That would be a resounding, “YES!”
As you can tell by my posts lately, I’ve been hanging out with Yuko quite a bit…or so it seems to me. Anyway, I met up with her on Friday after Sagano, and Mika was there, too. We ended up meeting in the Kinokuniya foreign book section, and part of me laughed ‘cuz that’s where this whole thing all started.
I was nervous as hell. Why? ‘Cuz we added someone new to the mix. I mean, I was just starting to get used to Yuko, I could barely handle meeting with her and Imagine, and now I got another person to deal with. On the bright side, at least she understands me fully, what with the whole native English speaker and all.
Yay for uncomfortable situations! Oh wait…
Yeah, it was wicked uncomfortable. Mostly ‘cuz I seriously don’t think I fit in with these people on any level. We were walking to a restaurant somewhere in Umeda; I made some crack about how they could easily ditch me if they wanted to, what with the whole I don’t know the area well and all. Then I asked them if perhaps they were leading me to some kidnapping point ‘cuz as it’s been a lot before, it felt like we were walking forever.
I don’t really remember all that I was saying or talking about, but as we were crossing the street to the restaurant, Mika turned to me and asked, “Do you find that your sarcasm is lost on the Japanese?”
I grinned, “Yeah.”
She observed that I was a highly sarcastic person. That amused me because I didn’t even notice I was being so.
The restaurant itself was an organic foods one. The atmosphere reminded me heavily of One World Cafe in Peoria.
The three of us ordered the special and lapsed into artificial conversation, or rather, Mika and I did. Yuko seemed wickedly content to sit beside me and just listen; although, I’m not sure how much she was actually able to follow.
First impressions of me always amuse me. Admittedly, I’m not them so I don’t know exactly what they’re thinking, but I know which part of me they were seeing.
Stupid spaz.
I’m a walking contradiction on many levels. I don’t like people, and yet I can teach; tell me what part I’m supposed to play and I can usually pull it off. I was beginning to calm down, though and relax.
Mika offered to show me one of the other import groceries, as I had mentioned that I like peanut butter sandwiches and generally prefer preserves over jelly or jam and how I hadn’t been very successful in my pursuit of strawberry preserves. She said that the one in Umeda probably carried Smucker’s.
Yuko had to part company with us, much to my surprise, and with the realization that it was just going to be me and Mika, my senses were heightened again. I was still wary of her, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I got distracted by the words “bookstore” as we were walking back towards the station, and Mika was kind enough to humor me. We wandered around this department store of sorts for a bit, chatting idly about Chicago and going home, tip stuff like that (as in icebergs).
I asked her vaguely about her friends; she hangs out with the dance girls for the most part, but she also sees people from work and the like. Gotta love artificial conversations.
Walking around the import store we talked about New Trier and the insanity that is their highly competative structure. We were walking down one of the aisles and she idly said to me that her aunt suggested she start jogging. I found it a very odd comment and asked her why her aunt would say such a thing, something in me prickling if it was meant as a “you need to lose weight kind of thing”. (For the record, their all freaking dancers, so the weight thing soooo not an issue.)
I can’t remember exactly what she had said, but it something to do with being happy.
Naturally, I replied with, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands.”
Well look at that. We do have something in common. So it’s not entirely true that there’s nothing. During dinner, Mika revealed that she knows her Broadway shows. When she told me that she saw the Original Cast of RENT, I looked her dead in the eye and calmly stated, “I know we’ve only just met, but part of me hates you.”
We were leaving the grocery store when I stopped and turned to her: “Can I ask you something?”
She assented. The next thing I know I’m asking her about the religious thing. How would she categorize Yuko and Imagine? She explained that if we had to give a label as we understand it back home, she would say non-denominational.
Red flag.
She asked me why I wanted to know, and I found myself telling her. However, the comfort I had in this was that there was no language barrier. She would understand what I was saying perfectly.
We musta been standing there for a good fifteen minutess before she suggested sitting down somewhere for coffee.
Mika and I ended up talking for quite a while. She told me her experience in all this, how she flat out told them that she didn’t believe in God.
But she does now.
“I don’t believe God brings anyone into my life without purpose.”
“I think we met for a reason.”
Yuko’s words ring in my ears yet again.
“You said it yourself,” Mika noted, “your friend was standing right next to you, and she chose to talk to you.”
I came to Japan to try and figure things out. Who’s to say this won’t help?
It is with this reason that I am meeting with Imagine on Wednesday afternoon. I want to see what makes them think and believe that our meeting wasn’t coincidence.
Fate.
Chance.
Destiny.
I don’t know what to think or believe when it comes to these things. I know I’d like to find some answers, though.
Guess we’ll see what happens…
I’ll try not to be too cynical.
