And here Chapter 2 of Masao's newest journey!
CHAPTER 2
Yusuke Maeda, to some people only known as "The Travelling Poet", steered his van onto the motorway that led southwest. His little charge, the boy Masao whom he had gotten to know last summer, sat next to him on the passenger's seat, looking out the window.
He didn't quite understand, how it had come to be that Masao had travelled as far as he did with the man he called 'Uncle Kikujiro' – he certainly wouldn't have allowed his child to be with a man like this, at least not at first. Kikujiro had stuck him as quite irresponsible and rude. It had only been later, during the time they had been camping at the lake, that he had opened up and shown some genuine kindness toward the boy – always hidden in a tough comment, of course.
The whole experience of being with the unlikely pair and the two bikers from around Matsue had been most inspiring. That had been the reason why he had returned to Tokyo in the first place – to talk to Kikujiro and Masao, to partly relive the surreal time they had spent together. He had found Masao, but Kikujiro, so said the boy, had gone missing.
After wrecking his brain for half an hour, back at the café where he had caught sight of Masao, the boy eating a generous portion of ice cream next to him, he had come up with an idea where to start searching. Back then, he had exchanged phone numbers with the two bikers, and he decided to call up the one Kikujiro had called 'Fatso' on his cell phone. His real name was Kaoru Kajimura, and he was a full-time student when he didn't ride his motorcycle around.
"Hello Mr. Kajimura, I don't know whether you remember me from last year, the poet with the van... yes, I have a question. Masao and I are searching for his friend, who seems to have gone missing... Yes, exactly, that guy. He asked you to take him somewhere while we were camping at the lake – do you remember where he wanted to go?... Ah, thank you very much. Yes, we can meet there. Bring your friend! See you there!"
He had hung up, now knowing where he had to start searching for Kikujiro.
And now, they were bound for the place Kaoru had pointed them at, and where he would wait for them tomorrow morning, his friend Akito "Baldy" Tendoh with him: A pension home in Daito-Cho, not far from Matsue, in the southwestern corner of Honshu. It would take them between eight and ten hours to get there; they would most likely stop near Kyoto for the night.
Of course, Yusuke doubted that Kaoru and Akito were so keen on seeing 'the old coot', as they called Masao's friend Kikujiro, again. However, they had both been very fond of the boy, and they had had some interesting conversations with the poet as well. Most likely, they were willing to help for reunion's sake.
Well, he didn't even know himself whether it was really just for inspiration's sake that he had made the way to Tokyo from his native Sendai. Maybe he had been wanting to reunite with the odd group he had met last summer, as well.
Next to him, the boy had already fallen asleep by the time they left the last outskirts of Tokyo behind, his backpack clutched tightly in his arms. Masao was a good kid – not special, not even overly bright, but a very good boy nonetheless.
Thus Yusuke concluded as he steered the car due southwest, in the direction where Nagoya, and, later, Kyoto and Osaka, and then Matsue would appear in their path.
***
After a short night on camping grounds close to Kyoto, it was about 10 o'clock in the morning, the Mitsubishi van came to a halt near the pension home where "Fatso" hat claimed to have brought Kikujiro.
Masao spotted them at once when he jumped out of the poet's car: "Baldy" and "Fatso", dressed mostly in black, with their big motorcycle! He waved at them enthusiastically even as he passed the distance between them running.
There were no words as he hugged both of the young men and waited with them for the poet – he had told him that his name was Yusuke – to catch up.
The greeting between the men was short, but heartfelt, and Uncle Yusuke quickly got to the point.
"Mr. Kajimura, you told me on the phone that you brought Masao's friend here. Did he tell you whether he had a relative here?"
"Fatso" thought about this for a moment before he finally answered:
"He didn't say much afterwards; he really wasn't in a good mood. I think he was more sad than angry, though. I think he mentioned that his mother lives here, but that he didn't talk to her."
Yusuke nodded. "Then we should start asking around here. Maybe he was – or still is – here to visit her for real this time. The nurses will know for sure."
He took Masao by the hand and entered the complex of buildings, the two college students trailing along behind them.
It didn't take them long to find the reception desk of the pension home, and Yusuke took the initiative again upon seeing that it was manned at the moment. He left Masao with the bikers and strode over to address the woman at the other side of the desk in a polite voice:
"Excuse me, Miss, but I have a question. We are looking for a friend of ours who has a relative in this retirement complex. If he was here, I am sure you have heard of it – He doesn't believe in common courtesy, you wouldn't hear any 'thank you's' from him, but rather some very unflattering remarks and complaints. He is not from around here, either, so he doesn't show up very often. Has such a person been here, lately?"
The nurse didn't even have to think to recognize the man Yusuke had described.
"That would be the son of Mrs. Minekawa, I presume. Yes, he has been here just the other day – his mother died, and as the only living relative, he had to make sure that she was brought back to her home town of Nagoya for a proper burial. He left the day before yesterday. The burial will be in two days, or so we were told – Hajime Cemetary, in one of the suburbs. You might catch your friend there."
***********************
There goes Chapter 2 – hope you enjoyed!
