Crying In The South
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
The sun was setting on the first day of summer. It had been a beautiful, warm afternoon and evening for most people in Japan’s capital city.
A few hours ago, though, it seemed like hell itself had descended upon Tokyo as an unnatural storm blew through the area with winds so strong that they tore down trees, toppled over cars, and knocked out power to thousands of homes throughout the metropolitan region.
As if this weren’t enough, lightning bolts struck all around them at random intervals, leaving many more without electricity or shelter from the elements. And then there were those who didn’t even have roofs anymore—the ones whose houses collapsed under the weight of the wind-borne debris left by the tornado.
“I can’t believe what happened,” said one man standing next to his car outside a convenience store just off Takeshita Street in Harajuku where he’d sought refuge after being caught up in traffic during rush hour when the storm hit.
“It felt like we were inside some kind of horror movie.” He shook his head slowly back and forth before continuing. “This is crazy… I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted something like this would happen today! What are we going to do?”
He wasn’t alone in asking himself these questions as others stood nearby watching him speak. They couldn’t help but wonder how such a thing could possibly occur; whether God Himself had turned His attention toward their city for no other reason than to punish them for whatever sin they might be guilty of.
But despite the fear that gripped them, none dared voice any doubts aloud lest someone else should take offense at their lack of faith. After all, this was not only a time for prayer but also one when they needed each other’s support to get through this ordeal together.
As the night grew darker still, people began returning home to find themselves trapped indoors due to the loss of power and phone lines. With little else to occupy their minds, the news media became the focus of everyone’s attention once again.
Many gathered around televisions set up in public spaces like parks and shopping malls while others crowded into bars and restaurants to listen to reports about the weather disaster unfolding across the nation. Some even sat huddled around portable radios tuned to stations broadcasting information from the government.
A young woman sitting near a window in Shinjuku staring out at the rain-drenched streets below her remarked to another patron seated next to her. “I’m glad I live downtown instead of somewhere far away like Chiba City or Saitama Prefecture…
” She looked concernedly toward the street below her and added, “At least here they’re doing everything they can to keep us safe.” Her friend nodded silently in agreement.
Another person overheard their conversation and spoke up. “You know, you really oughtn’t to say things like that.” He glared angrily at the two women and went on. “What makes you think your neighborhood is safer than anywhere else? You never know when something bad will happen to anybody!”
“Hey!” cried the first woman indignantly as she jumped to her feet. “We’ll see who gets hurt now!”
She pointed her finger at the man and shouted, “Look around! There are plenty of places right here in our own country where innocent people have already been killed because of natural disasters! Don’t forget that!”
Her words brought the room to silence as everyone stared at her in surprise. Then suddenly, a number of men rose from their seats and moved closer to confront her. One of them growled menacingly at the woman who’d spoken up earlier. “Who told you to open your mouth like that?!”
His face flushed red with anger, he advanced upon the girl until finally reaching her side. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and lifted her from the ground. “If you want to talk trash like that, go ahead and leave the building yourself!”
“Let me go!” screamed the terrified woman, struggling against the man holding her. “Don’t touch me! I won’t tell anyone anything! Just let me—”
Before she could finish speaking, however, several other patrons pulled the enraged man off her and shoved him back into his seat. Others followed suit and soon the entire group of men had surrounded the young woman.
“Calm down,” ordered one of them. “There’s nothing wrong with having a discussion about safety issues like this.” Another chimed in, saying, “But it’s important not to make assumptions based solely on where we happen to live.”
“Yeah,” agreed yet another man. “And besides, there’s no need to get angry about what she said. We all live in this country together and nobody has a monopoly on wisdom.”
The other customers in the bar applauded loudly for this remark. Even some of the men who’d initially confronted her joined in and offered their congratulations to the young woman before turning back to watch the television screen mounted high above their heads.
Once the commotion had died down somewhat, the young woman asked one of the men who’d helped her if he thought she’d done the right thing by pointing out the fact that earthquakes and tsunamis had struck Japan more than once over the years.
The man replied that she hadn’t gone too far by mentioning those events since they did indeed serve as examples of the dangers faced by every citizen in this country. However, he cautioned her to try to avoid making sweeping generalizations without knowing exactly what was happening elsewhere.
