I swept the last pink petal of the cobblestone walkway and made a fist pumping motion in satisfaction. The last few days had been exceptionally rainy for this early in spring, which meant that my chores were quite a pain. Today there was nothing but blue skies.

Praise the sun!

When you live in the mountains, you can never take a sunny day for granted.

I ran inside to grab my bento and sneakers, then rushed out the door.

“Bye mama! I finished sweeping outside, so I’m going to school.”

Mama and I lived in a temple on the edge of town. It’s accessible to only a few dirt roads and a long set of stone steps,

I reached the top of the stone steps with a running start, and leaped my way down the first dozen. Yesterday I slipped and fell, but today... Praise the sun. Today is going to be a great day!

At the bottom of the steps there was a bridge to a small neighborhood, where most of the visitors to the temple lived. I crossed over the stream and walked down the neighborhood road.

“Big sis Lyn!” Cried a young boy who was sitting on the porch of the Yamagawa house.

“Heya Kenta. You’re up early.” I said to the sixth grader.

“Dad needed help with an oil change on the truck, so I got up early to help him!”

I walked over to my little friend and ruffled his hair. He was a good kid, and one of the oldest in the neighborhood. Unfortunately for me, I was the only highschooler in the area.

“Now aren’t you a nice little kid.” I said in a snooty voice.

“I’m not little! I start middle school next year.” He said with a pout.

“I know, I know. Hehe.” I said while ruffling his hair some more.

“Big sis, do you want to play kick the can with Jon, Mari, and me after school?” He said pleadingly.

“Sorry little man, I’m spending time with mama after school,” I said shaking my head. “Maybe we can play this weekend.”

I wasn’t about to miss a chance to terrorize the neighborhood with my possie of elementary schoolers, especially considering how being the oldest kid in the neighborhood made me a demigod in their cute little heads, but mama came first. Today was my “tuning” day.

I waved goodbye to Ken.

“Bye-bye!” I shouted, continuing my journey to school.

On sunny days, I liked to run to school. Most kids would either ride a bike or take a bus to school if they lived as far as I did, but I had an affinity for running. It wasn’t much of a challenge, but it left me feeling in-sync with my surroundings. Taking the bus for the last week left me feeling pent up, and I was going to make up for it.

As I approached the school gates, I saw two students standing right outside. Tai and Feng were my two best friends. The three of us usually arrived at school about an hour before classes began, so we could hang out.

Tai was a tall and sturdy looking boy with a short buzz cut and deep tan. He had a square head and earnest brown eyes. Standing next to him was the much shorter Feng. Feng was a bit frail, and had distinctly androgynous features, but despite that she had a pretty face with big dark eyes.

“Osu!” Tai hailed in a boisterous tone while smiling at me with his characteristic toothy grin. “Did you run all the way here or is that just bedhead?”

I furrowed my brows and growled at him. The punk.

“Hi there Tai-Tai. Did your mom sew an extra tag on your shirt, or is it just inside out?”

He reached his hand behind his neck to check for a tag that wasn’t there and laughed.

Heh. Point me.

“Good morning, Lyn. Your hair… It’s just a little bit messy. You can borrow my comb if you umm… If you want to.” Feng said stuttering in her own adorable little way.

“Thank you, Feng.” I stuck my tongue out at Tai and stepped over to Feng.

I grabbed her hand and asked, “could you comb my hair for me? Mama always does it for me, I have no idea how to do it myself.”

“Ummm. Ahh. Y-yes.” She said, with her cheeks painted red.

“Sorry ladies, it’s my turn to clean the dojo. Oh! And Lyn…” He paused for a moment and narrowed his eyes. “If you can’t take care of your hair properly, I could lend you my razor.” He winked at Feng and walked away.

I rolled my eyes. Point him. Then turned to Feng, who was chuckling nervously.

“Let’s go.” I said, and we walked to the classroom hand in hand.

The room smelled like cleaning solution and glorious pencil shavings. The only thing that was missing was some fresh spring mountain air, so I opened up some windows, and sat down in my seat. The desk was old, really old. It had pits and scratches from students who had sat here long before I was even born, but this was my third week of high school, and everything still felt new and fresh.

I leaned back in my chair and let Feng work her magic. I lavished in the feeling of intimacy between myself and my friend.

“Next time, let me brush yours, Feng.”

“Uh-huh.” She replied, while concentrating on mine.

Her hair was in a short and boyish bowl cut that really didn’t do her justice, but now that we were friends, I’m sure we would be spending time on each other’s appearance.

The thought of giving Feng a girly makeover, stayed on my mind till the bell rang and classes finally started.

At lunchtime, Feng and I put our desks together and reserved a chair for Tai. It couldn’t come soon enough, and I was looking forward to pillaging my friend’s food, so I pulled out my bento to get started.

Inside my bento I found a note and a silver-colored capsule along with my food.

Lyn, I will be visiting your school this afternoon to talk with your teachers about having you take some time off to travel. Make sure to take your pill with lunch. It’s vital for your tuning this evening.

♡ Love, Mama ♡

I popped the pill in my mouth and swallowed; leaving Feng with a puzzled look, but predictably she was too shy to ask any questions.

