Ride on Time

Chapter 75

"Nah," Vasu said, handing a plastic bag of nasi lemak to Mitsuo. "I asked her to pack it separately for you."
"Thank you," Mitsuo bowed slightly.
"Never mind that," Shree smiled, undoing the brakes as she started driving. She drove a little way before speaking again. "Also, any new books?"
Mitsuo frowned. "Not yet, but I'm planning to write one that takes place here."
"Ah," Shree grinned. "PJ is a great place for that."
"Yeah," Mitsuo sighed, leaning back against his seat. "It's kinda cozy for a city. Not very bustling."
"Yeah..." Shree chuckled.
"And there aren't that many pedestrians," Mitsuo added, gazing out the window.
Vasu straightened himself. "Got, what?"
"There are pedestrians are, but not as many as in Japan," Mitsuo pointed out. "In Japan, you can see hoards of pedestrians around the roads."
"I think there are quite a lot of people near the Asia Jaya bus stop," Shree shrugged. "I mean, I always had trouble there during driving classes in the evenings. There's always someone who makes the light red just to cross."
"That's the driving test route?" Mitsuo asked, mildly surprised.
"Yeah, for the nearby driving school," Vasu added. "You might've seen it, it's right next to Sheralbon."
Mitsuo nodded. "So I've seen. It's next to the petrol station, right?"
"Yes," the siblings said together.
They drove right back to Sheralbon and Mitsuo got off at the lobby, leaving the plastic bag of stuff behind.
"Eh, his stuff!" Shree quickly unfastened her seatbelt and grabbed the bag, running out of the car after the Japanese man. "Mitsuo! Wait up!"
Mitsuo turned around and looked at her in surprise. "What's up?"
Shree lifted the bag in front of her. "You left this behind."
Mitsuo looked at the bag and shook his head. "No, I didn't. I got those for you guys."
"What?" Shree said, confused. "Why?"
"For all you've done for me," Mitsuo shrugged. "Nika, even though we barely just met last week, you and your family have made my trip to Malaysia so much better. Before I met you guys, I was just cooped up in my room and only exploring food. But now, you made me see how Pongal is celebrated. It was an entirely new experience for me. Besides, you guys are taking me to Batu Caves this Saturday, even bringing me to a Chinese household to see how the Lunar New Year is celebrated. I've never really seen anything else besides a dragon dance and fireworks. You guys are going all out to make my stay in Malaysia great, and without a price too."
"But you paid for our dinner just now," Shree pointed out. "Isn't that more than enough?"
Mitsuo shook his head. "I paid for your dinner and it was what, thirty Malaysian ringgit? That Pongal celebration was so much more. You invited me over to celebrate, bought me breakfast, made me see how it's like in a Hindu temple, that dance performance, and..." he smiled. "You took me to a bookstore so that I can see my books on sale!"
Shree chuckled. "Oh, Mitsuo..."
"Just take it, Nika," Mitsuo smiled. "They're all Japanese products I got from the shop downstairs."
"You mean Goma?" Shree asked.
"Yeah, that shop," Mitsuo nodded. "They have a lot of Japanese products. I thought you might like them since... well, you listen to a lot of J-Pop."
"City Pop to be exact," Shree smiled, playing with the curl that dangled beside her face, eventually tucking them behind her ear. "Thanks, Mitsuo."
Mitsuo smiled, fingering his manji for a moment. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. It's like you guys are my foster family during an exchange programme, except I'm not a student."
Shree smiled. "Glad to hear that. Also, that nasi lemak sambal is a little bit on the spicy side. My advice is to mix the egg yoke into the rice after mixing the sambal into it. Use your hand, by the way, not chopstick."
Mitsuo snorted. "Is it even possible to eat nasi lemak with chopsticks?"
"I don't think so," Shree shrugged, taking a step backwards. "By the way, see you soon. Enjoy your nasi lemak, by the way."
Mitsuo smiled, making the dimples at the corners of his mouth show, and bowed farewell. Shree chuckled and waved at him, bowing too before turning around to leave, clutching the plastic bag from Goma.
There was something about his smile, something that triggered a sense of familiarity in him. It was like, she knew him from somewhere, but she didn't know where.
Shree went back to the car and slipped behind the wheel, dumping the bag of stuff back onto the passenger seat beside her.
"What he said lah, Akka?" Vasu asked. "What's in that bag it seems?"
"He brought these for us, it seems lah," Shree sighed, driving down the ramp to go to the Federal Highway. "He said we did for him so much so he decided to just bring for us Japanese snacks."
"Aww," Vasu was touched. "So nice of him." But then he frowned. "But I don't like Japanese snacks..."
Shree smirked. "You don't like means never mind lah. I like."
"Akka..." Vasu groaned.
"You want means you eat, if not then don't," Shree snorted. "Let's go back lah?"
"Yeah..." Vasu sighed.

