Yello there

"Well, it is raining," he says, "and an umbrella is an excellent thing to have." {~•~} What could a girl, a boy, coffee, Kit-Kats, green things, and rain have in common? An umbrella, of course. [Short Story #291]

"What's that? Around your neck." "It's a key." "Well no shit. I mean what does it unlock?" "Your heart." <~> In which a girl has a locked heart, and a boy has a key. [Short Story #233]

[Coming-of-age, Romance, Existential, Japan] Seiji and Aoi have been inseparable childhood friends and eventually, high school sweethearts. Believing in naive dreams and love, all seems well until a tragedy separates them with a chasm of frozen time. As one struggles with the aftermath, the world moves on, while the other remains still. Battered by temptation and the pressure to grow up, he discovers that life is more complicated than he thought - and that the heart and mind is quite vulnerable to change. Secondhand Memories is an emotional young adult coming-of-age story: a journey about the meaning of growing up, love, loss and sacrifice. --- Originally serialized online in 2008 (Textnovel), Secondhand Memories pioneered the Japanese cell phone novel phenomenon in the English-speaking world, marking a moment in history of a new literary movement among thousands of young writers and readers globally. The remarkably unique fusion of simple haiku-like poetic technique and prose narrative has re-envisioned technology, youth culture, community and literature. This is the Wattpad version of the first draft, where each chapter is originally on separate pages, it is now compiled together for technical reasons. The pioneer English cell phone novel from 2008 is finally published in print and released as a beautiful 6" x 9" 558 page book with stunning illustrations, interior formatting and graphic design on Valentine's Day 2015 by Sakura Publishing, eagerly anticipated by fans and fellow cell phone novelists as a keepsake, fond memories, collector's item and inspirational reading pleasure. Order online via Amazon, Sakura Publishing, and more locations coming soon. More info, links, products, events and previews: http://secondhandmemories.net - From the early writing days of the featured award-winning author of visionary literary novel, "Espresso Love".

One demanding tourist. One surly cab driver. A tour, backstreets, traffic, adventure, tea, movies, art, love. Who knew it could all fit in a five day vacation?