Blind Luck2: No Way Back Chapter 5
Blind Luck2: No Way Back
Chapter 5
The way to the mall was relatively easy; Ogata's instructions gleaned from the map were very helpful. All Sai had to do was add in the details, like how many measured steps it was from the beginning of one block to the end of it, how many across was the road he had to cross, was there a traffic light, or none, or one with a clicker system.
Sai would also note where the pavement was broken or where potholes were, where there was a fence or a wall or bushes beside the road or where any streetlights or other poles were. Or a dustbin collection point or a phone booth.
Sai particularly noted the phone booths, for now he had people he could call!
There was the ever polite Touya, who could play a solid game of Go, and who'd go far. There could be so many brilliant games between them, Sai felt sure. Then there was the generous Ogata, the Go master, who was silent and unfathomable. Sai longed to understand him (and play him, oh yes!) And lastly there was Hikaru, the close friend whose friendship he could not remember. Sai wanted to rediscover that friendship at least as much as he want to play the boy again. And play all his new friends again, and again!
Just to enjoy the fact that he had friends, he recited his new friends numbers in his head, every time he encountered a phone booth (there were two) and for the heck of it, he also ran the numbers through his mind at every intersection (of which there were seven).
oOOo
30 minutes’ steady walking (for Sai; he did realize he walked slower than most, unless he was familiar with the area) brought him to the square with the fountain. He walked far enough onto the square that the sound of the falling water was in his left ear only. He then spun exactly 90° to his right and tapped his way towards where he knew the shopping mall would be.
He could feel the big structure by the wind playing around it and he heard the sound of the fountain reflected by its glass front; there was nothing quite as conducive to creating echoes as a pane glass wall.
The sliding doors whooshed open as Sai approached it, and Sai forced himself to walk on a little faster lest he be caught by the doors closing again. Inside, the atmosphere was quite different from outside, the air-conditioning was on at full blast and the quality of the echoes of people going about their shopping let Sai know he was in a very tall inner courtyard. He heard the faint rumbling of escalators and soft music flowed over him. He deduced that this was the most modern and uptown mall he had ever been in. He suddenly felt underdressed and dirty. But he reflected, in for a penny, in for a pound, he had after all promised to pick up Ogata's book.
Sai started forward slowly, remembering Ogata's warning about pillars. Also remembering that the bookshop was on the left he started heading left. Circumnavigating a pillar, he came to a glass wall, probably a shop window. He followed it further into the mall hoping to find a door somewhere. He ran into a metal construction on wheels before he found a door. He carefully touched it, to determine what it was. It held books at the top and newspapers at the bottom, Sai now felt confident he had found the book store.
As he carefully moved around the book & newspaper display he tried to find the wall again, holding out his hand. As his hand moved beyond the point Sai would have expected the wall to have been and the music he had been hearing in the courtyard faded away, he realized he had found the store’s entrance.
Stepping just inside the store Sai took in the new ambiance. There was the smell of things newly made, and where all sound in the courtyard had been shrill, here sounds were hushed, possibly by all the paper present, dampening the higher tones. Sai started moving, swinging his cane in a moderate arch, figuring that there would be plenty of book cases in the way. As the moved forward his cane hit something and curiosity drove Sai to investigate. It turned out not to be a book case but a table piled high with books in neat stacks of the same size and thickness per stack, the same book Sai would have guessed. Not all piles were equally high. He brushed his hand over the crisp covers, feeling embossing here and there. He briefly wondered what stories these tomes held, what truths, what fictions, what facts. For a moment a fierce longing ceased him, a hunger to know what was inside these books, a thirst for knowledge. He quickly quelled the longing; it was a miracle already that he, a blind man, could still play Go, asking for impossible things like the ability to read, seemed presumptuous and excessive.
Sai moved on but stopped to investigate another obstruction; this time it was a bookcase. He ran his hand along the spines of the books, occasionally running into a book that sat with its front cover facing the buyers, instead of its spine.
For a moment an image came to his mind of another bookstore, it was gone again instantly, like all the flashes he had seen when Hikaru had spoken of their past together. He _had_ been to a bookstore with his young friend, he was sure. Sai noted to himself to ask Hikaru about it next time they were alone.
