clearly - we've got a lot of catching up to do, and i apologize that it's been so long. i've come down with a case of the hong-kong-flu-y (illegally smuggled into japan by non-other than my fabulous friend of so many years, chiann)!
i wouldn't do to say, "i've been sick" - indeed, it's really more like "i've been possessed" - or that is, i've been exorcist-sick. my demon has rendered my physical self completely useless and imprisoned my mental self in a nightmare version of my job by day and a psychedelic fever dream state by night. for a week now these halves have shared equal portion as i've been sleeping for 12 hours a night as a countermeasure.
- i will wage war on you by night - fear my wrath!
- orange juice can bring you comfort by day but nothing can protect you in sleep.
- God can protect me.
- not if you doubt him.
- then you can not win.
"abunai yo!" - a warning - shattered against my clenched teeth and reverberating around inside my skull. above my moving bicycle i am my floating head, drifted as in a dream down to her - time is still slow but catching up. *crash!
"oh my God! are you ok?" i'm standing over hiromi - touching her face and hands. she unfolds in my arms, stretches as if waking there. so quiet, "ii - te," (mike, it hurts). i wince back. i look up at the taxi driver. sitting, he's smoking as if waiting for the light to change. he's scowling. he has so many faces.
eri is here now. "i'm fine, i'm ok" hiromi's eyes are open - a single mascara tear rolling from each. - her voice is so american. she sounds just like lola.
chiann and taku came to visit me in okayama! what a fabulous time we had! all together and happy - just like old times! saturday we all went drinking and dancing with eri and her friends (we all agreed that eri is the nazz). sunday we packed all the food and booze we would need and took a train way out into the countryside to stay at the villa in takebe! the villa was beautiful and right on the river - best of all, it had a hot spring! we took a dip after dark and then moved inside to cooperatively cook a giant dinner of yaki-soba and salad. we drank a jug of carlo, a milk carton of sake, and a 24 pack of malt-liquor-near-beer between us - 1020 would have been proud. we were still wearing our oh-so-japanese happi coats from our dip in the spring and it made for some great pictures. it was cold as hell. we all passed out and shivered through the night. chiann's ever-present death cough has been multiplied by her proximity to china and she shook our souls with it's depth. i blame the booze, the cold, and the chinamen for my contraction of the possession-flu.
- i don't think chinaman is the correct nomenclature
- you know in your heart that it is
scowling - he took his time. he was holding something. a clipboard. he spat and cursed. he walked around the cab and stood over hiromi, still propped up against his car. he pointed down at her with his crooked smoking fingers - many faces rolling over so many yellow teeth - he belched out some hateful accusation.
my fingers wrapped around the taped, familiar handle of the baseball bat i longed to find in my right hand. i wanted to scatter those broken, bleeding teeth all over the street.
he's asking for money. right here? now? snake. he's the one that will pay. eri, call the police.
- but you know that the light was red.
- i saw nothing. he will pay.
the police came and transformed from their blue suites into their space-man crime scene safety outfits: white helmets, silver reflective vests with red runner lights and illuminating hip packs. they took everyone's account of the situation and many measurements in the street. i was grateful that no one was interested in speaking to me - tough i've always preferred having the power of flight to the ability to disappear.
hiromi and eri were swept away by the taxi cab's insuranceman. a-ki and i were now alone. it was the first time i noticed her there, though she hadn't taken her eyes off me since the accident. we went out for coffee and and a kiss on the cheek. we were very happy.
here we are in takebe!
No comments:
Post a Comment