Alice-Miranda in Japan 9

by Jacqueline Harvey

  Jacinta set off ahead of the other two girls. She was just about to go through a long blue curtain when Lucas turned.

  ‘Jacinta, that’s the men’s. The women’s is further along.’

  ‘Oops.’ Jacinta put her hand to her mouth. ‘Thanks. That would have been embarrassing.’

  ‘Yeah, especially if you saw the guy in the bath. Dad and I reckon he’s a sumo wrestler.’

  Millie giggled.

  The girls went a few paces further and parted a long red curtain. They found themselves in a small vestibule, which was empty apart from a single chair and a delicate ikebana arrangement on a low table. Another doorway led through to a dressing-room.

  ‘I think that’s the undressing-room,’ Millie said with a grin as she and the girls walked through. There was a wall of pigeonholes with a white towel perfectly folded in each one.

  ‘Mummy said that you have to put your clothes in the pigeonhole and take a towel,’ Alice-Miranda explained.

  Millie pulled out the white cloth. It was barely larger than a face washer. ‘I know a lot of Japanese people are small but what’s this supposed to cover?’

  ‘Someone must have put a handtowel in there by mistake.’ Jacinta pulled a towel from the compartment beside Millie’s. It was the same size.

  Alice-Miranda pulled out a third towel. It was no bigger than the first two. ‘It looks like this is the only size we get.’

  ‘What are we supposed to do now?’ Jacinta looked around the room, wishing that Millie had read up on bathhouse etiquette.

  ‘I gather we get undressed,’ said Millie. She slipped off her robe and underwear and shoved them into the pigeonhole. She took her towel and walked through another set of curtains.

  ‘Is anyone in there?’ Jacinta whispered.

  Millie poked her head back through the drapes. ‘No, I think we’ve got the whole place to ourselves.’

  Jacinta breathed a sigh of relief and followed Alice-Miranda into a large shower room. White plastic stools and handheld shower nozzles were dotted around the tiled walls. The girls spotted signs indicating that guests should sit and clean themselves thoroughly before getting into the baths, and keep their towels out of the bath water.

  Millie pulled up a stool, crossed her legs and grabbed the shower nozzle off the wall. ‘This is strangely comfortable, you know,’ she said, smiling.

  The trio spent five minutes scrubbing and soaping before rinsing themselves off and heading to the adjacent room, where the bath was located. It wasn’t like any bath the girls had ever experienced before. At least four metres long and two metres wide, it was more like a small swimming pool. On the far side, a torrent of water cascaded from a ledge, creating a waterfall effect. The steam on the surface looked like fog and Millie remembered Lucas’s warning about the temperature.

  ‘I’m going in.’ Alice-Miranda plunged her toe into the water and immediately pulled it out again. ‘Ow!’

  ‘Is it really that hot?’ Millie leaned over and put her hand into the water. She pulled it out quickly too. ‘How are we supposed to get in there?’

  ‘Come on, it can’t be that bad.’ Jacinta dipped her foot in. She stood there for as long as she could bear it and then leapt out, hopping around. ‘That’s ridiculous. How does anyone ever get in?’

  ‘You’ve probably just got to sink slowly and allow your body to get used to it,’ Alice-Miranda suggested.

  The three girls spent the next few minutes dipping their toes before eventually Alice-Miranda plunged into the hot water. Jacinta and Millie got in soon after and the three girls bobbed around like corks.

  ‘This water feels weird,’ Millie said.

  ‘I think it’s the mineral salts,’ Alice-Miranda explained. ‘Mummy said that this was an onsen and the baths are only called that when they’re fed by a mineral spring.’

  ‘Well, I don’t care what it’s called. It’s soo relaxing.’ Jacinta swam over to sit on the ledge with the water tumbling onto her shoulders. ‘It’s like having a built-in masseuse.’

  ‘Since when have you ever had a massage?’ Millie asked, paddling over to sit next to her. She let the water crash over her head, plastering her red curls to the side of her face.

  ‘I haven’t but this is what I imagine it would be like.’ Jacinta wrinkled her nose and sent a splash in Millie’s direction.

