Prologue
My name is Santiago Salazar, and I am twenty years old. I live with my sister, Hana, who is nineteen, my mother Hitomi, and my father Gael in a town called Nigen-Sei in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.
My mother is forty, and my dad is forty-two. My mother is Japanese, and my father is Mexican. They met when my mother, a principal electrical engineer, traveled to Sonora Mexico to design a new generation of wind turbines on large open fields in the state. The state government recruited skilled workers to construct the first renewable source of electricity. One of those skilled workers was my father. The two were drawn to one another instantaneously the second their eyes locked.
During their lunch breaks, they would exchange stories about their upbringings and hobbies. I guess they felt like they were meant for each other, and they tied the knot after the project was done.
My mother had to return home to Japan, but before she did, my father proposed going on vacation and seeing the world before he went back to live with her. They traveled to New York City, Los Angeles, Madrid, and London among others, and ate at four-star restaurants, watched movies, took photos and videos, in between traveling, my father learned Japanese.
Three months after moving to Japan, my father found a job in construction and saved enough money to give my mother a traditional Japanese wedding. They have a photo in the living room where they are holding their national flags tied together in a knot.
A month after the wedding, my mother fell pregnant with me, and she told my father the truth about where specifically In Japan she came from. She was not from any major city or town known to the public or the rest of the world, save only for the Japanese government. She returned to her village with my father to start their lives together.
For reasons that will become apparent later, this town is hidden and guarded by the Japanese government. The only reason my father, my sister, and I can live here is due to my parents' marriage and because Hana and I were born here.
That was their story. This is mine.
Nigen-Sei, Ishikawa Prefecture
8:45 AM
Salazar Bath House
Santiago was on his hands and knees scrubbing the white marble floors of the Salazar Bath House. He scrubbed with a large blue hand scrub that was frothy with all sorts of soaps and bleach. He wore yellow rain boots and dishwashing gloves to keep his skin from touching the chemicals, and a K95 mask to keep the smell of Clorox bleach he was using out of his nostrils. He heaved as he scrubbed harder.
From a door located at the side of the bathhouse, Santiago's sister came walking in. She was a young nineteen-year-old with a tousled layered short bob. Her eyes were dark brown like their father's, but she had their mother's small nose. She wore black leggings, a zip-up sweater, and a plain white T underneath. She had running shoes and wore a hat with the words Red Crescent on it.
"Hey big bro, dad told me to take Marlon Brando out for a walk. He said he's been acting all cagey and started biting and ripping up the furniture. None of us have walked him so I figured I'd do it."
Marlon Brando was the name of their four-year-old giant schnauzer, the family guard dog. Santiago gave him that name because his beard and face reminded him of the famous actor.
"I've got a better idea, Hana, how about you help me clean this place. I wasn't even in here last night. You, mom, and the guests made this mess."
"Aw man, can I do it after I come back?"
"What? I'll be done by the time you've come back."
Hana said nothing and rolled her eyes and left with Marlon Brando. Santiago cleaned as fast and as efficiently as he could. He looked everywhere to see if there were still stains around. So far, all four giant tubs and shower areas were sparkling clean. The family business was comprised of six bathhouses situated in different locations on a nine-square-kilometer piece of land. The land consisted of rivers, woodland, and a few flat planes. The number of tubs and showers varied depending on the size of each bathhouse.
He walked out of the bathhouse he was working in, slid the door behind him, and locked it until it was ready to be used again tonight. No doubt there would be another mess to clean up come tomorrow morning.
Santiago journeyed back to his home. The best part of having land was that it was off-limits to everyone except for family members and the guests. The guests came after six in the evening and were usually gone by three in the morning. If he wanted to, he could bike in peace or race with his father or sister on motorbikes. During the winter, his family would take as many family photos as possible. They would see who could build the biggest snowman or original snow structure. One time Santiago built a snow tank, only to be outdone by Hana who built a giant snowcat with a top hat. Right now, though, it was summer, and the sun was bearing down on everyone with all its fury.
Santiago's Bedroom
Back in his house, Santiago made himself a bacon and egg sandwich with ketchup and poured himself some iced tea. He ate and drank in peace in his bedroom, which was, his mind given form, his sanctuary. His walls were painted black with red baseboards. His curtains were indigo and always kept half-open to let a little bit of sunlight in. Shelves on every wall contained statues of animals and framed pictures of anime girls in provocative positions.
He had a desk made from oak with the latest PC and computer chassis atop it. His bed was queen-sized and layered with black and red sheets and covers. His pillows were a combination of both colors, maroon.
After lunch, he got on his computer and placed his headphones in his ears. He loved playing his music loudly as it helped his mind escape when he was feeling down, and he'd been feeling that way since late last year.
"In darkness, you will find me, I dance among the dead, but very soon I'll need to hunt the scent of blood instead. Rising from your earthbed it thickens in the air, a smell both sweet and rancid, I know that you are near," Santiago muttered under his breath.
After listening to his favorite music artists from past to present, Santiago jumped into his bed and pulled out his phone. He went to his gallery and pulled up a video he took of what happened last night in bathhouse number three. He sighed and ran his fingers through his brown wavy hair in anticipation. He leaned back on his pillows and watched.
Santiago took this video because based on the nature of his family's business, he never needed to view pornography. What he was a part of was better than any porno he can view. This video was taken in bathhouse number three.
He didn't think as his mother ate out another woman on the floor of the bathhouse. They were in the sixty-nine position, heads between each other's legs, moaning in pleasure. Watching his mother's lust-filled excited face as she eagerly lapped up the guest's cunt got him tenting under his basketball shorts. It wouldn't be long until began masturbating.
There were no men in the video save for himself and his father. His father was flanked by two women in a bubbling jacuzzi. They were forceful with him and weren't intimidated by his muscular physique. One pulled him into a passionate kiss, running her hand through his wavy brown hair, while the other bobbed her head beneath the water, sucking him off like her life depended on it.
"Shit..." Santiago gasped, rubbing his bulge through the fabric of his shorts, enjoying the feeling it gave him.
Just then, his mother, Hitomi, sauntered in with a half-empty laundry basket under her left arm.
"Santi are there any—" She saw her son pressing his erection down as best he could with both hands. His phone fell off the bed as he leaned over to cover himself. The video was still playing.
Hitomi grinned devilishly at her son. She placed the basket down on the floor and walked over to pick the phone up. There was no rush in her steps, she was calm and casual. She picked his phone up and watched what he had filmed. She laughed, then checked her son's gallery and saw over a hundred different videos of the family business. Each video had a different title like "Anal Galore," "Sakura the cum dumpster" or "Three rods, one hole."
