Chapter 2
I approached the Ryokan slowly. It really was gorgeous, I
just couldn’t focus on it. I was very nervous and I’m sure that’s what made
those lights look so dim, those beautiful plants look so uninviting.
As I walked inside the first thing that caught my eye was
a painting of a beautiful woman. I’ll have to ask about it, I thought.
I turned to the two women at the front desk. They both
bowed politely. One was very young with short black hair and the other was much
older with gray hair up in a neat bun. The younger one’s Grandmother, I
guessed.
“Hi, I have a reservation under Nancy Drew.”
Suddenly that painting that I had seen coming in started
shaking violently! It fell to the floor and the glass cover shattered. The two
women and I all gasped in surprise!
“Do you believe me now?” The older woman whispered to
other.
“Obaasan, it only fell.” replied the girl.
“It did not! You know better!” said the elderly woman,
now nearing a shout.
The other girl turned to me with a strained look on her
face and said, “I’m very sorry. She- she’s just a little upset.”
The elderly woman then told her, “She does not want her
here. Tell her to go. Now!”, and then walked away.
The whole time I had been standing there trying to
interrupt because, I had a feeling that would only make matters worse. Once the
old woman had left I looked at the girl and asked, “What was that about? Why’s
she so upset?”
“Please don’t worry about that,” she said, “Here. This is
your room key.” She handed me a key with a tag with the number 24 on it, I
assumed that was my room number.
“Thanks.” I replied.
“Your room is on the second floor, I’ve already had your
bags sent up,” she explained, “Please, my name is Miwako, Come to me if there
is anything you need.”
Thank goodness! It felt good to finally know someone’s
name! Odd… I hadn’t seen anyone come in to take my luggage. I guess I was
wrapped up in that argument earlier.
“You grandmother seemed very upset about the portrait
breaking,” I noted.
“It’s no big deal. She thinks it’s a bad sign that the
portrait fell from the wall.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s a very… special portrait. It’s one of the two
remaining images of my mother and it was taken shortly before… It’s one of my
grandmother’s favorite portraits,” She explained… sort of. I could tell the
subject hit hard so I didn’t push it.
Suddenly my attention was drawn to a strange noise on the
other side of the desk. It was a kind of strange whirring sound.
“Is that a robotic cat?!” I asked, fascinated.
The tired look melted from Miwako’s face and was replaced
with a big, gleaming smile!
“Yeah! Suki! Isn’t she the greatest? Rentaro got her for
me. I;ve wanted my own pet cat for forever, but I can’t have one at the ryokan.
I came into work one day, and there she was, right next to the sweetest note
from Rentaro!”
“I’ve never seen a robotic cat before! What does it do?”
Miwako’s smiles faded slightly and she said, “She’s not
and it –she’s Suki!,” she turned to face Suki, “It’s ok, she didn’t mean it,”
She cooed to the cat. She turned back to me and told me, “she doesn’t do much,
mainly sits – but – oh wait, I just learned something neat!” She turned back to
face the cat. “Suki: Tate!”
Suki sat on her hind legs, raised her paws, and tilted
her head. It was so cute!
“That was so cute! She’s really great!” I told Miwako.
“That’s all I remember right now, but she can do a lot
more. I should figure out what the rest of the commands are, come to think of
it. Although to be honest, it’s a little more believable if she just does what
she wants.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said. I didn’t want to bother
her anymore.
“ok, see ya,” she said with a smile.
Falling portraits and a robot cat. This evening has
certainly been interesting so far…
