The morning sun peeked through the clouds and shone its golden rays upon the stone steps. I had finished sweeping them and was heading back to the temple.

“All finished, mama!” I said cheerfully.

“Lyn, don't forget your lunch, and we're doing a tuning this evening!” She shouted back from the temple.

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!

I put my broom into the shed and went inside our house, taking a quick shower and changing into my school uniform.

Then I opened the front door and stepped into the bright morning light, and with my bento in hand I rushed outside.

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

Mama and I lived in a temple on the edge of town. The temple was surrounded by a dense forest of trees and bushes, but the temple itself was hidden from view. The temple was a bit of a hike, but it was a beautiful walk.

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 was going to be a great day.

I crossed the bridge at the bottom of the steps and entered a small neighborhood. The houses were pretty old and looked like they were built by the same people who built the temple. They were all built in the same style, with a flat roof and wooden lattice walls. But unlike the temple, they were decorated with modern conveniences, like air conditioners, and probably had decent cell phone reception.

“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-grade

“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 high schooler 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 posse of elementary schoolers, especially considering how being the oldest kid in the neighborhood made me something of a demigod to their cute little heads, but mama came first. Today was my “tuning” day, after all.

I waved goodbye to Ken.

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

I was wearing a sailor uniform and white sneakers. Perfect running gear.

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 detached from the world, and I liked to keep things interesting.

As I approached the school gates, I saw two students standing 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 with distinctly androgynous features, but still managed to look a bit cute and girly with her round face and big 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. That punk dared to diss my hair?

“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, but he could've at least been a bit flustered for me.

“Good morning, Lyn. Your hair… It’s just a little bit messy. I can help you brush it if umm… If you want me to.” Feng said, stuttering in an adorable way that always seemed to heal my black heart.

“Bless you, Feng.” I stepped to her side and stuck out my tongue at Tai-Tai.

"Would you comb it, please?" I begged while grasping her hands.

"It feels so nice to have someone brush your hair, and we can talk about secret girl things without being bothered by our lead-brained Tai-Tai here."

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

“Well, I must apologize, 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., and silently cursed him as I turned to Feng, who was chuckling nervously.

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

We were high schoolers now, and we had a high school classroom to go to. It smelled like ammonia-based cleaning solution and the glorious scent of pencil shavings. My sweet little world. It did lack the fresh mountain air from home, but it still felt right. I opened up some windows and sat down in my seat. My desk was old, really old, but that meant that it was covered with the pits and scratches of my predecessors.

I closed my eyes and breathed in.

I had long, wavy blonde hair that was just past shoulder length. It was a natural color, not dyed, which made me stand out like a beacon.

I took a look at myself in the window and sighed. I needed a good combing, alright.

"Would you, Feng?" I asked, leaning back in the seat in front of her.

She worked her magic, combing through my hair.

I closed my eyes and let her work. It was nice having someone else brush my hair. It felt intimate and warm, and I could just feel myself melt away in her care.

“Your hair is so beautiful, Lyn.” She said while pulling my hair to the side.

“I like your hair too, Feng.”

“You like my hair?” She asked skeptically.

“Next time, let me brush yours.”

“Uh-ok then.” She replied meekly.

Feng and I were in the same class throughout middle school but had never really been friends till more recently. She and Tai had been close since they were younger, so when I joined the judo club and became friends with Tai, she and I just gradually became friends as well.

And now we were high school girls, so it was about time we got to do girly stuff like try on makeup and clothes, but Feng could be quite shy and reserved when it came to her appearance, so it would probably be better if we just took it bit by bit at first.

“Well, I think I’m done.” She said, and I looked over at her.

“What do you think, Lyn?”

“It looks great!” I said, and she smiled shyly.

“Thanks!”

At lunchtime, Feng and I put our desks together and reserved a chair for Tai. I placed myself in prime pillaging distance from their food and 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, Mom

It was strange that mama had decided to visit the school today; she usually only did that when she had business to attend to in town.

I looked over the note once more before seeing what mama had packed me for lunch.

It was nothing but veggies...

"What does it say?" The brute next to me said.

"See for yourself, Tai-Tai." I said, lifting up the note.

Tai didn't really have a keen sense of privacy, delicacy, boundaries, and color. The first three were probably because he had two older brothers, and the last one—the color one—was because he was colorblind.

He snatched the note out of my hand and began peering through its content. Seeing my opportunity to plunder, I snagged an unguarded sausage with my chopsticks. Tai was none the wiser.

"What’s it say?" Feng asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"I have no clue," Tai said. "It's written in some weird language."

Tai was an idiot sometimes, but that's how he'd be remembered in the end: A kind idiot. That is, if he didn't die from something stupid like falling off a cliff or drowning or getting eaten by an animal, but he was right. It was written in "Pauralan," which was the language they spoke in mama's homeland.

"Oh, sorry, Tai. It's a note from my mama. It says 'remember to take your vitamin' and 'I'm visiting the school this afternoon,' or something." I said. "Speaking of..."

I popped the pill in my mouth and swallowed, and immediately I felt a surge of warmth flow through my body and concentrate in my abdomen.

Mama's “vitamins” were something that I would find in my lunch once or twice a month on days when she would tune me. As she put it, “they give your body the proper nutrition it needs to be tuned.”

It was all a load of nonsense to me. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I knew that she was very careful about my health.

I mean, I didn’t think she was crazy.

Unlike the other kids around me, I've never been sick or gotten seriously hurt. I was healthy as a horse. Maybe mama was on to something with her whacky vitamins and tuning sessions.

I turned to my lunch and let out a sigh. Nothing but shades of green.

A girl needs her protein! Mama almost exclusively made vegetarian meals, saying something about how “I shouldn’t get used to eating 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.

She could part with one of them, right?

I looked back and forth between Feng and the fried chicken while channeling a psychic projection of my desire.

“Umm… You can have a piece if you want to.” She said with the tune of an angel.

“Really? Oh well, uh… Sure, Feng! I love you.” I said to my adorable friend.

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

She hesitated, looking at her chopsticks, before plopping the tasty morsel into my mouth.

My lips quivered from the ecstatic joy—a flavor like nothing else in this world. The soft, juicy texture; crisp skin filled my tongue, all mixed together with a hint of lemon and pepper.

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

“Oh my!” Tai said with a faux girly voice. “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. Our love is pure.”

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

“See? Say ahhh!”

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

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

She glomped on it, letting out an “mmm” sound.

*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, don't do it!" Feng suddenly shouted with genuine concern. "Your hair is beautiful."

Although Tai wasn't being serious, Feng's concern wasn't completely misplaced. My natural hair color had been a sticking point with school administration before at every school I had been to.

"Trust me Feng. There is absolutely no way in hell mama would let them force me to die my hair. She can be scary when she wants to be." I replied honestly.

Tai grinned widely. He had known me long enough to meet mama and knew enough to take my word for it.

"Well, now," I said before I placed the lid on my remaining veggies.

"I'd better head down to the main office."