The Night
by Greg Sandborn
"Akane! Nabiki!" Kasumi called from the downstairs hallway. Her 9 year
old face was screwed into a mask of irritation. "Where are you!?"
She was sure her voice could be heard over the sounds of her father's students
practicing in the dojo.
"Nabiki!!!" She called again with an impatient stamp of her foot, her voice
rising an octave.
"What is it, Kasumi?" Nabiki's voice came from somewhere upstairs. "I'm
trying to do my homework."
"Meeting! NOW!"
Wiping her hands on the little apron she wore, Kasumi stomped back into the
main room. Kasumi was always calling little meetings'. Ever since their mother
had gone into the hospital, she had acted like *she* was in charge. Like *she* was
mother. Neither of the other two girls really liked this too much but since they were
unwilling or unable to assume their mother's duties around the house, the job fell to
Kasumi. With it went the authority to call family meetings. Something Nabiki
thought she used entirely too freely.
Little Akane, cautiously wandered down the hall from her room and eyed her
older sister suspiciously.
"What is it, Nabiki?" she asked, her hazel eyes big and innocent. She was
carrying her little stuffed kitty, the same one she went everywhere except school
with.
"Oneechan wants another *meeting*." Nabiki said with some disgust. "I
guess we better go. Otherwise, she'll tell daddy again."
With a sigh, she took her little sister's hand and led her downstairs and
assumed their usual places around the table that seemed to dwarf them. Kasumi just
stood across from them, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Ok, Kasumi. We're all here. Now what's so important you have to call a
meeting for." Nabiki slouched forward, her elbow on the table and her cheek resting
on her fist.
"Is mommy coming home?" Akane asked while cuddling her stuffed kitty.
Kasumi had tried to get her to give up carrying that thing around with her, knowing
what the kids at school were saying and all, but, so far, Akane had successfully
resisted her efforts.
"Not yet, Akane." Kasumi sounded tired. This was the same question Akane
led off with at every meeting. Frankly, Kasumi was getting tired having to repeatedly
tell a 6 year old that her mother wasn't coming home just yet.
"I'm not getting enough help from you two." Kasumi said coolly, eyeing both
sisters.
"Kasumi, we've got homework to do. Sensi-Inoue said I needed more study if
I wanted to get into junior high school." Nabiki protested, using her usual shocked
look. It was the same look she always used when someone asked her to do something
she didn't want to do.
"Look!" Kasumi sounded more upset than she usually did at these meetings.
"I've got homework to do too, you know. In addition to cooking, cleaning, doing
your laundry, *and* the shopping, I don't have enough time to get everything done!"
She was *really* angry now. "I *can't* do this alone!"
"I want mommy to come home." Akane pouted looking at her kitty.
Kasumi just dropped to her knees on the pillow in front of her and rested her
forehead in her hand. "I do to, Akane. But until she does, I need your help."
"Why doesn't father help out?" Nabiki asked, with a stern look on her face.
"Nabiki," Kasumi sighed. This was the same argument they'd had for the last
four weeks. "Father works hard teaching in the dojo. It's not his job to cook and
clean. That is woman's work."
Nabiki just wrinkled her nose at the term woman's work'. She couldn't
understand why her father didn't just cut his class schedule and spend some time
cleaning around the house. Besides, they were just children. Why should they be
expected to do grownup things like cooking and cleaning?
Kasumi pulled a piece of carefully folded paper from the pocket of her apron.
Opening it, she looked sternly at her sisters.
"What I have here is a list of things that need to be done around here. You
are both going to take a few of these and do them each day." Kasumi eyed her sisters
coolly. If nothing else, they were going to get the idea that she was serious about
this.
Akane and Nabiki, however, just looked at each other and made faces.
Ignoring her younger siblings reactions to her plan, Kasumi read off the
various duties, assigning them as she went.
"Nabiki, you will sweep the walk and clean up outside every day after school.
Do your homework before dinner because afterwards you will have to gather the
laundry and sort it. I will show you how to run the washing machine and you can do
the laundry."
"Even Akane's stinky underwear?" Nabiki protested.
"I don't have stinky underwear." Akane charged. "You do." She might have
been the youngest but she had developed a personality trait of never backing down
when challenged. Something Nabiki constantly baited her with.
