Part 362: Legacy for a Friend Part 2

The next morning the trio made their way down the street to the restaurant. Mia held the brief case to one side as she led the way with Shanna and Seth in tow. When they got there, the door was already opened. There was young Asian woman standing by a table. As they approached, she politely bowed to them. “Good morning.” She smiled.

“Good morning,” Mia replied, “Has bidding on the restaurant begun yet?”

“The appraisers on inside, and the buyers are allowed to walk through the building,” she perked up, “You wish to take part in the auction?”

“Yes, absolutely, without a doubt,” Seth stammered.

The young Asian girl then giggled and presented Mia with some forms to fill out. The Lakota girl handed the briefcase to Shanna as she quickly filled out the documents to take place in the auction. After that, the woman gave them sticky badges to wear on their shirts. The trio then walked into the restaurant, blinded by a slight sense of must. The other buys were dressed in suits, and there were various men and women walking around with calculators, looking at everything.

Seth walked over to the counter, looking around. There was a bronze Buddha sitting next to the empty fish tank. The musician then blinked when something on the far wall, caught his eye. Amid the frames forms for restaurant licenses, was typical photos but Seth thought he recognized one of Brendon. He took a closer look and saw that it was Brendon, posing with a pissed off younger kid. The musician could only assume it was his brother; the one that betrayed him. Shanna then noticed what he was looking at and saw it too. It almost brought a tear to her eye but Seth embraced her for comfort.

Mia then strode out the restaurant looking at the many tables, and buffet areas. Inside the walls were deeper sections of the wall and inside each grove were various sculptures of dolphins, tigers, dragons, samurai and buddha’s made of complete ivory. The Lakota girl was nearly moved to tears from the beauty of it. As she walked along, she then saw that large rectangle box from yesterday. A man was sitting on it, talking on the phone. Mia then blinked when she noticed the corner of the large box had a postal mark on it. “Excuse me,” she politely tapped on the man’s shoulder, “Would you mind getting up from the box, please?”

The older man scoffed at her, labeling her rude. He got up and walked over toward the buffet area. Mia then twisted around and at the box. It was indeed a large package that was mailed by the US Post Office. What then got her curious, was the post mark was Australia. It was addressed to Brendon and what Mia even more curious was that she had read her friend’s journal many times. She immediately recognized his hand-writing. “Psst! Guys,” she motioned to Shanna and Seth, “Come here.”

The two friends quickly walked over and met up with Mia at the big box. She then motioned for them to kneel down and look at the written address. “When we were back on the Island,” Mia said, “Brendon was only concerned about his one case that contained his sword.”

“Then . .this must be the stuff he mailed to himself from Australia.” Shanna concluded.

“We can’t let them have this.” Seth whispered to them.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,” an older Asian man said, “The appraisers are done with their findings of this lovely restaurant. Please gather ride so we may commence with the bidding.”

Mia, Seth and Shanna quickly walked over toward the small crowd. Mia raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly under-dressed with all the business suits and dresses standing around her. The older man then took a clipboard from one of the appraisers and bowed his head. “Mr. Kitano has completed his appraisal.” The older man looked at the clipboard, “He has estimated the restaurant, all it’s equipment and furniture inside to have a complete net worth of 239 thousand dollars. All in favor of a total bid?”

Several people raised their hands, including the trio. “Very well,” the older man smiled, “We will commence for the bidding of the entire restaurant and all it’s contents. Do I hear a 245?”

Mia and this older Asian woman raised their hands at the same time. “Wonder,” the auctioneer smiled, “Do I hear a 250?”

The same older woman and Mia then raised their hands again. The Lakota girl scowled the woman briefly. “Do I hear a 260?” the older man smiled.

“Two sixty!” another man said.

“THREE HUNDRED!” Mia squeaked.

The crowd gasped at her response. However, the older man and the younger woman representing the bank were all smiles. “We . .we have three hundred,” the older man giggled, “Do we have 310?”

“Three ten!” the older man said.

“Three twenty!” Mia countered.

“Three thirty!”

