Because the safas were busy, I was drinking coffee at the window seat.
A young skinny guy came near the window, and stood the middle finger against me for some reason. I didn’t understand other gestures of him. He was wearing UNIQLO. Whether he thought I was Japanese or Chinese, he doesn’t deserve what he wears.
I got out of the shop and waited for the light to turn blue.
Someone talked to me in the perfect British accent.
I looked back and down, a little old lady was there. I was almost panicing, it was the first time to hear such an old lady speaking perfect English here.
She asked me if I was from Peru. Maybe it was because of my hat.
I said I was from Japan.
She was “Japanese men are so handsome.” (LOL)
She asked me tones of questions like what I do, how old I am, why I’m here etc..in the perfect British accent.
She was an 89 years old lady. She was married to a British guy but divorced him. She said it was quite recent but it was the very year when I was born.
Then she started talking about her Jack Dawson.
It was the next year of the revolution in this country. The economy was still paralyzed after the long communism era.
She was an economist of the national university, and met a Japanese guy from economics department of Osaka university. He came to research the former communism country after revolution. He asked her about her idea, which way the country should go, the fast way, or the slow way.
That time, “the fast way” was utterly unpopular, but she was supporting the way.
As they thought, she had no backing of opinion at the academic meeting.
A few years later, she met the guy at another academic meeting again. He was with another local woman, and she was a fanatic supporter of “the slow way”. After all, the woman became the economic advisor of the first president of the country.
Ms. P, the British accent lady felt like she was defeated. She was regretting that she couldn’t take initiative and push more radical way ignoring all the criticisms.
Over 20 years have passed. It looks obvious that the slow way was a wrong way. Nobody knows what the fast way would have brought but it looks like the majority is not always right.
She said she is living in the quiet place quietly now.
I stopped in front of my apartment, so she did. We were living in the same apartment, just the floor was different.
I’m moving out of this apartment on 2/14.
For her magical insight, I think I’ll leave flowers in front of her door.
Iori Mochizuki