Ride on Time

Chapter 50

Mitsuo made his way to his seat, getting himself comfy for the seven-hour flight. He decided to read Signs of the Past before having a nap and hoped that the seat next to him wasn't taken.
To his dismay, an older man perched himself beside him. Mitsuo sighed and took his phone out to put it on Aeroplane Mode before resuming his book.
"What book have you got there?" The older man asked.
Mitsuo smiled slightly and showed him the front cover of the book. "Signs of the Past. I had it imported."
"Ah... I see..." the man nodded, a slight dissatisfied look on his face. "Youngsters these days... don't know how to appreciate local art."
Mitsuo tilted his head, confused. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
The older man smirked and showed him the book he was reading. Mitsuo hid a smile when he realised that it was Timeless Love, the book he wrote.
"See here? This was published right here in Japan," the man proudly said. "Very recently too."
Mitsuo nodded. "I see. Is it good?"
"Very," the man grinned. "Young people should learn how to appreciate local art instead of leaning towards the western side."
Mitsuo shrugged. "How far are you done with that book?"
"Almost halfway," the man said proudly. "But I think I might be able to finish it by the end of this flight."
Mitsuo nodded with a smile and opened his book to continue reading.
The air hostess stepped to the front and started the routine demonstration before the plane took off.

Mitsuo felt sleepy halfway through his book and decided to put it away and take a nap, making sure his valuables were safely tucked away.
He woke up some two hours later and noticed that the older man was still reading his book.
"You done with the book?" Mitsuo stifled a yawn.
"Almost, I'm just a few chapters away," the man replied.
"Okay," Mitsuo pulled out his earphones and decided to listen to music while he read his book.
He went on, page by page, and couldn't help but notice something.
The writing style was very similar to his.
It made Mitsuo like the book even more, increasing his excitement as he read on. The words sank in, absorbing itself into Mitsuo's mind in the form of scenes and images.
All of a sudden, he felt a poke on his shoulder. Mitsuo took his earbuds off and paused the music, turning to the man beside him.
"Done," the man grinned, shaking the book.
"How was it?" Mitsuo smirked. "Was it good?"
"It's really good," the man admitted, clasping the book. "This is why I like local stories better than imported ones."
Mitsuo nodded. "Yeah, that's why I like writing them too ."
The man looked confused. "Sorry, what?"
Mitsuo grinned and gently took the book from his hand, turning it over to reveal a small portrait of him at the bottom of the back cover. "That's me."
The man gaped at him, his eyes bulging wide.
"I'm glad you liked my story," Mitsuo bowed slightly. "I just got the English version published internationally last November."
With that, he put his earphones back on and resumed his book.
The man started scratching his shoulder again.
"Ojisan, you've finished your book, can you let me read mine?" Mitsuo politely said, taking his earbuds off again.
The man bowed respectfully and handed him the book, together with his pen.
"Can you sign this for me?" The man asked, ducking his head as he handed it to him.
Mitsuo sighed, taking the book with a smile. "I'd be happy to. Can you tell me what your name is?"
"Suzuki Hoshino."
Mitsuo nodded and inscribed the book before handing it to him.
Glad you like my book, Hoshino-san
-Tadao Mitsuo
"You also wrote my name for me at the top!" Hoshino gasped and bowed again. "Thank you so much, Tadao-san."
Mitsuo quickly shook his head, bowing again. "It's fine, Ojisan. I'm just really proud to see my book being read by someone else."
He nodded at him and put his earphones on again to continue his book.

***

7.10 am, Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Mitsuo got off at KLIA and cleared Customs before wandering around, trying to find a way to get out. His luggage, for some reason, was to be collected in a different floor. The signs were available in both English and Japanese but that wasn't much of an issue. He soon got ahold of his baggage and wanted to know how he would get in a KLIA Express train that would take him to KL Sentral so that he could take the LRT to Petaling Jaya.
Thinking about the plan itself made him seem queasy.
He somehow found the KLIA Express counter, with the help of a few signs, and got himself a ticket to go to KL Sentral. As it is, he had skipped most sleep during the night and was staggering around, trying to remain sober. At least he didn't have to deal with drastic time zone change since Malaysia's time was only an hour earlier than Japan's.
Mitsuo found a convenience store and decided to get himself a can of coffee and a snack. To his surprise, he spotted some melon pan on sale.
He got a few of those too.

Mitsuo was glad he didn't fall asleep on the forty-minute train ride and got out, coming face-to-face with the crowded KL Sentral. Now there was only one more thing left to do.
Take an LRT and get a ride to his hotel. He felt like he didn't need to take a taxi from the Asia Jaya station to the hotel since all he had to do was cross the road.
Or at least... that's what it looked like on Google Maps.
Mitsuo shrugged and made his way to the the LRT Station within KL Sentral, passing crowds of foreigners and even a few vloggers. He also noticed that there was a mall there, right in KL Sentral, called NU Sentral. Mitsuo wished he could go but felt far too tired to go roaming around in a mall, especially after the journey.
There were ticket kiosks so he went towards it and selected Asia Jaya. The LRT ride wasn't as expensive as the KLIA Express, which costed him around RM55, but only a few ringgit. The machine dispensed a blue token inscribed with RapidKL.
Mitsuo took a picture of it and pressed it against the turnstile before going up the escalator that led up to the platform.
A train was waiting there and Mitsuo started running towards it. It wasn't as crowded as it would be in Japan, where the guards would literally stuff people in to make sure that everyone was safely in, but it was still somewhat crowded especially because of the early-morning hustle with everyone rushing for work. The doors closed just as he entered.
Mitsuo heaved a sigh of relief and stood in a corner. It was the last coach and he could see what's going on behind the back window, tracks and all. He went towards it, earphones plugged into his ears.
Sparkle by Tatsuro Yamashita starts playing as he watched the tracks seemingly appear from beneath the train. He also kept a sharp lookout at the route marker above the seats when the train stopped. A red light marked that he was at the Bank Rakyat stop in Bangsar. There was still five more stops to go.
The train briefly stopped again at the Abdullah Hukum Station and then at the Kerinchi station about a minute later. The distances between the stations were very short.
That was until the Universiti stop came.
The route was the longest. It took about five minutes before finally arriving at the Taman Jaya Station. A crowd got out and Mitsuo took his earphones off since he was only one stop away.
The Asia Jaya Station arrived.

Mitsuo exited the Asia Jaya station, looking up the route to the Sheralbon Hotel. He walked down the street towards the main road and saw it.
There was no way anyone could miss it. It was one of the tallest buildings in all of Petaling Jaya!
Mitsuo's awestruck face morphed into panic when he panned his gaze lower towards the main road.
The traffic... so many cars... how on earth was he going to cross?
Mitsuo quickly looked around to see if there were any pedestrian traffic lights that would help him get across. Thankfully, there was, connected to the bus stop right beside him. He ran to it and pressed the button. A few seconds later, the light turned red, causing every car to stop, allowing Mitsuo to safely cross. Steady beeps marked each second for the time given to cross the road, arriving in front of a driving school, where one white and yellow Perodua Axia after another came in and out. Mitsuo had to walk a little way before reaching Sheralbon under the burning heat of the early-morning sun.
Soon, he was beside the ramp of the hotel. Mitsuo ran up, ignoring the heavy baggage on his back.