'May I help you, sir?' came from the right of the bookcase he had been facing, momentarily startling him, causing him to swing his cane around which in turn rattled noisily against the bottom of the book case as it was forced around.
'Oh!' the man exclaimed before Sai could say anything. 'You are Mr. Ogata's friend; he said you would be by.' The man sounded very friendly.
Ogata had let the man know he was coming? Sai wasn't sure he liked that fact; was the man being a gracious host, making sure his guest was safe, or was he merely checking up on Sai, like he was a child that might easily go astray?
'Ogata-san let you know I was coming?' Sai was mortified to realize he had said his thought aloud, when the man responded to the question.
'Oh yes,' the man said, not seeming to notice any impropriety, 'though he did say to expect you at 10...'
Sai smiled at the thought of Ogata underestimating Sai's navigational ability yet again. Ogata probably meant no harm.
'I think I walked a little faster than expected.' Sai said.
'I'm Fujiwara Sai,' As he bowed Sai almost lost his breath as he said it; his name, his very own name! It was so new and wonderful to know it, even if the knowledge was only 16 hours old, not even a full day! Sai couldn't help smiling.
'Noburu,' the man introduced himself, 'I'm the owner here. Ogata-sensei is a valued customer.' After a moment he continued, 'Would you come to the counter with me? I have the sensei's order ready over there.'
Sai nodded and the owner started moving off very slowly, giving Sai the time to follow him easily.
Sai swung his cane in lazy arcs, circumventing 3 more obstacles. Without exploring further he noted them down as probably one table and two bookcases, on the internal map he had started for the mall. This map was connected to the map he had started this morning by the front sliding doors unto the square. Sai hoped he would get time to expand this part of his Tokyo map as much as he had the harbor area.
Suddenly Mr. Noburu's footfalls speeded up, indicating to Sai they were probably nearing the counter; he kept going at the pace he had been in the direction he had been. Noburu's footsteps moved off to Sai's left for a bit only to come back to in front of him just as his cane hit a wooden panel. There he stopped.
'You can come forward two more steps, Fujiwara-san,' Noburu said. Sai did so, folding up his cane and resting his right hand on the thickly varnished counter top. It felt old and of quality.
A book slid over the counter and lightly nudged Sai's hand, which he moved to rest it on top of the glossy dust jacket.
'This is it,' Noburu announced.
Sai let him hand glide over and around it.
The book had hard covers under the dust jacket with a very neatly pre-creased spine, incased in a cloth protection. Sai opened the book, its pages pushing into an arch, showing their stiff newness. He let his hand glide over the glossy pages, sliding them through his fingers.
'What is it about?' Sai asked.
'Small tropical fish of the Great Barrier Reef,' Noburu supplied.
'Ah yes, Ogata-san likes fish,' Sai said, thinking of the man's fish tank. He closed the book reluctantly, wanting to ask but not really daring. Noburu, seemed to catch his reluctance and prompted him, 'yes?'
'Uhm, could you describe the book to me, please?' Sai asked very tentatively.
'Certainly,' Noburu said sliding it around, out from under Sai's hand, and opening it diffidently.
'It has pictures of all kinds of brightly colored fish, swimming in an aquamarine environment on every page.' he flipped over a few pages, 'There's a short description of each species as well. They are fairly succinct. Shall I read one? The store is quiet enough.' the bookstore owner offered.
'Oh yes, please' Sai nodded eagerly.
While the owner read aloud about mating grounds and gulf streams, plankton and the significance of striping on fins, Sai slowly saw an image come up in his mind of small orange and yellow fish swimming in a sea of blue. This image was not like the memory flashes he had had when Hikaru had spoken the day before; they were much less vibrant and far less detailed. Sai reckoned they were just his imagination providing an image appropriate to the text being read. No matter where it had come from, he was mesmerized by the image anyway. The image faded out as the man stopped talking.
'Thank you so much, I very much enjoyed that,' Sai chimed, giving a small bow, grateful for the man's kind efforts.
