The Samurai's Garden: A Novel by Tsukiyama Gail

Author:Tsukiyama, Gail [Tsukiyama, Gail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2008-06-24T00:00:00+00:00

Instead of taking the main road, we walked down the length of the beach, the warm sand soothing against my bare feet. I looked up at the dune, fearful that we might see Mika, only to relax when I saw that Keiko and I were alone.

“I was hoping to see you again,” I spoke first.

Keiko walked slowly beside me. She still avoided my eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was shy, or still embarrassed by her father’s rudeness. “It has been very difficult to get away,” she said. “Mika is constantly by my side and my o-tsan is very strict. I told them I was going to go pray for Toshiro at the Tama Shrine, knowing Mika would prefer to stay at home.”

“I wasn’t even sure if you wanted to see me again.”

Keiko suddenly stopped walking. “I did,” she said softly, kicking some sand away with her wooden sandal. “I hoped you would accept my apology.”

I took a step closer to her, and could feel Keiko’s body tense against mine, but she didn’t move away. I touched the smooth white skin of Keiko’s cheek, then lifted her chin so that her eyes met mine before I leaned slowly forward and kissed her. I would have kissed her again, if she hadn’t pulled away.

“I must go now, Stephen-san,” she said, her face flushed.

I didn’t want her to leave so soon, still feeling the warm rush of desire. But I stood there, my feet pressing deep imprints into the sand. “When will I see you again?” I called out to her.

Keiko stopped for a moment, then turned back toward me. “I will come to you,” she said. Her voice drifted off into the air even as I tried hard to hold onto it. Then she began to run to the sand dune, lifting her arms just enough so that her kimono sleeves flapped gracefully through the air like wings.

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