Back then I was 25. It was just around the time I joined a high school in Tokyo as an English teacher.
My parents lived in Nara. As someone who was raised outside of the capital, it did take quite a while to get accustomed to life in the capital.
One day, a phone call came from my parents. My father told me he had fixed my marriage with the daughter of his childhood friend and gave me the date when the girl and her parents would arrive at my parents' house. I was caught off guard. Who wouldn't be? I tried my best to make him understand that I wasn't yet ready to get married. But can any son win against his father? Knowing that any resistance was futile, I agreed to come.
The day before the given date, I reached Kyoto Station around 10:30 pm. From there I got on the train to Nara. A few minutes before the departure, the person in the seat next to me arrived.
She was a girl around my age. Even though she was wearing a mask, from her captivating black eyes and her silky black hair, one could say that she was without a doubt a beauty. Not something someone on his way to meet his future companion, whom he hadn't met before, like me, should be thinking. So I tried to focus on my upcoming hurdles without giving room to any unnecessary thoughts in my mind.
On the one-hour journey, we hardly exchanged a few words, as it is common not to talk much on trains.
When the train reached the station, we went our separate ways like any other passengers. I went to a nearby shop to buy some sweets, then started walking towards my parents' house. It was a thirty-minute walk. To keep myself distracted from boredom, I checked my phone along the way.
Suddenly, the person who was walking in front of me stopped and turned around.
Are you following me?
I heard a somewhat familiar voice. I looked up and saw that it was the same girl who had been sitting next to me on the train.
Oh, it's you!
Both of us were surprised.
I told her that it was the way to my parents' house to avoid any misunderstandings. I refrained from asking about her, as I didn't find it appropriate.
One thing led to another, and somehow we both decided to walk together, as the night was drawing near.
After about fifteen minutes, we were still walking in the same direction. The situation started to become a bit awkward for both of us. After a while, we arrived in front of my parents' house.
This is my stop. But it wouldn't sit right with me to let a girl walk alone at this hour. So, if it's alright with you, how about I see you off?
As I asked her, I was taken aback by her surprised reaction. I was prepared to be rejected, but the look she gave me hinted at something else.
What's your relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Nakata?
Now that surprised me even more.
They are my parents.
The instant the words came out of my mouth, her face started to turn red.
An awkward silence lingered, as if both of us wanted someone to break it.
Seeing the two of us in front of the house, my parents came out, as they had been waiting for me. With them were a man and a woman, almost the same age as my parents.
It seems the two of you have already met.
The man spoke.
That saves us a lot of time.
My father told the man.
Mom! Dad!
The girl seemed shocked after seeing the man and the woman.
Wait a minute. Is he the childhood friend you told me about? Does that mean she is...?
I asked, as it didn't take a genius to guess what was going on.
Both our parents laughed and told us to go inside the house. After we went in, our parents reintroduced us. It turned out she was the girl my parents had arranged my marriage with.
From then, several years went by.
And that's how the girl I met on the train became my wife.