As Noburu started doing something with the book and a big piece of paper, presumably wrap up the book for transportation, he said,
'It was nothing, I like reading aloud.' He manipulated the book and the paper, utilizing sticky tape which he tore off a dispenser.
'But don't you read?' he inquired.
Read? Sai was nonplussed by the question; he was blind, how could he possibly read? He must have said that last part aloud, for the owner answered, 'Of course you can read, if you use Braille.'
/Braille?/ Sai had never heard of that. He said so, his heart fluttering in anticipation, even if Sai himself did not know what of.
'Well,' the man started his explanation, tearing more tape off the dispenser with a screeching noise, 'Instead of ink on paper, the paper is embossed with little dots in formations of six, like little bumps you can feel. These six can be either there or not, and depending on the formation, you have a /hiragana/ character, which you read with your fingertips instead of your eyes.'
Sai's fingertips tingled, itching to start reading as he listened with an open mouth. He couldn't quite picture it from the bookstore owner's explanation but just the thought he might be able to read! He had heard others talk about books; books with stories, books with facts. He had longed to read them, and with this /Braille/ he just might be able to do it!
'And so I could read? Real books?' he added just to make sure he had understood correctly.
'Oh yes, and newspapers and magazines,' the man confirmed.
Sai was fascinated.
'So how do I learn this?' he asked the man excitedly.
Noburu, who had finished the parcel and had put it in a plastic bag, sliding it toward Sai, turned to his right and there was the sound of fingers on a keyboard, a sound that gave Sai a momentary flashback to listening to Mr. Uwayaku working in his office.
'Now let me see...' Noburu mumbled.
Then came a twinkling click sound Sai also remembered and a picture flashed in his mind for a moment of a Go game displayed vertically on what he realized must have been computer a screen but oddly enough his impression was more of a magic window to a box with lots of opponents inside. The young boy, Hikaru, had been producing the twinkling click every time he had placed a stone with an invisible hand in the window. There was a feeling of profound happiness that came with the images. Sai hoped Hikaru might help him to play like that again. Yes, that might be something he could ask the boy's help with... though Sai couldn't quite shake the feeling it hadn't all been fun. Somehow things had gone wrong with the 'magic window'. He'd have to ask him about that too, when they met next time.
Sai was elated he'd had a memory return to him without Hikaru's prompting. The memory was a very vague and seemed ambiguous, but it was there and Sai was pretty sure it was genuine. He'd have to check with Hikaru.
'Ah here it is,' the bookstore owner said, dispelling Sai's thoughts.
'"Two by Three, A beginner guide to Japanese Braille reading, with teacher notes for a sighted teacher, and 150 pages of Braille*", that sounds like the right one,' Noburu said. Sai wanted to 'see' it, needed to.
'So you have it here?' he asked.
'No,' Sai's heart sank, 'but I can order it, if it's in stock at the wholesaler. I should have it by Tuesday.'
Sai had no idea what a wholesaler was, but he wanted it badly enough to pursue it, so he ventured,
'Uh, is it /in stock/?'
'I'll look it up,' more clicking and typing followed, leaving Sai to wait anxiously for the verdict.
Finally Noburu said, 'Yes it is. Shall I order it?'
'Uh, how much does it cost?' Two clicks.
'Y3,700.'
/Ouch/, Sai thought.
'Ordinarily I'd ask for payment beforehand but as you are Ogata-sensei's guest you can pay when it gets here,' the owner suggested.
That struck Sai as a bad idea; he owed the titleholder already for bed and board for the last few days, and probably for many days to come. Ogata's suggestion of paying in games aside, Sai did not feel he could leave a bill at Ogata's local bookstore if anything did go wrong with their arrangement between now and when the book would arrive on Tuesday.
Sai quickly recalculated his finances, he still has just over Y12,000 in his bag. That was more than he had even owned in his life (as far as he remembered). And Y3,700 would take a good chuck of that, but to be able to read, that was worth so much more! And it was only a third of all the money he had on him. He promised himself he'd pay Kawai back every yen.
