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Even when Noriaki shoved her behind the boxes out of sight, the air was thick with a smell like mama's spilt perfume. Ryoko's hands quivered even as she held them tight over her nose to block it out; the smell was changing, revealing something horrible. She knew, even at nine, that that putrid undertone was blood.
The shadow of her cousin was tall and strong and hiding her own as she shook, and when he spoke she never heard his voice waver, even as he stuttered out in a different language. She was so proud of her big cousin. But she wanted to go home. She wanted to tell mama how brave she was being, when she was safe in her arms. But her cousin was arguing with a strange man, so she had to keep being brave. She wiped away her own tears as they spilled, and held her breath when she wanted to cry. She trusted Noriaki.
The smell of roses faded away, and so did the sound of her big strong cousin. Instead, the other man, the scary one, was loud and laughing, and the smell of blood filled her lungs. She wanted to cough, but if he saw her, bad things would happen. That's what Noriaki had said. So Ryoko squeezed her hands in her dress and stayed as still as could be, and resisted the urge to look around the corner until Noriaki came back and told her everything was ok. She heard footsteps, only one pair, walking away. It wasn't long until her cousin would be back. It was cold, and she wanted to borrow his jacket. Her bed would be extra warm and snuggly tonight, she was sure of it.
But Ryoko waited. She waited until her knees knocked together and she huddled in on herself to keep warm in the cold night air. She waited until she was stifling yawns instead of sobs. She kept on waiting, waiting for Noriaki to save her. She could hear people wandering about on the streets outside, in languages she didn't know but almost recognised. There were smells of foods now, no more perfumes or blood. A bird, maybe a parrot, made happy noises nearby. She kept on waiting. She waited until the shadows shifted as the sun rose, and she shifted with them, hoping the sunlight would help Noriaki find her. He must be coming soon. Maybe he had to tell auntie and uncle and mama where she was, and they would all come and find her. Someone would be here soon.
She was right that someone would turn up. An orange bumped into her, knocked off of a stall in the nearby bazaar, and a man with big robes and huge gold jewelry saw her as he reached to retrieve it. He spoke, in another language she didn't know. Then a different one. A third, even more lost on her than the last two. She stared at him with her big eyes, not blinking even though her eyelids begged to droop and she longed to rest. Eventually, he extended a hand, as big as both of hers. He didn't seem scary, and she knew he wasn't the bad man from before. Maybe he could help her find Noriaki. She hoped so.
His hand was warm, as the man guided her through the bazaar. There were a lot of people, so she was extra careful where she stepped, and she remembered all her manners when she bumped into people, saying sorry and excuse me as loud as her little voice could manage. They wouldn't understand her Japanese, but it never hurt to be polite.
They reached a building she knew, near the hotel they were staying in. It was the one auntie had shown her, that she said to go in if she ever got lost or in trouble. She wasn't lost, and she didn't think she was in trouble, but maybe Noriaki went here, because he was in trouble after arguing with the man. The man with the warm hands guided her inside, sat her down on a big plastic chair. She swung her legs as she waited, as the man went and spoke to more men in a different language. When he looked over his shoulder she made sure to smile like a good kid. She was sure Noriaki would be back soon, maybe this man would find him.
The men in the building gave her a cup of water and some biscuits. The man with the warm hands gave her his big shawl wrapped around her shoulders. He sat with her, and she could tell they were waiting for something. Even though she wanted to sleep now, and the man's shawl smelled of nice spices and was warm like her bed, she kept on swinging her little legs back and forth, back and forth on the chair. She waited, like she'd waited for Noriaki to come back. He must be nearly back, surely, and then she wouldn't have to wait anymore.
Mama opened the door, ran in, shouted 'Where's my baby?' Ryoko jumped from her chair, pulled the shawl with her as she ran to her mama.
'I'm here, I'm here!' She shouted, jumped to hug her mama's waist, squeezed as tightly as she could. Her mama smelled of perfume, but it wasn't bad like the smell from last night. Mama scooped her up, swung her in her arms, ruffled her hair and kissed her head. Auntie and uncle were behind her, but they didn't look happy. Her cousin wasn't with them.
'Where's Noriaki?' She asked her auntie, 'He told me to be quiet and brave, so I was! I waited all night for him to come back to get me,'
Her auntie didn't say anything, just put her head in her hands. She didn't seem happy. Her uncle spoke instead, 'We don't know, sweetie. We waited all night too.'