Mermaid

Chapter 14

"Japan?" Alison's jaw hung up from the sudden and shocking news. "They actually said that your mother is all the way from Japan?"

"Yeah, that's what they said." Erika said softly as she took a sip from her drink as she and her two friends sat in a café, it had been at least a day since Erika's grandparents told her about where her mother was from. And she was still reeling from it.

"Then are you going to go?" Sherrie asked, resting her hands on the table, with her fingers laced together. "To Japan, I mean."

"I'd like too." Erika said. "But I don't think I'd be able to right away..." Erika learned yesterday that there was also another issue that came to her attention, the company that her grandfather was the head of, the new successor made a bad move and there was a money issue now because of it. It wasn't that bad in retrospect but for Erika it meant that she wouldn't be able to try and track down anything about her mother for at least three weeks. "So until then I'll be reading Dad's journals and looking up things online about Okinawa."

Sherrie glanced to Alison before looking back to her friend. "Erika, why don't you leave the internet searching to me, since the company that my family owns is also distributed across the world in some places, if I recall they helped out Japan when that disaster hit a number of years ago."

It took Erika a moment to realize which one Sherrie meant. "Oh, you mean that disaster. I didn't know your family was involved in that."

Sherrie merely shrugged. "My father was the one who wanted to help; my mother just wanted the publicity, so I suppose it worked in both ways."

"Are you sure Sherrie?"

She smiled. "Yeah, it's no problem for me." she then looked to her cell phone before getting up and paying for the food. "I have to head out, but I'll take a look into this come by my place later this evening, and you two Alison."

"Sure." When Sherrie left Alison turned to Erika and asked. "So did you look in one of the journals yet?"

Erika shook her head. "No, not yet." She was actually afraid too.

"Then while we're waiting word from Sherrie why don't we go to my house to look them over, does that sound alright to you?"

"I don't have any problems with that but..." she trailed off.

"My parents." Alison finished.

"Yeah... don't they still you know... find me being a bad influence on you or something..?"

"They won't say what's really on their minds, so it'll be okay as long as I'm with you, so let's go alright?"

Erika was silent for a moment, but reluctantly nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Alison's home was similar to Erika's in design the only real difference was the atmosphere and that at Erika's there was a pond, here it was a vegetable garden that looked in bad shape, like the care givers believed that once they planted the seeds into the ground they wouldn't have to do anything.

Entering the home, Erika could feel the difference of this home in comparison to her own, the air felt distant, like the parents never really wanted to be here, doing a quick glance around she saw that there wasn't even a family photo up, they probably had photo albums in the house somewhere but she didn't seem to see any, the only things that were up were pictures of landscapes and a few paintings. Erika looked to Alison who was still removing her sandals, seeing this house reminded Erika just how differently their home lives' were, the same went with Sherrie, it had been a long time since she had been in ether one's home, but with the death of her father and the sudden disappearance of her mother it was somewhat understandable.