“For example?” prompted the woman.
“Well…for starters, don’t assume that people living outside Tokyo must somehow be less prepared for emergencies than residents of the capital region. That’s just plain foolishness,” answered the man. “It goes without saying that people in rural areas tend to have fewer resources available to them compared to their urban counterparts.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying hard to protect themselves from harm during times of crisis. It simply means that the situation in their particular corner of the nation is different from ours.”
He then turned to look at the young woman directly and continued. “In terms of population density alone, it should come as no surprise that Tokyo is actually considered a relatively small city despite its large size.
And yet, thanks to the efforts of countless individuals, organizations, and corporations working together, it manages to function as a self-sustaining metropolis capable of providing essential services to millions of people each day of the year. If you take all these factors into consideration, I think you’ll agree that you were mistaken to imply that ‘everybody’ lives in Tokyo.”
“Oh yes,” replied the woman. “I suppose so.”
As she sat quietly reflecting on the conversation that had taken place between herself and the man, she began wondering whether the same logic might apply to other countries in the world. What would happen if someone tried to draw conclusions about how well a certain community fared in dealing with an emergency based purely on the location of the town or village in question?
Would such a person truly understand the circumstances involved? Or perhaps even recognize any potential flaws in his analysis? She couldn’t help but wonder.
After finishing her drink, the woman paid her bill and left the pub behind. As she made her way home through the dark streets, she reflected on the many questions that still remained unanswered within her heart.
***
A few days later, after returning from work, the young woman found a message waiting for her on her answering machine. After listening to it carefully, she dialed a number and called the individual who’d left the recording. They talked briefly about the weather and then got down to business.
“What do you know about earthquakes?” inquired the caller.
“Not much,” admitted the woman. “I’ve heard that they’re caused when tectonic plates shift under our feet.”
“That’s correct,” confirmed the voice on the phone. “However, it’s also true that earthquakes can occur anywhere in the world—even in places where none are expected. So why does this matter? Because it’s possible that a major earthquake could strike somewhere else in the near future.”
The woman listened intently as she waited for further clarification.
“If that happens, will the government be able to respond quickly enough to keep things running smoothly?” asked the voice on the line.
“I’m sure they’ll manage,” replied the woman. “Even though we may only hear about disasters in other parts of the globe in news reports, most people probably wouldn’t notice any significant changes in their daily routines.”
She paused momentarily before continuing. “At least, I hope not.”
When the call ended, the woman felt deeply troubled by what she had learned. Her thoughts raced ahead several months in time. Could something like that really happen here in Japan someday?
***
Several weeks passed by in silence. One evening, while sitting alone inside her apartment, the young woman suddenly realized she wasn’t feeling very hungry. In fact, she didn’t feel up to eating anything at all. With nothing better to occupy her mind, she decided to turn off the lights and lie down on her bed instead.
Before long, sleep overtook her. When she awoke, she noticed that the sun was shining brightly through the window. Then she remembered having dreamed about the tsunami warning system being activated again.
This time, however, the warnings weren’t sent out via radio broadcasts or TV announcements. Instead, they were broadcast using the power of sound waves generated by loudspeakers mounted throughout the land.
And although the messages conveyed by those speakers warned citizens that a massive tidal wave was approaching their homes, the authorities failed to specify precisely which part of the country was affected.
The dream faded away along with the sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows, and soon thereafter everything went black once more.
***
One morning, shortly after sunrise, the young woman woke abruptly from a deep slumber. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was reach over to her nightstand and pick up her alarm clock. Its digital display read 7:30 am. She glanced around the room and spotted a familiar figure lying next to her in the darkness.
He looked peaceful, almost as if he were sleeping peacefully. His face appeared calm and serene, too. Yet there was a sense of unease lurking beneath the surface of his features. It seemed clear to her now that she hadn’t been dreaming about him after all.
It took her some time to realize just who it was she’d seen in her dreams. However, once she finally recognized his face, she let out a sigh of relief. For a moment, she wondered if she shouldn’t have woken him right away. But she knew that she needed to get back on track with whatever she was supposed to be doing. Otherwise, she feared that it might never happen.
