Half a World Away - 3
The sunlight snuck through the gaps of the blinds. I guess it’s morning? I’d squint my eyes but they are already swollen enough from crying that I don’t see the point. I look over at my phone on the night stand. No messages. My heart sinks again. Hiro, when are you going to talk to me? Tears are starting to well up in my eyes again. I try to tell myself to take a deep breath, try to be kind to yourself. Rui Sato is a good person, a person who caused an honest misunderstanding. Hiro will take some time to cool off and then listen. He’s going to forgive me and all of this is going to be forgotten years from now. But then again, he didn’t come to school for over a week. Calls, texts, emails. Unanswered. Stepping into the bathroom, I take a look at myself in the mirror. My hair is a mess, my face is swollen, my eyelids are purple. Sleep has been non-existent for me. This can’t go on. I have to find a way to see him. I need to bare my soul and explain everything I did. An apology isn’t enough to fix this but I will do everything I can to make this right. Hiro, I am sorry.
—
I walk into the kitchen with a t-shirt and boxers on. The heat is starting to ramp up and I can’t be bothered to dress properly when the house is just bachelors.
“You’re up early today.” Gramps is having tea and a protein bar. “Made yourself at home I see.” “You’re eating well!”, I chuckle. “It’s strange how you make food for others but then eat processed garbage yourself.” Grandpa takes a bite, pulling the bar away forcefully. “Umi-chan forces me to eat breakfast when she’s here. The only time I eat these is when she isn’t around. Seems like a lot of work to make something for yourself. ” I nod understandingly. When an angel like Umi descends on your home to make you breakfast, you end up getting spoiled. I grab one of the protein bars out of the box that grandpa left on the table. Banana flavour. Disappointment spreads across my face. “You know Hiro….Umi-chan is a really nice girl.” “She sure is.” I roll my eyes and chew on the styrofoam banana bar. “She’s already like a granddaughter to me. Lots of boys try to order from her. If you don’t take a step forward with her, someone else is going to take her.” We’ve had this conversation many times. I imagine we will have this conversation many more times in the future. “It’s not like I am not interested in her. She’s not interested in me. I’m her childhood friend. I don’t want to break her trust.” Grandpa stares at me blankly while chewing before swallowing. “It’s so disappointing that my daughter raised an idiot.” He stood up and took his coffee cup towards the sink. “I’m not an idiot!” “Learn to read between the lines”, he grumbled. What is he even talking about? What lines? I tried to figure out what he meant in between moments where I was gagging on a fake banana flavoured protein bar.
“Thank you for your patience!” A small line of customers had formed in front of the cafe counter. Grandpa was cranking out orders as fast as he could while I did everything else: taking orders, running the till, cranking the shave dice machine. After what feels like forever, we clear out the line and I am able to take a breath. To this day, it blows my mind how popular this cafe is. I rub my sleeve against my forehead, trying to clear the sweat. The heat from the sun is relentless and I can feel exhaustion setting in. Um has been managing all of this by herself without help before I came here. How does she do it? “When is Umi coming?”, I yell in Grandpa's general direction. “Later this afternoon. She had some chores to take care of this morning.” My heart lets out a little cry. I only hope that Umi can arrive soon and share some of her stamina with me.
After finding my will to go on, I get up and start cleaning to get set up for the next wave. The syrup for the shaved ice is everywhere. Being away from the cafe has made me rusty at all the basic things like making sure the work station isn’t a total disaster. Or maybe it’s the syrup dispensers that are the problem? I think of ways to avoid taking responsibility. With my back turned to the back counter, I continue to clean until my focus is broken by the sound of a customer approaching.
“Hello!”
A woman's voice as clear as a bell is from the front counter.
Turning to look at her, I see the girl I met a few days ago. She’s smiling at me gently and her dark plum hair looks like it’s shimmering in the sun. She has a blue linen airy shirt and a pair of jean shorts that appear to be covering up a bathing suit. She must have been swimming before coming to visit.
My heart rate begins to elevate. I thought this girl was stunning a few days ago but at this moment I can’t help but conclude she’s the most gorgeous human i’ve ever seen. I haven’t felt nervous like this since before Rui and I started dating.
“Hello! Nice to see you again! What can I get you?” If I try to do anything other than small talk I’ll end up saying something stupid. “It’s so hot out so I’d love a shaved ice!” Her voice is gentle and kind. If she was on the radio, I am sure her voice could calm me down. Having her in front of me overcomes that effect. “Of course! What flavour would you like?” The woman headed to the side, looking disappointed. Have I done something wrong? I just met this person and I'm failing to meet their expectations already. “You don’t know what flavour?” She asked with hesitation. Panic quickly overwhelms my mind. Obviously I should know the order of someone I just met! Get it together! “Soda?” The words hung in the air for a moment like the exhaust from a diesel and then disappeared. Her smile dropped further. I should have known that soda is offensive.
“Sorry, you’ll have to excuse my idiot grandson.” Grandpa stepped out from behind the make line to greet the mystery woman. “He’s normally not this stupid, but you know Hiro…he doesn’t know how to read between the lines.” The panic changes to a sense of frustration. That line again. What is he talking about? Who is this girl? There is no way I would ever forget a girl who looked like this! What is even going on right now? I tried desperately to go through an entire lifetime of memories stored in my head but at no point did I ever remember meeting a girl like this.