“THREE FIFTY!!!” the Lakota girl grunted.

The older man from the bank looked like he was having an orgasm. The other man was wiping his forehead. He then pulled out his calculator and then checked it again. “Three sixty!” the man then said.

“SHUT UP!” Mia yelled, “Three seventy!”

“Three eighty!” the man replied.

He looked at Mia, who was squinting her eyes at him and pointing at him. “If you don’t back off,” she warned, “I’ll go four hundred just to embarrass you.”

“You’re bluffing,” he retorted, “You don’t have four hundred thousand dollars.”

Seth smirked as he held up the briefcase. “We got cash, hombre.” He laughed.

The crowd gasped that someone wanted the restaurant badly enough they brought cash. The older auctioneer dabbed the sweat from his brow and smiled at the young lady. “So, miss?” he grinned at Mia, “Are you willing to go 400 thousand dollars?”

Mia glared at the other man, then smiled the auctioneer. “Yes,” she laughed, “Four hundred thousand dollars.”

“You are insane,” the older Japanese woman hissed, “You are buying this restaurant for twice than what it’s worth!”

“No, “ Shanna said proudly, “ It’s worth way more than that.”

“Four hundred thousand dollars, going once?” the old man laughed, “Twice? SOLD to the young trio over there.”

Seth, Mia and Shanna then burst out laughing as they embraced each other and they jumped up and down for joy. The Chinese and Japanese business men plus women shook their heads wondering what was so special about this one establishment. The truth was, Mia, Shanna and Seth could spend hours trying to explain it.

But something told them, these people wouldn’t get it.



Mia finally finished signing the remaining of the papers with the gentleman from the bank. The young woman was taking a last stock of everything to make sure it was properly sighed. Plus, she had gotten a special money bag to place the 400 thousand dollars in cash for safe transport back to the bank. The Lakota girl giggled, knowing the reason they were both happy. It was going to be one Hell of a commission on their next paychecks. “Thank you for this wonderful day, Mrs. Riggs,” the older man handed her the keys to the restaurant, “ You are now one of most cherished customers. Here is my business card. I offer my services to you in case you have any questions for business reasons.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chu,” she bowed to him, “I just might take you up on that one day.”

The two members from the bank then proceeded to leave to the restaurant. Mia leaned back in the chair she was sitting at one of the many tables. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the carpet and various smells around her. The young woman then stood up and walked toward the counter. She immediately looked at the photos behind the cash register. She gently picked up the one with Brendon and his brother. Mia then turned and found the item she was hoping to find. She gently picked up the scissors and then proceeded to cut the photo in half; between Brendon and the brother that betrayed him. As she let the part of the photo of the brother fall to the ground, she then put Brendon’s picture back up. “This is your legacy, Brendon,” she smiled, kissing her fingers and then placing her fingers on the photo, “We weren’t going to let it get away.”

Mia then turned and saw Shanna in the back of the kitchen area. She then walked back there to join her, seeing the young redhead washing dishes. “Uh. . Shanna,” she giggled, “What are you doing?”

“Seth told me to find some glasses,” she said, drying them, “I don’t know why. However, they were dirty so I washed them.”

“Where did he go, anyway?” Mia then turned toward the lobby only to see him walk in at that very moment.

“SISTERS!!!” he laughed, as he held up the bottle of champagne, “THE BATTLE FIELD IS OURS!!!!”

“Oh, my god,” Mia giggled.

Shanna laughed as she took the three glasses and walked into the lobby to join her adoptive brother. Seth laughed, sticking his tongue out and popping the cork on the bottle, sending it toward the ceiling and then bouncing toward the floor. The bookstore worker then poured the champagne into the glasses Mia and Shanna were holding, then poured him one. He took the glass and held it up. “Mia, Shanna . .here is to Brendon,” he smiled, “May his light never stop shining.”

“To Brendon,” Mia and Shanna said in unison.

They giggled as they sipped the champagne, and the bubbles tickled their noses. Seth took a big swig and nearly spit it out, it was bubbling to fast. Mia took one more sip and then looked over toward the nearest table. The big package that Brendon mailed to himself rested with an almost omnibus presence. “You ready?” she asked the others.

