he plane ride had been several hours long, for it was not until late afternoon that they arrived at the Watertown, New York, International Airport. Everyone collected their bags, and descended down the airplane ramp. Izumi stepped out into the sunlight and, unknowingly, put her feet down on American soil for the first time in her life. She did not have any time to take in the new surroundings, for her mother claimed their luggage and hurried through customs.

By the language everyone was speaking, Izumi correctly guessed that she was in America, for Anna had not told her daughter where they were, or where they were going.

Izumi soon found herself in a crowded bus station, glancing at the destination sign over the bus driver's window. It said "Three Mile Bay." Suddenly, Izumi knew where they were going. She was finally going to see the home her grandparents had left her in the will. She had often tried to imagine what it looked like, for she could never get her mother to talk of her former life.

After boarding the crowded bus, Izumi felt free to investigate her surroundings. Looking out the bus window, she could see the terrain outside. Everything was covered with green vegetation and trees of all sizes. If she squinted, she could see mountains in the far distance. She heard someone say they were the Adirondack Mountains. Everything was new and exciting to her, for she was no longer scared. They had a destination, and she found the anticipation a good balm for the stress of the previous day. Izumi noticed that at every stop along the way, people would get off the bus, and scatter along their separate ways. She soon realized, that counting herself and her mother, there were only five or six people left. She began to enjoy the privacy and quietness of the bus ride. Izumi had grown so used to public transportation in Japan, that she had never noticed the packed crowds, standing on each other's feet, until seeing the ample room of an American bus.

It was not until then, that Izumi noticed the young man at the airport, sitting near the door. He could not see them, for they were seated at the opposite end of the bus. Izumi shyly watched him from her seat. He was staring out the window, watching the trees speed by. The young man had blonde hair like her mother's, and electric grey eyes. From the reflection on the bus window, Izumi could see he had a tired look on his face. She remembered the look of pity, he gave her at the airport. He had genuinely felt sorry for her, making Izumi like him all the more.

The young man Izumi was watching so intently, had not seen her, or her mother, board the bus. He was very tired, for he had not slept in thirty-six hours. He had spent the night protecting a neglected, little girl. It had broken his heart to leave her alone again, knowing how the mother obviously hated her daughter. It made him angry to watch this cold- hearted woman repeatedly ignore her daughter's silent pleas for love and attention. Silently, and in much prayer, he claimed every applicable promise he could think of, interceding as only a Christian could.

"Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."
~ Hebrews 13:3 ~

Nearing the end of his journey, the young man realized that it had been a journey of the heart, more than anything else. He said one more prayer, asking God to lead this child into His kingdom, by putting her in the path of Christians. That was the only thing he could do to help her. With that settled in his heart, he had boarded this bus for home.

Izumi looked into her bus window's reflection. The crumpled school uniform she wore, gave the appearance of someone younger than she really was. Her hair was messy, and her face looked exhausted. Sighing, Izumi smoothed out her hair and combed through the tangles with her fingers, just in case he looked in her direction. But to her disappointment, and relief, (a feeling only women can understand), the young man's eyes never left his window.

"I [the young man] being in the way, the LORD led me [Izumi]"
~ Genesis 24:27 ~