Ride on Time

Chapter 33

It was Deepavali Day but Misao had to go to work. Not that she was gonna celebrate anyway.
She groaned out of bed and went to the bathroom, washing her face before returning to her room again. Misao dried her face before applying bintsuke abura which acted as a base for the Oshiroi.
The white paint came first, the red eyeliner, eyebrows, then lips.
She then changed into her kimono, slipping into her hadajuban first. She layered it with her nagajuban and tied the obiage around her waist. Finally, the silk upper garment came on. The obi was folded and tied at the back and then she sat on her bed to put on her tabi socks before putting her geiko shimada wig on.
She exited the room and almost jumped out of her skin when she bumped into Kumiko, who was similarly dressed.
"What?" Kumiko asked nonchalantly.
Misao sighed. "It's nothing... you just startled me."
Kumiko snorted. "Spoke to Shri yesterday?"
"No, I didn't... I thought he might be busy since he had prayers and stuff for his ancestors."
"Oh..." Kumiko nodded. "So it's Deepavali today?"
"Yeah. Shoot, I forgot to wish him."
"You better," Kumiko smirked.
Misao looked at the time and realised that she had a lot of time left. She went back to her room and retrieved her phone to call Shri.

Shri just woke up and went downstairs to see what's going on. The first place he went to was the altar, where Shruti was busily preparing for the Deepavali prayer. She was still dressed in her nightclothes, as it is a custom to carry out the prayers before a shower just for Deepavali. It was because the festival was held to honour the death of a demon, whose death had brought light into everyone's lives. Thus, the Festival of Lights was created.
"You started already ah?" Shri said, watching her place flowers at the top of every gods' portraits. "Ma started cooking?"
"Yeah, she in the kitchen," Shruti said as she placed the last flower in front of a Ganesha statue. "Pa helping her."
"Then Big One doing what?" Shri asked.
"That one still sleeping lah," Shruti said indifferently. "Nothing new, what."
Shri shook his head and made his way to the kitchen. Suganthi was preparing the Deepavali food, chicken rendang, prawn sambal, pepper mutton, and the main course: Biryani.
"Need help ah?" Shri asked.
"There, go pound the pepper," Suganthi said, pointing at the granite mortar and pestle on the counter. "Don't make it too fine, it still needs to be a bit coarse."
"Okay!" Shri chuckled as he went on grinding the pepper corns with the pestle.

"He isn't picking up," Misao frowned. "You think he's still asleep?"
Kumiko shrugged. "Probably."
Misao sighed and stood up. "I'll try calling him later."
She collected her things and started leaving for the Ryōtei Okiya. She was running late too, a booking was due in less than twenty minutes.

Misao rushed in just in time for the clients and knelt down on the tatami with her drum. Her colleague gave her a nod as she made sure her shamisen was in tune. The clients arrived and the two bowed towards the ground, placing their hands on the tatami as they ducked their heads down. Misao looked up and to her surprise, it was Mr. Hitohira and his family.
"Greetings, Hitohira-san," Misao greeted politely. "It is great to see you here again."
Her friend greeted them too and they started entertaining the family. Misao sang and played her tsuzumi alongside her fellow geisha friend. Their food eventually came and the two presented a traditional Japanese dance as they sang. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the dance, clapping when they were done.
All except one.
Mr. Hitohira's son. He seemed to be only a few years older than Misao, but she instantly took a dislike to him though she didn't show it. The entire time she was dancing in slow movements, he watched with a lustful look on his face, though his wife was right beside him with a bulging belly.
Misao ignored it and bowed.
The Hitohiras were soon done with their meal and the geishas bade their farewell to them.
"Thank you," Misao bowed as they left. "We'll be looking forward to your next visit, Hitohira-san."
Mr. Hitohira smiled and bowed too, leaving hand-in-hand with his wife. Misao smiled, seeing how much of a loving couple they were despite being in their fifties.
Then, their daughter-in-law, waving at her and her friend with a slight bow. Misao smiled and gave her a low bow of respect.
But then her smile faltered when she caught sight of her husband. She still bowed respectfully as she bade her farewell.
"Your performance was utterly breathtaking," the young man smiled. "I'll look forward to meet you again in the future."
Misao forced a smile and bowed again. "Much appreciated, kyaku-san."
"Oh, please, call me Genjuro," he answered with the same smile that made Misao uncomfortable. "Thank you for your services, Sakura."
Misao nodded and watched him leave, a grimace contorting her painted face.
What made it worse was the fact that he didn't acknowledge her friend even in the slightest. Misao decided to just ignore it and went on with her day.