Mitsuo went back to his room, wearing a smile all the way as he did. A couple entered the lift along with him and was slightly weirded out by the fact that he was smiling at practically nothing.
But Mitsuo didn't care. He was happy with himself and that's all that mattered.
And now he had a pack of locally-certified nasi lemak with very tasty sambal in his hand. Mitsuo was eager to find out how it tasted.

"So you're eating Malaysian food?" Akiko asked as she watched her son eat in front of his phone. "Is it good?"
"Very," Mitsuo nodded as he teared up. "And very spicy. But it's better since I mixed the yoke with the rice. Advice from a local."
Hiroshi nodded. "I see, I see. This local... is it that Indian girl?"
"Dad, stop," Mitsuo groaned, taking a sip of the milk he bought. "But yeah, it was her."
His parents chuckled.
"That's nice," Hiroshi smiled. "How is she? Is she good?"
Mitsuo nodded. "She's nice, but very protective of herself. I like that, actually. She knows her worth."
"How about her family?" Akiko added. "How are they?"
"Very sporting," Mitsuo shrugged. "Even her grandmother is fun."
Mitsuo spoke to them over his food, more like listening to his parents talk about their stay in Fukuoka.
"It's actually really nice here," Akiko smiled. "We're planning to stay a little longer than planned."
"And next week, we're going to Nagoya," Hiroshi grinned.
Mitsuo was slightly taken aback, pausing his meal for a moment. "Hey... is there something that I should know? Is this really a business trip?"
His parents exchanged grins.
"Fine, we actually took a long holiday off after finding out that you're going to Tokyo," Hiroshi admitted. "I thought you'd stay there a little longer, but then you shortened the trip and left for Malaysia instead."
Mitsuo looked at them in surprise. "What? You guys were planning to get rid of me?"
"Only temporarily, Mitsu," Akiko shrugged. "But yeah. We thought we could use a nice, long break."
"Living the life, I see?" Mitsuo shook his head. "Feeling a little betrayed here, guys."
"Aww, Mitsu..." Akiko picked up the phone in her hands. "It's not like that."
Mitsuo chuckled. "Come on, I was joking. I feel happy for you guys! You deserve this break."
His parents smiled. "Thank you, Mitsu." Hiroshi said.
"Anytime," Mitsuo smiled but then started coughing.
"You okay, Mitsu?" Akiko asked, inches away from the screen.
Mitsuo drank some of his milk and nodded. "I'm fine, fine. I'm sorry, this is very spicy. Not as spicy as the one we ate the other day, but spicy."
"Don't eat too much spicy food, Mitsu, you might end up with diarrhoea," Akiko warned.
"Yeah, you don't want your behind to be on fire now, do you?" Hiroshi added with a smirk.
Mitsuo shook his head. "It already is, but I don't care. How else would I get used to it? Also, it's not that bad. This isn't as bad as the vegetarian version I had during Pongal."
"Oh yeah, you had breakfast with that Indian girl's family, right?" Akiko nodded. "I see, I see. Well, we don't wanna disturb your meal further so... enjoy."
"And don't eat too much of that red stuff," Hiroshi smirked again. "And enjoy your holiday."
Mitsuo bowed slightly and hung up. He looked at his nasi lemak and was a little dismayed to find that it was finishing. He ended up licking the whole styrofoam container clean from any leftovers.