'I'll pay for it now,' Sai said with determination. He fished into the bottom of the front pocket of his bag and brought out the Y10,000 note. He put it on top of the wrapped book, holding it lightly down with his fingers. There was more tapping on the keyboard and a few more clicks.
'All right, I've ordered it.' The bill was gently pulled from under Sai's hand and a cash register rang. The bookstore owner gave him his change and a piece of paper.
'This is the receipt. It has the order number and the store's contact information on it. I put Mr. Ogata's address down as a contact for the store, is that acceptable?' Sai confirmed it was. He then asked the owner if he could read out the order number on the receipt and the store's address and phone, all of which Sai committed to memory as he put the paper safely in with all the other address cards he had collected.
Sai then tried to put the book in his bag. He was stuck with the cast on one hand and his cane in the other and he would not be able to carry the heavy plastic shopping bag as well, so it had to go in this shoulder bag. He pulled his canvas bag off his shoulder and put it on the counter top. He then tried again to put the book in the bag. But the book was heavy and fully as wide as his bag, and he couldn't grasp it with his left hand nor could he use that hand to hold open the bag as he manipulated the book with his right.
'Let me help you,' the owner said and pulled the book out of Sai's right hand and his bag away from his left. In a near panic Sai made a grab for his bag and he just managed to grasp the shoulder strap, as it slid across the counter. All he had in the world was in that bag, and while he did not think the owner would steal it, he was taking no chances. He held the strap firmly, and was very relieved when the owner said, 'There, all done,' and pushed his back at him across the counter. Sai quickly put the strap back over his head, adjusting the new weight. Well, it wasn't quite as heavy as that over ripe melon he had been given once, before being run off, nor was is likely to burst open at any moment, as the melon had!
Sai remembered that as having been one of the very few good days on the streets; he had had a full belly that day, even if all his clothing and himself had ended up horribly stick. Not that it had mattered too much, it had been the height of summer and had had a few coins for a launderette to fix the problem.
Sai unfolded his cane and bowed to the owner. 'Goodbye, thank you for your help,' he said politely.
'Goodbye, don't forget that the book will come in on Tuesday, usually before 11am. I will call Mr. Ogata to let him know when it has arrived.' Noburu said.
Sai, hoping that letting the bookseller call Ogata without asking permission first would be okay, thanked him again.
He was about to turn around when the owner asked, 'Where are you planning on going next?'
Sai wondered why the man asked, but as he had been very helpful so far, Sai decided to answer truthfully,
'Uhr, I was going to explore the shopping center, maybe find some sandwiches...?'
'Ah, then if I may make a suggestion,' the man started. Sai nodded, puzzled.
'You do not exactly look like a customer of this shopping center, if you'll pardon me saying.'
Sai felt his face heat up and his heart cease up. What the man meant was that Sai look raggedy, even if they were clean rags, thanks to Ogata's generosity. Sai couldn't find anything to say to refute the truth so he hung his head in shame.
'Maybe getting a new top might make things better,' the man said kindly. 'A friend of mine runs a men's clothing store here. I do believe I've seen Ogata-sensei with bags from there. How's about I take you over there and introduce you?'
Sai's head came up in surprise.
'You'd do that for me?' he asked, kicking himself for questioning the man's generosity even as he said it.
'But of course, you are a friend of a friend, and I hope you will be my friend too.' Sai was again surprised.
Honestly compelled him to say,
'But you know what I look like and I'm sure you can guess what I am...'
'All I can see is a nice young man who has been down on his luck but who has managed to make a friend of a man that I always thought was too self absorbed to make friends. Mr. Ogata was very anxious, when he called to let me know to look out for you, you know?'
Ogata had been worried for him? Sai wasn't quite sure what to make of that. On the one hand it was nice to have someone be concerned about him, on the other it felt very much like Ogata was checking up on him, like an over protective father. Sai hoped Ogata's 'concern' would not become a problem any time soon.
'I guess I didn't know that,' Sai stammered.
'Well okay, let me call my assistant to take over here and I'll take you to Shitateya's,' the owner said.
xXXx
Author’s note:
*I obviously didn’t invent Braille, but I did make up that book.
