The End of the Neverending Day

May 5 cont...

Once everyone had had enough to eat, they stopped prising food onto me and settled into an easy after dinner conversation. They could have been talking about the latest styles in Kimono currently on catwalks in Tokyo and I wouldn't have had the faintest clue. All I was focused on was not falling asleep.

In social situations, when I was a kid, all the other kids would play outside but I always wanted to sit in the corner and be around and watch the adults. Once my father (who was a staunch supporter of the Children Should Neither Be Seen nor Heard campaign) realised I wasn't actually listening to what was being said, he would usually allow me to stay. I was always hypnotised by the sing song of their voices and inevitably would come to with my father shaking my shoulder gently saying Wake up daughter, it's time to go.

After the day of constant waves of physical and emotional demands rolling over me, I felt battered. The sing song of my friends voices was even more hypnotising because I couldn't understand a word and Myoko San asked a number of times if I was going to bed. If she had also offered me the use of her magic carpet, I know I would have left immediately but the thought of going up those stairs a few more times was, for now, too much to contemplate.

Eventually though I was jolted back to reality when everyone started to get up.
Because I didn't know what the protocol was for payment, I asked when or where I should pay for my lodging. Myoko San and Iwamoto San exchanged glances then Myoko San said Don't worry, settai. Knowing this equated to around $100 NZD, now I did burst into the tears that had been threatening all evening. Everyone looked surprised and a little embarrassed and I just wanted to become one with the tatami. I thought I had completely blown the respect of my friends with my emotional weakness but when I saw Myoko San's slightly moist eyes, I realised they just weren't used to such an outward response. I was so overwhelmed all I could do was bow, squeezing out hoarse Arigato and Sumimasens before numbly following Miyuki San up to our room.

At last this day that felt like it had 65 hours in it was finally coming to a close.
I got my laundry and hung it up, went to the bathroom and was just having a wind down conversation with Miyuki San and the phrase book when Myoko San came in. Tomorrow was going to be our last day together so she wanted to exchange addresses to send photos. Myoko San then got comfortable and went on to tell Miyuki San about the days events. They laughed a lot and gestured constantly toward me and I could tell, just by the expressions and a few generic words what Myoko San was telling Miyuki San about. When she got to the tale about the photographer, Miyuki San looked at me with wide eyes saying Ehhhh! which is like our Noooo! and I nodded.

Fortunately I'm not so good at hiding when I'm exhausted, and Myoko San said Good night before I could fracture my nodding forehead on the table we were lounging around. Miyuki San was asleep within 13 seconds with limbs everywhere and I wrote to the deafening cacophony of frogs in the rice paddies outside the open window. As I was writing, I kept noticing partial eclipses of the light bulb and I looked up to see a bug that could have been an extra in the Lord of the Rings kamikaze-ing around our room. I was so tired, I didn't feel alarm and calmly caught it in my towel and released it out the window which I then shut. Tight.

At last I turned off the light and the last thing I asked the Kukai for was for a Bambi genre sleep that didn't involve special appearances from either The Fly, Birds or any creature that Gollum might be related to or consume...