The Gift of Rio (The Gift of the Elements)

by C. S. Elston

  When the water hit the boy’s lips, his head jerked back because it surprised him. But, as his lips opened, he began to suck as much water in as he could. The slurping sounds were as loud as someone trying to get the last drops out of a soda with a straw. His face got all wet as the water bounced off his chin and cheeks. His shirt displayed the aftermath with water spots as he finally let go of the button and rolled back onto his flat feet. He stared at the fountain for half a second, then looked up at Rio, wide-eyed and sporting a huge grin. He then turned around and ran back to his Dad for high-fives.

  “Dad,” he yelled. “I did it! I told you I was tall enough!”

  Rio chortled as she watched. Her eyes met the boy’s father’s and she tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders again. This time, it was as if she was saying, Who knew? The man reciprocated the gesture and then turned his attention to his son, to whom he offered heaps of congratulatory praise.

  Rio finally looked back down at the fountain and began to wonder, once again, what it was that was happening to her. Not needing contacts this morning was certainly very strange. She had never even heard of anything like that happening to someone. But, this water in the drinking fountain incident was even more peculiar. She was physically seeing something take place that seemed like a scientific impossibility. Even more, she felt it happen when the water entered her mouth and quenched her thirst. Then, it appeared that she had willed it to happen to the little boy as well. None of this seemed at all possible. Yet, it had all happened. It wasn’t even 10:30am, her journey barely yet begun, and this had already been the strangest day she had ever experienced in her entire life.

  As if summoning her to more unfamiliar territory, that’s when the boarding call for her flight came over the loudspeaker.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Take Off

  The flying portion of the trip started off uneventfully. The flight from Hilo to Honolulu took less than an hour. Rio then not only changed planes but airlines during her almost two-hour layover. The lengthy break even allowed her time to hit Starbucks and grab a bottle of water and a sandwich to take on the flight. When the break was over and she boarded the next plane, her real adventure began.

  Finally, after all the waiting, she was seated by the window, staring out at the runway, about to take off. She was minutes from leaving Hawaii and would be in Osaka in less than nine hours. Her heart was pounding.

  Rio had been on airplanes before and, at times, had even traveled great distances for swim meets. But, never, in all of the trips she had taken, had she been as excited as she was at that moment about the trip she was finally embarking on. When the idea for this expedition had hit her while she was swimming in the Wailuku River, she had instantly known it was the right thing to do. Now, barely three weeks later, she was on her way.

  As Rio felt the pressure of the engines increase power and then release when the plane finally started to move, her tummy flipped and her heart continued to race but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the view out the window. She felt the plane lift and watched the runway disappear. Rio continued to watch as the ground faded further and further away. Soon, it was replaced with the surface of the ocean. If her smile could have gotten any bigger, it would have. It was official. Her next stop was Osaka, Japan.

  It wasn’t until the captain began to talk over the loudspeaker, to announce that they were almost at cruising altitude, that Rio peeled her gaze away from the window. And, she didn’t talk to anyone until the flight attendants came by with snacks and beverages. Rio, of course, just asked for some water.

  That’s when she finally calmed down a little and began to settle in, stirring her water with her mind and thinking about how cool it could be to take complete control of this new ability she was discovering inside of her. Even though she didn’t understand the ability or know where it came from, she figured she might as well make the most of it. That’s also about the time she overheard a man behind her and in the aisle seat on the opposite side of the plane complaining about the beer selection. The man said he was going to Japan and he wanted a Japanese beer. The flight attendant offered him Kirin but he complained that he wanted Sapporo. When she told him that they didn’t have Sapporo but that Kirin was a Japanese beer that was more than a hundred years old, he said that Sapporo was even older and that’s what he wanted.

  Rio wondered how much Sapporo he’d already had before getting on the plane as she leaned forward and looked back across the sleeping man sitting next to her to see who the rude passenger was. The obnoxious man looked normal enough but he was getting louder and more agitated.

  As Rio sat back in her seat, the flight attendant offered to buy his Kirin for him and the man begrudgingly took it, opened it and filled the plastic cup he was handed with a napkin and two small packages of pretzels. But, he apparently couldn’t help himself and continued to mutter obscenities, in between sips from the leftovers in the can. The flight attendants moved their cart past him down the aisle and the woman who had been helping him began talking to another customer.

  Rio thought about the fact that water had to be one of the ingredients in beer and she leaned forward again, thinking he deserved a lap full of cold liquid. But, when she did, she noticed the woman next to him crushing up a pill, scooping the powder, and pouring it into her glass of water. Now that her vision was somehow 20/20, or perhaps even better, she looked at the label on the prescription bottle that rested next to the water cup. The woman was stirring the contents of the cup with a plastic spoon on the tray table folded down from the back of the seat in front of her. The drug was called Zolpidem but Rio had no idea what that was. Then she spotted the word insomnia and a sly grin crept up on her face.

  The woman with the pills glanced around as if she wanted to make sure no one was watching her. Rio quickly looked away and reached down to her backpack so she could pretend she wasn’t looking. While she was down there, she fished out her portable CD player, headphones, and one of the three CD’s she had packed for the trip. She put them in her lap and snuck a peek back at the woman. She was crushing up a second pill.

