Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Narashino Nights
The cool night air washes over my body, slick with the warm water from the bath. I shiver as I pull my gown on, trying to forget my sadness. I felt like I just did something I should not have. I made a wish, with mystical intention under a full Japanese moon. A little wish before I had to leave.
The humid air also carried the scent of the honeysuckle my foreign friend’s landlady planted all around the outdoor bath. It's the perfect fragrance for this place; it reminded me of home, even though I was the furthest from it.
I'm not really sure why I always felt drawn to Japan. Was it the brainwashing pop culture from the 1990’s? Was it the normalization of Eastern, specifically Japanese, pop culture cartoons and hentai all through the early and mid 2000’s? Or was it more spiritual, more meaningful- more, romantic. Maybe it was all of those things. Maybe it was the fact that there are only four seasons in Japan instead of the eight in America. Maybe it was the fact that you could walk into any store or restaurant and find anything you wanted, no matter how obscure the product or the cuisine.Maybe it was the fact that you could go to a park or a beach and find seclusion and tranquility almost anywhere you looked. Maybe it was the fact that you could live in a city and never have to drive more than twenty minutes to find nature.
There were so many reasons why one would want to visit such a beautiful country...and yet most people didn't actually end up visiting it truly.
Most tourists ended up going to Tokyo because that's where they'd been told to go by their travel agents. And once they got there, well, what do you know about Shizuoka Prefecture other then its proximity to Tokyo? That it has some nice parks perhaps?
My friend lived on the outskirts of all the metropolitan hub hub. Okubo. In Narashino. He was 34, 5’5 with a gentle smile and timid demeanor. When we first became pen pals I didn’t know I’d think of him in the way I do. Tonight, I made that wish of love for us, if it was true - let it be known.
But what happens when your dream comes true? What happens when you finally get what you've wished for? Does it turn out the way you hoped? Does it make you happy?
For me, tonight, I was unsure; because I fainted right there by the bath, drapee only in my night gown.
My whole body felt stiff. I try to move, but my limbs feel as though they're weighted down by anchors. I can't move them. They feel like they're stuck in cement. I try to scream, cry, or maybe even moan, but nothing comes out. I feel like I'm being buried alive. I can’t cry. I can’t moan. Is it sleep paralysis?
I wake from the nightmare. What happened? What happened between the bath and … waking from that horror?
“Lisa?!” I heard Ko whisper urgently.
I shake my head fiercely. I don't remember what happened, but I remember that I wasn't asleep. It was real. It happened. It was a dream, but it felt so real.
It was a shakingky horrifying dream, but it was still a dream. I shook my head again. I need to stop doing that. It doesn't help. It makes me look back at the past instead of looking forward to the future.
His warmth came close to me, by the bedside.
“Are you ill? Did you not tell me?” He asked, his face showing a look of concern I had not seen yet. “No, I'm fine,” I said, my voice cracking as tears forced themselves to my eyes. “It's just a dream.” I took in his worried expression and sighed. “It's just a dream.” I repeated the words in my head until they sounded right. Then I swallowed hard and tried to look at him. My eyes fluttered and I was unconscious again.
Chapter 2
I woke up mumbling and then calling his name.
“K-Koichi!” I breathed out.
He patted my back and rubbed it gentjy. “You're not ill.” I saw a forehead thermometer by the bedside. “You're just having a bad dream.” His voice was soft.
“I think it’s stress.” I murmured. Forgetting my wish, or perhaps, my spell.
I fell back onto my pillow. “Stress from school and work and everything.” I pinched my eyes shut. The stress was making me sick. I felt like I was coming down with something.
“It's not stress.” He said firmly. I opened my eyes back up to see him gazing down at me with his deep dark eyes. His face was stern.
“Um… Koko-Chan..” I replied shyly, yet friendly.
“Your heart is yearning for something.” His eyes were different, the brown reflected the red from his hoodie, and they seemed amber. The timid sound and aura was soothed over by a new energy. “You're feeling lonely, but you don't want to admit it.” His voice was soft.
“Lonely?” I asked. I blinked back the tears brimming in my eyes. How could I have forgotten my wish? Why did I do it? This is how he find out my honest feelings.
“ You’re afraid of getting hurt.” he whispered, his hand touching mine now.
You're scared of what the other person thinks… because of your nationality.” His eyes glowed with a gentle fire. I felt myself melting under his gaze. “That's why you finally came here.” His eyes crinkled gently around the corners.“What do you mean?” I asked, but his gaze was already fixed on my lips.
“Don't try to deny it,” he said softly. “Your lips say it all.” His thumb brushed against my bottom lip. “You've finally come here because you're in love with me.”
I was stunned. I had no idea he could be so forward. Had my wish done this? Made us the way we needed to be so we’d have courage to speak up?
“Well, you are my friend. I do love you. I don’t want to see you hurting.” I replied, giving a small laugh. Glancing away from him now.
Straightening myself up and showing my dominance, I turned to him again.
“What would you say if it was true?” I asked, almost on impulse.
“I'd say that you finally found your backbone.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling warm with interest. He leaned in towards me. He tucked some of my strands behind my ear. “I remember when you wished your hair to be this long.” He smiled.
I shivered but smiled at him. “Koko…” I let myself smile a bit bigger now.
I leaned in closer to him. I traced my finger along his jawline. I felt his body tense up as I neared him. I stopped just short of his mouth. I tilted my head ever so slightly, and his lips met mine.
We kissed. It was soft. It was sweet. His tongue swept over my bottom lip. I felt every feeling. His hands held me tight as his body pressed against mine. I was now sitting on the edge of the bed and he was pressed between my legs.
He stripped off his zip up hoodie and button up shirt, a white shirt clung to toned body. He was warm and firm. I ran my hand along his chestnut hair. I felt his breathing shudder as I ran my fingers through it and down his neck. I kissed him again.
I felt his hands gently make their way to the small of my back. I felt the softness of his kiss break into a hungry neediness then. His left hand then ran up my thigh and he caressed it eagerly.
“May I send you home with my love?” He asked, kissing my chest now. I nodded my assent.
I felt his hot mouth move down my torso. I felt his hot breath on my skin. I felt him move tenderly down my body until he was at my belly button. He hesitated, but his mouth moved further down still. He then licked at the fabric covering my clitoris. His hands were now cupping my breasts beautifully and firmly. His fingers looked so perfect against my bare skin.
I moaned and closed my eyes as his tongue tickled my sensitive flesh. I felt the warmth of his mouth expand and spread. His fingers now parted my panties and pushed inside. I felt the wet heat of his mouth expand and take me fully in. I felt his hot breath on my sex. I then let out a slight moan as he embraced my entire sex. He then began alternating between kissing my inner thighs and my wet parted middle.
“You taste sweet. Just like you.” He whispered sweetly to me. His right hand now reached for mine to interlace fingers as he continued to kiss and lick at my sensitive mound.
“You get so wet, I can see you are pleased.” He smiled and playfully teased me. He pulled my bulging bundle into his mouth and began consuming my flesh that tingled with eagerness for him to release me.
I closed my eyes and my orgasm erupted on his face. I moaned passionately and ran my fingers through his hair, cracking his neck. He kissed my inner thighs, sticky and wet. We both were breathing heavy.
“That. Was…Unexpected.” He murmured into my leg, then kissed it. He looked up at me, and I blushed the hardest shade of rose my skin could muster. I now felt so much more shy. I thought I’d feel relieved but now I was scared. I was scared to leave him behind.
I was scared to leave Japan behind.