Reaching for the Stars
Part II, Chapter 6
Ami Kawashima's Mountain Villa
Prologue
There was an unusual air of energy that chilly December day as I rose up from bed early in the morning. Clear skies greeted my weary eyes for a change and the view of the beach from Ami Kawashima's mountain villa was, as always, a spectacle that has never failed to captivate me. A pair of birds then weaved through the nearby pines, taking advantage of the rare abundance of savory sunlight – I felt like I wanted to do the same. After all I've been though, seeing something like that was enough to lift my spirits – it was invigorating.
Awakened by this grand view, I stood up, stretched for a bit then arranged the bed sheets properly for once. It was a little something I had to start learning to do and, after finally being able to do it myself, I felt quite accomplished. Of course, since it was me doing the work, the folding part didn't turn out as nicely as I would've wanted it to though and the quality of it all was questionable at best. That shouldn't be too much of a problem though; it's the thought that counts after all! Putting the sheets away, I triumphantly left the room and headed straight downstairs.
Once I had found the way down (I still had trouble getting around that house – it was freakin' huge!) the sound of sizzling eggs greeted my ears. Peering into the kitchen, I saw Ami-chan standing before the stove and working on what looked like omelets. She seemed quite happy and was humming to the tune of a Christmas song, gently flipping the omelets over the pan with a smile. For the past few days of my stay here, I would catch her standing out on the deck in deep thought looking kinda somber. Today was a welcome change of routine – she seemed more pleasant now and actually looked quite pretty with a smile on her face. I can see why she was chosen to be a model.
Just as I was thinking that though, a sudden flick of her hand forced the spatula through the near-perfect omelets and the things ruptured onto the pan. Her pleasant smile then dissipated and her face puffed up with fury. Shivering in place, she watched as the broken omelet spread onto the pan, mocking her culinary prowess or lack thereof. Clenching her fist, the person I had described as an angel moments ago was now throwing a rampaging tantrum crying, "BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!"*. Hey chill out man! Look at it this way… you have scrambled eggs now. I was planning to come in and tell her that, but I realized that barging in now would be tantamount to suicide.
Stepping away from the kitchen-slash-potential deathtrap, I walked over to living room and sat down on one of the sofas. The large knapsack I had prepared the night before sat there in a corner and reminded me why things felt a little different today. Today was December 31, the last day I would be staying in Ami's care and the day I would leave this town.
A Little Later
"So…" I said as I took a seat on the dining table, "we're having scrambled eggs today?"
"Omelets, Satoshi-kun, they're omelets…" Ami grumbled, trying her best to defend her beleaguered dish. No matter how hard she sold it though, they looked nothing close to omelets.
"Anyways," she said, shifting the topic away from her culinary blunder, "are you set to go already?"
"Yeah…" I said taking out the train ticket and transfer stubs she had given me earlier, "I'm ready to go."
"Aren't you going to miss poor Ami-chan?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and talking endearingly
"I'll miss the house, that's for sure." I said plainly, deflecting her tease
"Ungh… you're no fun…" replied the girl, irritated that I didn't take the bait. "Anyways, you already have your day planned out?"
"Pretty much." I said, explaining my plans for the day in detail. As soon as I got out of the house, I would be headed for the convenience store for my last shift. I'd be getting my first paycheck there too so I definitely had to be there. Once I was done with that, I'd go catch a bus and I'll be on my way to the train station then catch the midnight train out of town. Ami listened with minimal interest as she seemed to pay more attention to her nails than to my explanation… ergh.
"You're forgetting something though Satoshi-kun…" Ami said, turning her attention back to me, "you were talking about getting a bike since yesterday, right?"
Oh right… the bicycle! I almost forgot about that… Darn. Just when I thought she wasn't listening, she goes on and reminds me of something I forgot to say… women are complicated creatures, I must say. Scratching my head, I faced her shyly and told her that I didn't think I'd be able to buy a bicycle anytime soon. I realized that sad truth on my way back home from work once, I told her. I happened to pass by a local sports store and the price tags attached to the bicycles in stock made me feel like one of those kids in those American bank commercials… it made me want to cry.
