safely in Japan and fascinated to learn that the woman who lived in her old house had never heard of Sota Tanaka. She presumed that meant that it had been sold at least twice since she left. Otherwise, she figured that the woman would know the name of the man who sold it. But, she admitted, the woman’s husband may have handled everything and, perhaps, she simply didn’t know who they had purchased the house from. Either way, it was interesting for her to hear.

  The most fascinating thing that Toki learned from Rio, however, was the story of her meeting this Christian missionary named Luke. She even joked that Rio had been in Japan for one day and had accomplished what Toki hadn’t been able to do in a couple decades there - meet her knight in shining armor. She could hear the heart flutters in her daughter’s voice when discussing him and how good he had already been to her. It made Toki feel good, too, that her daughter had been given what sounded like a sa
fe place to stay and someone who knew the area to be with her on this journey. That added a sense of comfort for Toki that she didn’t have when she dropped Rio off at the airport earlier that morning.

  When they hung up the phone, they both felt relieved. Toki could drive home with a smile on her face. Not that all her concerns had disappeared but, most of them had subsided, at least a little bit.

  Rio went to her room and got out her toiletries, took them to the bathroom and got ready for bed. By the time she climbed in, her thoughts were back on Luke. It surprised her that she wasn’t focused on finding Sota. That, of course, was still the plan. However, this new man in her life wasn’t the man she was looking for when she stepped off the plane. The idea of him had not even occurred to her until she basically ran him over in the airport.

  But, her thoughts weren’t about how handsome he was, how kind and warm or even how smart he was. Her thoughts were on the things he said about why he was so confident that God was real and how He had revealed Himself in the Holy Bible. What he had to say made a lot of sense but, new questions were beginning to form in her mind. She was already beginning to look forward to having the opportunity to ask them the following day. Until then, she was hoping that it was time to close her eyes and get some shut-eye. But, unfortunately, she wasn’t tired at all.

  So, instead of drifting off to slumberland, she continued to think about the details that Luke had mentioned as evidence for the existence of God. We’re no accident she remembered him saying. That made sense to her. All the details that made life work, from as big as the universe to as small as a caterpillar’s head or the human eye, it was too specific and too perfect to have just happened by accident. And, as she followed her brain down the rabbit trail, she thought about what was happening with her eyesight, her hearing, and her newfound ability to control water. She thought to herself that this must be part of what the elderly woman had been talking about when she told her mother that she would be a gift to the world. In that moment, she knew there was a plan for her life. She just didn’t know what that plan was yet. But, it was comforting to think that a plan did exist. She found herself going back to what Luke had said and reapplying it specifically to herself in her mind, I’m no accident.