The Future Is Now, In A Parking Lot

There’s always a blue tinge when it’s sunny.

Have you ever noticed that?

You could see it as the universe showing a tiny glimpse of its serenity. But, you could equally see it as youth.

Youth.

At the end of the day, you can’t even write the word ‘youth’ without a bit of blue.

I’m at Umegae Park. Some people call it the Railway Park. It’s a surprisingly peaceful park, despite its location being the junction of three railways. You can sit at a bench and laze around, letting time go past. I didn’t bring my headphones or my media player so I just let the music of nature play its course.

It’s pleasant. The cold, yet welcoming, breeze whistled past my cheeks. I can feel the chill and it tells me this.

I am alive!

We’re at the dawn of change, which is what people older than me like to say. ‘Things’ll get better!’ is what they also say but I’m not so sure. Yet, what I am certain of is that the struggles of life will be roughly the same in fifty years. Oh, how I’d kill to see how things change without having to experience the tiny bits of life. With autumn comes the fall of brown decaying leaves, ready to give way to a new generation.

And the cycle repeats. It repeats without judgment, whether you observe or not.

That’s youth, I suppose. It might be the peak of life, but all parts are important. Whether it was my parents with their Walkmans or us with our flip-phones, I guess all things stay the same. You see diverging paths open up all around you. I could do this, that, whatever. I mean, it’s a bit rich, for me saying this when I haven’t even graduated yet.

Friday, March 11th 2006.

It feels like forever away, but it’s only a year and a couple of months.

I’m at the midpoint of senior high. I can look back and get nostalgic about what’s happened in my life so far or I can be happy and chase the future, with all its possibilities. After all, if my path diverges, regardless of my actions, why don’t I go along for the ride? It’s probably fun, right?

Ah.

Shit.

I need to go to the toilet.

Don’t want to be too descriptive here, but it might be a long release.

