Chapter 30: Chapter 30

It is early in the morning. As I blink my sleepy eyes I wonder what it is that has awaken me before the sun. I shake my head and begin to lay back down thinking that I was mistaken. There it is again. It sounds kind of like scraping. I peel back the curtain over my window slightly and peeler around the yard. I see no one but I still here the sound. I rise from my bed and tiptoe to the window in the sitting room. The sound is much louder here.

Outside the window I see a robes figure digging in our yard. There is not much light out but the whole looks a bit deep. They have been doing this for a while. I slip on my geta and head for the door. I slowly open it, so I will not catch the figures attention. I leave the door open and slowly creep forward. I want to get closer but not so close to where I will not have the distance to run to my father who is in the hut sleeping.

Right in ear shot where they should be able to hear my yell I see something on the floor wrapped in fabric. It is tied tightly together and is about my size. It looks as if they mean to bury it here.

“You can go and bury that thing somewhere else. You are not supposed to be here” I yell. The figure turns there head in my direction but stays bent in the position as if they still mean to dig. When they straighten to standing in the small hole I begin to take steps back just in case they think of attacking. A foot is lifted out of the hole as if trying to exit and I turn to run towards the door panting in fear.

“Io …. wait it’s me Draco” he says.

I pause holding my door open at the sound of his familiar baritone. As I turn to look he is no longer standing in the hole but a few feet from it. His hands are raised in the air as of surrendering. He lifts them to remove the hood on his robe and his perfect face comes into view. I run to him and wrap my arms around him.

“What are doing here so early. I’m not to see you until two days from now.” I ask excitedly

“I was leaving you next gift” he says gesturing to the wrapped fabric. “What are you doing awake and why would you approach me if you knew not who I was?” He says. At the change of his tone, I look at his face to see that his eyebrows are drawn together. I have never seen him make this expression before. I would almost say he looks angry.

“I was seeing who would be digging in the yard at this hour. It woke me and I was curious” I reply.

“This world can be dangerous Io. There are men who would do terrible things to a female on her own. You should take more precaution. Do you even know how to defend yourself against someone?” He scolds me.

“I know it can be dangerous. I made sure to leave the door open so I could run inside to get my father if I needed. I’m a woman I have no need to defend myself” I declare a bit loudly.

“That could have easily allowed someone to go in uninvited. Your father is still sleeping at this answer. What would he have been able to do if you were not heard. I am glad I decided to come and bury this myself instead of hiring someone to do it for me like I had originally thought. You should have thought this through” he says coldly.

I take a few steps away from him. How dare he talk to me like this and tell me how to act. I am not a child. He looks at me with his reddening face and I lose it.

“I took the precaution I knew how. I am not a child Draco but an adult. I make my own decisions. I would think that after days of not seeing me you would be happy. Instead, you want to sit here and berate me. If this is how it will be I choose to take my leave now. Goodbye Draco” I hiss.

I soon on my heel angrily and walk back to the front door of the hut I had left open. The sun is starting to come over the horizon and the sky is beginning to turn red. I would be rising soon to start my day usually.

I normally am happy to begin a day but so much for this. To start a day arguing does not bode well for the rest of it. I cannot believe he would act like this. I feel silly for missing him so much. When I reach the door of my hut I am jerked to a stop with an arm around my waist. I reach down to remove it when his whisper stops me in my tracks.

“I’m sorry Io. I did not mean to upset you or cause you to anger. I just had a rough day yesterday and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you” he says.

I clench my teeth still angry. I want to reply but fear that this close to my father it will awaken him. I remove his arm from my waist and pull him away from the door so I can speak freely.

“Your right I did nothing to warrant you speaking to me in such a way. You could have simply told me what was on your mind instead of causing me to anger” I scold him.

He lowers his head and sighs. He looks as if he is thinking about what I said. I stare at him in silence waiting for him to speak. I shift my stance wanting to still go back into the hut. I am no longer as excited as I was to see him.

“I am sorry Io but after what I’ve witnessed this week collaborating with my dad, I was angry at your reaction. I If it had of been someone else other than me it could have ended badly. There are people in this world who look for opportunities like that to hurt good people. It would have wounded me deeply if something were to happen to you” he says defensively.

