Our unnamed protagonist who is asphyxiating under the stress of trying to make a living in the heart of Tokyo city struggles to find inspiration for his daily hustle and almost gives up until he is late for work one day and decides to take a slow an...
Waking up the next morning, I realized that my empty stomach wasn't the only problem that needed an immediate fix- my bed was a mess, my clothes were all murky and untidy. After all, my job authorities are not going to understand how catching a bus instead of the metro the last night was an excuse good enough for being late to work. A heat stroke wasn't something that I could call an escape plan either as the chances of that happening to me in November weren't high enough.
I tried my best to muster enough strength and will-power to get up but what I summoned wasn't enough. Rolling my eyes over to my alarm clock I had a grim concussion with reality when the clock's face read, '8:45 a.m.' There was no way I was showing up to work that late. Moreover, I had this increasingly gripping feeling that strongly made me feel as if I should really NOT show up to work today. "Anyways", I said shaking up a bit," might as well use my self-designated holiday as much as I can."
After freshening up a bit and having a plate of bacon and eggs, I stared out of my bedroom window into the huge, unforgiving yet magnificent, busy streets of the city, running through the city like veins in a human body, with the major artery- the broadway infested with fast commuting vehicles completely oblivious of the world around them other than the traffic. I had never taken a day off from work before, well, I wasn't granted one but whatever be the reason, this was my first day-off from work and I didn't know how to put it to any good use - I felt like a kid with all the fancy toys he could ever ask for who didn't know how to play with anyone of them.
Without much further thought, I set foot outside my apartment. The weather was a bit grumpy - just like every other day. Since my arrival, Tokyo hasn't experienced much sunny days to speak of. I started walking on my daily used route to work although I had no intention to be there today. The first time in months or even years, I thoroughly noticed the bustling crowd and chiming stores full of customers. I watched as the perennial stream of busy humans gushed past me all while I felt like a stubborn little pebble in the middle of a flowing riverstream. Before I got eroded away by the stream, I left for what seemed like a dilapidated entry to a forlone park.
Upon close scrutiny found out the reason why the park was camouflaged from the concrete jungle. Old vines had creeped their way up and around the humble and already minimalistic garden gate leading into the park. I thanked its inconspicuousness when I stepped into the park beyond the gate as a cool gust of breeze nudged me into some alternate dimension.
This place truly is devoid of people. It was as if I could breathe the isolation of the place. I felt the sounds of the busy city get muffled behind me as I walked further- to a point where I felt as if someone unplugged the annoying tape playing the sounds of the metropolis from the cassete player. "Where was this place all along?", I thought to myself as I was taken aback by the panorama of thick, lush green vegetation of the place with strong trees towering over the place. It felt as if the evergreen vegetation had formed some sort of barrier shielding this garden from all the pesky sounds of the city trespassing into this haven of peace and solitude.
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After snooping around for about a minute I finally found a seating arrangement- a bench roofed on the top by a wooden ceiling which appeared to populated by mostly dead vines along with several bird nests which, for some reason have been long abandoned. By the side of this cozy sitting arrangement was a couple of Sakura trees- with reddish-brown leaves ready to fall off any minute but still a few aloof blossoms distributed sparingly among the branches. Overlooking the Sakura trees, to my right was a patch of fresh green grass trimmed neatly with a few rose bushes spread towards the edges. The ceiling of this patch of grassland was devoid of tree cover- making it stand out from the rest of garden which had constant tree shade lingering over it. It felt like a canopy in the woods.
