Chapter Nine: Japan:

Who knew that the final stop on this trip would end up being my future home? Before I got to that point, I need to focus on the roots to how this came to be.

Rewind to 2001.

An and I got off the boat to Japan. You can call it love at first sight. My jaw dropped to the ground when I looked around. It felt like I had walked into a dream. Now, I had only seen Japan in pictures in books in the 80’s and 90’s. But to actually be there…

I turned to An.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“Japan,” she said.

I looked around again. “You’re kidding!”

“Nope.”

“Wow!” We didn’t get to look around at Japan’s beauty. I ended up being dragged to the last temple on this trip. From the bottom of the stairs, I thought I had died happy. I couldn’t speak at first.

“Are we going to stay here for a while?” I asked.

“Yes,” An said. I whistled to myself. Sure, it was the same thing as we had done at the other temples around Asia. However, the air felt so different around me. It felt like someone was singing to me. I could close my eyes and get lost in the peace.

Despite that, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with my life. An told me that it was up to me for what I should do with my life. Naturally, that didn’t help me at all. I stared at the ceiling lost in thought. Maybe… I didn’t have to stay in Vietnam to be a priestess.

“Hey, An,” I said one day. She didn’t make eye contact with me again. By now, I had gotten used to the lack of response. I shifted in my seat.

“Could I be a priestess out here in Japan?” I asked.

“That’s not my decision,” she said. “You will have to talk to Mother Hoa when you make your decision. Then, there are other factors, but you have to make the first step.”

“But what should I do?” I asked.

“Decide for yourself,” An said. “You have the choice in your life. We cannot choose your life for you. You have to make your own choices.”

“Hm,” I said. That was the first time that An actually talked to me. It almost threw me for a loop, but I had learned to keep it down for myself. I smiled when she wasn’t looking.

Thank you, An.

By May of 2002, An and I sailed home back to Vietnam. Mother Hoa and the other nuns made us a hot dinner, but I just wanted to go to bed. I wouldn’t leave that temple of Vietnam again until about three or four years later.