  Rio briefly wished she’d been given the gift of telepathy that included all objects, not just water. Then, she’d be able to send the powder straight into the man’s beer. Instead, she was going to have to get more creative.

  She waited until the woman had dumped the rest of the powder into the water. Then she watched as the man took another swig of his beer and she caused the remaining contents of the can to spill out and dribble down his chin. He let out a curse word and then grabbed the napkin from under his cup.

  The commotion caused the woman to let go of her cup of water and look out the window. Rio assumed that it was her way of pretending not to notice so she didn’t have to talk to the man. But, while the man was distracted by wiping beer off his chin and the woman was looking out the window, Rio focused in on both cups. She lifted the contents of both out of their plastic containers and gently placed them in the opposite cups. So, the woman suddenly had the beer in front of her and the man had the water, along with the two Zolpidem pills that had been stirred into it.

  Finally, the man angrily set his napkin down and, without paying any attention, grabbed his cup. In a frustrated gesture, he lifted the cup up to his lips and took a swig. However, Rio wanted him to down the whole thing before he even realized what he was drinking. So, she sent that water pouring down his throat so swiftly that the man guzzled it all. However, by the time he was done, he was in the middle of a choking and coughing fit.

  “What was that?” the man exclaimed as he put his damp napkin to his mouth. He noticed his beer sitting in front of the woman next to him. He looked her up and down as he muttered a few more obscenities, took his beer and tried to drink it in between coughs.

  The woman was, of course, every bit as confused as the man was. She looked the tray table over as if she expected it to provide an answer.

  Another flight attendant, who had not been unlucky enough to deal with him the
first time around, hustled over to see if there was anything she could do to help. He demanded another beer but, this time, he was forced to pay for it.

  Rio let out a little chuckle, enjoying the scene as things calmed down. Then, she took the compact disc out of the jewel case in her lap and popped it into the CD player that was resting underneath the case. The disc contained the album The Score by The Fugees. Her favorite song on the album was “Killing Me Softly with His Song” but that was track number eight so, she wouldn’t get to that one for about a half an hour. She put her headphones on and listened to the Red Intro and the song “How Many Mics” before getting to the third track. And it was during this track, “Ready or Not,” that she looked back and discovered the obnoxious man a row behind her and across the aisle was sound asleep. The woman next to him was crushing up another pill.

  Rio smiled with satisfaction, leaned back in her seat, and looked out the window as she mouthed the words to the chorus: “Ready or not, here I come . . . ”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Serendipity

  Rio’s tummy flipped for the second time on the plane when the pilot announced that it was time to prepare the cabin for landing. Her enthusiasm was barely containable as she ripped off her headphones and stuffed her portable CD player into her backpack. This was the first time she had noticed the snoring. She glanced back and saw the obnoxious man sound asleep as a flight attendant put his tray table up for him but was careful not to wake him. Rio decided that was best for everyone around him.

  She briefly considered the fact that she hadn’t dozed off herself. It surprised her. Rio had never been one to sleep beyond the normal seven to eight hours per night, even as a teenager. But, she had typically found the monotony of a plane ride something that caused her to take naps. She chalked it up to the excitement of the expedition and quickly let the thought escape her mind. Instead, she turned her attention to the window and searched for any sign of the land of her ancestors.

  It was about 9:30pm back home but they had passed the International Date Line during the flight and it was 10:30am the following day in Osaka. Therefore, daylight was not a problem. At first, however, all she saw was water. But, the cityscape soon came into view. To Rio, it looked like a modern civilization emerging straight out of the ocean. Her tummy flipped for a third and final time. She couldn’t wait to begin exploring.

  When the plane finally touched down, she completely ignored the obnoxious man who jerked awake behind her. All she could think about was getting off the plane, seeing where she came from and finding the people who made up her long-lost family. The family member she was particularly excited to meet was, of course, her biological father, Sota Tanaka.

  The length of time it took for the plane to taxi to the gate, for the ground crew to connect it to the jet bridge, for Rio to retrieve her carry-on suitcase from the overhead compartment and wait for all the people in front of her to get off the plane was only about fifteen minutes. But that fifteen minutes was so excruciating to Rio that it may as well have been fifteen hours. She walked in the dawdling line like a little girl doing the pee-pee dance. But, when the opportunity presented itself just outside of the jet bridge, she broke free like a running back in a football game who had picked his lane through the defensive linemen and around the linebackers with the end zone finally in sight.

  Rio was walking faster than any of the little old ladies, high-priced businessmen or families headed off on vacations that surrounded her. Had it not been so crowded, she may have flat out sprinted but, that just wasn’t possible. Observers probably thought she was late for a flight. The truth was, she just couldn’t wait to get out of the airport and decide on her next steps. She probably needed to find a place to stay and some way of getting around. She had read about the excellent public transportation system in Japan and knew that the trains were a popular method of travel. Luckily for her, it was still morning in Osaka and she had plenty of time to get it all figured out.

  As she rounded a corner, she tumbled over a guy who was bent down tying his shoe. She let go of her bag on rollers and both she and the young man sprawled out on the floor.

