Yuki Ishikawa, a celebrated professional Japanese volleyball player who has a huge fan base in both his hometown Japan and internationally. A team captain with integrity and responsibility to be maintained at all times.
Chelsea L. , a mixed Chinese...
Rất tiếc! Hình ảnh này không tuân theo hướng dẫn nội dung. Để tiếp tục đăng tải, vui lòng xóa hoặc tải lên một hình ảnh khác.
The hinge of my bedroom's window creaked as I opened it after I got out of my bed. It's my first morning here in the Land of Rising Sun - Japan. The soft sun rays shine through my window, giving my bedroom a warm lighting. Birds are chirping on the pink sakura tree right beside my room. I took a deep breath, telling myself: "This is a great start in a brand new place."
"Chelsea, breakfast is ready!"
Yupe, that's me Chelsea. I'm 25 years old, the only daughter and child of the L family. My dad is a Chinese and my mom is a Japanese, which makes me a mixed. We speak English in our household. I do have a decent knowledge of Mandarin and Japanese, but since I rarely had a chance to speak them, so I am not super fluent in them, but a normal conversation shouldn't be a trouble for me.
"Alright, I'd come down in 5 minutes!"
"Hurry up before your dad eats your favourite tamago!"
That's my mom, always an early bird who would prepare the best breakfast in the world for her family.
I quickly brushed my teeth and gave my face a few good splahes to freshen up before I head downstairs.
"Good morning daddy and mommy. I'm glad you didn't eat my tamago yet dad. Haha!"
"Good morning Chelsea, not today because I know you miss mommy's cooking."
That's my dad. He is an electrical engineer, he was transferred to Japan to assist his company for a major project, which may last for at least 7 years. That's why our family made a big decision to move over to Japan.
"How was your sleep last night, Chelsea?" asked my mom.
"It was alright, I'm still having a little jetlag from the travelling, but I know I will be fine because I am going to have the best breakfast now which I have been missing so much for the past one month!"
My family had been living in Italy since I was born. This is why we are also fluent in Italian. My parents had already moved to Japan a month ago to settle everything here, while I had to stay back to serve my notice at my company before I came over.
I worked as a physiotherapist back in Italy, helping patients who suffer from injuries and diseases at the hospital. It was so hard to say good bye to all my great colleagues who I had been working with for many years, I'm missing them already. I don't have a plan as of what to do here in Japan, but I thought I would like to take a short break from work before I apply for any job.
"Silly girl, hurry up and enjoy your food. We will need to visit our neighbour later to say hi since now everyone in our family has settled down." said mom.
My mom said that it is a Japanese culture to introduce yourself to your neighbour when you are new in the neighbourhood, as a sign of politeness and hoping that we will be able to take care of each other in the future.
"We have already met our neighbour Mr. Takahashi's family a month ago when we first moved in, they have 3 kids who are around your age, I hope you all will be able to get along well." said dad.
"That's great, I hope to make some new friends too!"
After finishing my breakfast and cleaning the dishes, I changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of long jeans to get ready to meet my neighbour. Since my parents had to run some errands, I was going to visit alone. I also brought some fresh peaches with me for the visitation, hoping to make a good first impression.
"Ringg Ringg", I pressed my neighbour's doorbell. In just a few seconds, the door was opened.
"Hi, I am...." I nervously introduced myself when the door was opened, but I was met with a body at my eye level. I looked up at 45 degree and there was where I saw a man, wearing a white hoodie and a black cap. He is so tall and he looks mixed, too.
"Hi, you must be Chelsea-san from next door. I am Ran Takahashi, my family is inside, come on in." said the man.
"Oh sure, thank you." I followed him into the house after removing my shoes at the entrance, making sure I arranged them neatly as of Japanese culture.
Turning to the right after the entrance, I was greeted with warm smiles by another four family members at the living room.
"Hi, you must be Mr. L's daughter, Chelsea. We have been waiting to meet you and finally you are here. Come over and have a seat." said a beautiful lady at her 40s, who looks a little European, she must be Mrs. Takahashi.
I handed the peaches to Ran who welcomed me at the door before sitting down on the couch, right next to a young girl.
"Let me introduce our family to you. Sitting next to me on my left is my husband Mr. Takahashi. On my right is our eldest son, Rui. The boy you have met justnow was our second son, Ran. Lastly, this girl next to you is our youngest child, Riri." said Mrs. Takahashi.
"Hello everyone, nice to meet you all. We are happy to be your neighbour and please take good care of us." I politely replied.
"Of course, you can always come to us whenever you need anything, just see us as your family friends, you and your family are always welcome. I can see my kids are around the same age as you, I hope you all get along well." said Mr. Takahashi.
We chatted together while having some hot green tea and snacks. I came to know that the Takahashi kids are mixed just like me. I looked around the house and realized there were a lot of trophies and medals.
"Those are my brothers', they play volleyball since they were young and they are now playing for professional clubs." said Riri.
"Wow, what a great achievement at this young age. I miss playing volleyball a lot too, I used to play regularly for fun when I was back in Italy. But I guess I would have to say goodbye to volleyball now that I'm here", I said ending with a sad tone.
"Why so?" asked Rui.
"Well, I don't have any friends to play with here." I said awkwardly.
"You have us now. We can always play together now that we are neighbours. Do you know that there is an outdoor volleyball court just a few blocks away from our houses? Me and my brother used to play there a lot when we were just kids." said Ran.
"You must be joking, Ran. We're not even home most of the time nowadays, especially now that you're training intensely with the national team." said Rui.
"You're a national volleyball player too?" I said with my eyes widely opened.
"Yes, I am the youngest new player in the Japanese national team. I am trying my best to be better everyday." said Ran shyly.
"That explains why I had to lift my chin up to find your face when I was at the door justnow." my remarks made everyone laughed cheerfully.
I spent a lovely afternoon with the Takahashi's and went home happily.
My parents were already out for their errands and I am now alone in my new house. I walked up to my bedroom, looking at everything that was still unfamiliar to me.
"Could this really be a new place, a new start?" . . . . . To be continued...
I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter. My English may not be on point , but I will try my best to make this story fun to read. Any feedback is appreciated :) I hope this chapter makes you look forward to the next one.
