Kenji Nobu led Rosa Jardine and her son Theo out of the metal sheet shack that was his home in the desert. They all stepped out on the wooden skid “porch” to meet with Arfie, the white and grey Husky, who was standing guard in the shade next to the shack. Arfie lept over to Theo, licking his face and reaching for the glass of water in Theo’s hand. Theo put the glass down and let Arfie drink from it, his long white and grey snout reaching into the glass. While Arfie was drinking the water, Theo shivered a bit and pulled on Rosa’s yellow hoodie tied around her waist. “Mom, I really have to go!”

Kenji gestured to a lean-to behind the shack and said with a wink, “There’s my luxurious commode; you might want to hold your breath while you’re in there!” 

Rosa’s nose twitched a bit and called after Theo, “Let me know how bad it is; I need to go, too.” Arfie was finished drinking the water from the glass and knocked it over into the sand. Rosa picked the glass up and passed it to Kenji, who took it with him back into the shack. He emerged again with the radio, still playing the same station he had left it on.

Theo came back from the lean-to and announced, “It wasn’t too bad, Mom!” Rosa held her breath and went to the lean-to, to do what she needed to do. She could hear Theo talking to Kenji over the country music playing on the portable radio. “Mr. Nobu, what so special about this rose garden you want to show us?”

“Well first of all, it’s hidden. I bet you won’t see it when we get to it!” Nobu answered enthusiastically, “Secondly, it’s helped me to understand this crazy world we live in. It was nothing like my experience at the cooperative I used to live and work in, so many years ago with…” Nobu said, his voice fading. His voice suddenly re-focussed as he looked carefully at Theo’s face. “Your last name’s Jardine? I knew a Jesus Jardine a long time ago. I wonder-“

Rosa returned from the lean-to, interrupting Theo who was about to say something, giving him a stern look. “Mr. Nobu, where can I wash my hands? Theo, you need to wash your hands, too.”

Kenji nodded his head back towards the shack, saying, “Please use the kitchen sink. There’s soap and a towel there.” He leaned over the sitting Husky and patted it’s head. “Come on, let’s go wait by the car,” the short, elderly man said, strolling over to the silver Datsun 280Z parked outside the wire fence, expertly navigating the rocks and shrubs in the sand in his square wooden sandals and brown robe. Arfie followed him to the car, where Kenji put the radio on the hood.

Rosa and Theo went back in the shack, and washed their hands in the kitchen sink. “Kenji knows about grandad!” he said excitedly. 

Rosa shushed Theo, and quietly said to him as she wiped her hands on the towel by the sink, “Don’t say anything to this strange old man about your grandfather! I still don’t know what to make of him, and he could only mean trouble to us if he knew Papa.” Theo nodded in agreement, and the two went back outside to meet up with Kenji and Arfie.

“You still have the map you got from Princess Argentum, my boy?” Kenji asked, putting his hand out.
Theo looked confused for a second, and then grinned, “Oh, you mean Leanna’s map? Yup, here it is.” Theo handed it over to the old man, who then opened it and pointed to a mountainous area on the map, not far from where Leanna had marked Kenji’s home.

“This is where the hidden rose garden is. It’s an oasis surrounded by those low hills nearby, and it is a very special place to anyone to visits it. It’s a fair distance away, though, and we can’t get there by car.” Kenji picked up the radio and started walking towards the low hills beyond the shack, followed closely by Theo and Arfie. 

Rosa hesitated a bit, leaning on the silver car, muttering under her breath, “I don’t have a very good feeling about this…”

Kenji looked over his shoulder to Rosa and waved her to follow. “Come along, Rosa, daughter of the great Jesus Jardine! I now know exactly why Leanna brought you to me, and you have something that she wanted to pass along to me.”

*** This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ***