Yokota Airbase.
She still couldn't believe her luck when she received a call from the Commanding Officer with regards to their permission for her to conduct an interview with a fellow army officer. University reports were such a pain, and she could find no other field of interest to venture into.
She signed the relevant forms and was handed a visitors pass at the barricades. Never had she expected to meet an American in a Japanese Royal Air Force base. She had heard of them certainly, members of the United States Forces of Japan, but she expected to be assigned a Japanese, not a foreigner, and most definitely not a member of the Army. But as luck would have it, he might have been the only man up for the job of attending to an irritating sophomore.
"You're here."
The only gesture she managed was a slight nod of her head.
He was...incredibly dazzling. Not in a magical handsome sort of way. But in a way that one could not help but stop and stare. He had an air of elegance surrounding him and his stature was nothing less than perfect. His thick blond fringe was parted in two, and he sported a hairstyle that only someone like him could ever pull off. There was however, a glistening near-white marble cane that he clinged on to. Something that might have been his only flaw, had their relationship never blossomed further for her to understand him thoroughly.
The tour took exactly one hour and twenty four minutes. She was too shy, or rather, too captivated to manage much of a conversation with him until it all ended with the invitation for dinner at a familiar place he used to frequent beside the temples of Asakusa. It was awkward at first, no doubt, but when the weekly restaurant visits escalated to the daily exchange of messages on an online social platform, did the two of them start to show their true colours.
She wasn't that shy, innocent girl he thought her to be.
And he certainly wasn't much of a gentleman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a fine day when she filled up with her favourite Cheese and Mochi Okonomiyaki and downed 5 glasses of Nama, she blurted out unconsciously,
"I love a man in a uniform"
He sneered. "Don't they all say so?"
His breath reeked of freshly grounded nicotine. And as he leaned over the table, she could almost feel the brush of his skin against hers. She was intoxicated beyond words. The musk of his aftershave must have made it worse.
Is he going to kiss me?
No, she shook her head, as he pulled back after grabbing hold of the sauce bottle beside her pair of unevenly placed chopsticks. This was getting ridiculous. But for once in her life, she couldn't control her thoughts nor actions. There must have been something about him that sent her to high heaven. She couldn't stop grinning.
"You never smile do you? Come on! Just one...For me?"
He sighed and grabbed the glass of beer from her hands.
"You're drunk."
His poker face had somehow managed to remain that way throughout the times they had ever spent together. On their fourth meeting, he gave her a shocking lecture and recollection of his past. Something that she had assumed he wanted to keep secret from the world.
"I'm not proud of what I did. When she left I cried for hours, for days, for weeks. But I couldn't let anyone know that. Imagine me, a grown man, crying over a woman."
She smiled. That feeling was all too familiar. Guess no one ever passes life by without experiencing heartbreak of some sort.
"And now that she's gone, all I have left to remember her by is this ring."
Oh, so that's what happened. Does that mean he doesn't have anyone special in his life right now?
"I knew you were staring. You wanted to ask me about it since the first day we met, didn't you?"
She blushed and twiddled her fingers around. She never expected him to pay that much notice. He was usually exceptionally nonchalant about most things and only chose to pay attention to those he deemed important.
Could it be?
"There aren't many hardships that you can run away from in life. If you escape once, you'll never be able to overcome it again."
He was trying to imply something, but she was too focused on the blue of his eyes to notice what they meant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On their eighth meeting, he realised he was staring at her a lot more than he ever did before. As she buried her head in the piping hot bowl of soup, he glared at the crown of her head and spaced out. Their frequent encounters would have to stop soon. The more affection she tried to show, the more he backed out. Her flirtatious gestures might have worked with many a man out there, but it did not have any effect on his stand. It was undeniably hard to resist her charms, but he never wanted to feel that way again. He quickly turned away as she looked up. He let out a little cough in an attempt to break the silence.
Without warning, she reached out to grab hold of his left hand and turned his palm upwards to face the dingy ceiling of their usual Okonomiyaki hideout, and proceeded to placed three silver coins of 100 on his palm.
"What's this for?"
"You know what I'm craving for."
