- "Hi! I believe you're Ayumi?" Mike asked while extending his hand.

- "Yes, that would be me! And this is my mother, Harumi"

He could tell Ayumi was younger than him, she looked to be in her early twenties, about 5' 3" with jet black hair, big brown eyes, and a charming smile. She bore a striking resemblance to her mother, who was maybe an inch taller than her daughter, and remarkably beautiful for her age. If Mike didn't know better he could've easily thought she was Ayumi's older sister. She looked much calmer and more mature than her daughter though.

- "It's a pleasure meeting you both! I'm Mike, your host, but I'm pretty sure you already know that. This is Jennifer, my girlfriend. I won't take much of your time, I'll just give you a quick tour and make sure everything is up to your expectations, and we'll be on our way. You'll also need the access codes to the chalet and the garage door opener."

It was the mother who spoke this time "Oh that's so nice of you, but you don't have to worry about it, we're not in a hurry. We're here to enjoy the nature and get away from the busy city. My sister has been living in California for 15 years now, and I've been to California before, but I've never seen this part of the state, and I just say, it's more beautiful than it looked in the photos." She said in her heavy accent, but she spoke calmly and confidently and she certainly had a charm to her.

After a brief conversation, Jennifer found herself suggesting: "Baby, why don't you show Ayumi the place from the outside, help her get the car in the garage and show her where the swimming pool is, and I'll give Harumi a quick tour inside."

....

- "So this isn't your first time in Cali is it?" Asked Mike.

- "No, we've both been here multiple times before since my aunt moved. It's my fourth time to be exact, but it certainly won't be the last. I intend to come back here in a few months for university."

She spoke fast and excitedly, Mike thought to himself. She surely looked brash and energetic, and surprisingly her English was fantastic with only a light accent.

- "I dunno about that. I mean don't get me wrong I welcome you to the states, but it cost me an arm and a leg to study here, and from what I know it's even more expensive for foreigners.

- "Yeah I know that, we're not made of money but I managed to get a student loan from Japan, and since I'm studying computer science it'll be worth it to be so close to silicon valley. I'll also be living with my aunt so I don't have to worry about renting." She proclaimed.

- "Nice! It looks like you got everything figured down to a T Ayumi" He replied while walking out of the garage.

- "Yeah, kinda. Mother is the only thing that still has me worried".

- "How come? What do you mean?"

- "Well, my dad passed away in Japan a few years ago, my mother only has one sister, who lives here, and I'm her only daughter.. and now I'm gonna be moving out of the country as well. She might not be the most outgoing type, but she needs someone by her side, and she's not ready to leave Japan yet."

- "Oh.. I'm sorry to hear that.. yeah it definitely sounds sub-ideal.." He wasn't exactly sure what to say.

- "Yeah.. it's why I chose this place.. nice and secluded, great scenery.. mom loves it, and it'll give us some time to talk about things."

- "Are you going to try convincing her to move here too?"

- "I'm not sure that'll work.. but maybe.. I honestly am not sure exactly what to say.. I'll guess we'll see. We need to talk about it anyway."

Mike nodded in agreement.

....

Meanwhile in the chalet

- "So as you can see, everything from air conditioning to wifi internet works. You have a smart speaker in every room too if you're into that kind of thing." Said Jennifer.

She'd noticed that the older Japanese woman wasn't the most talkative type, despite being very kind and always wearing a smile, she would mostly node her head and answer with a yes or OK, but at that sentence, she chuckled lightly "I'm not very comfortable with tech darling, I'm sure my daughter will figure it out, but I'm too old to have grown up around this sort of technology".

- "Oohhhh I couldn't tell! They're pretty easy to use, and besides you don't look that old anyway. I'm actually surprised you're old enough to have a 20 year old daughter!"

Harumi smiled "22 in fact. Thank you honey, I'm even old enough to be your mother, I'm 45" She paused for a second "Maybe I should've had another child, Ayumi is my only daughter, and she's moving here now."

Jennifer didn't know what to say.. there was an awkward silence for a moment and then she said "I'm so sorry about that ma'am.. But I'm sure having a big family isn't an easy decision, I know having to raise 3 girls and 2 boys wasn't easy for my parents."

- "I'm sure it's worth it!" The woman smiled "I know I haven't known you for a long time, but you grew up into a charming and successful young woman. I would be proud to have a daughter like you."

- "Thank you!" Jennifer blushed deeply at that, she was very used to getting compliments but she didn't know why she felt happy to have impressed this particular woman. Her calm and mature aura was certainly having an effect on her.

- "Anyways" she snapped out of it "If you'll follow me downstairs, I'll give you the access codes to the chalet. There are no keys required, and the codes will be valid for the entirety of your stay."

Harumi simply nodded.