I gotta rush!

~~~

I’ve never been to this supermarket before. But from just a few seconds, it might be the coolest thing in the world I have ever seen! Or is it a strip mall, like what you see in those American movies?

Let me pretend to be my literature teacher for a second.

A beauty appears before me.

She lays her skin bare, with ample treat for the eye to eat.

From her glorious hair to the luxurious lair.

Full of goods, that range from gluttony to defeating despair.

Oh, glory be, for the Kanusue Shinsei soothes the soul.

For what I truly wish, I want a nice ready-made meat bowl.

Eh. I could’ve written it better, but it came straight from the dome. Like those freestyle rappers… yo! I bet you, my literature teacher would be super proud that the youth have decided to make up poetry in their head over the mundane! Next, I’ll be describing the taste of the air or something like that.

The cool factor of this supermarket is mostly due to the car park on the roof. I mean, mind blown, right? Need more space? Just build a ramp to your roof and pave it over. Boom! Now you have probably 50% more space for car parking.

What a cosy nighttime atmosphere.

A bit risky, for a young fair maiden like me! Oh, that’s the literature influence striking again.

Have you ever read those manga that are purposely set only at night? Never during the day, just pure vibes and an atmosphere of peace.

Peace and quiet.

Nothing to disturb you and rarely a soul you encounter. It’s a space where no one requires you of anything. Your circadian rhythm dictates it! You should be at rest, sound asleep. And yet, I’m not.

Hey! Do my eyes deceive me?

Is that a boy in school uniform at 9 PM? What has he been doing? Naughty! At this time of day? In the summer?

How shameful! You should be at home, mister!

This unknown teenager suddenly ran towards my direction. Perhaps a tad bit creepy and now my survival instincts are telling me to run into the supermarket.

So I ran.

Screaming, of course.

“Hey! I’m not trying to hurt you! I just want someone to answer me a question!”

This figure spoke roughly.

But, he was a bit handsome. He seemed around my age but he had slightly spiked hair. On the long side of things too. It was like looking at a late 30-something-year-old’s rendition of a teenager if he hadn’t left the house since his age of coming.

You know what? He doesn’t look like a bad guy. And, someone wearing their school uniform at this time, during a school holiday? He might have some entertaining story to say.

I’ll hear him out!

“I mean, sure, but it’s, like, totally weird to be chasing a teenage girl at night. And why are you wearing your uniform? Aren’t you an Ichinomiya High student? I thought you guys had more tact?”

Oh… I think I came off harsh. But he deserves it. And you know what? I’m right too! Who runs up on a girl unless they have nefarious intentions? This boy needs some manners.

“Is it Wednesday, 20th October 2004?”

Huh?

I spoke to him with utter concern.

“Are you stupid?”

“Stupid, because it is 2004, or stupid because it isn’t?” He replied.

“It’s a summer holiday! And it’s 5th August 2024, a Monday.”

The cooling night breeze brushed between both of us. Nice timing.

He stared at me with such conviction. He thinks I’m lying.

“It is 2024. I don’t know what happened to your mind to transfer you back to a period before you were born. Wait a second! Maybe you're on the spectrum? In that case, yeah, it is 2004!” I chuckled, playing along with him so he could feel better.

I just realized that came out super rude so hopefully, he doesn’t notice.

“What does the spectrum mean? And, I do believe you. It’s just weird hearing an actual verbal confirmation from someone.” He shrugged, turned his back on me and kept walking towards the road.

I… I think I should help him. He looks completely down on his luck. Someone at my age should never look like that. Seeing him has changed the perfect night atmosphere into a gloomy melancholy!

“Hey,” I had to shout out. “Wait a bit!”

“What’s your name?”

He returned.

In a strong voice, he said, “My name is Tokuyama Takuya. I live in Morimoto. Or lived is more correct to say.”

I laughed a bit. “Yeah, I suppose that’s the correct term. I’m Inoue Ayami.”

“Ah. Inoue-san.” He finally gave eye contact. “I was meaning to ask, but what’s with pink dyed long hair?”

A bit of warmth hit my cheeks. “None of your business! I think it’s cute. What’s with your name? You have ‘kuya’ repeated in your family and given name! I didn’t comment on it until now!”

He frolicked his arms around, trying to calm the situation down. “Woah! I was genuinely interested in why you dyed it! I think it’s a bit cute. Pixie, but cute!”

Hmph.

“I’m now having second thoughts if you think it’s cute. I mean, you think it’s 2004!”

“What do you mean, think? It literally is 2004. You’re the weird one.”

Okay. We might have to talk a bit more about this discrepancy. Just take a look at him… he genuinely believes it’s 2004.

“Who’s the Prime Minister?”

“How should I know?” Tokuyama said.

“Well, that’s not helpful… Give it a go!”

“Hmm…” He pondered, with his chin resting on his fist. You know, the typical ‘thinker’ pose. “It’s Koizumi, right?”

“He retired 16 years ago. He stopped being a politician when I was an infant,” I somewhat scolded Tokuyama. “Do you genuinely believe that Koizumi is still the PM?”

“What do you mean, ‘genuinely?’” He stared at me completely puzzled. Then he looked at my scalp for some reason.

“Also, are your headphones broken?” Oh. I guess that’s the reason.

I stumbled on my words as I struggled to even comprehend why he said that. “Why do you ask that?”

“There’s no wires connected to it.”

Huh?

“It’s wireless,” I said, walking towards him and let him have a listen. “I’m pretty sure Bluetooth was a thing in 2004. Roleplay failed!”

He scratched his head as he listened to the song.

“What is a ‘Bluetooth’? And, you are right! This is wireless!?!” His eyes turned wide, “Is this magic?”

Not magic. Just a bunch of electromagnetic waves. So science… which effectively looks like magic if you don’t know.

“Kinda magical.” I checked my phone to see when Bluetooth was released. “Look see, here’s a Bluetooth headset from 2000.”

He shrugged.

“I guess I was wrong? I mean, I’ve never heard of it because I just listen to my MP3 player with the wires.” Then, he stared deeply at my phone.

“What are you holding? Is that a computer?”

I coughed strongly before another gust of wind added more to the strangeness of this situation.

“It’s an iPhone.”

He squinted his eyes in confusion. “iPhone? Love phone?”

“Oh. I can see why you think it means ‘Love phone’. No, apparently it means…” I searched on my phone quickly. “Umm, internet, individual, instruct…” I didn’t know it meant multiple things, to be honest. But I do need to pick one to seem all-knowledgeable. “Ah, yes. The i stands for the internet. You’ve used the internet before right?”

He smiled. “Finally, a technology that actually makes sense. So this phone is connected to the internet?”

“Yes… I mean there's plenty of other things with this phone, but that’s about it. It also has a camera.”

I think I keep blowing this poor soul’s mind, either he’s really from 2004 or he’s really good at this bit. Which, by the way, is honestly such a random way to approach a girl at night? I mean, thank God that I used to do track-and-field, so I could run away, otherwise I would’ve just ignored him. I don’t think I would’ve survived prehistoric times with my faulty survival instincts, but I can’t help but feel like this guy just needs serious help. It’s like I need to care for this guy. Look at him! He looks tense and scared. He’s half shaking and his eyes are darting around the place as if to say ‘Help! So many random things have changed!’

I can’t help it either. I’ll tell you, if ever I'm lost on a sidewalk between a car park and a busy street at night, I’d be concerned at what series of events happened for me to end up here.

After a small pause, I said, “You know what? How about I take you for a treat in the supermarket.”

He nodded. “I accept your offer, mysterious pink-haired lady.”

“Thanks, mysterious stranger from seemingly 20 years ago.”

Off to the store.