Don’t forget to review; I want to know if this story is worth perusing!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 5
The way to the mall was relatively easy; Ogata's instructions gleaned from the map were very helpful. All Sai had to do was add in the details, like how many measured steps it was from the beginning of one block to the end of it, how many across was the road he had to cross, was there a traffic light, or none, or one with a clicker system.
Sai would also note where the pavement was broken or where potholes were, where there was a fence or a wall or bushes beside the road or where any streetlights or other poles were. Or a dustbin collection point or a phone booth.
Sai particularly noted the phone booths, for now he had people he could call!
There was the ever polite Touya, who could play a solid game of Go, and who'd go far. There could be so many brilliant games between them, Sai felt sure. Then there was the generous Ogata, the Go master, who was silent and unfathomable. Sai longed to understand him (and play him, oh yes!) And lastly there was Hikaru, the close friend whose friendship he could not remember. Sai wanted to rediscover that friendship at least as much as he want to play the boy again. And play all his new friends again, and again!
Just to enjoy the fact that he had friends, he recited his new friends numbers in his head, every time he encountered a phone booth (there were two) and for the heck of it, he also ran the numbers through his mind at every intersection (of which there were seven).
oOOo
30 minutes’ steady walking (for Sai; he did realize he walked slower than most, unless he was familiar with the area) brought him to the square with the fountain. He walked far enough onto the square that the sound of the falling water was in his left ear only. He then spun exactly 90° to his right and tapped his way towards where he knew the shopping mall would be.
He could feel the big structure by the wind playing around it and he heard the sound of the fountain reflected by its glass front; there was nothing quite as conducive to creating echoes as a pane glass wall.
The sliding doors whooshed open as Sai approached it, and Sai forced himself to walk on a little faster lest he be caught by the doors closing again. Inside, the atmosphere was quite different from outside, the air-conditioning was on at full blast and the quality of the echoes of people going about their shopping let Sai know he was in a very tall inner courtyard. He heard the faint rumbling of escalators and soft music flowed over him. He deduced that this was the most modern and uptown mall he had ever been in. He suddenly felt underdressed and dirty. But he reflected, in for a penny, in for a pound, he had after all promised to pick up Ogata's book.
Sai started forward slowly, remembering Ogata's warning about pillars. Also remembering that the bookshop was on the left he started heading left. Circumnavigating a pillar, he came to a glass wall, probably a shop window. He followed it further into the mall hoping to find a door somewhere. He ran into a metal construction on wheels before he found a door. He carefully touched it, to determine what it was. It held books at the top and newspapers at the bottom, Sai now felt confident he had found the book store.
As he carefully moved around the book & newspaper display he tried to find the wall again, holding out his hand. As his hand moved beyond the point Sai would have expected the wall to have been and the music he had been hearing in the courtyard faded away, he realized he had found the store’s entrance.
Stepping just inside the store Sai took in the new ambiance. There was the smell of things newly made, and where all sound in the courtyard had been shrill, here sounds were hushed, possibly by all the paper present, dampening the higher tones. Sai started moving, swinging his cane in a moderate arch, figuring that there would be plenty of book cases in the way. As the moved forward his cane hit something and curiosity drove Sai to investigate. It turned out not to be a book case but a table piled high with books in neat stacks of the same size and thickness per stack, the same book Sai would have guessed. Not all piles were equally high. He brushed his hand over the crisp covers, feeling embossing here and there. He briefly wondered what stories these tomes held, what truths, what fictions, what facts. For a moment a fierce longing ceased him, a hunger to know what was inside these books, a thirst for knowledge. He quickly quelled the longing; it was a miracle already that he, a blind man, could still play Go, asking for impossible things like the ability to read, seemed presumptuous and excessive.
Sai moved on but stopped to investigate another obstruction; this time it was a bookcase. He ran his hand along the spines of the books, occasionally running into a book that sat with its front cover facing the buyers, instead of its spine.
For a moment an image came to his mind of another bookstore, it was gone again instantly, like all the flashes he had seen when Hikaru had spoken of their past together. He _had_ been to a bookstore with his young friend, he was sure. Sai noted to himself to ask Hikaru about it next time they were alone.
