Nonsensical Fun

Marissa grabbed my hand and pulled me along. We ran down the hazy red alley, with the bright lit Lolita signs and the handful of men standing outside the doors leading to some unknown pleasures, smoking and beckoning customers to enjoy the evening’s entertainment. “Come on, we’re going to miss the last train.” Marissa was never one to be subtle. “Shit. I forgot my purse. It’s at the Pub. You go.” I tell her. I turn around, sprinting back to the bar stool where I probably left it. My train pass, my student ID, my last 10,000 yen for the month folded in fours nestled neatly in the hidden pocket of my wallet.

I hear footsteps. “Hey – wait.” Marissa is right behind me. We burst into the noisy bar like schoolgirls. And there it was. Exactly where I had left it. No one had taken it. I laughed and hugged Marissa. “Come on, let’s have another drink. We’ve already missed the last train. Let’s just stay out all night. Our Okaasans won’t mind.” We scooted into a booth, stirring and sipping from our drinks, her favorite, Kahlua milk with barely any ice, and my usual, the Appletini with an extra shot. Our eyes scope out the room and we smile at the two handsome Japanese salarymen sitting at the bar. I take out a cigarette. “You’re gonna smoke?” Marissa whines. I nod. No sooner do I lit up and the one in the rectangular frames walks towards us. “May I borrow your lighter?” I casually hand it over to him. My finger accidentally brushes against his. He takes out his box of Marlboro Reds and offers Marissa a joint. She shakes her head. He lights up and blows out a long wave of white smoke. “Thank you.” He leans forward and hands me back the lighter. I take a hold of it, he holds on to it, and then release it to me. “What are you girls doing?” “We’re hanging out.” I answer. My eyes daring him to ask what I knew he wanted to ask. He throws a glance back at his friend, watching us from the bar. “Can my friend and I join you?” Before Marissa can protest, I nod and with a teasing smile, wave at his friend.

It’s not long though, when I lose interest in the salarymen and send them to the high school girls pretending to be college women hanging by the pool tables.

We stop on the still busy street of Kawaramachi and Karasumi and catch a glimpse of the neon green car surrounded by hip Japanese youngsters. We each grab free kleenex packs handed out on the street corner and head towards the multi-level arcade building. We stop to order our favorite crepes – mine with green tea and chocolate – hers with strawberry and cream. We walk around the complex until we find what we were looking for. The Print Club photo booths. “The newest one is out. Let’s try that one!” Marissa squeals and pulls me into the booth. “Okay, smile!” Flash. Flash. Flash. Marissa decorates our pictures and we wait for the print outs. “Here you go. Half are yours. Half are mine.” She cuts them up neatly as we wait for a karaoke room.

We sing until our throats hurt. I’m tired, but it’s not yet 4 a.m. The trains don’t start until 5:30 a.m. “Let’s go,” I tell Marissa. We walk on the lonely well lit streets of Kyoto. “What do you want to do?” “Let’s go check out that club at X station. I heard it’s good.” Marissa protested. “It’s so far! We’d have to walk 3 train stops!” “What’s the difference?” I ask, “We walk all the time and we just have to follow the river, so we won’t get lost. It’ll be fun, and besides, we’ve got a lot more time to kill.”

Walking along the Kamogawa, I can see the moon shining and the mountains asleep in the distance. I stop. My heart suddenly constricts. “I’m going to miss it here,” I whisper. Marissa nods, “Me too.” For ten months we lived in this bowl of wonderland fun. Time seemed to stand still as we blossomed and frolicked our days away. “I’m never going to forget,” I earnestly inform Marissa. And we sat by the river bank, reminiscing about our days in the world of dreams. The fog slowly lifts, and the sun starts to rise beyond the eastern mountain. “Okaasan’s going to lecture me!” Marissa whines. She yawns and lays her head on my shoulder. I chuckle and lean my head back against hers.