"Enough!" Kasumi was not going to let her little meeting degenerate into the
usual childish squabbling. "Now for Akane."
"I'm too little." she looked at the table pouting. "Daddy said so."
"Well, daddy has been busy and doesn't know just how grown up you are."
Kasumi was using something she had learned in school called psychology'. Making
Akane feel grown up and important, she felt sure she could get her to perform the few
tasks she had laid out for her.
"You will have to clean the bath *and* the toilet."
"NO!" Akane protested, almost leaping to her feet. "I'm not cleaning the
stinky toilet!"
"Akane..."
"No, Kasumi. I don't wanna. I'm telling daddy." Akane started to get up.
"Tell daddy what?" Soun Tendo's voice came from the hall. He had just
finished his last class of the day and was looking for his daughters. As he came into
the room, Akane jumped to her feet and ran to embrace her father.
"Kasumi says I gotta clean the toilet." Akane pouted.
"Daughter," Soun looked at Kasumi with tired eyes. His lack of sleep clearly
showing on his face. "Perhaps you could find something else for Akane to do that's a
little less...objectionable." Like all fathers, he favored his youngest daughter. Much
to the irritation of the older girls.
Kasumi glared at Akane who just return a I told you so' smile, her arms
around her father's neck.
"Very well, I guess she could sweep the front walk and dust the rest of the
house." Kasumi sighed looking over her list again. This wasn't working out like she
had planned. What little they were actually going to do was not going to take much
of the overall responsibilities from her. She was still going to be working from
before sunrise until well after everyone had gone to bed. Refolding her paper, she
sadly returned it to her pocked.
"Don't worry, daughter." Soun said softly, sensing her frustration. "I will
clean the toilet."
"See?" Akane tossed at her oldest sister, a tiny smirk on her face.
Soun hugged her and set her back on the floor. "I'm going back to the
hospital for a little while." He sounded tired. "I think your mother can tell when I'm
there."
"Is she getting better, father?" Kasumi asked. She, more than any of the
others, was anxious for her mother's return. She wanted desperately to go back to
being a child again. She was even looking forward to being able to spend more time
at school. As it was now, she had to hurry home every day to get started on the
housework.
Soun just looked at the floor. He knew the truth but wisely kept it from the
girls. Their mother wasn't getting better. In fact, she was worse than ever. The
doctors had tried everything they knew but the disease was beyond their science and
she was slowly dying.
"Tendo-san?" The voice of Dr. Nagumo from the hospital broke the spell.
"Are you home?"
"In here, doctor. Please come in." Soun said hurrying to the hallway to greet
his visitor.
When he returned. The look on the doctor's face told all present that it
wasn't the kind of visit he liked to make. Kasumi bit had on her lip to keep from
breaking into tears. She knew what the doctor was here to say and didn't want to
hear it.
"Nabiki. Akane." she said with a steady voice. "It's bath time. I'm sure
father and the doctor have things to discuss."
Excusing themselves, Kasumi could see the relieved look on the doctor's
face. What ever he was here to tell Soun, he didn't especially want to do it in front of
the children.
"Why do we have to take our bath now, Kasumi?" Akane whined as she was
herded up the stairs. "It's still early."
"Because, stupid. Daddy wants to talk to the doctor alone." Nabiki chided.
She probably also knew why the doctor was here and, for once, was willing to help
Kasumi shield the youngest from bad news.
"I'm not stupid!" Akane pouted again. Only to be shushed by Kasumi.
Obediently, she stopped her protest but shot Nabiki a withering look.
The girls quickly undressed in the changing room and moved quietly into the
bath. As usual, Kasumi had to help scrub little Akane who was acting more helpless
than usual.
Scrubbed and doused with cold water, the girls gingerly edged themselves
into the hot water of the furo. Kasumi settled back to enjoy the soaking, watching
Akane play with her toys and Nabiki trying to tease her.
"Kasumi?" Akane asked. "I miss mommy in the tub. She was always so
much fun."
Kasumi just smiled as she thought back to all the nights she and her sisters
shared the large furo with their mother. She *was* fun to be in a tub with. Playing
little games, doing girl talk', and sometimes singing. Singing. For some reason, that
stuck in her mind.
