Arigatō (Thankyou for being my friend)

1684...1693.....170..0 and done for another four miles today. I head over to a bench nearby, satisfied with my consistency, just for a short break. This is my second week in Tokyo and honestly I've never felt more healthier or satisfied my whole life I think to myself

My phone starts ringing with it's questionable yet guiltily unchanged ringtone

"Hi honey, guess what, I made your favourite dinner tonight"

"Wait no way! You traitor I'm catching a flight back to san Francisco right this second and you can't have a single bite of it until I reach"

She seemed much unamused by my humour rather a bit tense by the tone of her voice

"Honey are you ok, does your stomach hurts a lot?"

"Oh no I'm.. I'm so perfect, tell me about yourself how's the life in Tokyo treating you? The last two weeks have been the miserabile weeks of my life, come home already"

"Well you know that I ca-

"Hello? Jackson? Hey I've gotta go now, sorry I'll talk later, bye..oh I love you"

"Love you too"

I sighed and looked up around in the park to cheer myself up, I wish I had been here any sooner I thought to myself, an old lady took a seat beside me, she was pretty old, maybe in her mid-60's hunched over and she looked extremely wise for she would've obviously seen so much more than me, her hands and feet seemed tough, as though she knows suffering yet you could see comforting kindness in her eyes. I've noticed some usuals in the park and she was one of them, sometimes alone, sometimes with an old friend as herself she would sit in one of the benches for an hour probably or mostly she'd take a walk in a short pace, with or without cane. However this was the first time that she sat beside me, so I greeted her

"Ohio"

She looked at me and nooded politely

"Ohayō gozaimasu"

Ofcourse she didn't get my accent, living here sure had it's cons as well. I was already late for work.

7pm

I was getting ready to prepare my dinner, my mind hurts from learning basic japanese language for the past 3 hours, luckily it will be my day off tomorrow so I can get to bed early

10pm

My eyes hurt, I haven't cried like this in a while, there's an empty void inside me that always seeks the truth and trust in people I love yet it always fails to preserve, whatever it seeks. Well maybe one day I can be an old wise man sitting on a park bench and helping ones around me, I smile to myself, I've gotta get up early tomorrow.

The next day-

1649..1653..1664 oh I'm so tired I take a break off and spotting the old lady once again I sit beside her, it seemed as though she was saving the seat for her friend but she didn't stop me from sitting either

"Ohayō gozaimasu"

-"Ohayō gozaimasu"

"Ogenkidesuka"

(How are you?)

I googled to make sure that I'm enunciating it the right way

"Hai genki desu"

"I'm sorry I'm not so fluent in japanese is there any chance that you might know English?" She blinked and smiled at me politely

"I guess that's a no well let's just talk like this, we are both more comfortable this way right?"

- "Amegafurimasu"

(It will rain today)

"Well I wish you could say a bit more, I'm sorry, I'm Jackson, and you are?" I used Google translator for this one

"Ichika" she said in a clear heavy voice.

My phone starts ringing again it's my wife

"She's cheating on me, my wife, ichika sama my tsuma (wife) is cheating on me-yo?" I enunciate

"Watashinotomodachi wa okurete" imasu"

(my friend is late)

"Hai, I've known about it since three months..-yo" I said

Ie ni kaerubekidesu ka"

(should I head home..)

"Well that's a bit complicated, you see she's three months pregnant, so I don't want to leave her to be alone, besides I do love her, I'm just hoping that things will change once the baby arrives"

"Saikin kibungawarui"

(I haven't been feeling well lately)

"I have been so sad lately" I said

It was already evident that no of us exactly understood each other

"Mō koko ni ko rarenai"

(I can't come here anymore)

"Well on the bright side I still have a week left before going home, let's meet every morning, I finally made a friend here"

"Watashi no yūjin wa arawaremasendeshita"

(my friend didn't show up today)

"Well I'll see you tomorrow granē"

"Sayonara nichan".

The smell of burnt bacon brought me back to reality, I quickly take them off the stove, still sleepy it was half past four, perhaps I should've slept a bit longer, ThankGod I didn't burnt my eggs otherwise it would've been another day of japanese cusion, which is as amazing as it gets but this morning I'm just craving a little American-homey touch.

It rained all night, there were brooks in every few steps, I decided to retreat halfway, then feeling as though guilty, for having made a promise to grandma to meet up today, I rush to the park holding on to my umbrella.

It was deserted however after walking past all the benches I noticed a familiar handkerchief with floral prints, clean yet faded, it was perhaps granny's handkerchief indeed I saw her using it yesterday, it was evident that she came here and waited I thought for hours, for a familiar face and since no one showed up, which ended up extinguishing the flames of her burning hopes she headed home, I wish I could wander around here, just incase she shows up again but I had to go for work, it was the most important afterall, or so I consolded myself,

'it's alright, she would understand'

The next day was much clearer and I arrived at the park on time, however today I reached no where further than two miles, I was simply expecting her to show up but she didn't, nor the day after that, the next morning though she was sitting on the bench with her friend, I felt glad and wanted to stick around, when the other lady left, I approached her, I was gonna ask her how has she been in her native language but from acquiring a closer look I noticed that she seemed unwell I assumed it would've perhaps been because of the rain.

We sat just for a few minutes in silence I was looking up for common japanese phrases, but she got up before I could find anything good

"Watashi wa osoraku kyō shinudeshou" she said and grabbed her cane to leave, without paying any heed to what she just said, I quickly replied "Mata chikaiuchini o ai shimashou"

(See you soon)

Then I quickly looked up what she just said and in just about two seconds I felt so low than I had probably ever did, this was even more heartbreaking than finding out that my wife Kristen was cheating on me

so she meant that...'today might be her last day'?

My last three days in Tokyo further confirmed her claim, she never did return and I was already ready to move back to my normal life, perhaps even though we barely understood a word that we said, I never felt more understood than by talking to her, and deep down I knew she cherished our awkward, meaningless yet so meaningful conversations.