CHAPTER 2
Yusuke Maeda, to some people only known as "The Travelling Poet", steered his van onto the motorway that led southwest. His little charge, the boy Masao whom he had gotten to know last summer, sat next to him on the passenger's seat, looking out the window.
He didn't quite understand, how it had come to be that Masao had travelled as far as he did with the man he called 'Uncle Kikujiro' – he certainly wouldn't have allowed his child to be with a man like this, at least not at first. Kikujiro had stuck him as quite irresponsible and rude. It had only been later, during the time they had been camping at the lake, that he had opened up and shown some genuine kindness toward the boy – always hidden in a tough comment, of course.
The whole experience of being with the unlikely pair and the two bikers from around Matsue had been most inspiring. That had been the reason why he had returned to Tokyo in the first place – to talk to Kikujiro and Masao, to partly relive the surreal time they had spent together. He had found Masao, but Kikujiro, so said the boy, had gone missing.
After wrecking his brain for half an hour, back at the café where he had caught sight of Masao, the boy eating a generous portion of ice cream next to him, he had come up with an idea where to start searching. Back then, he had exchanged phone numbers with the two bikers, and he decided to call up the one Kikujiro had called 'Fatso' on his cell phone. His real name was Kaoru Kajimura, and he was a full-time student when he didn't ride his motorcycle around.
"Hello Mr. Kajimura, I don't know whether you remember me from last year, the poet with the van... yes, I have a question. Masao and I are searching for his friend, who seems to have gone missing... Yes, exactly, that guy. He asked you to take him somewhere while we were camping at the lake – do you remember where he wanted to go?... Ah, thank you very much. Yes, we can meet there. Bring your friend! See you there!"
He had hung up, now knowing where he had to start searching for Kikujiro.
And now, they were bound for the place Kaoru had pointed them at, and where he would wait for them tomorrow morning, his friend Akito "Baldy" Tendoh with him: A pension home in Daito-Cho, not far from Matsue, in the southwestern corner of Honshu. It would take them between eight and ten hours to get there; they would most likely stop near Kyoto for the night.
Of course, Yusuke doubted that Kaoru and Akito were so keen on seeing 'the old coot', as they called Masao's friend Kikujiro, again. However, they had both been very fond of the boy, and they had had some interesting conversations with the poet as well. Most likely, they were willing to help for reunion's sake.
Well, he didn't even know himself whether it was really just for inspiration's sake that he had made the way to Tokyo from his native Sendai. Maybe he had been wanting to reunite with the odd group he had met last summer, as well.
Next to him, the boy had already fallen asleep by the time they left the last outskirts of Tokyo behind, his backpack clutched tightly in his arms. Masao was a good kid – not special, not even overly bright, but a very good boy nonetheless.
Thus Yusuke concluded as he steered the car due southwest, in the direction where Nagoya, and, later, Kyoto and Osaka, and then Matsue would appear in their path.
***
After a short night on camping grounds close to Kyoto, it was about 10 o'clock in the morning, the Mitsubishi van came to a halt near the pension home where "Fatso" hat claimed to have brought Kikujiro.
Masao spotted them at once when he jumped out of the poet's car: "Baldy" and "Fatso", dressed mostly in black, with their big motorcycle! He waved at them enthusiastically even as he passed the distance between them running.
There were no words as he hugged both of the young men and waited with them for the poet – he had told him that his name was Yusuke – to catch up.
The greeting between the men was short, but heartfelt, and Uncle Yusuke quickly got to the point.
"Mr. Kajimura, you told me on the phone that you brought Masao's friend here. Did he tell you whether he had a relative here?"
"Fatso" thought about this for a moment before he finally answered:
"He didn't say much afterwards; he really wasn't in a good mood. I think he was more sad than angry, though. I think he mentioned that his mother lives here, but that he didn't talk to her."
Yusuke nodded. "Then we should start asking around here. Maybe he was – or still is – here to visit her for real this time. The nurses will know for sure."
He took Masao by the hand and entered the complex of buildings, the two college students trailing along behind them.
It didn't take them long to find the reception desk of the pension home, and Yusuke took the initiative again upon seeing that it was manned at the moment. He left Masao with the bikers and strode over to address the woman at the other side of the desk in a polite voice:
"Excuse me, Miss, but I have a question. We are looking for a friend of ours who has a relative in this retirement complex. If he was here, I am sure you have heard of it – He doesn't believe in common courtesy, you wouldn't hear any 'thank you's' from him, but rather some very unflattering remarks and complaints. He is not from around here, either, so he doesn't show up very often. Has such a person been here, lately?"
The nurse didn't even have to think to recognize the man Yusuke had described.
"That would be the son of Mrs. Minekawa, I presume. Yes, he has been here just the other day – his mother died, and as the only living relative, he had to make sure that she was brought back to her home town of Nagoya for a proper burial. He left the day before yesterday. The burial will be in two days, or so we were told – Hajime Cemetary, in one of the suburbs. You might catch your friend there."
***********************
There goes Chapter 2 – hope you enjoyed!