He sighed. It wasn't as if he never expected her to start taking advantage of his position and time. There was only one American doughnut shop in the whole of Japan. And it was right where he was stationed for the next 5 years. The walk to Dunkin Donuts took exactly 6.37 minutes and the condition of his legs slowed him down by at least 3 minutes compared to a normal man's pace.
"A girl needs her sweets. Be it a measly piece of chocolate, desserts, the sweet scent of vanilla perfume or the sweet talk of men."
Especially yours.
"Am I wrong to assume that you love your doughnuts?" he chuckled.
"Except, they're not really doughnuts are they? They're more like a Mochi of sorts you know."
"And I assume you can't get enough of this chewy goodness."
She laughed.
It was rare for him to crack honest jokes. He did, however, have an unending supply of sarcasm which he never failed to provide her with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On their fourteenth meeting, she decided she had had enough of his indecisiveness and lack of response to her advances. She sulked throughout the dinner. She sulked throughout the drinks session in the bar next door. She sulked until he slammed down the ice cold glass of whisky that he had been clenching on to the entire night, hard onto the round black table in front of them.
"I guess you're just not in the right mood tonight. I'll leave you alone then. We'll talk when you're feeling better."
With all his might, he then proceeded to pull himself up from the couch that had sunk with his weight, and with the help of his familiar white cane, he made his way out the bar with into the cold winters night. The solemn look on his face reminded her of the times she saw him in the base. That look he had saved solely for his inferiors, appeared before her on the night where she needed his company most.
She must have frozen in her chair minutes before she realised that he had left for good. What she did next happened in such a frenzy that all she could remember was the rose red wine that she spilled onto the wooden floor and the slamming of the door as she rushed out in hopes of finding a single trace of him.
"Why do you always have to be so cold?" she shouted as she spotted his shadow around the corner of the Sumidagawa river and that old Kimono shop she used to frequent during the annual fireworks festival.
He froze.
"I never want to lose you. I hope you understand that."
And there was nothing else left to do or say, but to walk away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And to get to where you want to be, I realise there isn't extra space in your luggage for me.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. None of the works on this blog may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission by the blog owners.
She still couldn't believe her luck when she received a call from the Commanding Officer with regards to their permission for her to conduct an interview with a fellow army officer. University reports were such a pain, and she could find no other field of interest to venture into.
She signed the relevant forms and was handed a visitors pass at the barricades. Never had she expected to meet an American in a Japanese Royal Air Force base. She had heard of them certainly, members of the United States Forces of Japan, but she expected to be assigned a Japanese, not a foreigner, and most definitely not a member of the Army. But as luck would have it, he might have been the only man up for the job of attending to an irritating sophomore.
"You're here."
The only gesture she managed was a slight nod of her head.
He was...incredibly dazzling. Not in a magical handsome sort of way. But in a way that one could not help but stop and stare. He had an air of elegance surrounding him and his stature was nothing less than perfect. His thick blond fringe was parted in two, and he sported a hairstyle that only someone like him could ever pull off. There was however, a glistening near-white marble cane that he clinged on to. Something that might have been his only flaw, had their relationship never blossomed further for her to understand him thoroughly.
The tour took exactly one hour and twenty four minutes. She was too shy, or rather, too captivated to manage much of a conversation with him until it all ended with the invitation for dinner at a familiar place he used to frequent beside the temples of Asakusa. It was awkward at first, no doubt, but when the weekly restaurant visits escalated to the daily exchange of messages on an online social platform, did the two of them start to show their true colours.
She wasn't that shy, innocent girl he thought her to be.
And he certainly wasn't much of a gentleman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a fine day when she filled up with her favourite Cheese and Mochi Okonomiyaki and downed 5 glasses of Nama, she blurted out unconsciously,
"I love a man in a uniform"
He sneered. "Don't they all say so?"
His breath reeked of freshly grounded nicotine. And as he leaned over the table, she could almost feel the brush of his skin against hers. She was intoxicated beyond words. The musk of his aftershave must have made it worse.
Is he going to kiss me?
No, she shook her head, as he pulled back after grabbing hold of the sauce bottle beside her pair of unevenly placed chopsticks. This was getting ridiculous. But for once in her life, she couldn't control her thoughts nor actions. There must have been something about him that sent her to high heaven. She couldn't stop grinning.