  The girls soaked for ages before Alice-Miranda held her hands out of the water and studied the deep wrinkles crisscrossing her palms like a bumpy road map. ‘I might get out. I’m turning into a prune.’

  At that moment, the sound of voices floated in from the entrance vestibule.

  Jacinta’s ears pricked up. ‘That’s enough for me too.’ She swam to the other side of the bath and scrambled out.

  ‘Me three,’ Millie said, following her. Although she was enjoying the bath and was quite okay with her friends’ nakedness, the thought of sharing the pool with strangers was another thing altogether.

  The girls towelled themselves off as best they could then headed back through the shower room and into the dressing area.

  ‘Oh hello,’ Alice-Miranda said to the two women who were in various states of undress. The child quickly pulled her yukata from the pigeonhole and slipped her underwear on beneath it.

  The ladies smiled and nodded. ‘Ohayou.’

  Millie and Jacinta were dressed in a flash.

  ‘It’s lovely in there but watch out for the water. It’s boiling,’ Jacinta said as the girls went to leave.

  The two young women giggled.

  Millie shook her head. ‘Seriously? You needed to tell them that?’

  ‘Well it was, wasn’t it?’ Jacinta frowned.

  ‘I’m pretty sure they’re Japanese,’ Millie replied. ‘They’ve probably been in a million baths and all of them just as hot.’

  ‘Oh, they must have thought I was an idiot,’ Jacinta said, rolling her eyes at herself.

  ‘I disagree,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘I’m sure they thought you were kind, that’s all.’

  ‘You’re so naive, Alice-Miranda,’ Millie chided. ‘But that’s why we love you.’

  The girls dashed upstairs to get dressed.

  Half an hour later, the girls, Lucas, Hugh and Lawrence were ready to go to the park that Aki had told them about the day before.

  ‘Do you want us to check and make sure there are no photographers outside?’ Millie asked. She was worried that one of the policemen who drove them home the day before might have spilled the beans.

  Lawrence looked at Hugh. ‘I think we should be okay, but just to be on the safe side, off you go.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Lawrence, I could be a private detective in my spare time,’ Millie said.

  Jacinta snorted. ‘Since when?’

  ‘Well, who found Mr Parker and solved the mystery of Mayor Wiley and his dastardly plans for the gold mine last term?’ Millie challenged her.

  ‘Alice-Miranda, of course,’ Jacinta replied.

  ‘That’s not true, Jacinta. Millie and I worked together,’ the tiny child said.

  ‘See?’ Millie poked out her tongue.

  The kids waved goodbye to Aki, found their shoes in the front hall and tumbled out onto the street.

  ‘Are you sure there won’t be any photographers lying in wait?’ Hugh asked his brother-in-law. He didn’t like the idea of sending the children outside to face them on their own.

  Lawrence nodded. ‘Japan doesn’t have much of a paparazzi. Anyway, one call to the police and they’ll be gone, so there’s no need to worry. Let the kids think they’re on the hunt.’

  ‘You take the alley, Alice-Miranda,’ said Lucas, ‘and I’ll head up that way a little and make sure there are no long lenses hiding anywhere.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Jacinta smiled at the boy.

  ‘Yeah, okay,’ Lucas said.

  ‘I’m going with Alice-Miranda,’ Millie said, ‘because she and I are an awesome team.’ She made a monster face at Jacinta.

  Lucas and Jacint
a walked off in the opposite direction.

  ‘I think a month’s holiday with Jacinta is about four weeks too long,’ Millie grouched. ‘She’s really getting on my nerves and it’s so obvious that she thinks Lucas is her boyfriend.’

  ‘Just ignore her, Millie. You know she doesn’t really mean it,’ Alice-Miranda said soothingly.

  ‘Well, if she doesn’t mean it, then she shouldn’t say it.’

  Although the three girls had enjoyed a wonderful time at the beach, Alice-Miranda could sense that, just occasionally, Millie and Jacinta needed a break from one another. While Jacinta had come a long way since her days as the school’s second-best tantrum thrower, she still had a prickly temper, which she liked to take out on Millie.

  Alice-Miranda spotted a black sedan tucked in the end of the alleyway. It was facing towards them. ‘Oh, that doesn’t look promising,’ she said.

