A year and a half has passed since Kaori started living in Japan.
She herself was very happy with her new life. Life was better than ever, she had more opportunities to learn new things, she was interacting with different people, and it felt like she was living a dream.
My workplace was a room on the second floor of a restaurant, and my home was a small house in a quiet residential area about a 10-minute walk from there.
One morning, as I was trimming the flower pots in the entrance hall before going to work, I was greeted by a group of children on their way to school, who greeted me with a "Good morning!"
"What polite and kind children they are!" Kaori was impressed.
When she was in Brazil, Kaori commuted between her home and work every day, but now she has more free time and is able to try new things.
After slowly starting out with cooking classes, Japanese language classes, and flower arranging classes, she decided to try a reading session next. The reason was that she had noticed an advertisement for a reading session in the local newspaper. Since she had only just started studying Japanese, she was worried about whether she would be able to fully understand what was being read, but Kaori loved the sound of Japanese, so she was confident that she would enjoy it.
The shop was located in a narrow alley behind the station, and through the glass windows of the wooden building you could see books lined up on shelves.
When I went inside, several people were sitting and drinking tea. There was a woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, a smiling young woman next to her, and a gentleman wearing a blue beret. In the back row, there were three women and a young man who looked like a student.
Shortly after Kaori went inside, a man in a navy blue suit came in. He was the owner of the bookstore, Kentaro Watanabe, who was in charge of the reading session.
Kentaro began to read a chapter from Kazuo Ishiguro's "A View of the Hills." Kaori found it very difficult to hear and understand what was being read, but she was fascinated by the melody of the Japanese language and Kentaro's voice. Kaori was glad to have come to the reading. Despite knowing that she was Brazilian and that her Japanese was not very good, everyone spoke to her politely and wanted to ask her about Brazil.
Then, when it was time to decide on the next theme, Kentaro suggested, "How about listening to a reading in Portuguese this time?" Everyone immediately agreed, and of course, Kaori was chosen to read in Portuguese.
After much deliberation, Kaori chose "A Casa," a children's story written by the Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes. Kaori first recited the words, then sang them, and at the end everyone sang together. Everyone was delighted with the fun and interesting reading session.
Kentaro Watanabe taught Japanese at a high school and lived with his mother in an apartment in Tokyo. His bookstore was started by his late father over 30 years ago and has recently been renovated to create a space reminiscent of a traditional Japanese cafe, with a cozy atmosphere and surrounded by books.
After a while, Kaori started taking a picture postcard class taught by Kentaro's mother in addition to the readings. She sent her first work to Baa in Brazil. Meanwhile, Kentaro began to frequent the restaurant and bakery run by Kaori's sister-in-law's family, and he began to feel closer to the Japanese community in Japan.
Kentaro and Kaori naturally began to hang out together. They watched movies, visited museums and exhibitions, and talked about a variety of topics. To their surprise, they realized that despite their cultural differences, they shared similar ways of thinking and values.
Then one day they announced to everyone that they were seriously considering getting married. No one was surprised, because everyone expected it to happen sooner or later.
Kaori's younger brother Koji immediately called their father in Brazil to tell him the news. When Baa heard the news, she said with tears in her eyes, "I want her to be happy more than anyone else. She was very family-oriented from a young age, and always tried her best to encourage and support us."
Kentaro is a teacher, so the wedding was scheduled for July 26th during his summer vacation.
Kaori planned to continue her accounting job, but wanted to cut down on her extracurricular activities so she could also fulfill her role as a housewife. There was a mountain of things to prepare for the wedding. The couple moved into Kentaro's apartment, and Kentaro's mother moved into Kaori's house, because it was the perfect place for a single person to live.
In Brazil, Kaori's father was looking forward to the day they would go to Japan. It was his life's greatest dream to escort his only daughter down the aisle with her. "But wait a minute! Will the wedding be in a church or a Shinto ceremony? I'll call and ask right away. But no, what's important is that Kaori has found a hardworking and excellent husband who is a teacher, so there's no need to bother asking."
In a word, everyone was happy about Kentaro and Kaori's marriage! What's even more exciting is that Emily and Koji's first child was also scheduled to be born in July. The two were born and raised in different countries, but one day they met and connected with each other. That's why life has become more beautiful and fun. Life is truly wonderful!!
© 2025 Laura Honda-Hasegawa