So without saying a word, the young woman slipped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. When she returned, she saw that the man in her arms had opened one eye slightly in response to her presence.
“Good morning,” greeted the young woman cheerfully. “How are you feeling today?”
Although he smiled warmly in return, he continued staring straight into space for quite some time afterward.
Eventually, he spoke softly. “You said your name is Yumiko?”
“Yes,” answered the young woman. “My friends sometimes call me ‘Yumi.’ Is that okay?”
“No problem,” replied the stranger. “But please don’t tell anyone else my real name. Not even my family members.”
He gave a short laugh, but then immediately fell silent again.
“Why would I want to do that?” asked the woman.
“Because,” explained the man, “it’s already happened.”
His words sent chills racing up and down the woman’s spine.
“What exactly has happened?” she probed cautiously. “Have you been hurt somehow, perhaps? Or maybe someone close to you…”
The man shook his head slowly. “Nothing like that. My injuries aren’t physical ones. They’re emotional wounds.”
A chill ran down the woman’s neck. She couldn’t help wondering whether these were the same kind of wounds she herself had experienced during the past few days. Had they inflicted similar damage on him as well?
As she mulled over this possibility, she began to wonder how many others might share the same fate. If so, she wondered if they’d ever find each other among such an enormous crowd. And yet, she also found herself thinking that she wanted them to discover one another sooner rather than later.
Perhaps she was simply curious to see what sort of person he was and to learn why he’d chosen to join her in this place and time.
After pondering these questions for some time, the young woman eventually sat down beside him on the edge of her bed. She pulled up a chair and faced him directly, looking him squarely in the eye.
“Please forgive me if I’ve done you wrong,” she told him quietly. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to wake up every day and not know where you are or when you’ll be going home again. All I ask is that you try to bear with me for a little longer. Just until we come across each other again.”
At last, the man nodded. “That sounds reasonable enough,” he responded. “If you insist, then I suppose I could wait awhile longer. You should probably go ahead and eat breakfast before heading off to work though. Don’t worry—you won’t need any money. We’ll take care of that ourselves.”
With that, he reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Then he stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. As he turned to look back at her once more, the young woman felt something stir within her heart. Her gaze remained fixed on him as he disappeared beyond the doorway and closed it shut behind himself.
***
Just a short while earlier, the woman had awakened from another nightmare. This time, however, it wasn’t the man in her dreams who haunted her thoughts. Instead, it was a different individual altogether—a boy named Haruto Kataoka.
Although she didn’t actually remember seeing him in her dreams, she was certain that she must have met him sometime during the previous evening. In fact, she recalled having spoken to him several times throughout the course of their conversation. Yet despite her best efforts, she still couldn’t recall anything specific about his appearance or mannerisms.
However, there was one thing that she did clearly remember: The sound of his voice. It seemed to echo inside her mind, reverberating eerily around the corners of her consciousness. Even now, hours after waking up, those haunting tones continued to linger somewhere deep within her memory.
And although she hadn’t consciously realized it at first, the woman soon came to realize that the dream had left her with a very particular impression upon her psyche. A sense of familiarity… along with a vague recollection of the sensation of being touched by somebody.
But most importantly, she knew that she’d sensed a strong connection between herself and the young man standing before her right now. That’s why she’d decided to give him a nickname based on the sound of his own voice.
She thought back to the way he’d addressed her just moments ago. “It’s nice to meet you, Yumi.”
In spite of her lack of memories regarding him, the young woman was sure that she recognized that voice. There was definitely something familiar about it. Something warm and gentle—yet simultaneously powerful and reassuring.
Like the sound of a distant waterfall echoing through the mountainside. Or perhaps the whisper of leaves rustling against one another in the wind. Or even the low rumble of thunder rolling down from the heavens above.
The woman sighed deeply. After all, she had no idea what had become of the boy named Haruto Kataoka. Nor did she know how long he’d been wandering the world alone, searching for answers to questions that only he could answer. So far, she had managed to avoid meeting anyone else from her past.
However, it was impossible to say whether or not that would continue to remain true indefinitely into the future. For better or worse, they were bound to cross paths someday. And once that moment arrived, there was nothing either of them could do to prevent it from happening.
The End