Sophie and Luna visit GEE!STORE so they can get anime T-shirts.

The Son Has ADHD

Today my support worker took me to her house to see her dog George and her son, who has ADHD. We enjoyed a game of Jenga while waiting for my hot chocolate to cool.

Luke, Resus, Cleo and I relax in a Japanese onsen. "The water...feels good...you could lose yourself to it."

Bedtime In Japan

Zura and I were on holiday in Japan. We had a great time there. We’ve visited an ancient temple, tried some new Japanese foods like curry and noodles and have even learnt how to paint ancient scrolls. Japan is also a cool place too, filled with lots of colourful sights, sounds, smells and cute creatures hopping about everywhere - some girls are even dressed like ones you see in Japanese anime, and it’s around a lot on television here these days. But sometimes, even exciting things that happen require a good lie down and a relaxing moment afterwards.

At our holiday home, Zura, Palm, my mum and I were eating dango in our little dining room. If you don’t know, dango is three delicious looking dumplings on a stick. They’re so squishy and sometimes they come in pink and green. I don’t know why one has turned pink, but maybe it’s because of radiation, and maybe one turned green because it got sick on a boat all the way to Japan when that signature dish came there. If you spot a green dango, please don’t eat it, in case you might get sick too. Zura and I only had white dango, so it doesn’t matter if we know what colour it is. A lovely, warm atmosphere filled the air, and it almost made us sleepy. Outside was a big onsen - that’s Japanese for spa - filled with steaming hot mineral water. It was getting dark outside, but Mum said, “Why don’t we go for a dip in the onsen outside before we go to bed?” “Oh yes!” I said, “Onsens feel great!” “They’re sure to put some pressure off yourself,” said Zura, “We need a good long onsen bath after that exciting day.”

Zura led me outside into the garden, where we saw the onsen heated up and ready to welcome us into its lovely waters. Zura went in first, and she felt that the water was a bit hot, but she soon got used to how warm it felt. “Come on, Sophie, it’s great!” she said. I dipped one toe into the onsen. It felt hot, but as soon as I dipped my whole body in, it felt hot at first, but then it felt really, really warm. “Aaaaaaaaaah,” I sighed, feeling the water around me. Above us, there was a tree with a few Autumn leaves about to fall gracefully down. I looked up, surprised at how such a tree could lose all its leaves prior to Winter. “Look, Zura, they don’t get trees like that in Japan!” I said. “Yeah, they’re blossom trees,” said Zura, “This is why the Japanese celebrate Hanami, which means, the Great Blooming Of The Flowers.”

Zura lay back and relaxed in the warm water, while I swam about, on my back doing a butterfly stroke, then doing a doggy paddle again across the water. The water was mildly warm, and rejuvenated me and Zura like we were tired after a long day of work or something, even though Zura doesn’t work and instead goes to school, and I go to school to learn from Shamalama and listen to her chilled out reggae songs. We were glad to have this well-earned holiday in Japan, where we could get away from all the work that was affecting us throughout last month. I peered out from behind two giant rocks and saw the biggest sight of my life: Mount Fuji, a crystal clear wonder, covered in snow which was as soft as icing sugar on top of a chocolate cake. “Mount Fuji…” I whispered, daring not to believe it. I’ve never seen Mount Fuji up close before, not in my life.

A leaf fell gently from the trees and landed carefully in the water, right beside Zura. It floated gracefully into her hands, and she picked it up, thinking of me as she stared at it in awe. The leaf was red, its tiny particles barely visible to the human eye. It made Zura want to be a kid wandering the jungle again, away from all the hassle and fuss of the modern world, but when she saw the leaf this time, she thought of me. “Sophie…” she smiled, tears filling her eyes as she placed it back into the water. She blew the leaf across the water, and it floated gently towards me while I was relaxing. When I saw the leaf, I whispered, “Zura…” as if the leaf was a magical telegram. I placed it back into the water, and closed my eyes. It was pure bliss.

I looked across to the other side of the onsen and peered over some rocks to see Palm relaxing in another onsen nearby. I smiled, because it wasn’t usually something that Palm ever did. It was pure paradise. I fell onto my back in the water and splashed about. As I did, I splashed Zura, who giggled and said, “Hey Sophie, you’re like a little otter.” “Are otters common in Japan?” I asked. “They’re common in Scotland,” said Zura, “But we can be otters together.” Zura swam forward to catch me, but I dived under the water and swam to the other side, causing her to miss. When she saw me, she swam towards me and grabbed me in the biggest hug possible. “Hey, stop!” I laughed as Zura cuddled me. “This is what otters do,” said Zura, “Protect their young!”

While getting dry, Zura and I lay under the tree and watched the leaves gently sway, sway, sway on the trees. Zura held me and lifted me up over her - her bandages were wet, but she nuzzled me and assured me “I think you know how mummies dry after a time in the bath.” I was laughing at first, but then I yawned and snuggled right up beside her, and we both fell asleep. Mum saw me and took me back indoors, where she dried me and thrust a beautiful red nightgown over my head.

When Zura and Palm were finally dry, we snuggled into a comfortable futon, much like an air bed but on the floor. “Zura,” I whispered, “What’s a futon?” “A bed many Japanese people use,” said Zura, “It’s not too hard, not too soft…just right for us.” “Especially for us,” I said, “We deserve it after a long day out at temples and hedgehog cafes and wearing kimonos and god knows what else we’ve been up to.” “Well, I wish I could stay in Japan forever,” said Zura. “Me too,” I said, “Goodnight.” “Goodnight,” yawned Zura, “Yoi yume o.”

And, in case you were wondering what that meant, Yoi Yume O meant ‘Sweet Dreams’ in Japanese. Zura and I snuggled together on our futon and dreamed about what’s to come next on our favourite, best Japanese holiday ever…