Misao sat down to have her lunch when her phone started ringing. She looked at the display screen and saw Shri's name on it. Her face instantly lit up as she answered.
"Hello?" Misao answered as soon as she picked up.
"Misao?" Shri's voice came from the other end. "I just realised you called earlier. Sorry, I didn't pick up. I was a little busy."
"It's fine," Misao chuckled, opening her lunchbox. "By the way, Happy Deepavali, Shri!"
"Thanks, Misao," Shri replied after a delay. "Too bad you couldn't make it, we're throwing a mini party tonight."
"Party? What you guys gonna do? Will there be drinks and stuff?"
"Oh no, my family doesn't drink anything stronger than cola, and it's only among us," Shri answered. "Besides, it's only a dance party."
"Aww I wish I was there! Thanks, Shri, you're making me regret even more for not coming."
Laughter erupted after a short pause. "Alright, so what are you up to over there?"
"It's break time and I'm talking to you over lunch."
"Oh... then I guess I'm disturbing your meal."
"Nah, not really. I don't actually mind talking to you."
"No, it's fine. Call me when you're free."
Misao sighed. "Fine... by the way, are you done with that book?"
"Almost," Shri said after a pause. "Only a few chapters to go."
"Can't wait to read it. You're sending me a copy, right?"
"Of course, I am. You're the most important person to read it."
They bade their farewells and hung up. Misao sighed happily and started eating.

"The mango, right... wanna take ah?" Siddharth said for the hundredth time that day.
'You and your mango...' Shri wanted to say but held back.
"Can," Shruti chimed in, standing up from her seat. "Wanna take now?"
Siddharth grinned and got up, making his way to the backyard with his sister. Shri followed too, mainly because he knew that something funny was about to happen. He even took his camera with him to document it if possible.
The three went to their backyard and Shri couldn't help but snap a picture of the beautiful view. Shruti and their older brother stared at the mango tree, trying to figure out how they would get the fruit down.
"Shruti, bring stick," Siddharth instructed.
Shruti grabbed the stick that was leaned against the fence next to her and handed it to him. Siddharth took it and started hitting it at the tree. Shri held back a laugh and snapped a photo. The two were so engrossed in it that they didn't even notice the bright flash of the camera.
"Cannot lah..." Siddharth sighed, straightening the stick. "What to do?"
He turned to his brother, who quickly hid the camera behind him with a grin, and then to his sister. He seemed to have gotten an idea upon seeing her.
"Shruti, come here," Siddharth said, leaning the stick back against the wall. "Come here, I got idea."
"What you wanna do?" Shruti asked, puzzled.
"I carry you, you take the mango," Siddharth said, pulling her arm.
"What?!" Shruti exclaimed, eyes widening.
"Woi!" Shri gasped.
"Can or cannot?" Siddharth asked, pointing his index finger at her.
Shruti thought for a moment and agreed. "Can lah. But don't drop me."
Siddharth squatted and asked her to get onto his shoulders, lifting her when he got up. Shri quickly took pictures, grinning at what his siblings were doing, and watched as Shruti successfully plucked down each mango.
"Mohan, come help lah!" Siddharth shouted, holding her with difficulty. "I can't take the mango and hold her, right?"
Shri chuckled and pocketed his camera before helping them collect the large green mangoes, placing them on the stone table beside him. The apple mangoes were nearly ripe and were sticky with sap.
There were nearly ten mangoes and each of them had to carry at least two. They were really heavy too and the siblings were only too glad to put them down on the kitchen table.
"So many mangoes," Siddharth grinned. "Must ask Ma to make mango chutney."
"I wanna eat!" Shruti said, picking out the ripest one of the lot.
She took it and a knife before making her way to the living room. However, she quickly returned since she forgot to get a plate.

Yeah, the mango part may seem a little irrelevant but it's actually at this time that the mangoes are in season. The trees would bear them months in advance, but only around Deepavali will they be ready to be harvested. I've observed this since my family has an apple mango tree too. The fruit is usually green, so it's best to make chutney. But that doesn't mean it doesn't taste good raw. Ripe apple mangoes would still mostly be green but there would be a patch of red at the top, where they grow out of the branch.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!