"Ah, that's a shame." Ami consoled, "Yuusaku might be able to get you a good bicycle though. He's a sports enthusiast you see, so he'll probably be able to help you out. You should talk to him when you get to his town."
"Asking help from someone again…" I muttered, "Won't I be causing him enough trouble already?"
"Haven't you already caused a lot of trouble by running away from home?" Ami countered deviously. My face drooped a little, so she shrugged innocently. "I'm just saying."
"Yeah, yeah…" I said getting back to topic, "The point is; I'm trying to start living on my own here. I don't want to keep asking for people's help…"
"Oh…" Ami said, reclining lazily on the dining chair, "I see what you mean."
Somehow, she didn't look all that convinced. Sighing, I just got back to eating breakfast over the usual over-the-table small talk, cleaning the dishes as soon as we were done. I then collected my things and she walked me out to the door.
"Well, I'll be seeing you Satoshi-kun." Ami said with a smile as I stepped out the door, "Be sure to get Yuusaku to contact me when you meet him okay?"
"Sure, sure." I said with a wave. Turning around, I started walking out to the pathway and onto the mountain trail down to town. Without looking back though, I noticed the apparent delay of the villa door closing. Somehow, I could feel Ami watching me from behind the open doorway. It was as if she wanted to say something… or maybe she was waiting for me to say something. Sooner or later though, the unmistakable sound of a door closing reached my ears, urging me to walk on. What was I expecting anyway? Shaking my head, I followed the path and left the Kawashima villa as a guest for the last time.
"Ah Tanaka-kun, just in time." The shopkeeper greeted as I entered the store, "We've got a long day ahead of us."
"Eh?" I asked, dropping off my things in the break room, "What's up boss?"
"I brought in a shipment from the city." She said, pointing out to the large truck parked outside of the shop, "We've got a lot of boxes to move. Get stretching."
"Boxes huh?" I asked intrigued, cracking my knuckles to psyche myself up, "This'll be done in no time!"
The two of us then walked on to the back of the truck with a cart each. This wasn't going to take a long time, I thought… how many boxes could there be? As soon as she opened up the back of the truck though, every square inch of the container van was filled with boxes of all shapes and sizes. Some of them looked painfully heavy… Not wanting to be shamed for my bravado, I rolled up my sleeves and started unloading boxes.
Two hours into the job, I was already panting like a dog, my back felt like it was going to give anytime soon and my arms were starting to get swollen from all the heavy lifting. After our valiant efforts in those two grueling hours, the truck was still about half-full and the larger boxes were the ones huddled at the back. This'll never get done… Leaning against the walls of the store, I lamented at the cruelty of the laws of Physics as I drank a paper cup of hot tea.
"Breaktime's almost over Sammy." The shopkeeper said wiping the sweat from her brow, "You ready for round two?"
"More or less…" I said, downing the tea and climbing back onto the truck to move those cursed boxes. We were already drenched in sweat even though there was snow piled up around us; I smell a paradox. Just as we were about to carry one of the bigger boxes though, a voice called out to us from outside the truck.
"Yo sis! Need some help?"
"Ah… you're here." The shopkeeper said, utterly relieved, "And no, we don't need some help. We need lots of it."
"Alright, alright." The voice replied. A tall young man then climbed onto the truck and joined us in the container van.
"Anyways bro," the shopkeeper, "let me introduce you to my little helper here – Sammy Tanaka. He's the guy who helped me run the shop these past few days."
"Are you now…" the man said walking over to me to shake my hand, "well it's nice to meet you young man."
"Ah, likewise." I said, trying to shake his hand. Sadly, my arms had already stiffened up in the face of the box-lifting so I was barely able to return the gesture. "Sorry about that."
The man then laughed, saying that I didn't have to worry about it. When he took a closer look at me though, he seemed to recognize me.
"Hey…" he said observing me from head to toe, "you're that kid I picked up at the train station!"
