5 Friends Solve The Mystery In Japan!

Come to Japan: Immediately!🛩✈

It was afternoon. The girls were lolling on the sofa while eating popcorn and watching a hilarious movie. Then, they heard a ringtone. It was Sakura’s phone. ‘’Excuse me.’’ She said and scurried away in the bedroom. Half an hour had passed. Sakura didn’t return. The girls were worried. They paused the movie and huddled together in the bedroom. They heard someone sniffing. Rebecca went forward and kept her hand on Sakura’s shoulder. She hid her face in her hands. Rebecca immediately understood that she was crying. The other girls rushed towards Sakura. ‘’What happened Saku?’’ Manasi asked. ‘’Nothing.’’ She replied sniffing. Olivia kept her hand on Sakura’s shoulder. ‘’I know you are hiding something from us. Please tell us.’’ ‘’Ok.’’ Sakura agreed. ‘’My mum called me. She said that my big sister Himari is lost for 2 days. I have to go to Japan immediately!’’ She burst into tears. The girls comforted her. After that, she pulled out a photo of a beautiful lady in a kimono.

 

This is Himari. ‘’She’s beautiful!’’ Rebecca exclaimed. ‘’Yes,’’ Olivia agreed. Sakura kissed the photo and put it back. ‘’I am departing tomorrow. I’ll miss you.’’ Sakura said timidly. ‘’No. We are coming with you!’’ Sanika exclaimed and others agreed. ‘’Thank you!’’ Sakura said and they hugged each other tightly.

To japan.........

The next morning, everyone woke up early. They took a taxi to the airport. After a looooong journey, they reached Japan. The warm April wind greeted them. They took a taxi and reached Sakura’s house. It was a traditional Japanese house, with wooden flooring. There were cherry blossoms everywhere. Everyone was speechless. ‘’This place is jaw-dropping!’’ Manasi exclaimed. The others nodded.

‘’Saku…. Are you a princess or what!?’’ Rebecca said. The others giggled. ‘’Becca….. hehehheheeee.’’ Sakura laughed heartily. This was the first time Sakura laughed after the bad news she had got. The others let out a sigh of relief. ‘’Good job, Becca! You made her laugh!’’ Olivia whispered in Rebecca’s ear. They went inside the house.

A warm welcome….

They knocked on the door. A woman in a kimono opened the door. ‘’Haha!’’ Sakura exclaimed and hugged her tightly. (Haha means mother in Japanese.) ‘’Mom, these are my friends.’’ Sakura said. ‘’This is Rebecca from America, this is Olivia from Spain, and these are Manasi and Sanika from India.’’ ‘’Hello, Aunty!’’ The girls greeted her. ‘’Hi!’’ She said bowing. The house was nice and cozy. Just then, a small girl from grade 3, came jumping up and down towards Sakura. ‘’Saku!’’ she exclaimed hugging her. ‘’This is Hanako, my small sis.’’ Sakura said. ‘’You can call her Hana too.’’‘’It’s dinner time!’’ Sakura’s mom exclaimed and they all hurried to the Japanese dining table, which was small and cozy. There was authentic Japanese food for dinner.They all sat down. ‘’Hmmm…… new food to try!’’ Olivia exclaimed. ‘’This is Sushi.’’ Sakura’s mom explained. ‘’And this is Udon which means ‘’wheat noodles’’. And this is Onigiri, which means ‘’rice balls.’’ She continued. Then, she passed soy sauce to everyone. ‘’Mum, what about Himari?’’ Sakura asked. Mother’s eyes filled with tears. ‘’Two days ago, Himari went to the ancient Japanese temple to find the treasure. The temple is far away near Mount Fuji. We live in Tokyo, and mount Fuji is 100km to the west.’’ ‘’She climbed on that mountain?’’ Manasi asked. ‘’No….. the temple is in a hidden location near mount Fuji.’’ ‘’We’ll go there tomorrow after breakfast!’’ Sakura exclaimed. They all ate breakfast and went to sleep.The adventure begins!

The next morning, everyone woke up and packed their bags. They all were excited! They ate a tasty breakfast: Mixed rice with ikura, (That is salmon with rice) Miso soup, (That is soybean with rice). ‘’Now we should leave, mom.’’ Sakura said. ‘’Take care….. I am sending uncle Haru with you….. He’ll drive.’’ The girls sat in uncle Haru’s car. After a looooooong time they reached Mount Fuji. ‘’Thanks, Uncle….. we will come back soon.’’ Sakura said. Uncle Haru nodded. The girls scampered out of the car. They wore gloves and gumboots. ‘’There must be a secret passage here……’’ Rebecca guessed. ‘’Exactly!’’ Sakura said nodding. They began searching, digging the snow. But they did not find anything. Suddenly, Manasi tripped over something. Curiously, she started digging the snow with her hands. After a while, her hands felt something hard. She pulled it out. It was a jar! ‘’Come here, fast!’’ She shouted. The girls ran towards her. Manasi opened the jar. There was a chit inside. There were 2 lines written: Beneath the snow, you will find what you are looking for. ‘’Let’s search! Sanika exclaimed. They started searching……..

A tunnel in the snow!

