Nigen-Sei, Ishikawa Prefecture
**SANTIAGO**
Sitting on the back deck of his backyard, thinking, he kicked his feet back and forth several times, then let the residual momentum swing his feet for him. His faithful and only best friend, Marlon Brando, lay beside him. The big black dog rested his head between his paws and occasionally looked up at Santiago, lost in his thoughts. Santiago smiled at his faithful companion and caressed the top of his furry head. His loyal companion and life-long friend lifted his head and up panted happily at him. There was love and only love in his dogs' eyes for him; despite being almost black, Santiago found light in them.
Santiago stroked Marlon Brando's back while still thinking many things to himself.
"Why on planet Earth did this have to happen to me. Out of everyone on Earth that this whole mess could have happened to, it ends up happening to me. Why was I born to this family just to be publicly humiliated? To bring shame to my family." He looked to his companion, who sat up and rested his head on his lap. Watching him brought some level of relief, but not enough to quell this heavy anxiety and guilt bearing down on his shoulders of what was to come.
"Why did Ena have to come back, Marlon. I thought she was kicked out of Nigen-Sei that night that horrible event happened to her. I went on living believing she was dead, but she was alive this entire time. To add on top of that, she's pregnant with the child of the town elder! God, if only Hana hadn't brought up the fact that I didn't have a girlfriend, then I would never have remembered Ena, and I wouldn't have acted out the way I did back in the damn bathhouse. I would be able to fulfill my fucking duty to my city, that of being damn a breeding bull."
Santiago slammed his fist down on the deck, fighting back the tears and the urge to yell out towards heaven until his voice turned hoarse.
Hana stepped out into the backyard in a terrible mood, appearing to be fighting an internal battle and losing. She saw her brother sitting on the back deck with Marlon Brando resting his head on his lap. She sighed deeply to herself. Pain gripped her heart, seeing him covered in bruises and bandages stamped and wrapped on his face and neck. She approached slowly but softly towards him and took a seat next to him.
"I heard about your punishment, Santi. I'm sorry that this happened to you. I also heard from mom that Ena was the one who delivered your sentence in person. I thought she returned to Toyama. I wonder when she returned to Nigen-Sei. Maybe she was allowed back inside. What do you think she did to get back inside Nigen-Sei, Santi?"
Santiago, like a lifeless statue, focused only on where he looked. Only his hand seemed to be alive, continuing to stroke the top of Marlon Brando's head mechanically. With sorrow in her eyes, guilt gripped her heart. She wanted to cry when he refused to say anything to her. She had an idea and placed a hand down on his as he stroked the top of their dog's head again. There must have been ice or a painful jolt of electricity on her hand because when they made skin contact for the first time in a long time, he pulled his hand back unnaturally quickly. He was distrustful of his sister and refused to look at her, let alone reply to any of her questions or comments.
"Santi, please--" Hana began to speak, but Santiago stood up and walked out of their backyard. Marlon Brando perked up, seeing the second master of the house walk away. He followed him, loyally staying by his side and wagging his tail excitedly.
Hana sighed defeatedly and followed him. She wasn't sure where he was going or if he just did this to stump her, hoping she would grow tired of following him and leave. She would not leave him; she was intent on speaking to him.
"Santi, I know you hate me for what mom and I did to Ena, but she told you why she had to do it!" Hana said regrettably.
He stopped, and it seemed he would turn and finally acknowledge her, but he didn't and kept walking with their dog by his side. Marlon Brando turned back to look at Hana and growled at her, telling her to keep her distance.
"Don't growl at me, old man," she told him. She ran ahead of her brother and stopped in front of him. he tried to walk around her, but she stepped right in front of him everywhere he stepped.
First, there was annoyance, then anger as he balled his fists and looked like he could sock her. She didn't miss the opportunity to remind him of his anger and its consequences.
"That's the reason you're going to get hurt today, Santi. Are you going to hit me too? If you did, I wouldn't tell anyone because I deserve it. If that's what's going to make you feel better, then I'm right here. Hit me across my face as hard as you can!"
Marlon Brando growled, more challenging and more profound. If the first growl was a warning, then this second was a clear sign that he could attack her any moment. She glared at their Marlon Brando, who slowly backed down. He knew what she was trying to do and turned silent.
For the first time since being reminded of Ena, he locked eyes with her.
"He's gritting his teeth so much he's going to file them down to the very gums. God, his rage must be unquenchable right now. Let me take responsibility for my part in your pain, my beloved brother," Hana thought. Her initial smile was weak but transformed into pure determination.
