The Same in
Japanese
Part 4
I wake up and turn off my
alarm. Friday. 6:00.
I get ready for work and leave the apartment without
breakfast. Too bad the cafes don't open until 10:00. A crow
flies down. It picks at some garbage, hopping away when
people walk by, then hopping back again. And again. I try
to keep away from it but suddenly, the crow looks up at me
and our eyes meet. It looks at me, not moving, then goes
back to picking at the garbage.
At Harajuku station I buy some candies, then drop them as I
try to take out my train pass. There are too many people; I
can’t stop to pick them up. I leave my candies on the
floor, go down the stairs, and get on the train. I remember
something about my dream, but it’s gone just as
quickly. I read the advertisements above the window and on
the walls outside. They pass by my window again. And again.
When I get to Shinjuku there are police, hundreds of them.
They're taking down Box City and putting the homeless in
trucks. A woman police officer has a loudspeaker. She is
saying something to the office workers, and as they walk by
she bows deeply. She stands up and our eyes meet. She has a
big smile. Then she starts it all again. And again.
I cover my mouth and nose and walk quickly, but it's hard
to move: too many people. Suddenly, in front of me is a
policeman pushing the chair with the samurai on it. He
still has his strange hair, but his sword is gone.
The samurai looks up at me and I remember the dream. I want
to ask the policeman, "What is this for?" I stop. But I
don't say anything.
Somebody walks into me and my things go flying. The
policeman stops and helps me pick them up. As I look up, I
see one of my business cards is on the samurai's leg. He
picks it up and holds it out to me with both hands. "Keep
it." I say in English. "It says the same thing on the back
in Japanese."