<What was that song mother used to sing to us?> she thought pensively.
Slowly the words matched the tune in her head. Kasumi always had a sweet singing
voice. Tonight she started softly, almost like she was trying to remember each word
as she went.
"Yes, Oneechan." Akane clapped her hands in delight. "That's the one."
And joined in, her little voice echoing through the room.
Nabiki just looked at the water and pursed her lips. She wasn't much of a
singer. Besides, without mother here, it just didn't seem right to be singing her
songs. Still, Kasumi's voice was infectious. Soon, Nabiki was joining in, timidly at
first, but with growing strength and confidence.
It was a simple, childrens' song. Nothing special. Almost repetitive in its
words but beautiful when song by a mother...or her children. In minutes the girls
singing was heard all over the neighborhood.
It was just loud enough to cover the sobs of a husband grieving for his
departed wife.
The night was cloudy and ominous when Soun Tendo returned to his home.
He had made all the arrangements for his wife's funeral and viewed her body once
more before it was sealed up for cremation. Throughout it all, she remained as
beautiful as ever. Even on the worst of days, she always made sure she looked good
for her husband so he wouldn't worry.
He knew of the torment she had gone through the last few weeks and how she
remained cheerful throughout it all, always asking about the girls and how they were
doing in school. She knew she was dying but refused to give in to the sadness. In the
end, she waited until she was alone to die, not wanting to inflict such a scene on
anyone. When she was sure the girls were alright and her husband was busy with the
dojo, she quietly slipped away, leaving the pain and her family behind.
Soun trudged slowly up to the gate of his home. All the lights of the house
were on and the sounds of voices carried out past the walls. A small sign in Nabiki's
handwriting hung over the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts' sign that
said: Closed Until Further Notice." With a sigh of resignation, he entered to join his
extended family for an evening of mourning. It was something he was not looking
forward to.
As he entered the door to his house, he was met by various cousins and uncles
who expressed their condolences while pushing something to drink or eat in his
hands. Gifts of money filled a small basket on the table inside the door. He only
glanced at it, knowing he would need every yen to pay for the funeral and shrine for
his wife. With forced little smiles he acknowledged each person who approached to
speak to him. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do.
The girls reacted differently to their mother's passing. Kasumi went through
the motions like a little robot, fetching food from the kitchen as it was prepared by
her cousins and aunts and delivering it to the main room for the family members to
eat. She nodded an acknowledgment to those who spoke to her but never responded.
More than once, she locked herself in the toilet to cry in silence, not wanting to be
seen or heard. Emerging several minutes later, her mask safely in place, to resume
her duties in the kitchen.
Nabiki sat in a corner of the room, her elbows resting on her knees, her hands
balled and held in front of her mouth. Her head was bowed but her eyes were
constantly shifting from mourner to mourner. Fighting constantly to control her tears,
she blinked and watched until she could stand it no more. Without even excusing
herself, she got up and fled her home. Outside she looked frantically for somewhere
to go where she wouldn't be heard or seen. She scurried through the gate and
remembered the place where she and her friends used to hide when they didn't want
to be found; under old Mrs Suzuki's house. With practiced skill, she found the loose
board only she and her friends knew about. Quickly removing it, she crawled inside,
badly soiling her best kimono in the process. She didn't care. It was *her* place to
mourn.
Mrs. Suzuki, no stranger to mourning herself having buried her husband only
two years before, was preparing to go to the Tendo's and pay her respects when she
heard a child crying through the floor of her bedroom. Cocking her ear, she knew
immediately who it was.
Nabiki was always her favorite Tendo sister. She was so much like Mrs.
Suzuki when she was younger; opinionated, head strong, even a little sassy. When
Nabiki and her friends set up their little hiding place under her house, she didn't
mind at all. It was her way of showing little Nabiki her approval.
Mrs. Suzuki slowly made her way to where Nabiki had removed the board
and hesitated. <A child needs to grieve for a departed mother. She just needs some
time alone.> she thought as she pulled back. She would wait for Nabiki to emerge
and lead her back home.
Under the house, Nabiki was sobbing uncontrollably. Muttering how much
she wanted her mother to come home, to return and help her grow up. She alternated
between words of hate for her mother for leaving her like this and whimpering
pleadings for her mother to return. Pounding the dirt with her fist, she cried how
unfair it was and how much it hurt. Again and again, she hit the dirt until her hands
were raw. It didn't change a thing. Her mother was still dead.
