Selina’s large smile disappeared. Calvin was leaving her after he’d promise not the take the invitation.

“You don’t like it?” Calvin questioned.

“You promised me you wouldn’t go,” Selina said her voice going quiet.

“But aren’t you happy for me?” Calvin asked. Selina didn’t answer. “You should be happy for me at least. I’m going somewhere in life aren’t you supposed to be happy for that?”

Selina did not reply.

“Selina!” Calvin’s voice suddenly got louder. “Why are you always so selfish?! I don’t want to stay stuck here all my life and you know that too. I’ll just go make some money and come back then we can leave together.”

“I don’t want to go,” Selina said keeping her voice calm. “You know why I don’t want to.”

“What? Your father?! Oh come on Selina! That incident took place more then 5 years ago,” Calvin told.

Selina glanced up at him with fiery eyes about to water, “You always talk about my stuff as if it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh I do?” Calvin questioned.

Selina bit her lip. It was always like this nowadays arguing and more arguments. She and Calvin never got along anymore, not since the first time he’d attempted to cheat on her and she’d caught him red handed.

“Just go then,” Selina said looking away from him.

Calvin stared at her not saying anything and before she knew it he’d brushed pass her. Selina stood there waiting and waiting for Calvin to turn back but he never did. Selina walked home slowly and losing track of time she didn’t reach home until the stars were out.

“Selina!” a loud voice screamed from afar.

Selina looked up to see her grandma racing toward her. Selina quickly froze knowing what was coming next.

“Where were you?! What were you doing?!” she shouted sending slaps across Selina’s arms and shoulders.

“Grandma!” Selina shouted trying to shield herself but it was no use.

“Mom!” Mrs. Ren shouted running out from the hut. “Mom stop it! She’s my daughter not yours.”

“It’s still the same it doesn’t matter. She’s a Ren for goodness’ sake!” Grandma Ren said. “Girls aren’t supposed to be coming home this late! Every other girl in this village is home before dark it’s only your daughter coming home late every night. Who knows what she does with that bad boy Calvin.”

Selina bit her lip and glanced at her mom for help. Mrs. Ren glanced back at her and sighed a tired sigh.

“Mom I’ll talk to her,” Mrs. Ren said.

Grandma Ren gave Selina a hard stare before she turned around to go into the hut. Mrs. Ren turned to Selina hands on hips. Selina returned a foolish smile.

“Selina,” Mrs. Ren said.

Selina quickly bit her lips again, “I know mom. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“You said that the last time,” Mrs. Ren told.

“I mean it this time,” Selina said making sure she emphasized her words. “You made dinner right? Good I’m starving.”

Selina ran off before her mom could say anything else. When she ran into the kitchen she found the man from earlier sitting at the table staring at nothing. Selina glanced at him with caution and looked at the plate of food in front of him. He hadn’t touched it. Selina carefully inched her way around the table. She grabbed a plate and started piling it with food making sure to take glances back at the stranger to see if he was up to anything, but he just sat there. Selina took the twentieth glance at him and turned back to the food.

“If you like me just say it,” Jiro said.

Selina’s eyes popped open wide and she turned around to him.

“You talked?” she asked.

“Am I supposed to be mute then?” questioned Jiro.

Selina made a face, “You don’t have to be so mean.”

“Who first suggested to tie me up?” Jiro questioned.

“You…you heard me?” questioned Selina pointing to herself.

“I heard your grandma yelling at you, you must be a real bad granddaughter especially to have the guts to stay out this late,” Jiro told.

“You must have been worse than me,” Selina said.

“I lived on my own so even if I stayed out all night it was no one else’s business and besides I’m a guy,” Jiro pointed out.

By now Selina had ran out of things to say. She had always at arguing.

“Shut up! So what?! Go break a leg!” Selina shouted and walked out. “What a pain.” She pouted.