They did not find anything. Olivia thought of doing mischief. She took a ball of snow and put it in Rebecca’s back. ‘’Olivia!’’ She screamed and pushed her. Olivia tumbled and fell on a wall of snow. ‘’Hey! Here is a tunnel!’’ She said. The girls gathered near her. It was a tunnel! The tunnel had been covered and hid with fake snow. Sakura pulled out a torch and led the way. The tunnel was very big. ‘’This is Himari’s bag!’’ Sakura exclaimed pointing her flashlight towards it. She rummaged through the bag and found Himari’s wallet. ‘’The wallet is empty…….’’ Sanika said examining the pockets. ‘’Did someone……’’

‘’Himari is in danger!’’ Sakura interrupted. ‘’We must move forward! After a while, the girls were tired. ‘’We should rest now….’’ Olivia said. The others agreed and sat down. They pulled their blankets on and ate snacks. They fell asleep……

Himari!

After they woke up, they heard shrill voices…… ‘’Leave me alone!’’

‘’Tell me where is the treasure?’’

‘’Someone is threatening Himari!’’ Sakura said recognizing her sister’s voice. They quickly got up and went in the direction of the voices. There was a secret door there. They peeped in. ‘’This is uncle Haru!’’ Rebecca said recognizing the driver. ‘’We have to save Himari!’’ Sanika exclaimed. Manasi gathered sharp stones and gave them in each girls’ hand. ‘’We’ll beat him!’’ She said. The girls unlocked the door using Sakura’s pin. They threw stones at Uncle Haru. He fell down. Sakura quickly bought Himari outside and locked Uncle Haru. ‘’Himari!’’ Sakura exclaimed hugging her. Himari patted her head affectionately. Sanika called the police. The police came and arrested uncle Haru. ‘’Let’s go…. Mom must be worried…. I will tell you how this happened in the car.’’ Himari took the car key out of her pocket and unlocked the car. She began to drive……

Himari’s story

‘’I read a book called the mysteries of Japan……’’ Himari began. ‘’In that, there were proofs of the Japanese temple and its treasure. I came here, to Mount Fuji. But I found a note in a jar that said there was a secret tunnel here…..’’

‘’We got the same note!’’ Olivia exclaimed. ‘’Well, that note was a trick….’’ Himari sighed. ‘’It was Uncle Haru’s trick to trap me and find the treasure and keep it to himself. But I wanted to find it and return it to the Japanese government. To avoid this he locked me in a room.’’ ‘’I never expected this from him!’’ Sakura said. Just then, they reached Sakura’s house. They parked the car and knocked on the door. Hanako opened the door. ‘’Mom, Himari is back!’’ she squealed. Mother came downstairs and hugged Himari. They went inside and told the whole story to Mother and Hanako. ‘’Mom, tomorrow we will go and find the Japanese treasure. Saku and her friends will come with me, won’t you? Himari asked. ‘’Yes!’’ The girls said together. ‘’Ok.’’ Mom agreed. ‘’Be careful.’’ ‘’Can I come with you, please?’’ Hanako pleaded. ‘’You can go.’’ Sakura’s mom agreed. ‘’Yay!’’ She exclaimed. They ate dinner and slept.

To the Japanese Temple….

The next morning, the girls ate sandwiches and packed their bags. They sat in Himari’s car. ‘’I am so excited about this!’’ Hanako exclaimed. ‘’Here’s the clue was written in the book:

Near Mount Fuji,

You will find Sushi.

There you can see the Japanese temple,

With ancient samples!

‘’Strange……. What’s the relation of sushi with it?’’ Manasi remarked. ‘’That’s what I have been thinking for hours and hours!’’ Himari said. They reached near Mount Fuji. They pulled on their jackets and stepped out. They searched here and there but they found nothing. ‘’Look….. there!’’ Hanako said pointing her finger towards an abandoned sushi shop. The girls ran towards the shop. They pushed the heavy door. There were dust and cobwebs everywhere. The girls crept inside. ‘’That symbol is so strange….’’ Sanika said pointing to one symbol. ‘’I think it’s a Japanese letter….’’

‘’It’s Chinese,’’ Himari replied. She flipped the pages of her book. ‘’This is the symbol……. Means the treasure is here!’’ The girls began searching. ‘’This wall looks like it’s made of wood,’’ Manasi said examining it. She tried to push it. But nothing happened. Then, Hanako came and slid the door, like we slide the Japanese doors…….

We got the treasure!

To their astonishment, the door slid open! There was another room there. The girls went inside. There were many things there. ‘’They saved their wealth as a treasure….’’ Sakura said pointing to a chest full of gold. ‘’They saved their beauty products too!!’’ Rebecca said pointing to bottles of flower essence. ‘’And knowledge too!’’ Manasi exclaimed pointing to a pile of books. ‘’The Japanese treasure is not only of wealth but of their knowledge too! So nice!’’

‘’Yes…..’’ Himari agreed. The girls returned and told the news to the government. The news spread all over Japan. ‘’Now it’s time to go……’’ Sakura said sadly. They chatted with Sakura’s family for a while and boarded their plane.

Incredible adventure…

The girls reached America. They watched the movie happily. Their adventure was incredible. The five friends solved the mystery again!

Bye-bye until our next adventure!

-The five friends