Brazil-Maru by Karen Tei Yamashita

Author:Karen Tei Yamashita
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781566895033
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 2017-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

When I returned to the city, Natsuko had her piano. I did not necessarily think about seeing her again, but I saw a poster for a piano concert at the Teatro Municipal. I made a mental note of the concert and went off to Miyasaka’s. Junko bumped into me at the door in surprise and then ran off to find Natsuko. I could already tell that I had made an impression. All the women at Miyasaka’s looked at me from the corners of their eyes. Mama Miyasaka appeared and led me to a private room. She came in herself and poured tea for me. “Uno-san, everyone is talking about you. Such a generous man.”

“Natsuko seems like such a bright girl. I felt sorry for her. It seems a shame that she cannot have a better life.”

“Her family has come into difficult times, but what is new? Her father—” Mama Miyasaka lowered her voice, “such a good-for-nothing. Her mother is ill, and there’s a younger sister she dotes on. Everyone is living off of Natsuko. Poor child.”

“Well, maybe I can do something to help.”

Mama Miyasaka smiled and left. When Natsuko entered the room, she seemed so much younger than I remembered her. Perhaps it was because the strange elegance of her features were happily embarrassed. “It is an incredible dream,” she beamed. “I am forever indebted to you.”

“Yes, now I will insist that you learn to play,” I teased.

Natsuko was not sure. “I will try,” she hesitated.

I smiled, “You will need a teacher. If you find a teacher, I will pay for your lessons.”

“Oh,” she gasped.

“We will talk about that later. First you must hear what a piano can sound like. Tonight at the Teatro Municipal. A piano concert. I will come for you at eight,” I announced.

When I came for Natsuko, I was surprised by her transformation. Her dress was quite simple, but everything seemed to hang about her with an elegant sophistication, a studied look of refinement. She seemed to me beautiful and graceful as no woman I had ever known. As she was youthful, she also seemed wise. All the young girls on my farm had a kind of innocence that would never end, but Natsuko seemed both innocent and knowing. And it was true what Sawada had said; Natsuko was a reader. After the concert, we passed the evening talking about books we had both read. I suggested this book or that book to read. I would find and buy her a copy. I suggested that when I came again, we would see another concert. I would get her a phonograph to listen to records. She could take singing lessons as well as piano lessons. We would see a play together. The opera. The ballet. Later, I could take her traveling. She could see the world, study voice in Italy, music in Germany. My altruism was boundless; I was saving a human being, creating a new woman. I was impassioned with an idea that Natsuko would become a model for others to follow.

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