  “Oh,” Rio exclaimed, “my gosh! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

  Both scrambled to get to their feet and collect themselves.

  “Yeah,” the man said with a noticeably American accent as the people passing by changed their course to walk around them but, otherwise, ignored them completely.

  Finally, Rio and the young man locked eyes. She was surprised to see the American accent come from someone who looked Japanese. She was even more surprised by the fact that he was so handsome. And, since most men are not all that subtle when they like what they see, she could tell he found her to be appealing, as well.

  Rio grabbed her bag and they stepped toward the wall to get out of the way of other foot traffic. Just before they stopped moving, the young man finally managed more words.

  “How about you? Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” Rio answered. “Well, embarrassed but fine.”

  “You’re embarrassed?” the young man asked as if gaining a flirtatious confidence. “I’m the idiot who was tying his shoe in the blind spot of a busy walkway.”

  “And, I’m the idiot who wasn’t watching where she was going.”

  They shared a grin, followed by a moment of silence. Finally, Rio broke through the romantic tension with the first words that came to her mind.

  “Do you feel like maybe we fell asleep on our planes and woke up in the same cheesy rom-com?”

  “Well,” the young man started to answer, “I haven’t been on a plane today but I’m glad to hear you find me attractive.”

  “What?” Rio exclaimed, finding herself embarrassed again but quickly trying to retrace her words to find out what she said that she shouldn’t have.

  “I didn’t say . . . ”

  “Sorry,” the young man interjected. “I guess I’m making an assumption. I assume you and I are the leads in this cheesy rom-com and we all know Hollywood never casts unattractive leads. So, I guess I hoped that meant you found me attractive which would help heal my bruised ego from the whole tying the shoe in a busy walkway blind spot incident. It may also help heal your ego from the whole not watching where you’re going thing to learn that I find you every bit as attractive as I’m still hoping you find me.”

  Rio simply smiled. Typically, when she started to like a guy, her experience was weeks of silent glances and a game of Will They or Won’t They playing out in her mind. This guy had cut through all of that in about a minute and a half. She couldn’t help but join the speed dating revolution.

  “Consider your ego mended,” she heard herself say but could hardly believe it. At the same time, she sensed her grin on her face growing to a point where she felt the corners of her mouth might be stretching beyond their limit. But, they surprised her and grew a little more.

  The thought that followed was one that cemented a feeling she’d already been having for several weeks at this point, Japan is going to be so freaking awesome!

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Unexpected

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah,” Rio found herself honestly answering the young man before even considering the possibility that he might be asking her out. When she finally realized what was happening, she widened her smile and finished her thought. “I am.”

  “Want to grab an early lunch?”

  “I don’t know you,” Rio teased.

  “Getting to know each other was sort of my main motivator for asking you to go to lunch,” the young man shot back with a sly grin.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Luke,” he answered quickly and extended his hand.

  “Rio,” she responded as she took his hand to shake it. She held on a split second longer than seemed normal because she really didn’t want to let go.

  “Better?”

  “Better.”

  “So, how about that lunch?”

  �
�What’s good around here?”

  “We don’t even have to leave the airport,” Luke said as he took her bag. “Follow me.”

  Rio was shocked to see both a McDonald’s and a Burger King as they wandered through the airport. Luke was pointing out some of the places he liked including a Chinese place, which Rio was also surprised to see. But, the real kicker was when they passed a Starbucks. Suddenly, Rio didn’t feel so far from home. And, the final blow was delivered when Luke walked her into a little restaurant called Kona Kafe.

  “Are you serious?” she asked.

  “Why?” Luke responded, surprised. “What’s wrong?”

  “Do you know where I’m from?”

  “No. Should I?”

  “Of course not. But . . . Do you know where Kona is?”

  “Hawaii.”

  “Right. It’s on the opposite side of the same island from where I live. It’s, like, an hour and a half from where I grew up.”

  “No way,” Luke said, genuinely thrilled by the coincidence. “That’s awesome. I think this place has the best coffee around. And, I can’t find Pipikaula anywhere else. I’d never heard of it before but it’s awesome and I get it every chance I have. If you’re from Hawaii, you probably know exactly what Pipikaula is though, huh?”

  Rio nodded her head affirmatively with a grin.

  “You want to go somewhere else? There’s a great noodle place . . . ”

  Rio shook her head and stopped his sentence by reassuring him. “Pipikaula sounds really good.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Good. Because the noodle place doesn’t hold a candle to this joint.”

  The two sat over plates of Pipikaula, which is beef that has been dried and charred like jerky and served with sides of white rice and a Hawaiian tradition called poi. Poi is taro root that has been mashed into a sticky paste. The Pipikaula was also served with a variety of condiments like sesame seeds, kim-chee, garlic powder and honey. Rio didn’t have the heart to tell Luke that, although she enjoyed the meal, she’d had better Pipikaula back home. Her guess was, in Hawaii, they stuck to tradition and dried the meat outside until it was chewy before char broiling it but, here, they had probably dried it in an oven. Ultimately, it really didn’t matter. The real star of the meal was the conversation.