  Millie peered down the alley too. ‘Do you think we should have a look?’

  Alice-Miranda nodded.

  The two girls walked towards the vehicle. The dark glass prevented them seeing any of the interior from this distance. But if they had been able to see inside, they’d have discovered a man in a black suit facing a small computer screen. The man’s eyelids drooped and his head jerked back as he tried to keep himself awake. His partner was taking altogether too long to fetch coffee after a long night of surveillance. On the screen, a red dot was flashing madly.

  Millie stopped about five metres away from the car. ‘Do you really think that could be the paparazzi? It could be anyone. Maybe we shouldn’t get too close.’

  Alice-Miranda was about to answer when a door opened to her left. It was a side entrance to the house Ambrosia had barged into the day before. Millie grabbed Alice-Miranda’s arm, wondering if the pock-faced tyrant from the Itoshii Squirrel store was about to confront them, but it wasn’t him or his chubby son.

  Another boy stepped into the alley.

  ‘Ohayou gozaimasu,’ Alice-Miranda said. She looked at the boy. ‘Haven’t we met before?’

  He glanced up at her and shrugged.

  ‘Yes, you gave us directions to the kimono maker yesterday. Thank you ever so much. We made it in time and the kimonos were exquisite. I don’t think I’ve ever seen fabric quite so beautiful before,’ Alice-Miranda prattled. ‘You’re Yoshi, aren’t you?’

  ‘Hai. I must get to the market,’ the child said softly.

  ‘Oh, of course,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘Do you live here?’

  ‘Hai.’

  ‘Do you know who owns that?’ Millie pointed to the black car.

  Kiko glanced up and shook her head. But as she turned to go, she spotted him. One of her aunt’s men, unmistakable in his trademark black suit. He’d just turned the corner into the alleyway and was heading towards them.

  Alice-Miranda noticed the colour drain from the boy’s face. ‘Are you all right?’

  Kiko gulped. She had to get back inside before he saw her.

  Yamato glanced over at the children standing in a huddle. He didn’t care much for tourists – they were rude and there were far too many of them.

  ‘I don’t feel well,’ whispered the boy. He spun around, opened the door and raced back inside. Alice-Miranda went after him.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Millie called.

  Alice-Miranda turned back, holding the door open. ‘I just want to make sure he’s all right. He looked as if he might faint.’

  ‘But the Itoshii Squirrel man and that screechy old woman live there.’

  ‘Her name is Obaasan and I’m sure that she wouldn’t mind me checking that Yoshi is okay.’

  ‘I’m not going in there.’ Millie shook her head. There was no way she wanted to meet either of those people again.

  ‘Well, wait here. I won’t be long,’ Alice-Miranda said as she closed the door, quickly removed her shoes and located a pair of slippers.

  Millie wondered where Lucas and Jacinta had got to. She turned back to face the alley and saw a tall man in a dark suit walking towards the car. He was carrying two takeaway coffee cups.

  He glared at her as he walked past. If he was a paparazzo, he was very well dressed, Millie thought to herself. He put the cups on the roof of the car and opened the passenger door.

  A gruff voice emanated from inside the vehicle. Whoever it was didn’t seem too happy with the man in the suit.

  Millie watched as the driver’s door swung open and another man, identically dressed, got out. He reached across the roof of the car and took one of the coffee cups, then walked around the vehicle, stretching his legs and groaning a lot.

  Lucas appeared from around the corner and called, ‘Millie, is it all clear?’

  ‘I think so,’ Millie answered.

  ‘Where’s Alice-Miranda?’

  ‘She’ll be back in a minute.’ Millie wasn’t keen to have Hugh and Lawrence cause another scene like Ambrosia had the day before. ‘Why don’t you and Jacinta go with Hugh and Lawrence and we’ll meet you there in a few minutes. I forgot my camera and it would be great to get some pictures of everyone.’

  ‘Do you know where the park is?’ Lucas asked.

  ‘Yes, Aki said that it’s the first road to the left and then it’s just a little way along on the right.’

  ‘Okay, but don’t be long.’