“Yeah,” Seth gulped the last of his champagne, “Let’s do this.”

Mia walked over and proceeded to rip off the covering of the package. It was truly a normal foot-locker, slightly cracked in certain areas. To their amazement, the foot locker wasn’t locked. Shanna did the honors of opening it and then sliding the lid open. Inside was various pieces of Brendon’s stuff. Mia smiled as she ran her fingers over his books, which consisted of A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Watership Down, Poetry by Robert Frost and the Art of Zen. Shanna smiled as she picked up one of his shirts, placed it to her nose and took a deep inhale. Seth then looked at the lid which held some journals and a giant pad. He pushed the wiring out of the way, then looked at the giant pad. As he opened the pad, there was a beautiful picture of a young naked woman flanked by a dragon. “I forgot he was an artist.” Seth smiled.

“The journal he gave me was filled with little sketches like that.” Shanna smiled.

“He was an expert swordsman, a poet, an artist and a noble spirit,” Mia said, rubbing the jade Buddha necklace he gave her, “He truly was . . ..a samurai.”

Seth continued to flip through the pages of the giant sketchbook. He marveled at all the pictures, and he was about to suggest to them they frame a few for the restaurant, but then he froze he when he stopped at a particular picture. Seth then backed and an collapsed in a nearby chair. His two sisters looked at him with immediate concern. “Seth, what’s wrong?” Shanna asked.

He held up the pad with trembling hands. “How . . .how . . .. “ he stuttered.

Mia and Shanna then immediately walked over toward him. In unison, they both looked at the pad, looking at the unusual drawings. Shanna’s eyes slowly widened, while Mia leaned in to take a better look. She had no idea why the drawing was there.

But it was not hard to mistake all of them from the plane.

“Brendon . . .drew all of us?” the redhead pointed, “From . .our meeting on the plane?”

“That’s not possible,” Seth whispered, “How . . .I mean . . .look at the date on the drawing.”

“August 5th, 2004,” Mia whispered, “A whole month before the flight of Oceanic 815.”

The Lakota picked up the pad and looked at it. She then flipped the page around and saw some writing on the back of it. She twisted it around and read it. “The dream has returned to me.” She whispered, “I don’t know what it means nor do I know these people. All I know is that with them, I feet safe and warm. May Buddha grant me the opportunity to meet these incredible people. My soul tells me . . . .they will be the truest friends I have ever know.”

“He . . .saw us . . .in a dream?” Shanna gulped, feeling overwhelmed.

Seth wiped his tears as they started to flow freely. “Oh, My god . .” he whispered, “Mia . .Shanna . . .remember . . .when we were all on the plane, laughing and having fun?”

“Like it was yesterday,” Mia smiled.

“Do you remember . .the way Brendon looked . . .when he finally came to sit down with us?”

Mia smiled, at that moment crying as well. “I remember . . . .he looked . .happy.” she grinned.

“It’s because he was happy,” Seth laughed, wiping his tears, “He was happy to see us. He had a dream about us and when he saw us in the flesh for the first time, he felt he had come full circle. He had felt he had found . .the friends he had been looking for.”

Shanna smiled, gently putting her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “He did find us, Seth,” she smiled, “he did find us.”

Mia gently rubbed her hand over the faces on the drawing. She wiped her eyes, thinking it was like a gift from Heaven. “Fate,” she whispered, “Protects children, fools and it watches over . . .The Brat Pack.”


The next day Seth was tying the footlocker secure in the back of his truck. They had gathered all the personal belongings they wanted from Brendon. Shanna had already bought a small cheap personal album that she put all the photos of Brendon in. Mia made sure to put the sketch pad up from with them. Now, all they had to do was wait for the two people who would be taking care of The Battle Field for them.

The Sedan then slowly pulled up toward the restaurant. Shanna smiled and giggled with glee at the sight of their favorite Korean couple. Sun laughed as she embraced the redhead. Jin walked over and shook hands with Seth, then hugged Mia. “How are you both?” Jin asked.

