The Encounter

CHAPTER TWO

Dear Mr. Yamamoto. Good day! This is Himari Ito, the careless girl. I am terribly sorry about what happened the day before. What can I do to get the personnel back?

"What the hell is she talking about?" Shintaro muttered under his breath upon getting an international message from an unknown number.

"What's the problem, Mr. Yamamoto?", asked a Singaporean man in his 60s. He was Mr. Ng, a neat and efficient lawyer whom he contacted for legal policies in his business. Mr. Ng happened to have a scoliosis as evident with his imbalanced shoulders but this did not diminished his prowess in the general practice of the law particularly in corporate laws.

"I'm sorry, just a little concern from Kyoto but it is fine."

"I see. I have learned about what happened in TYH. If you look at it closely, you will be imprisoned for abandoning your employees. Mr. Ng paused. "You cannot be tactless at this point of your decisions."

"They had signed contracts and I have examined their performances. Ninety-nine percent was experienced and skilled, the remaining had been left sorry. TYH had a special arrangement with their employees. I already talked to the corporate human resources about it before I came here."

"Without a word for the people?"

"None. They would be happier somewhere else, I think."

Mr. Ng applauded with a laughter and drank his tea. "You are between cold and giving. Just like everyone else in the family."

He smiled to the elderly Ng. Aside from his role as a corporate lawyer, he was also an obligatory father as this was a close brother to his father, the elder Yamamoto. They had met on a thousand occasions in and out of Asia for estate and legality practices. "It runs in the blood."

Timing is everything in addition to his dedication, connections, experience and expertise in restaurant business. Second son to the real estate heir, Shintaro prided in making a name for himself. As a young Yamamoto, he was trained early in the businesses of his parents - real estate brokerage and market shops in Shijo - his father's and mother's respectively. But he had another inclination that made him feel one with his soul - cooking. It opened another aspect of his youth and that was self-reliance. Even at a younger age, he was already used to going abroad for school trips so he never missed out these chances in search for new insights. That was how he loved Singapore the first time he came here when he was thirteen. It reminded him of Kyoto's traditional and fusion restaurants that stood along the streets of Gion and Teramachi and those that were along Kiyamachidori and Kamogawa River. While Kyoto was mostly traditional and patriotic, Singapore was ultimately a melting pot of cultures. First impressions did not always last but SG definitely hit home, too.

"Oi, Yamamoto!" Karuma Daichi, his classmate called up on him from the other side of the road signaling him to keep up as the middle school excursionists from Kyoto wee going to their next itinerary. He was too ecstatic watching the colorful festivities at Lorong Bachok that he got himself blended and lost his way. He was not at all scared and made an adventure of his own. Realizing he must have been half-hour late, he looked for his way back.

Screech! Crash! Blag! Everything was so sudden on the street that everyone only saw the aftermath.

Ni hai hao ma! Oi! Xing lai! A faded voice came to aid his demise and before he closed his eyelids, Shintaro remembered that mark on her face.

His head hurt upon trying to remember what actually happened even before that tragedy in his life. While recalling his reverie, Shintaro was startled by an international call.

"Yes, oh! What's wrong with you? Ask the HR. I already made arrangements with everyone!" Why is that careless woman so desperate of calling me? How does she even know my number? He thought fumingly. Something about her got on his nerves so it was best to get rid of it ASAP. After his meeting with Mr. Ng, Shintaro visited his doctor who was also a friend to his family.

"Mr. Yamamoto, your brain suffered from a trauma and resulted to retrograde amnesia," Dr. Kew briefly explained whose hair was now all silver but he was healthy and fit, thanks to neo-Oriental and western medicine combined he had reached this hiatus in his life. Dr. Kew had been on his case ever since it happened. His residence was a simple villa in Mountbatten in which he made some adjustments to build up a clinic for consultations. He was a psychologist and proceeded to study neurology.

"But it has been fifteen years, doc."

"Your hippocampus was severely damaged, hence, that part of your brain would not be able to retrieve your long-term memories. Yours was curious, it might be diagnosed as selective. You had remembered some episodes, hadn't you?"

"My head hurts whenever I try to remember something. I guess I had to look everything up on my childhood pictures of which I already memorized but something is kind of missing."

"In time. But you have to decide whether or not it is something you will want to face. What triggers you?"

"A dream."

"That may help but you have to be patient. Any impressions on your own behaviour?"

"I'm not sure just I get irritated easily."

"On what scale?"

"From one to five, two. Nothing really serious. Just business-related." He reconsidered when he thought about the past few days. Surely, impressing the world for your name and fame and starting to build your own empire was excruciating. Anything affecting that, no matter how small should be deliberated and eliminated. He should shift his focus on things of substance relevant to his life-long career.

"Maintaining focus is going to be a long process but hold onto that. Send me anything that gets you on track to your memory." Dr. Kew finalized leaving Shintaro determined.