Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Tales from the Café

‘Come on, Mum, hurry!’ the girl yelled as she skipped and pranced around the cafe.

‘I bet you’re happy now, huh?’ said young Nagare to the girl circling around in the centre of the cafe, his arms still folded.

‘Yeah,’ replied the girl with a happy smiling face and she scampered out of the cafe.

Gohtaro had some memory of this happening. At the time, he had not paid much attention, but he was pretty sure a woman who seemed to be the girl’s mother would soon emerge and he turned and looked towards the back room.

‘Stop, wait for me, please!’

A woman appeared. She had beautiful jet-black hair and a complexion so pale it was almost translucent. Probably in her late twenties, she was wearing a pale peach tunic and a beige frilly skirt.

‘Oh, what to do with that child. The new students’ welcoming ceremony is not even until tomorrow,’ she mumbled, throwing her hands up though not quite in dismay. Her expression revealed joy more than anything as she let out a sigh.

Upon seeing the woman’s face, Gohtaro felt startled.

Could it be?

He had seen her face before. She totally resembled the woman in the white dress who had been sitting in this very chair reading a novel before he came to the past.

Perhaps they were two different people who just happened to look alike. Human memory is a vague thing, after all. It was someone that he had just been looking at, but his head was confused.

‘Are you sure you’ll be OK?’ asked young Nagare to the woman as he unfolded his arms and squinted. His expression was difficult to read but his tone of voice revealed that he was concerned for her.

‘Of course, I’ll be fine. We’re just going out to look at the cherry blossom in the neighbourhood,’ she said reassuringly with a smile and a nod.

Based on the conversation, one would think the woman was in poor health, but from what Gohtaro could see, she didn’t appear to be in any discomfort. Having brought up Haruka as a single father, Gohtaro knew all too well about making sacrifices if it would bring a child joy.

‘So, thanks for taking care of the cafe, Nagare, it really helps,’ said the woman as she moved towards the entrance. She turned to look around one last time, nodded to Gohtaro and left.

As if switching places with the woman, Shuichi Kamiya came back from the toilet.

Uh…

All thoughts about the woman vanished from Gohtaro’s head the moment Shuichi appeared. The memory of his original mission flooded back.

Shuichi looked like the young man he remembered. Or in other words, he must have looked startlingly old to Shuichi.

‘What?’

The Gohtaro that Shuichi had just been talking with had suddenly aged while he was in the toilet. He stared at Gohtaro with a baffled expression.

‘Shuichi.’

As Gohtaro spoke, Shuichi held both hands up.

‘Wait, wait, wait!’ he said, cutting him short. Staring at Gohtaro with hostility, he seemed to freeze like a figure in stop motion.

This doesn’t look good…

Gohtaro had thought Shuichi would surely grasp the situation immediately if suddenly he appeared as his older self – after all, it was Shuichi who told him you could travel back in time in this cafe.

He had grounds for his faith in Shuichi, too.

Perception had always been Shuichi’s strong point. When it came to observational skills, an ability to analyse things, and his sense of judgement, Shuichi demonstrated above-average talent. On many occasions Gohtaro had witnessed this being put to good use in Shuichi’s seamless plays on the rugby field. Shuichi studied an opponent’s character and habits before the match and stored it all in his head. As playmaker, he executed tries perfectly while making fools of the opposing players. No matter how intimidating the situation, he never erred in his analysis or judgement.

Yet it seemed the current circumstances were too impossibly weird and hard to believe, even for him.

While placing both hands around the cup to check its temperature, Gohtaro spoke.

‘Shuichi, the truth is…’

He was going to explain the current situation, but the cup was cooling faster than he had anticipated. There was simply not enough time to explain things in enough detail to clear everything up. Beads of sweat once again began to gather on his brow.

What can I tell him?

He was in a pickle. If he explained everything, the coffee would certainly go cold. If Shuichi didn’t believe that he had come from the future, it all would have been for nothing.

Can I explain it well enough? No, I don’t think I can.

Gohtaro knew he was pretty lousy at explanations. Perhaps if he had lots of time, but he had no idea how long he had left before the coffee cooled. Shuichi was still eyeing him suspiciously – probingly, even, as if his gaze was burning deep into Gohtaro’s heart.

‘I don’t expect you to believe me however much I try to explain, but…’ Gohtaro began spitting out words, knowing that he had to say something.

‘You’ve come from the future, haven’t you?’ Shuichi spoke to him very carefully as if he was a stranger who didn’t understand the local tongue.

‘Yes!’ Gohtaro replied loudly, instantly excited by Shuichi’s excellent perceptiveness.

Shuichi rubbed his head with his fist, mumbled incoherently and continued his questions.

‘From how many years?’

‘Huh?’

‘From how many years in the future did you come?

Open to the possibility but sceptical at the same time, Shuichi started gathering information. This is exactly what he used to do before a rugby game – put together the necessary information, piece by piece.

He hasn’t changed.

Confronted by Shuichi’s questions, Gohtaro decided to answer them. That would be the fastest way to gain his understanding.

‘Twenty-two years.’

‘Twenty-two years?’

Shuichi’s eyes widened. Gohtaro had never seen him look so surprised, even when he had spotted him living in rags on the street.

Although Shuichi had told Gohtaro about the rumour surrounding this cafe, he never expected to find himself face to face with someone from the future. Also, considering Gohtaro had somehow aged twenty-two years while he was in the toilet, it was little wonder he was surprised.

‘You certainly have aged,’ mumbled Shuichi, his expression softening a little. It was a sign that he was letting his defences down.

‘I guess I have,’ replied Gohtaro a little self-consciously.

Here he was, a middle-aged man of fifty-one, acting like a shy child in front of this twenty-nine-year-old. For Gohtaro, he was once again meeting his guardian angel, who had helped him get his life back.

‘But you look fit and well, yeah?’ said Shuichi, whose eyes were bright red. ‘Hey… what’s up?’

Gohtaro almost got up from his seat, surprised by the look on Shuichi’s face. He had imagined that Shuichi would be shocked suddenly to see him old like this, but he hadn’t expected a reaction like this.

Shuichi moved closer and keeping his eyes locked on Gohtaro’s he sat down opposite him.

‘Shuichi?’

The pit-a-pat of tears falling could be heard.

Apprehensively and hesitatingly, Gohtaro began to speak, when Shuichi said with a trembling voice, ‘Dapper suit you’re wearing…’

Again, the pit-a-pat continued.

‘Looks good on you.’

Gohtaro had appeared there in front of Shuichi, the future form of the close friend whose life he was about to turn round. The Gohtaro he had just encountered on the street outside was ragged and forlorn. This was why Shuichi was now experiencing a deep heartfelt joy at the sight of Gohtaro before him.