"Wait a sec…" the shopkeeper said, "so he's the kid who ran away from home you were telling me about?"
"Yeah, it's him." The man said nodding, "Sammy Tanaka huh… half-American?"
"Half-Canadian." I corrected, doing my best to imitate Francis Suzuki's Canadian accent, "I played hockey in the Canada games when I visited Calgary last summer, eh."
"Hockey huh... definitely Canadian…" the man said rubbing his chin in thought, "Anyways, we'll talk about this later; we have boxes to carry."
Saving our comments for later, the three of us got on to unloading the rest of the boxes and to my surprise, we were done in about an hour. It was now around 4PM in the afternoon when the three of us came together in the break room. For a while, compliments over the seemingly impossible accomplishments bounced around the room as we lounged around but the topic was quick to shift to poor ole' me.
Now that we were together in a brightly lit room, I was able to recognize the man as the bus driver who had picked me up at the train station a couple of days ago. He introduced himself to me then asked me the obvious question he and his sister the shopkeeper had;
"Why did you run away?"
Hesitantly, I revealed my story to them, changing bits of my story whenever I deemed it fit. I was telling them the story of Sammy Tanaka after all, not the story of Satoshi Tainaka. What resulted was a harangue of the truth mixed with stories I had heard from my half-Canadian friend when he was still in Japan… and perhaps a few tales I fabricated altogether. Despite the unnerving truth-to-lie ratio, I still found it hard to talk about that past I had forcefully tried to forget.
Just as I thought she would, the shopkeeper suggested that I go back home. Ami-chan too had been suggesting that option to me during my stay in this town, but that was an option I simply couldn't take. Whenever I do decide to return to them, I told the two people listening intently, I want them to see a different me. I want them to see that I have grown. This was a new chapter in my life; I need to take this opportunity to live on my own and grow. Upon hearing this though, the bus driver suddenly chuckled.
"What's so funny?" I asked, not expecting that sort of reaction from him
"You're really determined huh." The bus driver said, "You seem like you know where to go now."
"Perhaps…" I said nodding slightly.
"Are you staying here Sammy?" The shopkeeper asked a little concerned, "Cause… you know, if we can't convince you to go back, then at least let us help you."
"No, I'm not staying here." I said plainly, "Sorry, but I can't keep relying on other people."
"There ain't no shame in getting some help, boy." The bus driver said with a smile
"But…" I tried to argue, but he wouldn't let me
"Now tell me something… where exactly have you been living these past few days?" The bus driver probed knowingly
"I… uh…"
"Well? Answer that." The bus driver continued grinning. He had me cornered.
"I've been staying at Ami Kawashima's…" I admitted. The shopkeeper's eyes were sparkling with intrigue while the bus driver just smiled.
"I thought so." The bus driver then rubbed his chin, "Then doesn't that mean you've been relying on another person again."
Darn him… he sounded like one of my former classmates in the debate team. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy became a politician someday… Groaning, I accepted defeat.
"You see Sammy…" the bus driver said in a mellow tone, "people are naturally social beings. Behind all of that individualism and self-sufficiency stuff you hear on the news, we still rely on each other. Individualism is good an all, but at the end of the day, we can't live alone. Be thankful for what help you receive."
"But I'll just be a burden!" I countered desperately, "You may be right, but I don't want to be a burden to people. That'll just suck."
"Then give something back to them in return." The bus driver suggested, "It's give and take really. If you're worried about being a burden, then repay their kindness with kindness of your own. That's the best way to live."
"So please let us help you, poor soul." The shopkeeper said, "The hardest thing for me, in my opinion, is not being able to help someone in need when they're right in front of you."
"Hmm... I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to refuse." I said, "I'm leaving town after all, so I don't think you can help me."
"Oh?" The shopkeeper challenged, "Well, I think we can."
"Really now?" I asked
"You were looking for a bike weren't you?" The shopkeeper said, getting off her seat and marching over to the corners of the break room. Pushing some boxes aside, she stepped aside to show an old bike leaning against the wall. "Then I've got something that might interest ya."
