Chapter Pre-Japan: Verbosityitus meets Reality

MIGHT NEED A COMPLETE REWRITE!!! DUE TO ADDING UK AND UNRICHNESS.

Because Jez was a world renown expert in teaching languages quickly to people, regardless of their abilities, he and Kytriya were practically rushed through customs. The customs officer knew Jez well, so merely asked if they had anything to declare before winking at Jez and asking about Alcohol, knowing fare well that he didn't touch alcohol. Jez chuckled. "You wish!"




Kytriya was disappointed that she didn't get to show off her knowledge of Japanese she had worked so hard on the past 26 hours. She reached down to grab her luggage, but Jez beat her to it. He quickly strapped their luggage together, as he was anxious to get home and wanted to be able to get her through the crowds without issues. He knew the routine well, if you did not move correctly, following the right line of traffic, you'll end up pushed into the Smoking lounges. He wrapped his arm around Kytriya and led her through the airport, in the direction of the already awaiting Limousine. He didn't care if Japanese customs frowned on such open gestures of affection. He wanted to keep Kytriya safely by his side, as he trusted no one to be able to help her as well as he could. The chauffeur quickly got up out of his seat and ran to help Jez with his luggage. Jez quickly grabbed Kytriya's hand to prevent her from opening the door. She stifled her 'I can do it myself' attitude as she reminded herself that here it's polite to let them do the honors. She waited patiently while the Chauffeur opened the door for her.

Kytriya looked in awe at the roomy interior, with its plush, overstuffed seats of leather, and mahogany wood panels. Had she had known that Mahogany comes from Rain Forests, she would have been disgusted instead of amazed. She quickly settled on the far left, making room for Jez. He slid in next her, wrapped his arm around her once more and gave her a bear hug before giving her a peck on top of her head. The Chauffeur did not need to ask where to go. Kytriya looked amazed.

This amazement did not go unnoticed by Jez who offered, this time in English as his chauffeur spoke no English, "I've been leading a double life for the past 4 years. He is my Chauffeur. You see, when  I was...well, you do the math. Nine years ago I started reading programming manuals. I'm basically self-taught in everything. My mother would sit me on her lap while she studied her Spanish. She had a co-worker who was trying to learn English, so she thought she would try to learn Spanish. She never got very far, as she really does not have the patience. She kept flipping the pages to see what was coming next. Well, within a week, she had flipped through the entire book, but hadn't actually learned anything beyond the essential greetings. I, on the other hand, found that I had the entire book imprinted on my mind."

Kytriya look up at him, totally amazed. With what Japanese she knew, responded, "Thats good."

"Yes, that was awesome," Jez offered in Japanese, guessing as to what she really wanted to say. He continued his diatribe, switching back to English. "At the University, her friend was taking Japanese and would often hold me while she studied. She claimed she learned better than way. My mother said that it was a flimsy excuse but as she was freed up for once, she didn't mind. I didn't mind either, because I got to learn Japanese. Fortunately, this student was a linguistic geek and loved just reading the Japanese Dictionary, the ones that the Japanese use for themselves, and just flipping through all the pages, one at a time. I quickly learned Japanese. She would read the Kanji outloud. I found out later, that her parents grew up in Japan, and spoke it fluently. She was also raised in Japan for part of her childhood, so was taking Japan for the easy A."

Kytriya's eyes popped out and her mouth opened in wonderment at all he had said. Her eyes appeared to widen even more when she saw the tall modern buildings as they passed by. She looked over at Jez, having finally found her voice and said the only thing she could think of, "Wow!"

Kytriya wanted to actually participate in the conversation, but really couldn't think of anything to say.  To be fair, she was so shocked by how her life had turned out, with one minute possibly being accused of murder, to the next minute on an airplane, then the attack in France, to riding in a Limo to some place in Japan, in a country whose language she had just learn, completely floored her. She thought about what her parents would think if they knew that she had learned Japanese. Then, she thought about her stupid, idiotic teacher who thought that the only good Stacy was a stupid Stacy, and laughed. She learned something that her teacher thought she could never learn, and had done in a day! She showed her! Problem was, her teacher did not know. And, would probably never find out.  Kytriya then realized that the boy who rarely spoke to her, rarely strung two words together let alone two sentences, was rattling! She chuckled, enjoying her private joke.