'May I help you, sir?' came from the right of the bookcase he had been facing, momentarily startling him, causing him to swing his cane around which in turn rattled noisily against the bottom of the book case as it was forced around.
'Oh!' the man exclaimed before Sai could say anything. 'You are Mr. Ogata's friend; he said you would be by.' The man sounded very friendly.
Ogata had let the man know he was coming? Sai wasn't sure he liked that fact; was the man being a gracious host, making sure his guest was safe, or was he merely checking up on Sai, like he was a child that might easily go astray?
'Ogata-san let you know I was coming?' Sai was mortified to realize he had said his thought aloud, when the man responded to the question.
'Oh yes,' the man said, not seeming to notice any impropriety, 'though he did say to expect you at 10...'
Sai smiled at the thought of Ogata underestimating Sai's navigational ability yet again. Ogata probably meant no harm.
'I think I walked a little faster than expected.' Sai said.
'I'm Fujiwara Sai,' As he bowed Sai almost lost his breath as he said it; his name, his very own name! It was so new and wonderful to know it, even if the knowledge was only 16 hours old, not even a full day! Sai couldn't help smiling.
'Noburu,' the man introduced himself, 'I'm the owner here. Ogata-sensei is a valued customer.' After a moment he continued, 'Would you come to the counter with me? I have the sensei's order ready over there.'
Sai nodded and the owner started moving off very slowly, giving Sai the time to follow him easily.
Sai swung his cane in lazy arcs, circumventing 3 more obstacles. Without exploring further he noted them down as probably one table and two bookcases, on the internal map he had started for the mall. This map was connected to the map he had started this morning by the front sliding doors unto the square. Sai hoped he would get time to expand this part of his Tokyo map as much as he had the harbor area.
Suddenly Mr. Noburu's footfalls speeded up, indicating to Sai they were probably nearing the counter; he kept going at the pace he had been in the direction he had been. Noburu's footsteps moved off to Sai's left for a bit only to come back to in front of him just as his cane hit a wooden panel. There he stopped.
'You can come forward two more steps, Fujiwara-san,' Noburu said. Sai did so, folding up his cane and resting his right hand on the thickly varnished counter top. It felt old and of quality.
A book slid over the counter and lightly nudged Sai's hand, which he moved to rest it on top of the glossy dust jacket.
'This is it,' Noburu announced.
Sai let him hand glide over and around it.
The book had hard covers under the dust jacket with a very neatly pre-creased spine, incased in a cloth protection. Sai opened the book, its pages pushing into an arch, showing their stiff newness. He let his hand glide over the glossy pages, sliding them through his fingers.
'What is it about?' Sai asked.
'Small tropical fish of the Great Barrier Reef,' Noburu supplied.
'Ah yes, Ogata-san likes fish,' Sai said, thinking of the man's fish tank. He closed the book reluctantly, wanting to ask but not really daring. Noburu, seemed to catch his reluctance and prompted him, 'yes?'
'Uhm, could you describe the book to me, please?' Sai asked very tentatively.
'Certainly,' Noburu said sliding it around, out from under Sai's hand, and opening it diffidently.
'It has pictures of all kinds of brightly colored fish, swimming in an aquamarine environment on every page.' he flipped over a few pages, 'There's a short description of each species as well. They are fairly succinct. Shall I read one? The store is quiet enough.' the bookstore owner offered.
'Oh yes, please' Sai nodded eagerly.
While the owner read aloud about mating grounds and gulf streams, plankton and the significance of striping on fins, Sai slowly saw an image come up in his mind of small orange and yellow fish swimming in a sea of blue. This image was not like the memory flashes he had had when Hikaru had spoken the day before; they were much less vibrant and far less detailed. Sai reckoned they were just his imagination providing an image appropriate to the text being read. No matter where it had come from, he was mesmerized by the image anyway. The image faded out as the man stopped talking.
'Thank you so much, I very much enjoyed that,' Sai chimed, giving a small bow, grateful for the man's kind efforts.