Though I understood that she was offering the bike, my face couldn't help but twitch at the sight of the bicycle. It was a bike alright, but the paint job was rusted, the tires were busted, the pedals looked like they were beaten to death, the chain looked like it was ready to collapse and the brakes looked suspiciously faulty. Was this some sort of joke?
"This was the bike I used all the time for deliveries." The shopkeeper said reminiscently, "I've more or less beaten the crap out of this thing, I know, but it helped me survive when I was starting out this store."
She survived on THAT thing? I must have seen it all.
"Of course, after using this bike for so long, it gradually wore down." The shopkeeper continued, "That's why I took good care of it and maintained it as much as I could. This was my livelihood after all. This was my life."
True enough, when I came to have a closer look, there were a lot of modifications made on the bike. Parts that had broken down long ago were re-welded into place, different layers of paint were visible on the frame and the elastic part of the handlebars having been supported by badminton racket grip tape. It wasn't the best maintenance work I had seen, but a lot of effort was definitely put into it.
"So here's what I propose, Sammy." The shopkeeper said, "If you can fix this, then I'll let you have it. I already have the truck after all, so I don't need the bike anymore."
"This bike needs a lot of work." The bus driver said as he took a look at it himself, "Let me go grab some tools from my bus. I'll help you guys out."
"You'll really help me out?" I asked surprised. The two of them nodded reassuringly, making me feel a little shy. "Thanks."
"So let's get working." The shopkeeper said, "This bike longs for the open road – it's been stuck in this corner for way too long."
With that, the three of us got to work on the old bicycle. The rust and old paint of the frame was scraped off, giving way to a new coat of paint. The busted tires were replaced with new ones and the pedals were re-screwed and fortified. The old chain was torn off and a new steel one was put in its place. Finally, the faulty brake mechanism was repaired. The old bike that looked as if it were on the verge of collapse a few hours ago finally looked like a roadworthy vessel again.
"This is incredible…" I said, unable to believe what the three of us were able to do with the bike
"Well then… take it for a ride Sammy." The shopkeeper said, "Lets see how she holds up."
Nodding, I walked over to the bike and pushed it out to the shop's driveway. Once it was outside, I mounted it slowly and was able to get on it without too much trouble. Taking a deep breath, I got my foot off the ground and started pedaling around the driveway. The bike was stronger than I thought it was when and the whole thing was unbelievably sturdy.
"Go further!" The shopkeeper cheered, pointing to the town's main road where the streetlights were starting to go on.
"Alright!" I said, taking the bike out the driveway and onto the main road. The streetlights turned on one by one as I pedaled through the main road. The fading light of the distant sunset was giving way to the night and the stars started to fill the skies; a sight I had not seen for a long time urging me onwards. Pedaling faster and faster, I raced around town and cried at the top of my lungs,
"THIS IS INCREDIBLE!"
After another lap through town, I returned to the shop where the shopkeeper and the bus driver were waiting.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye then." I said, parking the bike and getting my bag from the break room, "Thanks for everything."
"Don't mention it." The shopkeeper said handing me a brown envelope. It was my paycheck.
'Thanks so much!" I said, embracing the shopkeeper on the spot. The bus driver just watched me with a raised eyebrow.
"Anyways," the bus driver said folding his arms, "are you leaving already?"
"Yeah." I said, "I have a long trip ahead of me."
"Why don't you stay in town for a while?" The shopkeeper suggested. "It's almost midnight you know; the fireworks are gonna start soon."
"Fireworks huh…" I said looking up to the sea of stars, "I don't have a place to watch
"Anywhere by the coast is fine." The bus driver said, "We've got a barge coming in from the city full of fireworks. They're gonna launch 'em from there."
"But what about my trip?"
"Don't worry about it." The bus driver reassured, "I'll take you to the train station. I'm the only bus driver in town after all."
"I see…" I said, considering their proposal. Just then, I remembered a little nook where I had the perfect view of the sea. "Actually, I think I know a place."
