I first met Kiki in a youth hostel in New Zealand. I arrived late one afternoon at the hostel where there were several people in the kitchen, preparing an evening meal. I usually preferred Asian style food and so while I was travelling, I would prepare stir-fry dishes. I would pick up the ingredients, some form of meat and vegetables during the day. I carried oil and sauces in small bottles in my bag.
As I began to make preparations, I attracted the attention of an Asian girl who I thought to be Japanese.
She was about 165cms, very slim build, with black hair that had a fringe at the front, down to her eyebrows and half way down her back. At first She appeared to be quite young although I had a feeling she was older than she looked. When she spoke to me, it was with a Canadian twang.
She was interested in what I was cooking, scallops with vegetables and rice. She asked if we could share our meals. She was cooking a Japanese dish. I agreed.
She introduced herself as Kiki.
We shared our meal and afterwards, sat in the common room, talking. She told me that she was third generation Canadian and was a Law student. She was on a break from university and was doing some travelling.
We seem to hit it off from the start and this little Japanese doll like female intrigued me.
As we were going our different ways in the morning, we swapped addresses and I crawled into my bunk. Kiki was leaving early in the morning and I did not see her again.
Several weeks later I returned home. Some time later, I received a letter from Kiki who had also returned to Canada. We continued this correspondence for years while Kiki toiled away at her Law degree that she finally achieved. I arranged for a bunch of flowers to be delivered to her on her graduation day.
In our exchange of letters, we were not what you call intimate although we did share some of our secrets. I looked forward to each letter from Kiki.
Several months after her graduation and two weeks before Christmas, I received a letter from Kiki, saying that she was travelling to Sydney during Christmas and would like to see me. I telephoned her and was provided with her travel details. I must admit I was very excited at the thought of seeing her again.
It was as if we knew each other quite well although our only meeting had been for a few hours, four years earlier.
I waited at the air terminal on the day of her flight and was very relieved to see her emerge from customs. And there she was, my little Japanese doll, as beautiful as ever. She had hardly changed since when I had last seen her in New Zealand, four years earlier.
Kiki was pulling a wheeled case. When she saw me she broke into a run and when she was close to me, let go of the case, jumped up, wrapping her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck and kissed me. We remained in embrace for some time before she let go and dropped back on to her feet although we continued to hold each other.
When we had spoken on the phone, Kiki had asked if she could stay with me. I was OK with that. I carried her case to my car and we drove to my apartment.
Kiki remarked that she was really feeling the heat. When she left Canada, there had been deep snow on the ground with the temperature below zero. In Sydney it was 35 degrees.
On entering my apartment, Kiki gave me a repeat of what she had done at the airport. One thing I have not mentioned was that I was 181cms and Kiki was 165cms. There was quite a difference in our heights and size with me being 90kgs and Kiki, no more than 60kgs.
