I do not own Ah my Goddess or its characters.
A couple in love
It was one of those days, when thanks to delays in flights, one gets the feeling that you are trapped between a rock and a hard place.I had arrived on time at Amsterdam Schipol's to catch a connecting flight to Tokyo…only to be told that the flight would be delayed, which meant that I would most definitely miss the first day of the new school term. And that meant another nice lovely session about my tardiness again and the need to set a good example for the students from Principal Ogawa….usually a nice lady…except when it came to the matter of teachers, even assistant language teachers like my poor self, maintaining a good reputation. And there was an appointment I had to keep, that would be delayed. It was in this bad frame of mind, that I plunked myself down in the nearest chair in the lounge to wait the extra 4 hours (or so they said) for the flight which had been delayed by weather.
My first thought was to reschedule said appointment…an interview for a job at a nearby English conversation school or Eikawa….which would add some much needed income….the salary of an ALT teacher, as I had discovered after three years working in Japan…was not enough to keep body and soul together….for a whole ,like everyone else…I had a second job to take care of the income…and the interview…if successful…would more than double that monthly income. So…I sat down, and pulled out my phone(International roaming charges be dammed!) and made a call to reschedule the interview. I did so in Japanese…which I spoke fluently by then, though I still had trouble with some of the letters or is it symbols?)..and when I finished successfully rescheduling, and feeling happy for once…I heard a voice next to me saying politely 'Excuse me, but did you just speak Japanese'?
I turned round and saw a youngish looking man in his late thirties, definitely very Japanese, with some nice looking brown eyes, and thick eyebrows, and a kind looking face. He was a bit shorter than I was (I am six feet, two inches, and a black African into the bargain …so I tend to stand out a bit),was dressed casually in a brown jacket, a pair of jeans, and a yellow shirt and he was smiling at me.
I smiled back, and introduced myself, and briefly explained (we were speaking in Japanese) my situation,and my profession in Japan
'I'm Morisato Keiichi,' he said, and smiled again. I run a motorcycle customs business in Nekomi. Ever been to Nekomi?
'Briefly.,I said. Early in my stay in Japan, I stayed a night at a friend's house there while I was enroute to Hokkiado, where I work now'
His eyes lit up at that 'You are based in Hokkaido? That's my home province. Have you been to my hometown of Kushiro"?
'No', I said, but it is an hour's drive from where I am based .'
He then asked where I was based, and I told him, and of course,he was happy to hear that…as he had a friend there, who, as it turned out was the landlord of the property where I rented a flat. He jokingly offered to get his friend to cut next year's rent…and I had a good laugh…and we talked some more.
I soon found out that his parents still lived in Kushiro, where his father worked as a glassblower, while he had lived there, until he relocated to Nekomi to go to college…and decided to stay there after he graduated….first to work for one of his senpais, before starting his business. That led us to a long and interesting talk about motorcycles….which I found fascinating…for someone like myself who knew little about bikes. He explained that he was in Holland to find a rare motorcycle part for a customer…which he had been successful at getting at a good price. I told him about my job as an ALT…and my eventual plans to be a teacher of English as a second language…after an initial failure to get a job with my media arts degree.
The time passed…and then an announcement came for our flight We both joined the line…and while we waited…Mr Morisato picked up his phone and made a quick call home to his wife…telling her of his expected time of arrival. I noticed he was quite tender while talking on the phone to his wife….a bit more tender than the average married Japanese man. And when he signed off by telling his wife how deeply he loved her…more than life itself. I was …very very curious.
By chance, we had seats next to each other on the Nippon Airlines flight to Tokyo, in the middle of the aisle (Must be fate!, Morisato-san said)..and soon we were settled down, and ready to fly.
Take off was smooth, and it was while we were being served a snack, that I commented about his call to his wife...with the offhand comment that he must really love his wife very much.
Keiichi smiled, and said…'Yes I do. Very means a lot to me, and I am thankful that she ever chose someone ordinary like me'.
I must have looked very curious…because he went on ' We met when I was in thing is...I never thought that I would ever be with someone like her…and yet…there she was. We ended up living together while I was in college…with her sisters..how that happened is a long story…and we got married after four years of knowing each other…and since then, my life has been wonderful. Very wonderful. ' He looked very…how do I say this…glad as he said that.
'And how long have you been married ?'
'Fourteen years'..he said dreamily. 'Fourteen wonderful years.'.
'She is the most beautiful woman in the whole universe, and she is so kind' he went on' She has been not just my wife and lover, you know…she has also been my friend , and true companion. I can't imagine life without her'.
He pulled out a photo from his wallet and showed it to me. I looked at it. It was a photo of a woman who I thought looked…well…too lovely to exist. She had lovely blue eyes, fair skin,delicate nose, and pretty lips and brown hair, and she wore a wide brimmed hat, and was smiling directly at the camera. She wore a red top, and a long black dress. Her features were clearly she had a diamond-like marking on her reminded me of a heavenly queen who had decided to spend a day among us mere mortals , dressed casually'
'Must have met in college…must be an exchange student' I thought. 'But she is lovely….very much so'
Aloud I said 'Wow, Mr Morisato…your wife is lovely. What's her name'
'Belldandy' he said happily.
'Obviously not from around Japan' I said.
'Yes', he said…She is from somewhere up Northwards'
I took that to mean Northern Europe.
'I hope she isn't too worried about the delays' he said, seriously ' She does worry when I have to be late…even if it is for a few minutes'.
I had an image of the woman in the photo sitting down in a Japanese house looking worriedly out of the window…and I laughed.
'Don't worry Mr Morisato ' I said 'I daresay we will arrive safely…and she would soon be happy to have her darling with her again'
'That I am sure of' he said looking happy. I thought again that his wife must be one special woman to make him that happy.
The rest of the flight passed uneventfully, and we landed safely at Tokyo. We both got off the flight safely, and retrieved our luggage successfully. I did not have as much luggage as Mr Morisato did, so I helped him carry some of his (Had to buy some gifts for everyone..he said, and I thought about the funny Japanese custom of buying gifts when one went on a journey). Pretty soon..we were in arrivals…and that is when I saw her.
The woman from Mr Morisato's photo.
She had two children with herwho both had her brown hair and features, and was carrying a sleepy third child with darker hair. She was looking worriedly at the arrivals…until she caught sight of her husband….and her face broke into a wide smile. She immediately pointed her husband out to her children, who then looked excitedly, before she handed the youngest child to her daughter…and ran to meet her husband.
I repeat myself…she ran to meet her husband, who held out his hands to her, and she hugged him tightly, and kissed him on the cheek.
(Not classic Japanese wife behavior, I thought).
Of course, I got introduced to the entire family…Belldandy, and their children …her and Keiichi's three kids. Up close, Belldandy was even more beautiful than she looked in her husband's photo, and she also had a sort of motherly aura that I somehow suspected did not just come from looking after three children. She kindly thanked me for keeping her husband company…and then invited me to visit their house anytime. And her husband agreed! I promised to call them in the next two weeks about that…as at that time…I was going to be busy for the next two weeks….and they agreed…with Belldandy (she insisted that I call her that from the word go) saying that she would call me to remind me about that.
Thirty minutes later, I was on my train back home….feeling glad that I had made new friends…and wondering again how a couple could be in such love after so long a time together.
Maybe I would find out more when I visited them two weeks later.
The above chapter was the result of two separate ideas which merged into one...and which took one hour of fast typing to complete. When the muse strikes...