Outside, Mrs. Suzuki heard it all and fought back her own tears as she felt
every whimper stab at her own heart. Desperately, she wanted to crawl in with
Nabiki and comfort the sobbing girl. But she knew this was Nabiki's way. It was the
way she would have grieved herself if it were her mother. As the sky opened and
shed its own tears, Mrs. Suzuki kept to her post, getting drenched in the process. No
matter how long it took, she would be there when Nabiki emerged. She would need
someone to lean on to go home and Mrs. Suzuki was determined to be that person.
Akane had disappeared early in the evening. She, alone, reacted to her
mother's death with immediate anger; first directed at the doctors and later at the
disease itself. At age 6, she had no concepts of disease but knew it was something
that took her mother away so was to be hated and fought. Unlike her sisters, she had
no dislike for the dojo and for those who trained there. When she would play in the
yard, her father's students were always friendly and would talk to her as they came
and went. She was always impressed how they looked as they drilled and the sounds
of their yells when they struck something somehow excited her.
Tonight, she wandered into the dojo alone. If disease was to be fought, she
would do it to rescue her mother. With grim determination and 6 year old skills, she
faced one of the dojo's practice dummies and repeatedly struck it's padded body
screaming like the other students. Again and again, she struck the target, each blow
barely denting the fabric covered surface. Screaming her mantra, she punched and
kicked until she collapsed on the floor, exhausted and crying. Every time she
finished crying, she would return to the attack. Only to repeat the cycle over and
over. She would be found hours later by her father, still trying to kill the disease with
her blows and banish the sectors that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
A clap of thunder startled Nabiki from her sleep. She sat bolt upright with a
short cry, gasping for breath. Looking around her room, she was relieved to see
everything was normal. Her books were still on her desk, her clothes were strewn all
over the floor (she was still messy), and precious ledger books were still on the shelf.
<I've got to stop eating pizza before going to bed.> she thought. <Good grief!
I'm covered with sweat.> She felt the dampness of her covers and disgustedly
climbed out of her bed. Noticing it was only 4:30 in the morning, she started to
return to bed. <Wait a minute.> she hesitated. <It's Sunday morning. No school.
Might as well take a bath and get rid of all this sweat. At least I'll have it all to
myself.>
Quietly, Nabiki crept down to the bath. Inside, she shed her sweat soaked
nightshirt, grabbed a small towel, and entered the bath. The storm was clearing and
the lights of the city cast a gentle light in the room. <I'll just leave the lights off. And
soak in peace.> she mused closing the door.
In the furo, Nabiki sighed contentedly. Nothing like a hot bath to make
everything right.
Her peace was disturbed by the sound of someone else opening the door into
the changing room. Nabiki watched, an annoyed look on her face, as her younger
sister slid open the inner door and switched on the light.
"Akane no baka." Nabiki squealed. "Shut off that damn light."
"I'm sorry...I thought..." Akane stammered as she quickly switched off the
light. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
With her cheek planted characteristically in her fist, Nabiki replied: "I'm
trying an experiment. Seeing how long it takes for everyone in the house to join me
in the bath."
Embarrassed, Akane just looked at the floor.
"Oh, all right." Nabiki waved her younger sister to the furo. "If there's
anything I can't stand, it's when you pout like that."
With a tiny smile, Akane slipped into the warm water, making sure to stay in
the farthest corner from her older sister.
"So, what got you up at this hour?" Nabiki asked cradling her head on her
arms as she leaned on the edge of the furo.
"I don't know. Couldn't sleep, I guess." Akane replied sinking a little deeper
in the water. "Do you know what day this is?"
Irritated at having to play guessing games this early on a day off, Nabiki
turned and shot a look at her sister. "Sunday, why?"
Undeterred, Akane pressed on. "It's mother's meinichi. She died ten years
ago tonight."
<Oh great!> Nabiki thought. <We've got to go through all *that* again.>
Akane had gotten better at reading her sisters emotions over the years. She
could tell her sister wanted desperately to avoid revisiting her mother's passing. To
her, it simply served no purpose other than getting everyone, especially father, all
riled up again. Why couldn't they just let the dead be? There were some aspects of
being Japanese Nabiki simply hated. Poking around in graveyards once a year was
simply one of those things she would rather avoid.