  Millie stood on the doorstep wondering what to do. The two men were drinking their coffee and talking. Since they weren’t watching her, she stood on tiptoes and tried to see inside the window beside the door of the strange house.

  Meanwhile, Alice-Miranda had found the boy in a small bedroom just inside the entrance. He was standing in the middle of the room, facing the wall.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘I’m sorry about barging in – I just wanted to be sure that you weren’t going to faint.’

  Kiko nodded without turning around. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Alice-Miranda thought the boy looked as if he was struggling to catch his breath.

  ‘Hai,’ Kiko said. Her mind was racing. They had found her. And now she needed to leave as soon as possible, with or without her mother’s diary.

  Obaasan’s voice echoed down the hall before Alice-Miranda could ask anything more. ‘Boy, is that you? I need you to take more tea to Ojiisan. You’d think he would turn green, the amount of tea he drinks. But he is special. My old legs are too sore to get up and down those stairs again today. Hurry up, the squirrel needs my attention.’

  When the old man had first arrived, Obaasan had been suspicious. The imperious woman who had arranged his stay gave few details and there was no government pension for him. Each month an envelope full of cash was delivered by a messenger to pay for his room and board. But he was a kind soul and Obaasan had grown to like him.

  Kiko flinched, while Alice-Miranda could only guess at what the old woman’s tirade in Japanese meant.

  Finally Kiko turned around. ‘You should go,’ she said in English. Her eyes shot to Alice-Miranda’s neck. Sure enough, her necklace was there. How she would love to snatch it away, but that would be wrong. The girl’s father had paid for it in the market.

  ‘Can I help you? It sounds like Obaasan is cross,’ said Alice-Miranda.

  Kiko walked past her into the front hall and then through the kitchen door. A tray containing a teapot and cup and a small plate of biscuits sat on the bench. Alice-Miranda followed her.

  ‘That looks heavy,’ Alice-Miranda said as she watched Kiko pick it up.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Kiko protested. ‘Please go, before Obaasan sees you.’

  ‘I’m sure she won’t mind if I help you. I met her yesterday, actually. She was a little annoyed about my friend Jacinta’s mother barging into the house, but I think she had other things on her mind. We’d just seen someone being taken away from the house in a black van.’

  Kiko nodded but said nothing. She had wondered about the commotion yesterday but hadn’t dared to ask. As she went to push open the kitchen door, the tea
pot almost slid off the side of the tray and she just managed to steady herself.

  ‘See, you could do with some help.’ Alice-Miranda held the door open and the other child walked through.

  ‘Really, I can take it,’ Kiko insisted. Alice-Miranda took the plate of biscuits to lighten the load.

  ‘We saw another black car here yesterday afternoon,’ Alice-Miranda commented.

  Kiko nodded.

  ‘What a terrible thing to have two deaths in the family in one day,’ Alice-Miranda said sadly.

  ‘They are not family,’ Kiko said. The words were out of her mouth before she had time to think.

  ‘Do you mind me asking what this place is, then?’

  Kiko began to ascend the stairs, with Alice-Miranda close behind her. ‘Obaasan looks after the old people. They live here and she cares for them.’

  ‘So it’s like a retirement home,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Well, that explains a lot. My daddy’s family home was transformed into a lovely place for the elderly. But sadly it tends to be their last home. Is Obaasan your grandmother?’

  Kiko shook her head. ‘She is just a kind lady.’

  ‘And the man with the scarred face?’ Alice-Miranda continued.

  ‘He is her son.’ Kiko knew she was saying too much. But something about this child and her big brown eyes made Kiko want to talk.

  ‘Have you lived here long?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘Not really,’ Kiko whispered. She reached the top of the stairs and continued down the hallway to the end. She was about to put the tray on the ground to knock when Alice-Miranda leaned forward and did it for her.

  ‘Ojiisan, I have your tea,’ Kiko called through the closed door.

  Alice-Miranda slid the door open and Kiko walked into the room. Alice-Miranda followed.

  An old man with a fuzz of grey hair sat in a chair staring out the window into the alley.

  Kiko placed the tray down and set about pouring his tea.

  Alice-Miranda watched the graceful way in which Yoshi went about this task.