"Well then get over there quickl!" The bus driver said, "I'll wait for you here, so don't worry."
"Gotcha!" I said, mounting the bike once more. With a smile on my face, I pedaled back to the only place I could think of going. I rode the bike up the mountain trail in a hurry, not wanting to miss the fireworks. Before long, there I was again at the premises of Ami Kawashima's villa. There, I saw a girl leaning on the deck watching the stars alone with a mug of cocoa in her hands. I've seen this sight before – it reminded me of something I had been meaning to say for so long.
"AMI-CHAN!" I hollered, getting off the bike and pulling it by my side
"Satoshi-kun!" Ami gasped, surprised to see me again, "Didn't you say you were…"
"Thank you." I said panting, "I came back to say thank you."
"I see." The girl said with a smile, "So what are you standing up out there for? Come on in, the fireworks are gonna start soon."
Smiling, I nodded back to the girl and parked the bike by the driveway. She opened the door for me and we headed out to the deck together. Before we could say anything though, the fireworks from the barge took to the sky and the sky flashed with numerous bright shapes and colors. We watched this spectacle in silence, happy and satisfied.
After a while, the fireworks display ended and the barge set sail for the city.
"I guess I'll have to be going now Ami-chan." I said heading out the door once more
"Yeah." Ami said understandingly, "Have a safe trip and… take care."
"I will, thanks."
With that, the two of us parted. I picked up my bike and started pedaling back down to down. As I rode faster and faster though, my heart seemed to race as well. Nah… can't be. Shaking my head, I just carried on my way. Returning to the convenience store, I saw the bus driver and the shopkeeper outside, leaning against the driver's bus. The shopkeeper helped me load the bike onto the bus and I climbed aboard the bus as well. Turning to me, the bus driver asked me with a smile on his face,
"So where to, little man?"
"Take me to my destiny, kind sir." I said jokingly, taking a seat just behind him
"Very well then." He said, closing the bus doors. Starting the engine, he removed the handbrake and the bus started rolling down the highway to the train station. Looking at the train ticket in my hand, I felt like I was moving forward again. This time though, I knew where I was going.
To Be Continued
Epilogue
"Happy New Year everyone!" Yui Hirasawa greeted a large crowd gathered at the concert hall. Loud cheers from the sea of their fans followed that greeting, "Thank you all for coming to celebrate New Year's eve with us tonight."
Her electric guitar hung loosely over her shoulder and beads of sweat lined her brow, sparkling under the light of the stage lights. She and the rest of Afternoon Tea Time had just finished performing a host of their songs, stopping only for a countdown to New Year's day, and their concert was coming to a close.
"Before we start our last song though, we have a special announcement." Yui said to the audience, "Riichan, would you mind explaining for me?"
"Thanks Yui." Ritsu said as she took the microphone from her, "Hey everyone! Thanks again for attending, but as Yui said, we've got a little something for you."
The crowd then settled down and listened intently.
"As you all know, my brother Satoshi ran away from home almost a week ago and everyone says he's already dead." Ritsu said determinedly, "But I don't believe he's dead, you hear me! Something deep inside me is telling me that he's out there and I will not rest until I've found him again. That's why… that's why starting this summer, Afternoon Tea Time is going on a nation-wide tour! If he's out there, then we're gonna find him, that's for sure!"
With that, the crowd cheered vigorously, empowering the band to pick up their instruments one more time. Ritsu returned the microphone to the stand and she paced back to her seat behind the drums.
"Alright then everyone," Yui said happily, "let's start this year right!"
Tapping her drumsticks together, Ritsu psyched the hall up for their last song. Looking up at the glass roof of the hall, she watched the fireworks bursting from outside with a smile.
"You're watching this same sky too Satoshi… I know you are."
The song started the members of Afternoon Tea Time played with strong passion. They had a mission to accomplish, and they would not back down until they've achieved it.
"We'll find you."
"BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!"* - Ami Kawashima's signature outburst of fury. Translates to 'STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!'