The woman started to laugh warmly, enjoying seeing me taking my grandfather's insults. After calming down,her eyes locked with mine and smiled. “It’s been a long time. I’m so happy that you are back, Hiro.” “Sa-chan! It’s been so long since you’ve come to visit. Can’t believe how much you’ve grown. As an apology, Hiro will be buying you whatever you like.” Grandpa laughed loudly without a care in the world while my brain processed what happened
“Saori?” Her face became slightly flush before shaking her head slightly as if to snap herself out of a trance. Her eyes beamed and she put her fingertips in front of her mouth to hide her smile. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were when you saw me a few days ago?”, I ask while trying to recall everything I said to her when we met. “You didn’t recognize me so….I thought I would tease you. It’s more fun to be mysterious, right?” Saori winked and stuck tongue out at me playfully. A wave of shock crashed over me. Saori may look like an angel but I’ve always known her true nature is that of a mischievous devil.
Saori was also a childhood friend, much like Umi was but we met under different circumstances. One summer, her parents brought her here much like my mom did. My mom and grandfather were working at the cafe while I was goofing around. We ended up meeting when she was waiting in line with her family to order. I remember her being very shy, not being able to tell my mother what flavour she wanted for her shaved ice. I end up guessing the flavour she wanted and somehow through that, we end up becoming friends. Our families got in touch with each other and every summer at some point, Saori and I would hang out together. Saori looks totally different than she did last time I saw her. No wonder why I didn't recognize her!
“Since Hiro is paying for it….I will have shaved ice!” Saori’s bell-like voice while still beautiful had become mildly irritating. With the turn of the crank on the shaved ice machine, a cup is filled with snow. I instinctively grab the melon syrup and pour it over top. With some awkwardness, I hand her the cup which she received with both hands. “Melon…you remember me after all…” She looked at the green snow with a gentle smile, enjoying the moment. I imagine she was thinking about a happy nostalgic memory. She scooped up a mouthful and put the spoon into her mouth. The sides of her lips curled upwards with joy and she made a happy sound. She sticks out her tongue at me again. This time it’s green. Watching Saori eat makes me smile. Her happiness is infectious. “Hiro, I know you’re working right now but I’d love it if we could meet up again soon.” I pause for a moment to think about what she’s asking. I wonder if this is one of those moments where I'm supposed to read between the lines. “Yeah, of course. How should I get a hold of you?” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “Let's exchange rine IDs! Then we can contact each other any time.” After placing my phone near hers, I felt a vibration and saw her contact coming into view. Saori’s contact card had a starfish in the picture. Saori looked at her phone satisfied, as if I gave her a present that meant the world to her. “I will let you get back to work Hiro. I will message you soon. Thank you for remembering me.” “Talk to you soon”, I nodded back at her. She bowed her head slightly, waved to my grandfather and then turned to walk away. I couldn’t help but stare as she walked away. The gap between Saori in my memories and the Saori of today is massive and I can’t help but be enamoured.
“There may be hope for you yet.” Grandpa chuckled and patted me on the back. “Alright. Let’s get back to work”, he said before walking back to his post.
—
“Thanks for staying to help out Umi. It would have been a lot for me on my own.”
My mom asked me to help round the house. My father left town on a business trip so it’s been just the two of us looking after things. I feel torn. While I love the way the house feels after we’ve cleaned, doing all of this is taking time away from work. Well….maybe more importantly, time away from Hiro.
“Are you sure Mr. Yamada is okay with you coming in later?” “He told me that he has Hiro so it’ll be ok!” “You have to ask Hiro to come visit! It’s been so long since we’ve seen him.” My face feels warm as my mom starts telling stories about us when we were kids. How embarrassing!
“Alright! I’m off!” I yelled up the stairs. “Safe travels!” My mom yelled back. I step out onto the street with light feet. The cafe is only a few doors down from my house so it isn’t long until I arrive at the Yamada house. The front door is usually left unlocked so I don’t have to awkwardly sneak in from the counter. “I’m here!” There isn’t a response from the back, which isn’t out of the ordinary. The cafe is frequently busy! After putting on my work apron, I take a look at myself in a mirror. My hair and make up are on point today. I contunue walking down the hall towrds the back of the house when I hear Mr. Yamada’s voice.
“Sorry, you have to excuse my idiot grandson. He’s not normally this stupid…” At the counter, both Mr. Yamada and Hiro and a girl are talking. I don’t know who she is but even from this distance, I can tell she’s beautiful. She’s tall, has long straight hair, and her chest is bigger than mine. She’s playing with her hair and sticking her tongue out at him playfully. She’s flirting with him. Too bad Mr. Yamada is right, there’s no way he’d ever figure that out. Who knows how many times I have given similar signals to him.
Exchanging numbers is no big deal right? So why are my fists clenched so tightly? …..Get it together Umi. You were naive to think other girls wouldn’t notice his charms. There’s no time to waste. It’s time for me to take the initiative.
If Hiro can’t see my feelings, then I will make it too obvious for him to ignore.