having.
CHAPTER FIVE
Takako had been to New Haven several times. At the age of ten she was old enough to have accompanied her parents on more than one trip. New Haven was the biggest city in the Southern Kingdom, but it was five days of travel from their home village. A trip to New Haven was for the most serious business or the greatest celebrations. This was Takako’s fifth trip into the city of unfamiliar lights and sounds.
Takako was ten, but even the most observant bystanders would have guessed her closer to fourteen or fifteen. Her breasts were too small to be average for the age, but all other standards she met or exceeded. She was exceptionally tall for her age, towering over even her older male friends. Her father was a struggling merchant working to make ends meet in a village that didn’t have many needs. There were many mouths to feed in their house and the business, while consistent, was not enough to put more than the minimum of food into the family’s stomachs every evening when they gathered around the table.
It was not hunger that bothered Takako. She had grown up eating little and knew little else. What she hated not having a teacher. She was the oldest of four, but the only girl. Her father felt that there was no need to provide her more than the basics, but even his judgmental mind acknowledged she was excellent at everything she put her mind to. She was gifted with both numbers and letters, but despite her recognized aptitude her father paid her no mind, focusing instead on educating his three sons. They were the children that would take over the business.
Which made this trip all the more unusual. Takako didn’t know why they had come, but her father’s demeanor made it clear to her young mind that this was a business trip. If it was a celebration he would have brought the whole family, or at least been in a good mood. But if it had been a business trip he would have brought the boys despite their lesser age and gifts. It didn’t fit Takako’s paradigms for pleasure or business, but her father had been serious the entire trip, so it had to be business. Takako was beside herself with curiosity although the thrill of being in New Haven overwhelmed her desire to barrage her father with questions.
New Haven suited Takako well. She had been born with a positive attitude, and her mother told Takako that she had come out of the womb with a smile on her face. Takako thought the story seemed a bit of an exaggeration, but she liked it anyway. She did not like the manner in which her father treated her and her mother, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she did what was required of her and looked forward to the future. When she was in New Haven she felt like the future was right in front of her, beckoning her into a warm embrace. The city was big, with room for a woman to grow. She had seen women who ran businesses and tried to picture herself as one of them. She knew she was capable, she just didn’t know why nobody else would acknowledge it.
One of Takako’s most pressing questions in life was how her mother put up with being treated like less than Takako’s father. Takako knew that her mother and father had been married for over twelve cycles. Her mother was a quiet woman who possessed an inner steel that displayed itself in very rare circumstances. But to hear the neighbors talk her mother had not always been quiet. She used to be the life of the village, beautiful and full of energy. One of their neighbors once told Takako that her mother had been quick to tell her mind, even to the elders of the village, who allowed her to get away with it on account of her beauty and charm.
She was still beautiful, but cycles of marriage to Takako’s father had smothered her fire. She loved him and worked hard to keep him happy. In the beginning it was said that their marriage had been picture perfect and the two of them were ranked among the most respected people
CHAPTER FIVE
Takako had been to New Haven several times. At the age of ten she was old enough to have accompanied her parents on more than one trip. New Haven was the biggest city in the Southern Kingdom, but it was five days of travel from their home village. A trip to New Haven was for the most serious business or the greatest celebrations. This was Takako’s fifth trip into the city of unfamiliar lights and sounds.
Takako was ten, but even the most observant bystanders would have guessed her closer to fourteen or fifteen. Her breasts were too small to be average for the age, but all other standards she met or exceeded. She was exceptionally tall for her age, towering over even her older male friends. Her father was a struggling merchant working to make ends meet in a village that didn’t have many needs. There were many mouths to feed in their house and the business, while consistent, was not enough to put more than the minimum of food into the family’s stomachs every evening when they gathered around the table.
It was not hunger that bothered Takako. She had grown up eating little and knew little else. What she hated not having a teacher. She was the oldest of four, but the only girl. Her father felt that there was no need to provide her more than the basics, but even his judgmental mind acknowledged she was excellent at everything she put her mind to. She was gifted with both numbers and letters, but despite her recognized aptitude her father paid her no mind, focusing instead on educating his three sons. They were the children that would take over the business.
Which made this trip all the more unusual. Takako didn’t know why they had come, but her father’s demeanor made it clear to her young mind that this was a business trip. If it was a celebration he would have brought the whole family, or at least been in a good mood. But if it had been a business trip he would have brought the boys despite their lesser age and gifts. It didn’t fit Takako’s paradigms for pleasure or business, but her father had been serious the entire trip, so it had to be business. Takako was beside herself with curiosity although the thrill of being in New Haven overwhelmed her desire to barrage her father with questions.
New Haven suited Takako well. She had been born with a positive attitude, and her mother told Takako that she had come out of the womb with a smile on her face. Takako thought the story seemed a bit of an exaggeration, but she liked it anyway. She did not like the manner in which her father treated her and her mother, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she did what was required of her and looked forward to the future. When she was in New Haven she felt like the future was right in front of her, beckoning her into a warm embrace. The city was big, with room for a woman to grow. She had seen women who ran businesses and tried to picture herself as one of them. She knew she was capable, she just didn’t know why nobody else would acknowledge it.
One of Takako’s most pressing questions in life was how her mother put up with being treated like less than Takako’s father. Takako knew that her mother and father had been married for over twelve cycles. Her mother was a quiet woman who possessed an inner steel that displayed itself in very rare circumstances. But to hear the neighbors talk her mother had not always been quiet. She used to be the life of the village, beautiful and full of energy. One of their neighbors once told Takako that her mother had been quick to tell her mind, even to the elders of the village, who allowed her to get away with it on account of her beauty and charm.
She was still beautiful, but cycles of marriage to Takako’s father had smothered her fire. She loved him and worked hard to keep him happy. In the beginning it was said that their marriage had been picture perfect and the two of them were ranked among the most respected people
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