Chapter One: Odd Introductions

Lê had officially passed the citizenship test of the Cartlet Isles a month ago. And after piles of paperwork she had just moved to the Cartlet Isles from Vietnam.

She decided to move to the capital, Hestford. After staying in a hotel for the past few nights and getting to know her way around the city Lê decided to look for a place to stay. With her bag in hand, nón lá on her head and the lim (Cartlet currency) that had been converted from Vietnamese đồng, the black haired immigrant wandered around the market square.

However it was inevitable that she would get distracted by the wonders of the market. Stalls with handmade goods and booths fraught with food surrounded Lê. Luscious fruits, baked goods, roasted meats, it all made Lê hungry.

Her admiration of food was stopped when a stranger suddenly crashed into her. Lê miraculously managed to keep herself from face-planting and was now kneeling. She turned around to look at the person who crashed into her.

It was a guy, most likely around her age, who had straight black hair, and light brown skin. He was on his knees rubbing his forehead. His eyes were tightly closed. Through teeth gritted in pain he said, "Jeez... whatever happened to being aware of the surroundings?"

"It is not my fault! I was distracted by the lychee cart!" Lê said,"Plus you are to blame too. You were the one who blundered into me."

The stranger rolled to his feet, and let out a sigh,"It...It's not your fault. I was chasing a b- I was chasing something and I didn't see where I was going."

Lê stood up and raised an eyebrow, "Chasing what? This is the city, there are no wild bears around."

He looked away and gave an embarrassed smile,"Eh... something along the lines of a butterfly..."

"A butterfly?!" Lê couldn't help but laugh a bit, "How old are you? Two?!"

"It was pretty dumb. Can I make it up to you? I've got some spiced pig I was cooking up if you'd like some," He offered.

"Oh, I would not want to intrude on you..." Lê said trying to not be selfish. To her, it would be rude to inconvenience the guy with having to share his meal. However, in the end she said,"But spiced pig does not sound bad..."

"I mean, I slammed my entire body into you. You intruding on me would be the least of my concerns. Follow me," He said and started walking.

"Hm, who knew getting ran into would have perks?" Lê said, following him, "I am Lê Tran, by the way."

"The name's Lomri Bashir, nice to tackle ya," He introduced, as they walked.

Lomri's house was just at the outside of the square, away from the hustle and bustle of the stalls. It was a fairly sized, one-story house made of wood. A black chimney jutted out from the side.

Lomri opened the door and gestured for Lê to come in, "You can set your stuff down. And please leave your shoes at the entrance."

Lê entered, taking her shoes off. She set down her bag, took her nón lá off and put it on her bag.

Lomri's house mostly consisted of one room divided into separate parts. On the left side was his bedroom space consisting of a cot and a desk. In the middle was a space akin to that of a living room area, thought it was mostly barren except for a stack of books. On the right was the kitchen area.

On the back wall there were two doors which could be assumed to lead to a closet and a bathroom.

The kitchen had a firewood oven. The oven had a marble counter top to set things on. Coming from the oven and through the counter was a black tube, assumably part of the chimney. On the other side of the kitchen area was an electrical stove. Dried herbs, and other things hung from the wall. Above the sink there were jars of herbs, pickles, and jams lining the shelves.

Coming from one of the only electrical outlets in the house was a phone charger and a rice cooker sitting on the cold white tile.

There was a closed door in the kitchen area which was probably the pantry.

At one part that was near the living room where there was still wooden flooring, there was a square shaped hole in the wooden flooring. The inside was lined with cement, and a fire had been burning in the hole. On opposite ends were two 'Y' shaped poles with another pole resting in the wedge.

On the resting pole was the spiced pig Lomri had cooked up. It was slightly charred but not burnt.

Lomri slid the meat off the pole, took a knife from the kitchen and cut it in half. He handed one half to Lê and took a bite into his. After swallowing he asked,"So, you from around here?"

"No, I am an immigrant. Just moved here a few days ago," Lê said taking a bite of the meat.

"You got a place to stay?" He asked.

"No..." Lê said, unsure where Lomri was going with this.

"You could crash here until you find a place if you want," Lomri offered after swallowing the rest of the pig.

Lê was a bit startled at the sudden offer, "Uh... are you sure? I do not know if you have noticed, but we have just met."

"If you killed me I'd be fine with it," Lomri said breezily.

"And you have no criminal motives?" Lê asked with a slightly nervous tone.

"No, I'm not that kind of person. And even if I was I'd have to go jail and quit my job. And I don't that kind of money to quit my job," Lomri said.

"Okay...? So I do not want to be a freeloader, is there anything I can do to help? Such as rent?" Lê asked.

"The bills aren't that much. I can do it myself," Lomri said.

"Okay, then I can do the shopping and cooking for you," Lê suggested.

"Shopping's good. I can do a lot of the cooking but I wouldn't a meal from someone else every not and then. Man, I never thought I'd have a maid," Lomri said in fake mystification.

"Shall I get a little feather duster and maid dress now?" Lê said jokingly.

"It wouldn't hurt the persona," Lomri said, "So, let's get your sleeping area situated. Anything you particularly like?"

"I am fine with anything...like the floor," Lê said, trying to be flexible.

"Unless you want a bad back, I'd advice against sleeping on wood flooring. The best thing I have is a straw mat which we can put a thick blanket or something on," Lomri said, "How's that sound for now?"

"Good," Lê nodded.

Lomri opened the closet and took out a rolled up straw mat, "Where'd you like it to be? It can't be in the kitchen for obvious reasons."

