ナオミ・ヒラハラ

(Naomi Hirahara)

gasagasagirl

Naomi Hirahara is the author of the Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai mystery series, which features a Kibei Nisei gardener and atomic-bomb survivor who solves crimes, Officer Ellie Rush series, and now the new Leilani Santiago mysteries. A former editor of The Rafu Shimpo, she has written a number of nonfiction books on the Japanese American experience and several 12-part serials for Discover Nikkei.

Updated October 2019

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Ten Days of Cleanup

Chapter Twelve—The Reveal

ナオミ・ヒラハラ
2021年11月4日

I was familiar with the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. It was where my ex, Stewart, taught some art classes in a conference room which overlooked a courtyard and a Chinese garden. I was amazed when Stewart first took me there. In the middle of a large boulevard in Pasadena was a re-creation of a Chinese imperial palace. What was it doing here, of all places? I learned that it had been commissioned in the 1920s by an antiques dealer, Grace Nicholson, who collected Native American art as well as artifacts from Asia. At first I wasn’t going to go meet my mysterious client at the P…

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Ten Days of Cleanup

Chapter Eleven—Sparkling Sea

ナオミ・ヒラハラ
2021年10月4日

I stood in front of the open storage unit, my hands on my hips. I felt like I was an Olympic athlete who had accomplished a marathon or swim relay race. All I had done was clear out a full container at EZ Storage. Well, almost cleared it out. There was still one bag in the corner. Sycamore, my daughter, was at my side, as she had been through this whole project. Today was Saturday, one day before the last day of May 2020, our deadline. Would we complete our project a day before our established deadline? I had already gotten paid for the entire job, so this wasn’t a matter of money, but …

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Ten Days of Cleanup

Chapter Ten—Smell the Roses

ナオミ・ヒラハラ
2021年9月4日

I found the e-mail for my client, Ryan Stone, and began typing him a message. Dear Mr. Stone: I know that I’m two days away from my deadline to clear out your storage unit. I’m close to finishing but I regret that I’ll have to drop the project. You can imagine that attempting a project of this size during a pandemic is quite a challenge. I’m discovering that it has been a strain on me and my daughter. I know under the provisions of our agreement, if I break the contract, I will owe you $5,000. Since I’ve done almost all the work, I beg you to reconsid…

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Ten Days of Cleanup

Chapter Nine—Hurricane Popcorn Days

ナオミ・ヒラハラ
2021年8月4日

“Mom, we need to make some hurricane popcorn.” My daughter Sycamore and I had designated Thursday our movie night. We watched animation, most recently old episodes of Dragon Ball, the Japanese version from my childhood when I was Sycamore’s age. I was amazed how all these streaming channels could resurrect old shows from the past. It was strange to see the episodes again as a mother. The protagonist, the monkey-tailed Goku, seemed too naughty at times. What was I teaching my 10-year-old daughter? On the other hand, the colors and the old-school animation delighted me…

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Ten Days of Cleanup

Chapter Eight—Zip A Dee Doo Dah

ナオミ・ヒラハラ
2021年7月4日

I couldn’t believe it, but we could now see the back of the storage unit. Well, at least one corner. We had only five days to go before I had to completely empty it out. Next was a black box. My daughter Sycamore and I had come prepared with a box cutter and I carefully guided the blade along the center seam. We flipped open the flaps. Bubble wrap. A lot of it. Whatever was inside must be fragile. Sycamore dipped her head in and came up with her hands full. “Look at these mini-records.” “Those are 45s.” I knew the American term for seven-inch vinyl recor…