As Noburu started doing something with the book and a big piece of paper, presumably wrap up the book for transportation, he said,
'It was nothing, I like reading aloud.' He manipulated the book and the paper, utilizing sticky tape which he tore off a dispenser.
'But don't you read?' he inquired.
Read? Sai was nonplussed by the question; he was blind, how could he possibly read? He must have said that last part aloud, for the owner answered, 'Of course you can read, if you use Braille.'
/Braille?/ Sai had never heard of that. He said so, his heart fluttering in anticipation, even if Sai himself did not know what of.
'Well,' the man started his explanation, tearing more tape off the dispenser with a screeching noise, 'Instead of ink on paper, the paper is embossed with little dots in formations of six, like little bumps you can feel. These six can be either there or not, and depending on the formation, you have a /hiragana/ character, which you read with your fingertips instead of your eyes.'
Sai's fingertips tingled, itching to start reading as he listened with an open mouth. He couldn't quite picture it from the bookstore owner's explanation but just the thought he might be able to read! He had heard others talk about books; books with stories, books with facts. He had longed to read them, and with this /Braille/ he just might be able to do it!
'And so I could read? Real books?' he added just to make sure he had understood correctly.
'Oh yes, and newspapers and magazines,' the man confirmed.
Sai was fascinated.
'So how do I learn this?' he asked the man excitedly.
Noburu, who had finished the parcel and had put it in a plastic bag, sliding it toward Sai, turned to his right and there was the sound of fingers on a keyboard, a sound that gave Sai a momentary flashback to listening to Mr. Uwayaku working in his office.
'Now let me see...' Noburu mumbled.
Then came a twinkling click sound Sai also remembered and a picture flashed in his mind for a moment of a Go game displayed vertically on what he realized must have been computer a screen but oddly enough his impression was more of a magic window to a box with lots of opponents inside. The young boy, Hikaru, had been producing the twinkling click every time he had placed a stone with an invisible hand in the window. There was a feeling of profound happiness that came with the images. Sai hoped Hikaru might help him to play like that again. Yes, that might be something he could ask the boy's help with... though Sai couldn't quite shake the feeling it hadn't all been fun. Somehow things had gone wrong with the 'magic window'. He'd have to ask him about that too, when they met next time.
Sai was elated he'd had a memory return to him without Hikaru's prompting. The memory was a very vague and seemed ambiguous, but it was there and Sai was pretty sure it was genuine. He'd have to check with Hikaru.
'Ah here it is,' the bookstore owner said, dispelling Sai's thoughts.
'"Two by Three, A beginner guide to Japanese Braille reading, with teacher notes for a sighted teacher, and 150 pages of Braille*", that sounds like the right one,' Noburu said. Sai wanted to 'see' it, needed to.
'So you have it here?' he asked.
'No,' Sai's heart sank, 'but I can order it, if it's in stock at the wholesaler. I should have it by Tuesday.'
Sai had no idea what a wholesaler was, but he wanted it badly enough to pursue it, so he ventured,
'Uh, is it /in stock/?'
'I'll look it up,' more clicking and typing followed, leaving Sai to wait anxiously for the verdict.
Finally Noburu said, 'Yes it is. Shall I order it?'
'Uh, how much does it cost?' Two clicks.
'Y3,700.'
/Ouch/, Sai thought.
'Ordinarily I'd ask for payment beforehand but as you are Ogata-sensei's guest you can pay when it gets here,' the owner suggested.
That struck Sai as a bad idea; he owed the titleholder already for bed and board for the last few days, and probably for many days to come. Ogata's suggestion of paying in games aside, Sai did not feel he could leave a bill at Ogata's local bookstore if anything did go wrong with their arrangement between now and when the book would arrive on Tuesday.
Sai quickly recalculated his finances, he still has just over Y12,000 in his bag. That was more than he had even owned in his life (as far as he remembered). And Y3,700 would take a good chuck of that, but to be able to read, that was worth so much more! And it was only a third of all the money he had on him. He promised himself he'd pay Kawai back every yen.