Jez remained oblivious as he interrupted her thoughts once more,  "That's only part of it. I couldn't get a laptop because I had no money. And my parents didn't think I needed one. So, I decided to learn programming and write all the programs in my head until I could get the programs online. Well, seven years ago, I decided that I had had enough of this no computer access business, so ran off when we were at the University. I quickly hacked my way into the system, found a website that did free hosting, and uploaded what I could there. Unfortunately, it didn't allow my better stuff, so I went over to a blog site that allowed you to put ads on your blog and make money. I set up a paypal account, and had all the ad money go there. I started writing programming tutorials. Then I found that I could put JavaScript games on that blog, so converted my codes to the far inferior JavaScript, and started my language learning website. Within a year, I had enough money for a decent laptop. I had also found that disused shed by then, so ordered me a laptop online, had it delivered to a vacant house, that was being torn down. My dad had told me about it. It was in the bad part of town, by the exit of that path we were on. Matter of fact, that path goes through what used to be the living room. Normally, one has to sign for such things, but the driver wanted out of that neighborhood as quickly as possible when he heard a gun go off, so merely dropped it at the door and fled. I took the package through the house, went out the back door, and fled to the shed, where I had already acquired solar power batteries."

"Lucky you! You could have been killed." Kytriya was shocked to find that she was with a boy who is even more lucky to be alive then she, herself was, especially since her mother had shaken her until she passed out when she was an infant. It was what contributed to her fear of night, and not dark.

"Yea, well. That's one of the reasons why I wanted out so badly. However, in the back of my mind, I always thought that I felt that there was someone out there who needed me to do this." Jzhvyen rolled his eyes and apologized, "Sorry, that sentence was goofy. At any rate,  It was why I didn't run when I could have. Besides, my father was always gone on business trips. He used to take us with him, then stopped. My mother thought he was seeing someone on the side. She went into a deep depression and let me fend for myself. I didn't care, as that allowed me to spend most of my days overseas. I'd just tell her that I was going to stay at a friends house, and unschool with him."

"Did your mom start drinking," She inquired, with concern in her eyes, as she knew how bad alcoholicism was and what it felt like to be abandoned.

"Oh no," Jez shook his head. "Her face turns colors if she drinks, so she gave it up. Something about pregnancy caused it."

Kytriya sighed with reliefed. She thought about her future with Jez then bursted a gut. "Something I get to look forward to."

Jez gave her an odd look, as he didn't get the joke. The closer they got to the main part of Tokyo, the more crowded the streets became. She wondered how she could ever keep track of him with all those people. Fear showed in her eyes.

Jez stopped rattling long enough to notice.  "Its okay. I'll always be hanging on to you for dear life. I won't lose you, especially after all the trouble I went through to get you here!"

Kytriya looked up at him and then moved closer to him, as if she had any space to move to. Obligingly, He shifted her, allowing her to place her head on his chest, so that he could give her a warm, comforting bear hug, the kind that mommy's give their toddlers after they had a boo-boo. They stayed in that position until they came dangerously near home, and being discovered by the Chauffeur.

They quickly untangled themselves as the Chauffeur turned into the underground parking garage.

The Chauffeur opened the door for them. After helping them out of the car, he bowed low to Jez and to Kytriya, then asked, "Should I wait?"

"Yes. We shall be running errands today and eating out. Thank you." Jez nodded his head slightly in response.

Kytriya held her breath in the stinky garage as the Chauffeur unloaded the luggage. Jez reached down to grab the briefcases. "Coming?" Kytriya welcomed the opportunity to get into a place more to her liking, so eagerly followed.

Kytriya was surprised at the size of the hallway, as she had always been told that everything in Japan was tiny. The hallway was decorated in earth tones with bamboo running on the lower part of the walls. Kytriya was not impressed but quickly reminded herself that here was much better than what she had at home, with those awful bright red-orange and bright yellow walls.

Even though the elevator was very fast, Kytriya felt like it took forever to get up to the 54th floor, where their flat was. They were on top of a new mixed used building that only contained shops and offices. Their home was the only residential place. Jez took the key out of his pocket and went to unlock the door. The key fell out of his hands and on to the floor. He bent down to pick it up, but accidentally moved his foot, kicking the key out of reach. Kytriya walked over to retrieve the key, then proceeded to unlock the door herself. She lifted her hand up high in a twisting flourish before handing the key back. Jzhyvyten thought to himself, It is going to be okay, she is only going to be living with you for the rest of your life. She'll love it!