Later during the night Selina found herself tossing over and over in her bed. She groaned in anger as she couldn’t go to sleep and sat up. Tossing the covers aside she climbed out of bed to get something to drink. As she walked out of the hut the first thing she glanced at was the large full moon in the sky. It was so big Selina thought it could light up the whole world. As she stared longer she found someone sitting in the distance. Selina walked forward to see clearer and found that it was that man. He turned around moments later intending to get up but stopped when he found her just yards away. Selina took a step back still thinking he’d attack her.

“Geez, are you that desperate for me to do something to you?” Jiro asked.

Selina looked back at him and cleared loudly, “I wasn’t thinking anything. It’s just…you’re a guy and I’m a girl.”

Jiro laughed making her sound pathetic, “You don’t have to worry I’m not interested in girls like you. I’m getting out of here as soon as possible.”

Jiro walked passed her giving her a pat on the shoulder. Selina made faces at him when he walked away.

"He thinks he’s all this and all that,” she mumbled.

The next morning after eating breakfast with the Ren family Jiro made sure that they were all out of the house before he made his escape. He could no longer stay there. The place was filthy and infested with bugs. Last night he had to wake up a million times because of spiders and other creepy crawlies climbing over him. He shivered at just that thought.

No one in sight. Jiro bit his bottom lip and dashed out. He headed onto the dirt path to his right and just kept on following it stopping an hour later realizing something stupid. He didn’t know the way. He didn’t even know a place like this existed on Earth. Jiro groaned and kicked the dirt looking up to see a bunch of young man laughing and fooling around. The one in the front was carrying a gardening hoe.

“Hey,” Jiro called out to them.

They stopped in the distance and looked at him. Their smiles showed Jiro that they thought they were the kind of people who thought of themselves as cool when actually they weren’t.

“Something we can do for you?” questioned the first person.

“Would you mind showing me the way out of here,” Jiro questioned.

The person who had talked with Jiro turned around and laughed to his group of buddies.

“Sure, follow us,” he said turning back to Jiro.

They started walking ahead. Jiro just stood there watching them.

“Come on,” a man with a towel wrapped around his head said.

Jiro looked at his dirty hand as he slipped it around his shoulders and dragged him after the group.

Moments later they reached a small hut isolated in the middle of the woods. Dead corn stalks laid on the ground surrounded by lively looking green leaved trees. The stick door opened and Jiro was pushed in to sit at a chair by a crappy looking wooden table. The man who had first spoken to him sat in front of him while the rest surrounded him smiling mischievously. Jiro sat there confused and watched as a man placed two cups in front of them and then a large glass jar in the center of the table.

“Drink up!” shouted the man cheerily.

Jiro watched as he swallowed his cup of whatever it was in there.

“Come on! If you’re a man you’ve to learn to drink these!” he urged.

He pushed the cup at Jiro and Jiro had no choice but to gulp it down. After a few cups of it Jiro was already feeling whoozy. He’d never been like this before. He’d drank a lot before he landed at this place and every time he drank he never felt like this.

“What is this?” Jiro asked making each world sound long.

The man surrounding him all chuckled as if they were playing a game on a little kid.

“Why don’t you take this with you?” the man said pushing the jar to Jiro. “It’s pretty good right? Go drink up at home.”

Jiro shook his head squeezing it between his hands. Somehow he’d made it back to the Ren house holding onto the jar the whole way. He stumbled into a room and sat down clumsily by a squared table. It was almost evening but not even near nighttime. He sat there with his head bobbing back and forth. Everything was blurry to him and all of a sudden he felt like he was flying. He laughed like an idiot with half closed eyes.

“Wow,” he mumbled.

Then suddenly loud steps arrived from outside and the doors flew open. Selina had entered the room slamming the door behind her. She was panting hard as if she were really annoyed and angry at something.

“Huh?” Jiro said.

Selina looked over at him her eyes growing big.

“You’re drinking in the middle of the day?!” Selina shouted walking over loudly.

Her loud footsteps sounded like a drum to Jiro’s ears and he just smiled up at the air foolishly.