"If I hit her, they'll take my head and balls off too. Why can't she leave me alone? God damn her and my mother. No. I can't, and I won't hit her," Santiago thought.
He unclenched his hands and walked around his sister, and continued down his way.
Hana felt something for a moment, and she was confident her brother did too. Was it a breakthrough? She followed him and Marlon Brando, who calmed down around her despite Santiago's anger still bubbling beneath the surface. When they came to a stop from their long walk, Hana became emotional. There was a river that was four feet deep and had the width of a school bus. This river's currents were always calm and never got too aggressive. Beautiful trees and rolling new hills adorned the surrounding landscape, forcing any visitor to view its natural grace to awe and appreciation. But Hana felt more than just awe and wonder because across the river was an isolated area of the woods that she considers special, even sacred to her.
"Do you remember the time we built a treehouse with dad? He said that kids in The United States did that a lot with their friends and parents. Building tree houses and forts in the woods. He said it was--"
"--An American thing," Hana said, finishing his thought.
Santiago relaxed and dropped his stern countenance and smiled, although weakly. He turned halfway towards her and spoke, "Do you remember why we asked him to build that treehouse?"
Hana stepped forward to be closer to him while being mindful to keep a reasonable distance between them to keep him as calm as he was now.
"I remember that Mom told us that there lived a Kitsune in one of the hills. Dad said there weren't any kitsunes living here; instead, he said fairies lived here, or as he called them 'Duendes.' We didn't know which of them was telling the truth, so we decided to have the house built, stay the night in it and see if we could find either a kitsune or duendes."
"Mom said the Kitsune would come out only a night and transform into a beautiful woman and bathe in the river," Santiago told Hana.
He walked towards the river and dipped his feet in, then his legs until he began to wade through the cool water.
Hana followed him and waded forward behind him. "Dad said fairies would come out in the evenings and night to collect water," Hana said, "and to bury their treasures."
When they reached the location of their now old, dilapidated treehouse, Hana and Santiago saw that despite the passage of time, it remained there like a defiant samurai, perched atop a mighty oak tree his father planted long before they were born. It was the perfect tree to support a treehouse the size of a family van. Its wooden structure was dull and covered in moss and old fishnet with tree leaves glued to it.
"I thought if it looked like a giant bush, we could remain hidden. Then the Kitsune or the fairies wouldn't know we were watching them. If the Kitsune was real, I could capture her and keep her as a pet. If the duendes turned out to be real, I could capture one and interrogate it into telling me where they kept their buried treasure."
"You thought you were going to get rich that way" she giggled then laughed.
Something about her laughter was genuine, not forced. Santiago had forgotten entirely that her laughter was oddly cute. He smiled and chuckled.
Hana's laughter died as she gently took hold of his hand. His face turned stern once more, and he tried pulling away from her, but she tightened her grip and spoke, "There's another place in this same forest I want to show you. You do know the place I'm referring to, right?"
Santiago looked stumped. He tried his best to remember any more significant memories they had here besides their now dilapidated treehouse. They used to fish here in the spring and summer. At one point, the river shrunk in size from a miniature drought that passed over the region, but there was nothing of real grand significance that reminded him of anything else. Had he just thought for a little longer, he would have caught it had he investigated the woods.
Hana led the way from this point on. The destination was out of the beaten path.
Owls hooted at the trespassers waltzing into their territory from atop the trees, and passing groundhogs scurried back into their underground homes when the duo approached. The pair came to a circular clearing in the woods free of trees, bushes, boulders, and animals. Santiago released his sister's hand and walked around the clearing, getting a good feel of this place.
"Well, are any memories coming back to you yet?" Hana looked at him, brushing her hair back with her hands.
Santiago glanced over at her, then back to the surrounding trees revolving around them like stern imposing Japanese samurai generals. Something was coming back to him, but it was faint. There was something about a specific tree that he passed twice now. The tree was different from the rest now that he stared at it. It was a Pine tree! Whereas the other trees were Japanese pine trees, red, white, and black. The pine tree Santiago analyzed was a Mexican weeping pine. It was not native to these shores or this part of the world.
He crouched down and walked around the tree. He let his hands touch and explore the surface of the trunk and felt three deep impressions made in the back. With the aid of the light of the sun shining down from above, he saw two letters cut deep in the bark with something sharp long ago. The letters were H + S.
"You and I were here when we were kids, right?" he said with a restrained surprise from behind the tree.