"How about the middle area? So I am not right in your way when you get up in the mornings," Lê said.

"And there'd be a less chance of me stepping on you," Lomri unrolled the mat onto there and went to the closet to get the blanket. He asked,"Hey, could you take my books over to my side of the room?"

"Sure," Lê said grabbing the books. She gently placed them on his desk.

Lomri came out of the closet with a green blanket. The blanket conveniently had similar length and width of the straw mat. He set it down on the straw mat,"Sorry I don't have an extra pillow or anything."

"No, that is fine. I have a pillow in my bag," Lê said, taking it out.

"Huh, well since we've got that all settled I'm going to take a walk," Lomri said heading out that door. "You can settle in or go out. If you go out and I'm not back when you're back just wait outside."

"I will go out," Lê said and followed him out the door.

Lomri nodded in acknowledgment and locked the door. He waved slightly to Lê and headed on his way.

Lê decided she would go to the beach. She hadn't been to it yet and it wasn't far from the market square, so, she started walking there.

•••

Yukiko was up in a tree, gazing into the ocean. She was gazing in the direction of her homeland, Japan.

She leaned against the tree trunk, not taking her eyes away from the ocean. The ocean's waves lapped away at the land; the foam was left behind at the edge of the wet sand.

"You falling in love with the ocean? Why such a sad face, Miss?" Someone asked.

Yukiko looked down to the voice. It was a young Asian female. She wore a conical hat and traditional looking clothes that were definitely not Japanese.

Yukiko said,"Just missing home." She leaped off the branch she was on and said,"I'm Yukiko Kusanagi."

"Lê Tran," She responded, "Are you on a vacation or something?"

"No, I've lived in Cartlet for a while..."

"You have not always lived here? Are you like me, an immigrant?"

"Yeah. My parents moved here because of my father's business. But I still like Japan better. They didn't even ask for my opinion! It's not fair!" Yukiko let out a short rant and then looked back to Lê. "Sorry for venting like that..."

"It is fine," Lê said.

"So.... you said you were an immigrant? Where are you from?" Yukiko asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Ah, I am from Vietnam," Lê answered.

"Which city?" Yukiko asked.

"Saigon!" Lê said proudly.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Yukiko said,"Will you go to highschool here?"

"No, I've already graduated," Lê said.

"Oh, I'm on my last year, I'm seventeen," Yukiko said.

"Okay, well maybe I will see you around sometime," Lê said.

"Yeah, see you!" Yukiko said. She waved goodbye and walked off.

•••

Lomri hummed as he walked along the beach. He hadn't been there in the last few days. It was refreshing to hear the sounds of the waves crashing onto the shore.

He laid down on the soft sand, not caring if his clothes got dirty. He closed his eyes. His mind started to drift as the peacefulness of the beach lulled him to a drowsy state.

All he could hear were the waves and an occasional seagull. Wait... did somebody just throw sand at him?

He jolted up and shook the sand out of his hair. The sand hit the person who got sand on him in the first place.

"Hey who's there?!" The person asked. It was a girl. She had long, straight black hair, brown skin, and dark brown eyes.

"Lomri, who's questioning my identity?" Lomri asked.

"Hm..." She kept on staring at him.

"This is the part where you tell me your name," Lomri said.

"HMMMMM..." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Okay Ms. Crazy, you better tell me your name. Don't make me sit on you," Lomri said.

"Oh, I've heard I'm a very good couch. That aside I'm Prisha Kulnan," She said.

"Kulnan?" Lomri raised an eyebrow,"As in Haji Kulnan the prime minister?"

"Yeah, I'm his adopted daughter," Prisha said.

"Shouldn't you have like a bodyguard or something?" Lomri asked.

"I've never been on TV or anything so nobody really knows my face," Prisha answered.

"Oh, okay," Lomri said.

"So, what are you doing?" Prisha asked.

"Well I was enjoying the sounds of the ocean, sorta like sunbathing I guess," Lomri said, "but then you threw sand at me."

"Well I was digging a hole," Prisha said.

"Interesting..." Lomri said.

"Hey,can I join you sunbathing?" Prisha asked.

Lomri laid back down and closed his eyes, "I mean, I don't mind. But think about the fact that you're going to lay down next to some guy you just met. I could kill you if I wanted to."

"Oh, you wouldn't want to do that," Prisha said.

"And why is that?" Lomri asked.

"Eh," Prisha replied and laid down next to him.

"What a compelling argument. I will refrain from eating your organs." Lomri opened one eye and looked back at her,"Though, I'm sure they would be tasty."

"Whatever you say," Prisha said and closed her eyes.

Lomri closed his eye and stayed silent. Soon enough he could hear Prisha snoring.

Great, she snores. Well frankly I don't want to hear you snore so, bye-bye. Lomri thought, and got up from his spot.

He gave a small wave to the sleeping girl, and headed back to his house.

(Translation/Pronunciation/Author's note:

Lê- pronounced like "lay" as in "go lay down"

Non Lá- Vietnamese conical hat

Đồng- Vietnamese currency

Lomri- pronounced like "loam-ree"

Yukiko- pronounced like "You-key-koh"

Kusanagi- pronounced like "koo-sah-nah-gee"

Ao dai- pronounced like "ow-yai" it is the traditional Vietnamese dress and is what Lê wears this chapter and the next. I don't actually know how common it is for a girl in Vietnam to just casually wear this, but if it's not common we can just say she wore this for a good impression for her first day (not technically) in the Cartlet Isles.

P.S. Did you guys spot the Hamilton reference in the summary?)