Immediately after swallowing, I felt a surge of warmth flow through my body and concentrate in my abdomen. This pill, or “vitamins,” as mama called them, was orders of magnitude stronger than my last one. She usually gave them to me prior to a tuning, to as she put it, “give your body the nutrition it needs to be properly tuned.” Of course, I didn’t buy whatever she was saying, but mama had her secrets, and sometimes offered medicine to visitors at the temple. Whatever these “vitamins” were, they had insane results.

The excitement I had from the pill instantly dissipated after taking stock of the lunch beneath it.

I let out a sigh. It’s nothing but shades of green.

A girl needs her protein! Mama usually gave me vegetarian meals, telling me “You shouldn’t get used to eating a lot of meat.” But come on mama! At least give me fruit and some rice.

My eyes drifted over to Feng’s lunch, green with envy.

Fried chicken!

I looked back and forth between Feng and the fried chicken while psychically projecting my desire. She could part with one of them, right?

“Umm… You can have a piece if you want to.” My angel said, clearly getting the message.

“Really? Oh well, uh… Sure, Feng! I love you.” I said with feigned disinterest.

I held my mouth open with an “ahhh” waiting for her to treat me.

She hesitated, looking at her chopsticks, before plopping it into my mouth.

Oh my god, her mom is such a good cook.

“Oh my!” Tai said with a faux girly voice, entering our classroom with a tray of cafeteria food. “A second-hand kiss!”

“Fou fork…” I said, my mouth still enjoying the chicken.

“You dork! Feng and I don’t care about that crap.”

I picked up a piece of broccoli with my fork and placed it in front of Feng.

“See? Say ahhh!”

She was bright red. Maybe Tai’s teasing had gotten to her. She’s such a sensitive girl.

“Come on Tai. Don’t tease her so much.” I chided. “It’s ok Feng, this is just thanks for that delicious chicken.”

She glomped on it, letting out an “mmm” sound. It wasn’t a fair trade.

*Ba da duh duh* The school bell chimed.

*Yan Lyn, please come to the main office immediately.*

“What did you do this time?” Tai said smarmily. “Ha! Maybe they are going to make you dye your hair black!”

“No... I like your blonde hair.” Feng said with genuine concern.

“Relax, my mom said she was coming to school today, it’s something about travel. I’ll let you guys know after class. Sorry to run Tai-Tai!” I tossed a few more pieces of food in my mouth and walked out of the classroom.

The warm feeling from the “vitamins” had spread throughout my body. I felt light like an invisible 50kg weight had disappeared from my pockets. I ran down the flight of stairs to the main office three steps at a time. When I reached the bottom, I was met with the scowl of a teacher I didn’t recognize and the words “no running in the hallways.” Fortunately, with a sincere bow and an insincere apology, I escaped without a lecture. Praise the sun!

When I entered the office, I saw mama sitting next to an open chair opposite a middle-aged man. He sat in a defensive posture in the face of a young-looking woman, in an elegant red kimono; mama sat upright, her black hair in a tidy bun.

“Excuse me for entering…” I said politely.

She looked back at me with her golden eyes and a smile.

“Lyn. Sweetie, Principal Mori and I were discussing my plans for you to study abroad in Switzerland for a while. I found you an unparalleled tutor, and we’ll be leaving next week.”

“Ms. Yan, this is quite an unusual development, and I fear that such a sudden change will have an impact on young Ms. Lyn’s education. Besides, two years is a terribly long time to be away from school, how can we be sure that your tutor will keep her in line with the rest of Ms. Lyn’s classmates?”

My heart stopped in my chest. Studying abroad? Two years? I looked at mama with pleading eyes.

“Mama, what’s going on? What does Principal Mori mean two years?” I felt a lump forming in my throat.

Mama glared at Principal Mori with violence in her gaze, her golden eyes causing him to shrink under their intensity.

“Principal Mori was just about to leave and give us time to talk about this in private. Thank you for lending us your office.” Mama said in a tone that made it clear that it wasn’t a request.

“Well, I’ll just… Go get lunch! Yes, thank you Ms. Yan.” Principal Mori said as he quickly exited the room.

Mama looked at me with genuine sadness.

“Lyn, I know this is very sudden.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I wish we could just wait a little longer…”

“Why, mama? Why can’t you just go alone? I can stay with Feng’s family and…”

Mama grabbed me by the shoulders. She was hesitating.

“It involves… family. We aren’t going to Switzerland. We’re going to the place you were… Born.” She pulled me in for a hug as tears began pouring out of my eyes.

“Lyn, you know that know that we aren’t like the rest of the people around us. You’ve always wondered, but you’ve never asked. Could you sense my fear in telling you the truth?”

Mama released me from her embrace. There were tears in her eyes as well.

“It’s time to hear the truth, Lyn. I can’t hide it any longer.” She stood up and composed herself. “We’ll talk when you get home tonight. Go say goodbye to your friends, honey. I promise that when this is all over, you’ll be able to see them again.”

She left the room as I sat completely dazed and overwhelmed.