Lovers in Tokyo

Someone once said “You do not choose your fate; you are chosen by it” Truthfully, I never cared about these words before. I never needed to. But after my view over the world and over my life changed, I started to wonder…

It was the first day of the summer break. After a long year of learning and working for my supposedly future, I really needed a break. My mood was exactly the opposite of the weather. However, it did feel nice; the heat on my skin, the freshness of the morning, all of these elements were enjoyable. The streets were befuddled with people who were definitely fast for their height. I was walking aimlessly through Tokyo. My thoughts were moving from one subject to another, ending with an inner battle. I was feeling empty which wasn’t exactly a characteristic of mine. Lately, I just started to wonder if my place was in Tokyo.
Has it been my idea to finish a college in Japan? Was my dream to finish management and business? I did wonder. Have I been wasting precious time for nothing?

A small brunette sighed and placed her hands on the railing. The city was crowded on a daily basis yet that day was suffocating. Maybe it was because it was the beginning of summer; or maybe the sun got everyone wishing to spend the day outdoors. Who knew? There were children who were playing around; women trying to move through them; teenagers gossiping and there was even a clown!

Overall, the view was marvelous. It was a pity for a photographer to dare miss such scenery. That wasn’t going to happen, though. A young and tall man took pictures of every detail; every group wandering around; every expression and every move. His eyes landed on foreigner woman leaning against the railing. He couldn’t stop himself from taking a picture of her. Her hair was loose and the tips were curled, maybe from humidity; her body was small but compared to Japanese women she was definitely more curved; her eyes were fixed on a spot, like she was longing for something that seemed out of reach. She looked beautiful.

Without noticing, the man walked closer to her. He couldn’t resist the force that seemed to bring him closer. He was intrigued and he wanted to see her up close. To look manlier, he took another picture of her. He had his camera in front of his eyes and was very concentrated. He didn’t realize that she turned her head and noticed him. He got perplexed when his objective met a pair of beautiful green eyes.

“Sorry”

Since she was a foreigner, he thought she wouldn’t know Japanese so he excused himself in broken English. She ignored him. She wasn’t preoccupied at all by his presence. She turned into the same position he had found her in and started to act as if he wasn’t even there.

He sighed. He mirrored her movements and shifted his attention on the view. The water was calm and clear. There were fishes swimming here and there. He could actually see the path they were going on. He grabbed his camera quickly and started to take pictures.

Sensing that she had been impolite, the woman turned her head towards him. She watched him closely. His face was contorting into different expressions depending on the shoot.

“I’m fine with it”

He stopped mid-action and glanced at her. He put his camera down and chuckled, almost nervously. He wasn’t actually expecting a response from her, to begin with.

“About the pictures you took with me. I’m fine with it” He nodded and smiled to himself. Somehow, he felt as if he should start a conversation. It was awkward.

“Where-uh-from-“He was stuttering while trying to find the right translation. She raised an eyebrow.

“Where am I from?” Her response was in Japanese. He stopped and laughed at his thoughts. How could he not think she might have known Japanese? “I’m from England but I’ve been in Tokyo for 3 years now” She titled her head to the side continued to stare at him closely. “Any more questions?” He sighed and brushed a hand through his hair.

“You look ready to stretch your hand towards the horizon?” His question ran deeper than he intended. Her mood dropped from superiority to sorrowful. She sighed heavily and turned to look over the lake.

“I guess I am searching for something; maybe a reason”

She furrowed her eyebrows in frustration while he simply copied her actions.

“Maybe answers”

“Answers to what?”

She sighed again and fully turned to him. She leaned against the bridge and bit her lip.

“Life is quite long don’t you think?” Hearing such words, the poor man thought he might have started a conversation with a woman who wanted to commit suicide.

“There are people who would like to tell you otherwise” She scoffed.

“You need a reason to live, right? But what happens when that reason changes? What if it wasn’t there to begin with?” That seemed to perplex him for a second.

“I guess” He trailed. “I always thought it’s better to follow the wind. Life is often misunderstood and when you get fed up with it you choose the easy way out” She continued to watch him silently. His theory sounded quite philosophical and she was curious to hear it out. “I believe there’s also good in life. You can’t expect happiness to fall from the sky. You have to sweat for it” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She seemed deep in thought; probably analyzing his words.

“So”

He walked a little bit closer to her and smiled. She raised her head and looked into his eyes. It was hard to understand what was going through her head.

“What do you need to make you happy right now?” She blinked. When she realized what he asked, she opened her mouth yet no sound came out. She had no idea.

“Anything, I guess”

He bit his lip and started to think about his next move. He caught sight of two people -two lovers- who were amused by the clown’s actions. He grabbed her hand and figured exactly where and how to plant a smile on her lips. Even if he didn’t know her, he didn’t care.

He was my wind
Against what he believed in, he was the happiness that just fell from the sky