Jez gently pushed Kytriya aside, and opened the door for her. He held his arm out to the side, signaling for her to go in first. Kytriya walked through the door, and immediately ran to the large floor to ceiling windows. She was surprised to see grass, when they were so high up.

Jez chuckled. "Sorry. I shouldn't laugh. That is a private court yard. It in the middle of the building. I, uh, own it."

"But, we are so high?"  Kytriya turned towards Jez,  "How is that possible?"

"Easy! You simply, build the building up and then around it." Noticing her confusion, he added. "There is housing underneath. And concrete."

"Oh." Satisfied, she gave herself a quick tour of the living room, paying special attention to the high ceilings and the light purple paint on the walls. "Purple? You have wonderful taste!"

"I'm glad you approve. Let me show you the best." He led her down a hallway to a large library with four office areas that came together to form a 'plus' sign. Each area resembled a U-shaped kitchen with cupboards, except that at the tips of that U, was a desk on each side, leaving a 3' wide gap for walking through. Also, the upper 'cupboards' were supported by legs that ran the depth of the bookshelves, but not its length.

"Now this is a desk!" Kytriya exclaimed excitedly. "I can not wait to use it! Do we really have to go?"

"Of course. But we'll  be back. Besides, you have to fill your desk. To that end, I know of the perfect place to shop for the worlds greatest text books. "

Kytriya's eyes started to water again. Jez ran over to her and put his arm around her, "Its okay. I'll help you with them."

Kytriya laughed. "Oh no, I adore textbooks! Truth be told, I've never seen a textbook I didn't absolutely go ga-ga over. I am so glad you are happy. You used to be so quiet, I wondered what hells your life brought you. Now I know."

"Yes, now you know." He offered his arm. "Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall." She beamed at him, trying in vain to choke back tears of joy.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a hankerchief and dried her eyes. He pulled her towards him, and gave her a big bear hug, this time, front to front, even though he felt that such a hug should not be done before marriage. He felt she needed it. She needed to learn that not only was she loved, she was loved! And that, she would not be violated. He quickly adjusted his stance so that he would not be violating her, realizing that they were a little too close.

Kytriya tightened her grip, as she did not want this end. He returned the gesture, kissed her on top of her head. "Sorry love, but we really should get going. Just keep in mind that no matter what happens, and no matter what anyone says this is the truth. I love you very much. I have made the commitment to stay with you. If anything happens to me or to you, remember that no matter what anyone says, the truth is I'm busy trying to figure out how to get you back because I love you and will not give up until I have you by my side."

In a barely audible voice, as her mouth was flat against his chest, she honestly replied, "Thank you. I love you too." Not wanting to let go, she kept her grip tight while she tried to memorize the feeling. She did not want to ever forget. Satisfied that she had memorize the feeling the best she could, she finally let go. He dipped his  head once more, and kissed her on the head while gripping her even tighter. She felt her legs slipping from beneath her. She thought, This is what love is. This is what it means to be loved and to really care for someone.  This feeling and not the earlier feeling I tried to memorize.

As if reading her mind, Jez spoke with an authority worthy of any aged philosopher. "Love is not a feeling. Rather, love is how you treat someone. Love is respect and kind. It does not envy, but instead supports. Love is not puffed up and haughty. Love is not selfishness. Love gives freely, while it helps the other become the best that they can be. Love bears all, which means that no matter what happens, I'm going to be there for you, if not in person,  then in prayer. I'm going to support you like a husband should support his wife. I'm also going to help you like your parents should have, but didn't. The Morality of Aspiration asks you to value yourself such that you try to be the best you can be at whatever you do. The Morality of Duty, says you achieve your best but also respect what is best for society. The also means, that a parents duty is to help you Aspire to be your best. I don't know if your parents supported you in anything past the absolute necessities of life... you know, food, clothing, shelter."

Kytriya loved the whole concept of a morality behind what we should be doing,  and calling it aspiration and duty. She mused, I'm going to need to study real hard, or he's going to go completely over my head.

"Sorry, I went into philosophy."
"No, don't apologize! Promise me you'll teach me!" Kytriya gave him a stern look.
"Okay, I promise." He chuckled.