Late Night By The River
Cast:
Scorp, Yasuda Takeo - age 43
Bunbee, Takagi Hachiemon - age 43
Yasuda Takenori - Scorp's father - age 78
November, 2016
"Bunbee, buddy." "Scorp."
It is late at night. Rather than meeting at one's home or the other, at an office or a bar, Hachiemon and Takeo have taken up opposite ends of a park bench overlooking a river. A case of beers occupies the seat between them.
Hachiemon opens the first can and hands it off to his friend. "You have my sympathies, friend. Your father was a good man."
"Buddy, don't I know it. I ever tell you he grew up without a father of his own? Granddad knocked up grandma, then went off to war and never came back. Dad used to bring that up, then said he was doing the best job he knew how to do."
"Judging by you, I'd say he did pretty well."
"Judging by me? Buddy, let me be the judge! You know he lived his entire life in one quiet little town? I don't think he ever went more than forty kilometers from his front door until I had my accident, then he sold everything off and came to the city to take care of me. He was always my father, but I never knew he cared that much. I almost died without recognizing it, and that's my own fault."
"But you know better now."
"Yeah. I know better now."