"You never smile do you? Come on! Just one...For me?"
He sighed and grabbed the glass of beer from her hands.
"You're drunk."
His poker face had somehow managed to remain that way throughout the times they had ever spent together. On their fourth meeting, he gave her a shocking lecture and recollection of his past. Something that she had assumed he wanted to keep secret from the world.
"I'm not proud of what I did. When she left I cried for hours, for days, for weeks. But I couldn't let anyone know that. Imagine me, a grown man, crying over a woman."
She smiled. That feeling was all too familiar. Guess no one ever passes life by without experiencing heartbreak of some sort.
"And now that she's gone, all I have left to remember her by is this ring."
Oh, so that's what happened. Does that mean he doesn't have anyone special in his life right now?
"I knew you were staring. You wanted to ask me about it since the first day we met, didn't you?"
She blushed and twiddled her fingers around. She never expected him to pay that much notice. He was usually exceptionally nonchalant about most things and only chose to pay attention to those he deemed important.
Could it be?
"There aren't many hardships that you can run away from in life. If you escape once, you'll never be able to overcome it again."
He was trying to imply something, but she was too focused on the blue of his eyes to notice what they meant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On their eighth meeting, he realised he was staring at her a lot more than he ever did before. As she buried her head in the piping hot bowl of soup, he glared at the crown of her head and spaced out. Their frequent encounters would have to stop soon. The more affection she tried to show, the more he backed out. Her flirtatious gestures might have worked with many a man out there, but it did not have any effect on his stand. It was undeniably hard to resist her charms, but he never wanted to feel that way again. He quickly turned away as she looked up. He let out a little cough in an attempt to break the silence.
Without warning, she reached out to grab hold of his left hand and turned his palm upwards to face the dingy ceiling of their usual Okonomiyaki hideout, and proceeded to placed three silver coins of 100 on his palm.
"What's this for?"
"You know what I'm craving for."
He sighed. It wasn't as if he never expected her to start taking advantage of his position and time. There was only one American doughnut shop in the whole of Japan. And it was right where he was stationed for the next 5 years. The walk to Dunkin Donuts took exactly 6.37 minutes and the condition of his legs slowed him down by at least 3 minutes compared to a normal man's pace.
"A girl needs her sweets. Be it a measly piece of chocolate, desserts, the sweet scent of vanilla perfume or the sweet talk of men."
Especially yours.
"Am I wrong to assume that you love your doughnuts?" he chuckled.
"Except, they're not really doughnuts are they? They're more like a Mochi of sorts you know."
"And I assume you can't get enough of this chewy goodness."
She laughed.
It was rare for him to crack honest jokes. He did, however, have an unending supply of sarcasm which he never failed to provide her with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On their fourteenth meeting, she decided she had had enough of his indecisiveness and lack of response to her advances. She sulked throughout the dinner. She sulked throughout the drinks session in the bar next door. She sulked until he slammed down the ice cold glass of whisky that he had been clenching on to the entire night, hard onto the round black table in front of them.
"I guess you're just not in the right mood tonight. I'll leave you alone then. We'll talk when you're feeling better."
With all his might, he then proceeded to pull himself up from the couch that had sunk with his weight, and with the help of his familiar white cane, he made his way out the bar with into the cold winters night. The solemn look on his face reminded her of the times she saw him in the base. That look he had saved solely for his inferiors, appeared before her on the night where she needed his company most.
She must have frozen in her chair minutes before she realised that he had left for good. What she did next happened in such a frenzy that all she could remember was the rose red wine that she spilled onto the wooden floor and the slamming of the door as she rushed out in hopes of finding a single trace of him.
"Why do you always have to be so cold?" she shouted as she spotted his shadow around the corner of the Sumidagawa river and that old Kimono shop she used to frequent during the annual fireworks festival.
He froze.
"I never want to lose you. I hope you understand that."
And there was nothing else left to do or say, but to walk away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And to get to where you want to be, I realise there isn't extra space in your luggage for me.
Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. None of the works on this blog may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission by the blog owners.
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