Ride on Time

Chapter 28

Misao came home after a day at work and sighed as she sat down on the couch. She checked her phone for any new messages or calls from Shri but was dismayed to not find even one.
It has been weeks and the last time she had heard his voice, though scratchy and delayed, it was still just as comforting. He promised to write to her, but nothing came in the mail as of late.
Misao tossed the cell onto the table and leaned back with a groan. She pulled out the magatama that Shri had given her from her nagajuban.
"When will I see you again, Shri?" She caressed the green gem as she spoke as if directly to him. "Will you come back to see me?"
The front door opened with a shove and Misao turned to see Kumiko staggering in, the definition of drunk as a skunk.
"Kumi, have you been drinking?" Misao frowned at her friend.
"Reeeed Wine!" Kumiko slurred. "Only a bit."
Misao sighed. "Kumi... I'm surprised you even found your way home."
Kumiko grinned and unsteadily made her way to her room, a staggering geisha in full costume. Misao shook her head and made her way to her own room to take her wig off and change into her yukata before making her way to the bathroom.

***

Misao walked out of her bedroom, adjusting the flaps of her yukata. She yawned and went towards the living room as she tied her hair back in a ponytail. Kumiko was sitting down on the living room couch, holding onto her aching forehead.
"You okay?" Misao asked, seating herself on the armchair.
Kumiko shook her head without looking up. "I feel awful."
"Did you even shower last night?" Misao smirked, earning herself a glare. "That's a no, I guess."
Kumiko sighed. "I fell asleep as soon as I got home and didn't wake up until an hour ago."
"Eww you didn't even change out of your garb?!" Misao gasped.
"No," Kumiko shook her head. She seemed like she remembered something and reached for a thin package on the table and handed it to her. "This came in the mail for you."
"For me?" Misao said in surprise, taking the envelope and looking at her name and address written on the front.
"From Malaysia," Kumiko smirked.
Misao gasped and turned over the note. A Malaysian address was written behind it, together with Shri's name.
"It's from Shri!" Misao exclaimed happily, bouncing on her armchair.
She ripped the letter open carefully and gasped at how much he wrote. Misao read and read, tears of joy brimming her eyes. She was even overjoyed to see his signature, which had a star at the top of his name like fireworks.
"Aww!" Misao said when she finished at last.
"That's a really long letter," Kumiko said, now seated with a cup of coffee. "How much did he even write?"
"Four- Five pages," Misao counted. "Wow... he wrote a five-page letter by hand. He even mentioned how he wrote it with the pen I gave him! Aww!"
Kumiko snorted. "Yeah?"
Misao grinned and got up, going to her room. She safely put the letter away in a drawer before going to the bathroom.

A white face stared back at Misao as she looked in the mirror. She dipped her brush in red makeup and applied it to her eyebrows and eyelids before moving on to her lips. Misao smiled at herself and put her makeup away. She still marvelled at how women wore oshiroi makeup for centuries, and still kept the tradition to this day. 
Misao took her stuff and made her way out the door.
"I'm leaving, Kumi!" Misao called as she grabbed the door handle.
"Alright!" Kumiko called back as she got dressed as well.
Misao snorted and swung the door open. To her surprise, a man stood right outside, holding a package.
"Yes?" Misao said politely.
The man bowed before speaking, Misao returned it. "Does Hara Misao live here?"
"Yes, that's me," Misao nodded slightly. "Can I help you?"
The man chuckled. "I have a package for you, Hara-san."
"For me?" Misao's painted face twisted in surprise. "Who could it be from?"
The delivery man shrugged. "It's an international package."
Misao signed it and put it in her bag, meaning to open it at work.

During break time, Misao sat herself at the resting room, where her fellow colleagues sat to have their lunch too. She quickly finished her sushi and took out the package from her bag, frowning at it. Who could be the sender of the letter?
Then a thought crossed her mind. Misao scrambled to look at the sender's address on the consignment note.

SHRI MOHAN A/L SHRIDHAR KRISHNAN
****************
46000 PETALING JAYA,
SELANGOR,
MALAYSIA

Misao gasped and quickly ripped the package open to see what it was. To her surprise, it was a book with yet another letter attached to it.

Yeah... sorry I was supposed to send the first letter with the book but I already stuck the stamps and stuff so I decided to just send both. I completely forgot about the book when I was writing the first letter up until I stuck the stamps on.
I hope you like the book, though. It was written by my own hand.

Ever yours,
Shri Mohan.

Misao chuckled at the letter then turned to the book. Signs of the Past was its title. A couple stood on the cover, leaning on each other as they looked into a large mirror. However, instead of seeing their own reflection, the image on the mirror was a pair of grinning children standing hand in hand. Misao could only guess that the children were a representation of themselves when they were younger.
Misao excitedly opened the book and started reading the first page, practically glued to it. She reached the end and flipped the page, moving on to the second, then the third, to the fourth.
Without noticing, Misao had finished ten pages.
"Misao!" Someone called. Misao quickly looked up from the book to see another fellow geisha standing in the doorway. "Break's over! You have another client now."
Misao bowed her head slightly and got up. She stuffed the letter that Shri had sent together with the book between the pages she had been reading and put it away inside her bag before following her friend to a room of shoji screens.

Misao returned home, grinning with her newly attained book in her hands. She went straight to her room and sat at her desk, taking out a piece of paper and an envelope. She got herself a few stamps on the way home and rested that in front of her before writing out a letter.
She was surprised that she had actually written six pages, more than what Shri had written. After she was finished, she signed at the bottom and reached for a paper clip, clipping the sheets together before taking out a large envelope from her drawer.
That envelope contained all the pictures she took during her day out with Shri, clear and developed. Misao carefully selected a few pictures, one of her at a miniature torii gate while hiking up to the Fushimi Inari Taisha. She also attached the candid picture she took of him while he was reloading his camera film and another one of herself and him at the Bon Odori.
Misao put everything into a medium-sized envelope and pasted a bunch of stamps on it. As soon as she was done, she suddenly felt the need to send him something too.
She groaned as she looked at the sealed envelope, complete with stamps. She sighed and decided to just do what Shri had done to her.