The Day Human Kind Were Taken

A New World

I was on a plane heading to Tokyo.

I have been once to visit my aunt but this time was different, I was going as an exchange student.  Students in Japan have life tough from what I've heard. They seem so busy and focused. I was top of the class until Amaya, a Japanese exchange student, came. And she barely knew any English!

I knew some Japanese because of one of the classes my mum signed me up for. She thought that I should learn it so I could communicate with my cousin. My pronunciation was a bit off but I knew enough to get by in a normal conversation. 

My mother tends to sign me up for things I never wanted to do. Tenis in 4th grade, the school bowling team, she even had to audacity to sign me up for the chess club once. But this was way worse, she signed me up for a whole year as an exchange student in Tokyo without telling me. Well until 4 days ago. 

My summer holiday was going great, reading alone in my bedroom mostly.  Occasionally seeing friends at the river. Then Mum busts in holding a bright pink suitcase and an ugly backpack and told me I was going to Tokyo.

So, now I was here. On a plane. With a handful of my belongings. This couldn't get any worse.

The flight itself was could have been pretty fun though. I had a window seat by a nice old couple who kept offering me sweets and the plane had those little screens you could watch movies on. That was if I could stop myself watching sadly as Visby grew smaller and ever so far away. This was the last time I would see Sweden all year. My friends at home were excited (even though I was rather mopey about the situation) for me and alittle upset, but I only had to tell 4 people. Friends weren't my strong suit.

Maybe I would fell better about this whole thing if I looked like a Swedish girl but I didn't, I was short instead of tall, green eyed instead of blue and I wasn't the slightest bit athletic. I was thin sure, but that was my genes, I was clumsy but I wasn't weak.

I went to Japan to visit my Aunt when I was three. I don't have any memories of the place or the person (my aunt) I was supposed to stay with.  So when I arrived in Tokyo, I was shocked by the sheer size of the place. Visby wasn't overly large city but here it looked like a village compared to this place.

My Mum said I was meeting her sister at the airport but for all I knew she forgot to organise me staying with her. I wander over to the baggage claim and easily find my stupid bright pink suitcase. I was just lucky it wasn't cover in Hello Kitty pictures. 

I had no clue how I was going to find my aunt. My mum hadn't even given me her number. My best plan was to look for higher ground and find someone tall and blonde, like my Mum. If only I was as tall as normal Swedish people then this wouldn't be a  problem.

There was a promising escalator to my left. Dragging my stuff with me I made my way over to it. The escalator was packed with people. I didn't really fell like play a game of 'how many people can we make angry' today. So instead I rolled my bag into a corner and sat on top of it. I pulled my phone out of my backpack along with a granola bar wrapped in pink foil. As soon as as I switched airplane mode off I got a message from an unknown number.

'Hello Isla, This is your Aunty. Your Mother gave me your number. We waiting for you outside. We are in the red car closest to the bus shelter. See you soon.'

Huh, I guess I should have checked my phone sooner. I type back a quick message while taking a bite of my strawberry flavoured granola bar and head slowly back into the busy airport crowds.

I wonder what my aunt is like. Would she be as erratic as my mother? I secretly hoped she would be like her sister, it would be weird without my Mother's consent joyful chatter. Not that I would ever tell her that.

I struggled keeping my balance through the thick crowd. I dropped my suitcase multiple times as I attempted to weave through it. I was constantly apologising  to everyone for bumping into them or tripping them up. I barely remembered to use Japanese while speaking, so at least they could understand me.

I tried to get past a small group of girls right in front the exit and ended up knocking shoulders with one and spilling her drink slightly. They girls looked to me in shock. I tried to apologise like I had to the others but it was kind of their fault for standing in the doorway in the first place. The girl breaks out of her state of shock and shouts a few profanities at me, in the middle of what seemed to be the busiest airport in the world. I fumble through another half-hearted apology and try to leave. The girl grabbed the collar of my white shirt and dumps the remainders of her drink over my head. The red juice will stain. I duck my head and twist out of the girls hold while holding back my tears. This was the first encounter with a girl my age in Japan and I ended up with red fruit juice stuck in my hair and stains on my good top.

A lot of people cast empathetic glances my way and let me pass with minimal fuss. At least the crowd was no longer a problem. I slumped through the airport doors and made my way to what I assumed to be the bus shelter my aunt had spoke of. Sure enough a tall lady in a black dress and her hair pulled into a tight knot at the back of her head stood in front of a bright red car.