“Whoa!” Seth laughed, slapping his arm, “Look who’s talking English all of a sudden.”

“Slowly . .but surely,” the Korean laughed, finding the right words.

“He’s an excellent student,” Sun smiled, “Now . . .what’s going on? Why did you want us to see this place?”

“Come inside,” Mia motioned.

The group walked into the restaurant, while Jin and Sun looked around. The Korean couple were curious but merely shrugged their shoulders. “Nice place,” Jin said, “Who does it belong to?”

“It’s belongs to us, Jin ol’boy,” the musician laughed, “And now . . .we want you two to run it.”

“What?” Sun gasped.

“Didn’t you two want to set up your own restaurant?” Mia laughed, pulling out some papers.

Jin then started to speak in Korean briefly but grunted, trying to find the English words. “How . . .how did this become to be?” he asked.

“This restaurant belonged to a good friend of ours,” Shanna giggled, “And we couldn’t just let strangers buy it, so we did.”

“Now, we think it deserves to be serving the citizens of China Town,” Mia giggled, “And we agreed . ..it should stay within the family.”

Jin smiled as he embraced his wife, making them both laugh. Seth and Shanna grinned at each other, knowing the Korean couple were the best choice to take care of their restaurant. Jin then started to talk with Seth about all the choices he wanted to place on the menu. The young musician made a joke, wondering if he was going to include shark on the menu. Sun then talked with Shanna and Mia briefly. “Is there any request you want to do with the place?” she asked them.

“Only one.” Mia smiled, “Please don’t change the name.”

“Yeah, “ Shanna agreed, “We want it to stay up to honor our friend.”

“Your friend . . .who was he?”

Shanna then opened the small photo album and pulled out the photo of Brendon, handing it to the Korean woman. “His name was Brendon Battle,” she smiled, “He was our good friend. We lost him on the Island, like Boone, Bernard and Rose . .but we’ll never forget him.”

Sun looked at the photo. She held in a gasp at the sight of the handsome young man that she immediately remembered he was the one who took up for her in the airport. Even though they had only met for a few minutes, his honor and nobility left a lasting impression on her. It made all the sense in the world that he survived the crash and made such good friends. She then smiled, handing the photo back to Shanna. “Yes, “ she smiled, “I am sure you will never forget him.”

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF! STRADDLE THE LINE IN DISCORD IN RHYME

Mia and Shanna abruptly looked toward the sound of music only to see Seth fight to turn off his cell phone’s ring-tone. He smiled, as his cheeks flushed red. The musician quickly walked away as the girls giggled at his silliness. “Hello?” he sighed, “Oh, hey, Chiles. . . yeah, we are in China Town . . ..What? You found it?”

Seth then immediately ran toward the counter and grabbed an old food check book and a pen, “Where is it? Okay . . .okay . . . .Yeah, I can be there in two days. I appreciate my friend. Yeah, we are done here. I’ll send you your check, thanks again.”

“We got a new location?” Shanna giggled.

“Yeah, Chiles found what I was looking for,” Seth grinned, “We are heading to San Diego.”

“Good bye, guys,” Mia said, hugging Sun and kissing her on the cheek, “ I know we are leaving this place in good hands.”

“We can’t thank you three enough,” Jin smiled.

“Here is Hurley’s phone number,” the Lakota girl gave them a card, “He’s standing by to give you financial backing, food supplies, whatever you need.”

Sun gasped and then remembered his remarkable all the way back from their time on the boat, after they had cooked the shark steaks for him. “No, he . . . .he was joking!” the Korean woman gasped.

Mia then smiled brightly. “No, he wasn’t.” she giggled.

Jin and Sun laughed as they embraced each other yet again. Mia looked them briefly then walked outside to join Shanna and Seth. The Lakota girl looked forward to returning here one day to enjoy their cooking in a restaurant that belonged to her beloved friend. For the Korean couple, it was their life long dream to have their own restaurant and be their own bosses. As they drove away, Mia felt a great warmth wash over heart for her two friends.

Some dreams deserve to come true.