Rising Sunsets

CHAPTER 19

That night it was difficult to go to sleep, but I didn’t care. I was filled with excitement and giddiness. Every few minutes it seemed, I would wake up, stare into the darkness, and grin. Exhaustion had been replaced with enthusiasm and indescribable glee.

When I returned to Kyoikuiinkai the next day, I overheard a heated argument in Shoji-san’s office.  As I stepped closer to the doorway, I recognized Yamaguchi-san’s voice instantly, although I couldn’t quite understand what was being said.  Then I heard him leave abruptly through the adjoining door. The way he slammed it shut caused the entire room to vibrate. Had I caused him to be upset again?  A few minutes later, I received a phone call. 

            “Debito-san.”

            “Doi-sensei?”

            “Yes.  How are you?  How was your trip?”

            “It was wonderful. Thank you.” I described every stage of my journey and what I had learned. I could hear pride in his voice when he realized that I had experienced everything he had explained to me.

            “Debito, I want you to remember that everyone has his own Mount Fuji in life.  You work toward a goal and eventually receive tremendous satisfaction from it, but at some point, you must always face reality. There are going to be bumps along the way, but the adventure is always worth the reward.  And if things do not turn out the way you want in the end, remember that you always have the sweetness of the memory.”

            “I will remember, sensei.”

“Good. Now, we must also talk about reality.  Debito, unfortunately, there has been an accident overseas which affects Hongo.”

            “What happened?”

            “Someone from Hongo went to Hong Kong for vacation and died.  The government has sent us official papers stating what happened and requested an answer on what to do with the body.  They need a response from us by today, and I cannot come in to the office because I am ill.  Would you be kind enough to look at the papers and translate them to the office downstairs?”

            “I am not sure I know enough English legal vocabulary to handle this.”

            “No, no.  They just need to know what the papers say.  It does not need to be word for word.  I am sure you can explain it to them.”

            “What about Yamaguchi-san?”

            “Yamaguchi-san refuses to translate the papers.  The victim was someone his family did not like.”

That explains the slamming door. “I see. What about Yoshie or Morii-san?”

“Debito, they are women.”

So what? “But sensei, they are able to speak English well.”

“Debito, you are the only one the officials will accept an answer from.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I will do my best.”

            “Tell Shoji-san that you are going to do it, and he will take you downstairs.”

            “I hope you feel better, sensei.”

            “Thank you, Debito.”

            Shoji-san led me to the office where the papers were.  One set of papers was a coroner’s report stating that the person was indeed dead from a heart attack, and the other was a statement describing the condition of the body.  The person had already been embalmed, and now his body needed to be shipped.  Representatives in Hong Kong needed verification from the family and to know where to send the body.  How am I going to translate this?