'I'll pay for it now,' Sai said with determination. He fished into the bottom of the front pocket of his bag and brought out the Y10,000 note. He put it on top of the wrapped book, holding it lightly down with his fingers. There was more tapping on the keyboard and a few more clicks.
'All right, I've ordered it.' The bill was gently pulled from under Sai's hand and a cash register rang. The bookstore owner gave him his change and a piece of paper.
'This is the receipt. It has the order number and the store's contact information on it. I put Mr. Ogata's address down as a contact for the store, is that acceptable?' Sai confirmed it was. He then asked the owner if he could read out the order number on the receipt and the store's address and phone, all of which Sai committed to memory as he put the paper safely in with all the other address cards he had collected.
Sai then tried to put the book in his bag. He was stuck with the cast on one hand and his cane in the other and he would not be able to carry the heavy plastic shopping bag as well, so it had to go in this shoulder bag. He pulled his canvas bag off his shoulder and put it on the counter top. He then tried again to put the book in the bag. But the book was heavy and fully as wide as his bag, and he couldn't grasp it with his left hand nor could he use that hand to hold open the bag as he manipulated the book with his right.
'Let me help you,' the owner said and pulled the book out of Sai's right hand and his bag away from his left. In a near panic Sai made a grab for his bag and he just managed to grasp the shoulder strap, as it slid across the counter. All he had in the world was in that bag, and while he did not think the owner would steal it, he was taking no chances. He held the strap firmly, and was very relieved when the owner said, 'There, all done,' and pushed his back at him across the counter. Sai quickly put the strap back over his head, adjusting the new weight. Well, it wasn't quite as heavy as that over ripe melon he had been given once, before being run off, nor was is likely to burst open at any moment, as the melon had!
Sai remembered that as having been one of the very few good days on the streets; he had had a full belly that day, even if all his clothing and himself had ended up horribly stick. Not that it had mattered too much, it had been the height of summer and had had a few coins for a launderette to fix the problem.
Sai unfolded his cane and bowed to the owner. 'Goodbye, thank you for your help,' he said politely.
'Goodbye, don't forget that the book will come in on Tuesday, usually before 11am. I will call Mr. Ogata to let him know when it has arrived.' Noburu said.
Sai, hoping that letting the bookseller call Ogata without asking permission first would be okay, thanked him again.
He was about to turn around when the owner asked, 'Where are you planning on going next?'
Sai wondered why the man asked, but as he had been very helpful so far, Sai decided to answer truthfully,
'Uhr, I was going to explore the shopping center, maybe find some sandwiches...?'
'Ah, then if I may make a suggestion,' the man started. Sai nodded, puzzled.
'You do not exactly look like a customer of this shopping center, if you'll pardon me saying.'
Sai felt his face heat up and his heart cease up. What the man meant was that Sai look raggedy, even if they were clean rags, thanks to Ogata's generosity. Sai couldn't find anything to say to refute the truth so he hung his head in shame.
'Maybe getting a new top might make things better,' the man said kindly. 'A friend of mine runs a men's clothing store here. I do believe I've seen Ogata-sensei with bags from there. How's about I take you over there and introduce you?'
Sai's head came up in surprise.
'You'd do that for me?' he asked, kicking himself for questioning the man's generosity even as he said it.
'But of course, you are a friend of a friend, and I hope you will be my friend too.' Sai was again surprised.
Honestly compelled him to say,
'But you know what I look like and I'm sure you can guess what I am...'
'All I can see is a nice young man who has been down on his luck but who has managed to make a friend of a man that I always thought was too self absorbed to make friends. Mr. Ogata was very anxious, when he called to let me know to look out for you, you know?'
Ogata had been worried for him? Sai wasn't quite sure what to make of that. On the one hand it was nice to have someone be concerned about him, on the other it felt very much like Ogata was checking up on him, like an over protective father. Sai hoped Ogata's 'concern' would not become a problem any time soon.
'I guess I didn't know that,' Sai stammered.
'Well okay, let me call my assistant to take over here and I'll take you to Shitateya's,' the owner said.
xXXx
Author’s note:
*I obviously didn’t invent Braille, but I did make up that book.
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