In "Mizumi's Dream," we follow Mizumi from her new home in London back to Tokyo, her original hometown, for an important business meeting. Although she had long left Japan and Tokyo behind in search of happiness in London, she unexpectedly meets som...
The weekend by the sea, with the visit to my brother's grave, stirred deep emotions. Despite the warmth of my loved ones around me, I felt an insurmountable emptiness. Yet, we hugged tightly in the darkness, determined to keep the memory of my brother alive with love. Without much discussion, I returned to Tokyo earlier than planned.
Even after several days, I was still deeply unsettled, finding little sleep in my nights, as I found the dreams too intense and stirring. Often, I found myself driving my car through the empty streets in the darkness for hours. The city seemed quiet and deserted during these hours, soothing me in a certain way.
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After another restless night and a gloomy day spent almost entirely on my couch, I finally mustered the courage to leave the house. With a hint of determination, I grabbed my camera, which had almost been forgotten, and embarked on an exploration of the bustling city. I visited an exhibition, strolled through a lively shopping center, treated myself to a refreshing iced coffee, and wandered the streets of my hometown. My long walk eventually led me near a well-known observation tower, and as I glanced up, the gloom of the day dissipated when I looked at the sky. It was immediately clear to me that I had to go to the observatory.
Upon arrival, I found a quiet spot and set up my camera with a few simple movements. However, my solitude was unexpectedly interrupted when a boy suddenly approached me and effortlessly struck up a conversation. His gaze was penetrating, and his curiosity infectious.
"Did you know, that Mount Fuji is actually a volcano?" he asked casually. I briefly looked around to make sure he was talking to me and casually replied, "Yes, I've heard that before." "In school, right?" he continued to inquire. I nodded in agreement. As I knelt to take something out of my backpack, I was at eye level with him.
His appearance was delightful, with a striped T-shirt, shorts, and ultra-cool shoes that immediately caught my eye. "Wow, your shoes are awesome!" I admired."Do you think so? I got them from my uncle!" he proudly explained. "Cool, I have the same ones, just in a different color. See..." I stood up and placed my foot next to his, and he laughed lively, amused by the similarity.
We gave each other a fist bump, and suddenly we were best friends. It was an adorable moment.
However, when I saw no signs of adults who could be his parents, I asked concernedly, "Where are your parents?"The boy replied, "I'm supposed to wait here because he keeps talking and talking and talking!""Okay, so someone will come soon then." He nodded and looked around boredly, spreading his arms and spinning like a helicopter, so I asked him, "Would you like to help me? Look at the camera's display, can you see Mount Fuji?"He stood on his tiptoes to see the display mounted on the tripod. "Yep, I see it." "Then it's perfect." "Do you want to take the first photo?" I handed him the remote shutter release, and he snapped a picture. Then I showed him his photo on the display. "Are you a photographer?" "No, it's just a hobby." "I have many hobbies, but my favorite is playing soccer in my grandparents' garden, and my uncle has a video game with little cars where you can drive in the sky and catch stars. Do you know it?" "Sure, I love playing that too!" "So cool!" He turned around, apparently seeing his parents, and ran off.
I looked at my watch, and as I caught sight of the small, cool shoes again and next to them the limited edition, which I had seen years before, I was taken aback. "Hiro..." I exclaimed. "It should have been clear to me already from the shoes..." I said, looking at him and his nephew Tobi.
"Cool, you guys know each other, I'm Tobi," said the amused boy, nudging me on the forearm and pointing to Mount Fuji. "Whatch out!" I glanced at my watch and started taking photos, occasionally taking some with my smartphone. As Tobi fascinatedly looked at the mountain and glanced at me, I asked him, "Would you like to take a few more photos before the sun sets?" He grabbed the remote shutter release and started shooting.I turned to Hiro and looked at him. "No computer gaming after all?" "He really wanted to see Mount Fuji; it wasn't my idea!" I nodded questioningly and took my last photos, but Tobi started to whine. "Hiro, I'm hungry!""...then let's go home, and I'll cook something." "Nope, you can forget about that!" I had to chuckle because he said it so sweetly.
I looked at Hiro and made a "sorry" gesture as I packed up my equipment.Tobi got louder. "You promised me we'd go get burgers. "Oh, I bit my tongue, smiled, and stood with my backpack next to them now. "Hey, you two, I wish you a lovely evening, and you'll surely come to an agreement about dinner!" "Where are you going now?" Tobi called after me, holding onto my hand. "Home." "Come with us, then I'll definitely get my burger." "Sorry, Tobi, but that's not my favorite food ." "Oh! That can't be. What's your favorite food then?" I looked hopefully at Hiro, then into Tobi's big dark eyes, which were also full of hope. "Honestly, my all-time, absolute favorite food is takoyaki!"Tobi's eyes widened even more, and he turned to Hiro, beaming with joy. "Please," he said, almost begging his uncle. "Only if you come with us, Mizumi," said Hiro, smiling. I was about to decline, but when Tobi turned to me. "Only if it's okay with both of you!" "Sure," said Tobi, reaching for my hand.
The three of us drove in Hiro's luxury SUV to an excellent takoyaki restaurant. We had a lot of fun, and I burned my mouth countless times on the hot delicacies we prepared at the table. Everyone found it amusing, and we laughed a lot, even Hiro. He looked happy and somewhat relieved, but I could sense the evening atmosphere in the air. Exhaustedly, he took the last sip of his lemonade. His longing for a cold beer was palpable. "Oh, couldn't it be 9 o'clock already?" he sighed, the fatigue evident in his voice. "What's at 9 o'clock?" Tobi, his nephew, asked innocently. "Then you'll probably be already sleeping!" I teased him as I put another takoyaki and some cucumber salad on his plate, which he obediently ate. "Yeah, so Hiro can work all day and all night," Tobi explained with a sweet twinkle in his eye that made me laugh.