Nabiki was about to answer her sister when she heard the outer door open and
close again. A few moments later, a naked Kasumi entered the bath and switched on
the light. Both girls loudly objected causing a startled Kasumi to quickly switch it off
again.
"What are all you doing up this early?" Kasumi demanded.
"Actually, Oneechan, if I thought there was going to be this much traffic in
here at 4:30 in the morning, I would have sold tickets." Nabiki dead panned.
"There's room. Join us, Kasumi." Akane invited sliding over to make room.
"You tell em, stinky." Nabiki chided. "You want your little duckies?"
"I am *not* stinky!" Akane hissed back.
"Look, if you two are going to fight again, I'm leaving." Kasumi turned to the
door.
"Just get in." Nabiki said with resignation. <All I wanted was a quiet bath.>
Settling in, Kasumi sighed as the hot water engulfed her body.
"So, Oneechan, what got you up so early?" Nabiki leveled her best
interrogation look at her older sister.
"Me? Why I always get up early." Kasumi protested a look of mock
indignation on her face.
"At 4:30 on a Sunday?"
"Well...maybe not *that* early."
They sat in silence watching through the window as the storm clouds
dissipated, revealing a few determined stars.
"You felt it, too." Akane finally said to Kasumi.
Kasumi looked at Akane for a few moments before nodding and looking
down into the water.
"Aw don't you start that mother's meinichi' stuff again." Nabiki protested.
"Every year, it's the same thing; get up early, go to the cemetery, meet with a bunch
of relatives we don't see unless someone gets married or dies, and listen while some
Shinto priest drones on and on over mother's grave. Every year, you guys."
"And every year you go with us." Kasumi quietly added.
Nabiki turned away and sighed. She had better things to do on her day off.
She didn't want to relive her mother's death again and again. Wasn't it painful
enough the first time?
"You know, I think the furo is smaller." Kasumi noted as she shifted her
position. "It's been awhile since all three of us took a bath together."
"Well, at least, we don't have to contend with all of Akane's toys this time."
Nabiki smiled a taunting smile at her little sister.
Akane just stuck her tongue out at Nabiki. Nabiki returned the favor and
Kasumi just pretended she didn't see either one.
They sat quietly for several minutes, each deep in their own thoughts.
"You know, it's times like this I miss mother the most." Kasumi finally said.
"I miss the baths we used to take together."
"How she used to play with us and sing us songs." Akane sighed wistfully.
"She had a beautiful voice."
<Oh no, not again.> Nabiki thought, her eyes closed tightly. <Please...> Her
body shuddered slightly. She had kept her feelings about her mother tightly locked
away for ten years. Why did they have to get out now?
"The last time we all took a bath together was...that night..." Kasumi closed
her eyes and bowed her head. "When the doctor came to talk to father, I brought the
both of you in here..."
All three girls were staring off into different regions of space, their thoughts
drifting back ten years. Each reliving their feelings at that moment in time.
"Kasumi...Are you crying?" Akane asked as she noticed a tear working its
way down Kasumi's cheek.
Kasumi sniffed quietly and used her towel to wipe her face. "It's just sweat,
that's all. The water is really hot this morning."
The younger girls exchanged glances and looked at their older sister,
remembering how she kept the family going through the last 10 years. How she
sacrificed her teen aged years to care for them. How she was the mother they both
needed. How she, alone, had to bear the load of the household responsibilities.
<I really do owe you, Oneechan.> Nabiki thought. She really hated owing
anybody. Maybe, going to mother's meinichi wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, this way
she could pay back some of those debts.
Softly, almost like she wasn't trying to be heard, Nabiki started humming the
song the girls sang that night. The song their mother always sang to them in the bath.
Kasumi's beautiful voice softly added the words with Akane joining in.
Slowly the volume of the song grew, the girls holding hands in the warm water.
Somehow, they had all made it through that night. Perhaps, Kasumi and their
mother's song was the reason. What ever the case, the three now sang as one, their
voices carrying out the window, across the walled compound and out into the street
beyond.
Somewhere a mother smiled.