“This isn’t my grandpa’s thousand year wine is it?” Selina asked taking the cap off and sniffing it. “It smells ok.” She turned to Jiro with a glare. “Hey! I’m really not in a good mood right now so I’m just going to try this out I’m not really going to drink it.” Selina made sure Jiro had heard her then took a sip of it. “Mmm! It’s really good!" Jiro tried to reach for the jar. "Hey stop it!”

Jiro looked at her with a really, really big smile on showing both rows of his teeth. Selina made a face and chugged the whole jar down.

Later that night it was just Mrs. Ren, Grandma and Grandpa Ren at the table eating.

“Where is Selina and that one kid?” Grandma Ren questioned.

“Selina must have knocked out early,” Grandpa Ren said, “and that kid might as well be dead.”

“Dad!” Mrs. Ren scolded.

“Ok, ok. I was just saying. He seems a pretty strong lad.” Grandpa Ren said.

The chickens were up and early yelling at each other loudly the following morning. The Ren family bustled about and moved around. Mrs. Ren in the kitchen cooking, Grandma Ren tending to the animals, and Mr. Ren getting packed up to go visit the garden.

“I can’t find it Marliess!” Grandpa Ren shouted to his wife.

“I said it’s in the storage! The rest of the bamboo wraps are there!” Grandma Ren screamed back.

Grandpa Ren sighed shaking his head and walked toward two old doors. The paint was already peeling off on the door and the door knob was about to come off.

“She can never be specific,” Grandpa Ren said as he opened the door and his eyes opened in shock.

Before him lay Jiro and Selina cuddled together on the ground. Grandpa Ren gave a scream waking the two of them up and making Mrs. Ren and Grandma Ren run over.

“What is it?” Selina asked rubbing her eyes.

When she sat up to see her grandparents and mother staring back at her she turned back to see Jiro sitting up behind her. His shirt was almost off except that his arm was still in one of the sleeves. He looked up confused. Selina gave a scream and moments later found herself and Jiro kneeling in front of her grandpa.

“Explain it!” shouted Grandpa Ren. “How did the two of you end up in there?!”

Selina scowled and bit her lip glaring over at Jiro. He looked over and made a face.

“If you hadn’t barged in and chugged down the whole jar like a pig,” Jiro mumbled.

“Who was the one in there with the alcohol?” Selina snapped.

“Quit it!” Grandpa Ren snapped so loud that Selina jumped. “I want to know, Selina, were you drinking?!”

Selina looked up at her Grandpa with a mixed face of emotions.

“Answer me!” her grandpa shouted sending her a deep glare.

Selina knew what was coming next. Her grandpa was one of the most traditional and went by the rules strictly. Selina lowered her head in a nod sending her grandpa off in a flare.

“Selina how could you?” her grandma gasped, but her mother remained quiet.

“Selina Ren! You are a Ren! For one thing you do wrong will be blamed on me and your mother!” shouted Grandpa Ren. “How could you?! Staying out late was the first thing you’d done and now drinking?! How could you go that far?! You know that in our tradition girls don’t drink unless they’re married!”

Selina just nodded her head saying that she’d known that.

“And you boy!” Grandpa Ren said turning his attention onto Jiro. “What’s your name?”

‘That’s right, I never knew his name’ Selina thought.

“Jiro Wang,” Jiro replied.

Grandpa Ren took a breath, “I give my granddaughter to you. Take care of her.”

“What?!” Jiro asked loudly.

“Grandpa!” Selina shouted.

“Rock!” Grandma Ren said.

“Dad!” Mrs. Ren scowled shocked.

“Your daughter has already spent one night with this man which means she is no longer clean,” Grandpa Ren explained.

“She’s my daughter!” Mrs. Ren declared.

“She’s my granddaughter and I am the head of this household,” Grandpa Ren said, “but they’ll still be living here because this man has not healed yet.”

“But I…” Jiro began.

"You will marry her. Refuse and I will cut off your head,” Grandpa Ren threatened.