<hr/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trajan pro;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong><span class="bbc_u">Prolog: Arriving Home</span></strong></span></span></div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: palatino;">"Midori, do not be angry with me," Father glanced back at her while he lead the cart towards the village. It was the one that Uncle Kanetaro lived in; they visited a few times a year to drop off some of the best things that Father traded for, though they never stayed long. In the past few years, a big wall had gone up around the village, not that the walls could be seen until they were right up on it, anyway. All the trees were way too big. It made seeing the sky hard, actually. She liked the desert better, it was warm and the sky was always open, it didn't make her feel closed in like all the trees did.<br/><br/>The trees were nice, but... they made her feel so trapped.<br/><br/>Or maybe it was that Father was going to leave her behind. And, yeah, she wasn't talking to him right now, but that was because she would probably start crying if she said anything. Crying again. She'd cried the first time, yesterday, when he'd told her that he wouldn't be bringing her with him any more, and that, instead, she'd be left with Uncle Kanetaro. Because Father didn't want her with him any more. She'd been trying to be good, to not ask so many questions when he was meeting with other traders. But, somehow, it hadn't been enough. Father had left her at playgrounds, sometimes, but she didn't really like being around other children: they were mean and too loud and too rough. Midori liked staying with Father, but that didn't matter, did it?<br/><br/>"Midori. I will still visit, I promise." He looked back again, his limp getting worse because he had twisted to look at her. From her perch on the cart, Midori watched as Father did not even look upset about leaving her. She had cried, why wouldn't he just look a little bit sad?<br/><br/>Maybe Father had always wanted not to have her. She slowed him down, didn't she? She used to interrupt him a lot when she'd been younger. She...<br/><br/>The wall came into view, they were here. It took a while to get in past the guards, but Father had visited many times before, so it didn't take as long as the first time. Almost did she remember the way to Uncle Kanetaro's shop, but part way there, they turned down a different street, one with houses. Father was really going to leave her.<br/><br/>The houses were nice, all with little yards, some with flower gardens and some with vegetable gardens. The one that Father stopped the cart at was a light yellow color on the outside, sort of a happy color. Midori sniffled, trying her hardest not to cry again as Father lifted her down and lead her by the hand up to the door to knock. It was opened a few moments later by a lady with long, black hair. It was shiny and straight, different from Father's and Uncle Kanetaro's: not so bushy and thick. It looked soft.<br/><br/>"Hello? Oh! Hello Kenjiro, it has been a long time. This must be Midori! I haven't seen you since you were a baby! Do you know who I am?"<br/><br/>The young girl looked up at the woman, nodding miserably, "Hello. You are Uncle Kanetaro's wife, Miss Jinmi. It is nice to meet you." Maybe if she showed Father she could be good and polite, he might change his mind.<br/><br/>"Yes, that's right. Come in! I'll show you to your room while your father visits Kanetaro at the shop," without waiting for a response, Miss Jinmi took her hand and lead her into the house. Father left before she could look back to see him or say goodbye...<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>Miss Jinmi was very nice, though she was loud and excited and trying very hard to cheer her up. The nine-year-old was aware of what she was doing, and how much she was trying to make this a happy thing. She spoke about how excited she was to have her here, that it would be nice for her baby to have a big sister when it arrived. But, it seemed she would still have her own room when the baby came, which wasn't for a while. She wasn't even very big yet, actually. <br/><br/>After a little while, Jinmi showed her the kitchen and made her a lunch, which was very tasty. Though she had made the hot dogs look like octopi, and put faces on the rice balls. Midori did not understand why she made the food cute, but she had told the woman that she liked it anyway, because that was the polite thing to do. She even continued to call her 'Miss Jinmi', even though she kept saying to call her 'Auntie'. That seemed rude, though, so she wasn't going to do that. Father would be upset if she did that, he had asked her to be good for Uncle Kanetaro and Miss Jinme. She might be sad about being left, but she would still obey Father as best she could...<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>Clutching the sandy-colored furball to her chest, Midori ran after the cart as it worked its way through the streets. She followed it all the way to the gate, her eyes fixated on the back of the cart as Father left. She had to stop at the gate, the guards wouldn't let her out, but they let her watch, and she did, all the way until Father began to turn the corner in the trees. He turned around to wave at her, and, though she was hiccuping and sobbing a little, she waved with her free hand. The little cat she clutched to her chest meowed softly, digging her little claws into the fabric of her t-shirt. Slowly, the little thing climbed up to her shoulder, then perched there, digging in to cling to her. <br/><br/>"...bye..." Midori mumbled, wiping at her face to scrub the tears away. Father had asked her not to cry and not to be sad. She was still sad, but.. she could keep from crying, anyway. <br/><br/>Purring softly, the kitten on her shoulder nuzzled at her cheek, her slightly damp nose shocking the young girl. Midori reached up to pet the soft, fluffy fur of the kitten. "I think your name should be Sunako... you're very sandy colored, and I like the sand..." she mumbled softly as she turned to make her way back to Uncle Kanetaro's house. That is, if she could remember the way... she'd been running so much she hadn't really paid attention to where she'd been going...</span>