IX: Welcome to Paradise:

The inn looked humble. It’s on a planet out of the way. More like a dwarf planet. Rather easy to miss. But they found it. Or rather he found it by chance. He decided to land on the planet. He wakes her up.

“Come on, let’s go,” he whispers. She follows behind with no question. Still, she is dying to see where this is heading. Swordfish landed in a green field. The sun wasn’t even up yet. He knew of where they could stay for a few days. He landed the ship close to the hot springs.

First, they walked down a grass-covered hill. They followed the stony path by a lake. The lights were perfect guides for the couple. She looked up at the paper lanterns tied to the trees. Something about the glow warmed something in her chest. He, on the other hand, kept his focus on the path ahead. He knew of their destination. Just not exactly where. This wasn’t really planned out. They were just going along with the plan.

The walk only took about thirty minutes. They came up to an inn in the middle of nowhere. This place looked like it came out from the Meiji era. They wouldn’t look out of place on a movie set. The lights were on in the windows. She looks up with a curious look on her face. He doesn’t speak. Instead, he walked up the path to the building. He rang the bell. The door creaked open. A woman in her seventies poked her head out.

“Yes?” she asked. The conversation doesn’t last long. She walked up to her boyfriend as the old woman handed him the key. She bowed her head and moved aside. He bid the woman thanks and walked inside. His girlfriend followed behind.

They were going to be the only people in the house for a few days. The old lady lived in another cottage nearby. The payment was cash-only. He handed the old lady a wad of bills. It would buy them as many days to stay here. From there, the couple was going to be alone.

“Enjoy your stay here,” the old lady said. He just nodded and waved her off. She bowed her head to the old woman and stayed by him. Their room was the last one down the hall. He pulled out the key and unlocked it. The room ended up looking nice. He could’ve sworn he saw something like this in an old movie. She loved her red the curtains and wallpaper looked. The futon sat in the middle of the room. He only has one thing in mind.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Okay,” she said. He walked into the room and set down his bag on the floor. She followed him into the room. He was already on the futon.

“You’re not even going to get undressed for bed?” she asked. He just waved her off and went to bed. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep. She shrugged to herself and looked around the room again. It would probably look better in the sunlight.

Finally, she sat down next to the futon. She reached for his chin but paused. A little smile spread across her face.

“Good night,” she whispered. She didn’t feel like going to sleep yet. She just decided to sit by her love until he got up. It just felt right. The sun wouldn’t be rising until a few hours.