Diona’s POV: -RIIIING- the school day had finally ended. It was the weekend! I packed up my things and waited for Dinnea so that we could walk home together. Haku told me that he would come get me in an hour and I couldn’t wait… “Hey! You ready?” Dinnea asked walking up. “Yep let’s go.” As we walked home, the wind blew occasionally. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I sighed contently. “Got something on your mind?” “Huh? Oh no. It’s just so nice out here…it makes me happy.” I said smiling. Just then I got a text from Haku. “Don’t wear anything too y. I don’t want other guys probing you, and we will be walking! Xoxo Mazamaki” “So you still down for karaoke tomorrow night?” I looked over at Dinnea. She seemed kind of agitated…maybe she knew that Haku had just texted me. “Of course! Why would I turn down quality time with my best bud?” I said hugging her from the side. “Good.” She simply mumbled.

                We finally made it home and I had about 30 minutes to get ready before Haku came. I decided to wear an off white tea dress with pink Sakura blossoms that I had picked up from a small shop, and some brown flats. I was just finishing my makeup when Dinnea came in. “You look beautiful Diona.” I smiled at her. “Thanks, but I don’t know what to do with my hair!” We looked at the mess of natural curly hair that was only being contained by a hair tie. “Hmm…how about a bun?” “A low side bun! Good idea Dinnea.” So we got some gel and laid my hair down into a side bun. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled “perfect”. –Knock Knock Knock- I felt my heart start to race as I went to the door. I just wanted this to go perfectly…

                I opened the door and of course, Haku was standing there. He was wearing a light pink button down tucked into a nice pair of blue jeans. “I really am the luckiest guy today” he said looking at me. I felt my face get hot. “Y-you ready?” He smiled. “Let’s go” I told Dinnea that I was leaving, and stepped out with Haku. “Uhh Haku? Where’s the car?” He laughed and poked my head. “American have you forgotten? You’re in Japan now. We take buses and trains here.” “Oh…right.” “Don’t worry. You’re safe with me. I know where we’re going.” “And where is that?” I looked at him hopefully. “You’ll find out soon enough hahaha.” I just shook my head. This guy was even more stubborn than me. I didn’t say anything to Haku, but the farther into the city that we got, the more people I felt staring at us. I had gotten used to it at school, but I hated being the center of attention. It made me so awkward.. When we made it to the train station, I had to link arms with him. Being from a small town in TN, I was not used to riding trains or being around so many people at once. He sensed my discomfort and linked me tighter.

                “Hmm..we still have 10 minutes before we board. Do you want to sit here while I go get the tickets?” “Uh sure…” Although there were so many people, I didn’t mind sitting on my own for a little while. I sat down and watched Haku walk over to the line. Once he got there he turned and winked at me. I smiled and turned to look at my phone. I started to feel like someone was staring at me. When I finally looked up, I saw a group of older women blatantly staring at me. I gave a polite head bow, and returned to playing on my phone. A few minutes later, the group of women were in front of me, still staring. One of them sat down very close to me, making me extremely uncomfortable. “Hello dear. You are very pretty.” I smiled and bowed “Arigatou gozaimasu”. They seemed to be surprised that I understood. “You are very good at Japanese. Where are you from?” Another asked as she sat down on my other side. “I’m from the U.S.” I answered. Man I wish Haku would hurry u- Just then, I felt a touch on my hair. Even though it was tucked neatly away, it was still wavy from the gel. “Feel her hair!” she said to the others. “You will have to forgive us. We are from Kawagoe and have never seen a black girl before.” I laughed uncomfortably, wishing they would stop but not wanting to be rude. “Are you here with your boyfriend?” “Well I-“ “Nani o e imasuka?” Haku asked walking up.

            The women immediately removed their hands from my hair. They seemed embarrassed. As they should be. The one to my left cleared “we are sorry…we’ve never seen such a pretty black girl. Are you friends?” Haku looked at me briefly, then back to her with a smirk “koibito”. Their eyes were as big as saucers. They immediately stood up, glaring at me and speaking quickly in Japanese to Haku. He spoke casually to them at first, but soon I could tell that he was getting angry. I had no idea what was being said. I’m sure I looked so clueless and out of place beside these arguing Japanese people. “Come on Diona. It’s time for us to go” he said taking my hand and pulling me off the bench. As we boarded the train, I noticed that Haku was gripping my hand tightly and that he was breathing heavily. I had never seen him angry. “It’s ok” I smiled at him. His face softened a little as he looked at me sympathetically. “Do you even know what they said?” “Not really…what did-“ “Nothing. They were just a bunch of closed-minded Japanese hags.” O_O I didn’t know how to respond. I thought Japanese culture was all about being respectful? I decided it best to let him cool down for the rest of the train ride.

            When we finally got off, Haku seemed to be back to his old self. “Welcome to the city of Yokohama. We’re about half an hour away now.” He said smiling. “Wow it’s so big!” I said looking up in awe. He laughed. “You should be used to this American. You go to places like New York and California all the time.” I looked at him like he was crazy, then I remembered. “How long do you think it takes to drive to California?” “Hmm..maybe 2 hours?” “Try 32.” “Woah! The states are a lot bigger than I thought!” I laughed at his bout of cuteness. After the 30 minute bus ride, we were in a more traditional part of the city. I had never seen anything like it. “Is this where we’re going?” I asked excitedly. Haku smiled and nodded “beautiful, isn’t it?” “It’s gorgeous!” “Heh I thought you’d enjoy seeing what Japan has to offer, and I wanted to be the first to show you.” My face grew hot as we walked to a garden entrance. After we paid the entrance fee, Haku led me in. “This is Sankeien Garden, one of Japan’s most famous.” “It’s…quiet” I said surprised. He smiled as we walked over a small bridge. The sound of trickling water and chirping birds gave the whole place a sense of peace that I loved. I felt happy! It was a beautiful day and I was spending time with a nice guy in a beautiful Japanese garden.

            Haku looked at his watch and nodded his head forward. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you” he said with a smile. After about 10 minutes of what seemed like aimless walking, I started to get impatient. “Haku, what did you want to show me?” “Here.” He said plopping down on a patch of grass. I kind of rolled my eyes, but sat down beside him as lady-like as possible. “This is my absolute favorite place to watch the sunset. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.” I hadn’t noticed it before, but the sun was starting to set over Sankeien Garden, and it was magnificent. I turned to look at him. He looked absolutely hypnotized by the Sun disappearing behind the trees. “If I could come here each and every day, I would die a happy man.” “You know, this isn’t at all what I had in mind when you told me we were going to hang out.” He peeled his eyes away from the sky for a second to look at me. “Sorry if you’re not having a good time. I guess it was kind of selfish of me to bring you here without asking…” “Oh no that’s not at all what I meant! It’s just…how did you think of something so beautiful?” I kind of mumbled. I didn’t think he heard me, but he brought his attention back to me. “A beautiful sunset for a beautiful girl.” He said looking deeply into my eyes. I looked down quickly, feeling my face get hot “stop…”

            “I mean it, Diona. You’re someone really special. I love how easy it is to talk to you. I think it’s really admirable how hard you try to learn Japanese and thrive at Shutoku.” By now my face was on fire. “And I love how you blush every time I compliment you.” He took my hands in his. “I guess what I’m trying to say is…I’m really starting to like you, Diona.” I looked into his eyes “I-I feel the same way. I like you too Haku!” He smiled, then kissed my hands and we turned back to watch the remainder of the sunset. What a perfect end to such a beautiful day…<3