Ride on Time

Chapter 71

This was one of the first times Mitsuo entered a Hindu temple. The last time he went to one was in Tokyo, even that was because he wanted to gather facts for stories.
Which he now planned to write...
A story that took place in Malaysia sounded neat.
Mitsuo smiled to himself as he followed the Indian family towards a set of taps and a tiled spot. People came and went, washing their bare feet and gurgling water before entering the temple.
"You guys do this too in Japan, right?" Shree asked as she stepped back onto the brick pavement.
Mitsuo nodded. "We do. Especially whenever we go to shrines."
They all entered the temple, led by Shree, and Mitsuo looked around in awe. Everything was intricately designed, even the ceilings were painted with images of gods and goddesses.
"Whoa..." Mitsuo found himself murmuring in surprise as he looked at the ceiling.
Shree smiled. "Each of those paintings tell a story. I used to lay on my grandma's lap and look at each one while she told me. Maybe that's why I know a lot of mythology now."
Mitsuo nodded. "That's nice. At least you know a lot of your heritage."
"Yeah, more than most of my peers at least," Shree chuckled. "Alright, now I have to find my team."

Shree found her team at the hall and spoke to them.
"When's the dance starting?" Shree asked. "It's almost seven."
"Must wait for Shruti first lah," one of her friends shrugged. "Madhavi and Mahatri also dancing, what."
Shree quickly nodded. "Ah. Okay."
One of the girls suddenly smiled and touched her arm. "Who's that feller?"
Shree looked at where she pointed at and saw the tip of Rishika's henna-dyed finger pointing straight at Mitsuo who was still studying the painted ceiling in awe, right across one of the hall's side entrances.
"My friend," Shree smiled at how fascinated he was.
"Chinese ah?" The girl asked.
Shree frowned slightly. "No lah, Japanese."
Rishika thought she was being sarcastic. "So mean..."
"Why?" Shree asked, confused. "Eh, really lah! He Japanese."
Rishika nodded slowly, her full lips forming a sly smirk. "I see... I see... where you went and found him?"
Shree inwardly groaned and shrugged, leaving the hall. She knew what Rishika was getting at, especially since her interest in Japanese culture and City Pop music wasn't exactly a secret.
But then Shree realised something.
She wouldn't have let no other tourist tag along like this, letting him celebrate Pongal with her family and show him around.
Was she biased by this same fact?
Shree let out a sigh and rejoined her family.
"What time they gonna start lah?" Chandrika asked as soon as she came up.
"Waiting for Shruti," Shree shrugged. "Her daughters also dancing, what."
Mitsuo came to them. "Can you guys tell me the story of these paintings?"
Devi smiled and gladly did. She told him all the stories, from top to bottom.
"Ooo..." Mitsuo listened in awe, imagining everything happening. "If I wanna know more of this, where can I get 'em?"
"There's an anime about the Ramayana," Shree pointed out. "I forgot what the name is, but I think it's literally called Ramayana."
Mitsuo nodded. "I'll look it up later."
"I heard there are some animated series that can be streamed online too," Shree added. "And live action too. There's some books and of course, Wikipedia."
"I see, I see..." Mitsuo nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
All this while, Vasu just stood there, bored with all the fuss going on. He ended up looking around the temple, seeing whatever else that was going on, and eventually spotted Shruti and her whole family enter.
"Akka, that Shruti lady's here," Vasu stated.
Shree turned to look and smiled upon seeing them.
"Sorry, we're late," Shruti sheepishly said. "Jam..."
"Yeah, we saw," Shree nodded understandingly. "You used highway?"
"Yep," Shruti shrugged. "We thought no jam but then see-see..."
"Finally, you're here!" They turned to see the rest of the dancers. They nodded at Shruti. "Auntie, can we start now?" Rishika asked.
Shruti quickly nodded. "Ah yes. Girls, go lah."
Madhavi nodded and took her sister's hand. "Maha, come."
The blonde girl nodded and followed her big sister. Shree couldn't help but smile, seeing how her Caucasian looks still went well with the Indian garb she was wearing.
Shree smiled and brought the two of them to the others. The dance was about to begin.

Mitsuo sat down beside Vasu, on the cold tiled floor, as they watched the performance. His eyes were mostly on Shree, though there were five other young women dancing along. He thought that she looked the best among them, the most graceful of the lot.
Vasu looked at him, rather confused and amused at his dazed face.
Mitsuo suddenly felt a nudge and turned to see Vasu smirking at him.
"What happened to you?" The younger man asked. "You just staring only from just now. Dumbstruck ah?"
Mitsuo looked at him in surprise. "What?"
Vasu nodded towards the dancers. "Dumbstruck after seeing so many girls ah?"
"No," Mitsuo said, turning back to Shree. "Just your sister."
Vasu gasped in shock. "What?!"
Mitsuo simply pushed him off as he watched Shree gracefully perform the traditional dance, leaving Vasu to just stare at him in surprise. He turned to his mother on his other side and poked her arm.
"What lah?" Chandrika whispered.
"Mom, this Mitsuo feller fall in love with Akka already lah," Vasu groaned, discreetly pointing at the Japanese man. "See how he looking at her, dumbstruck already."
Chandrika smirked slightly. "Good, what."
Devi shushed them and asked them to silently watch.
And Vasu was the dumbfounded one now.
He turned back to the dance and saw Shree dancing with grace, a small smile on her face as she glided about.

Vasu was once again stuck with Mitsuo. Shree was with the rest of the girls and Shruti, eating the Pongasorru provided by the temple.
"You also must eat," Devi said when Chandrika handed a plate of the brown dish to Mitsuo. "You cannot refuse temple food."
Mitsuo nodded.
"It's because the food is considered sacred, god's food," Vasu explained as he ate his share. "Make sure you finish it, don't waste."
"I am," Mitsuo smiled. His gaze suddenly fell on Shree, eating with the rest of her dance team. She seemed to be the closest with Shruti instead of the other girls her age. "By the way, how did you guys meet Ms. Shruti?"
Vasu groaned. "Don't ask..."
"Why?" Mitsuo grinned.
Vasu sighed. "It's like this." He nodded towards the dancers. "You see that girl? The one with the long plait like Akka?"
"Yeah?" Mitsuo turned to look. "Ms. Shruti's older daughter."
"That girl is my classmate in college," Vasu said. "We're both taking literature in STPM."
"What's STPM?" Mitsuo questioned.
"Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia," Vasu explained. "The Malaysian Higher Certificate Education. Form Six. Secondary school education only goes up to Form Five. Form Six is optional, it's the same level as a diploma or foundation. The other option is Matriculation or Polytechnic."
"Okay... but how did you guys and Shruti become besties?" Mitsuo said, confused.
"Ah," Vasu realised that he was digressing. "Okay, it's like this. My mom is always very busy so Akka is the one that comes for Parent-teacher meetings. She took STPM too, so she knows how these things work. So she speaks to my teachers instead."
"Okay?" Mitsuo nodded.
"So since that was the case, she and Shruti spoke while waiting for their turns," Vasu sighed. "And then Shruti got to know that Akka is a Zumba instructor and also a Bharthanatyam graduate, she offered to hire her to dance in events for a price. Of course, these events were all for good since Bharthanatyam is a sacred dance."
"And then Shruti and Nika became besties while you barely know the daughter?" Mitsuo guessed.
Vasu nodded. "Not exactly." He turned his attention back to his rice and continued eating.