“I would feel the same if something were to happen to you. “I assure him. “What could have happened with your father for you to imagine someone hurting me” I question.

“There were men trying to take young girls for assorted reasons not far from here. We were also attacked by men on a trip that were thieves trying to steal coin” he states.

“Oh my” I exclaim. “I’m so sorry you had to see such horrible things. I can understand your anger more now. I hope that everyone involved was okay” I plead.

“Yes, but it was quite a scare. It was a while until we knew everyone involved was okay. I don’t want to go through something like that again” he says.

At this point I do not know what to say. I reach out to grab his hand to try to comfort him. I truly cannot imagine the things he has been through. I see the pain it has cause him on his sad expression. He runs his thumb along my hand lost in thought. The sun is brighter on the horizon and has started to turn the sky a lighter blue.

“Can we go back in time a moment. I have to leave soon and would like to repair how I acted. I don’t want to leave us like this” he requests shortly. I nod to him. I do not want to leave things like this either.

He grabs my hand and walks back toward the hole in the ground he has dug. He releases my hand and goes over to the wrapped fabric. He unrolls it to reveal a sapling. I raise my eyebrows in question to why he would be planting a tree in my yard.

“That’s a tree” I state with a question.

“Yes it is. I chose a tree because I know how much you enjoyed the ones on Hanami. My village has so many of them and I figured it would be nice if you didn’t have to travel so far to see them” he tells me.

He bends down to lift the tree grunting when he has it in his grip. It looks to be kind of heavy. He places the rooted based into the hole. As he balances the tree with his hands he starts to use his feet to fill in the large hole around the base. I step closer to help him.

Once the tree stays upright by itself. We fill in the top of the hole and pack the ground, so it is tight. He stands back to admire his work with a sheen of sweat in his head.

“Why this tree” I ask him.

“Trees are a symbol for life and growth. This one will grow in its life with us. It’s like a new beginning so I saw it as a good fit to our new beginning.” He states. As he takes in my expression I can tell he still sees my confusion. He reaches into his pocket and pulls a folded parchment from it. “My letter explains it better” he says.

Dear Io,

When you awake you will see this young sapling. This is a marker for the beginning of this wonderful life I will soon start with you. It will grow and bloom with time just as I hope we will. Overtime you will see our growth in years in a tangible form. As we grow old we can travel to watch its blossoms bloom and be reminded of the celebration in which we met. I hope you enjoy this token of my affection and that it will make you think of us.

Love Draco

He recites his letter with a smile. At such a sweet gesture my eyes tear up. I rise to my tippy toes to pull him to me and lay a kiss upon his lips in thanks. He kisses me back and wounds his arms around my hips holding me close. When he pulls away to lay his head on mine I am breathless. A few moments later I feel him pull back with a sigh. His eyes are on the horizon, and I know we are out of time.

“I have to hurry back if I am to meet my ba in time. I wish I hadn’t have wasted time being angry and that I could stay longer” he retorts.

“I wish that too, but I know you have to go. I should also be readying for work. I will see you in two days times” I tell him.

He leans forward to place a kiss on my forehead. I sigh as he releases me from his hold. The air suddenly feels cold now that he no longer holds me.

“Yes, in two days” he agrees. He grabs the fabric and rolls it onto a ball and then starts to head towards the hill. I watch him go for a moment saddened to see his leaving. He turns to wave and as I go to enter my hut, I wave back. I rush to my room to start readying for work. I can already hear my father up and about. When we leave the hut I cannot help but to smile at the tree.

“Who planted a sapling in our yard”? My father questions.

“It is Draco’s next gift to me. We now have a cherry blossom tree of our own.” I answer simply.

“Now that is a courting gift I have not seen before” he muses. “What are we to do with this tree?” He asks.

“We will enjoy its beauty and watch it grow with us. It's a new beginning.” I answer him as we walk.

“A new beginning……” he repeats “I like it” he states. As we continue our walk to the fields he says nothing else. However, there is just a small warm smile on his face. I smile brightly to myself thinking that my dad is finally warming up to Draco. Today will be the start of something great indeed.