Star

Love knows not distance; it hath no continent; its eyes are for the stars.. – Gilbert Parker

It was late in the afternoon by the time Soujiro allowed himself to take the luxury of stretching his arms and legs. He didn't realize how long the meeting had taken place, not surprising really, considering the heated discussion he had to endure with his international counterpart.

Nothing in his appearance could have given away any sign of exhaustion and lack of sleep. His suit was still impeccably unruffled and his face relaxed and unfazed even after a slew of attacks on his proposal. The sun was still up when he finally stepped outside the office building. A blast of summer heat burned his face as the automatic door at the entrance hall opened and revealed the start of busy Friday evening trade. A swarm of girls in short pants and bright colored camisoles walked past, some of them gave him an almost flirty look as they passed by. He still had that effect on women - perhaps even stronger than ever now in his mid twenties, no matter the age and nationality, curiously enough.

He cursed the difference in seasons between Japan and Australia. It had been a cold day when he left Tokyo for an intense Australian summer, which he probably could tolerate had it not been for the fact that he had to be constricted in business suit and tie.

He had left all his paper works to his personal assistant once the meeting was over, and right now he wanted nothing more than a relaxing walk back to his hotel. He had another night to kill and another meeting to attend the next day before flying back to Japan. He could feel a thin layer of moisture formed on his forehead and he wished he could have just taken a ride back to the hotel. But he was being unreasonable, since the hotel was only 500 meters away.

A wave of exhaustion momentarily passed his body. He had no desire to eat in the hotel for the evening and with that in mind he turned to a small but upscale Japanese restaurant, inconspicuous and minimalist in setting, tucked in the corner of the mall.

Soft, jazzy music was playing inside and he was thankful for the cool air conditioned room. Eagerly he headed for the sushi bar and seated himself comfortably on the black leather covered high chair. A bit too casual compared to his usual dining preference, but he was not in the mood for a five course dinner. He took off his Armani jacket and placed it on the chair next to him before he ordered his favorite o-toro and white wine.

The room was buzzing with conversation. He noticed a lot of business people, dressed in the same style of suit like himself – although for much less price tag- deep in conversation with each other. Once upon a time, a long time ago, he liked to go to another cozy sushi bar in one of Tokyo shopping districts to have an early, casual dinner with a certain someone. But that was a long time gone. He had forgotten how those dinners were like. The memory had gone from him (or rather, he had forced himself to let it go) along with the memory of his once companion.

'I can't believe he made me promise to go to the office tomorrow.'

A conversation from the booth behind him was in Japanese.

'I thought you have finished the draft yesterday?'

'I need to add a few more stats and charts into the report and completed the summary. That's about it really, but Yamada-san said he had something to talk to me after we finished with the report tomorrow.'

'I bet he just wanted to try some of his foolproof lines on you. You know, hey, I'm sure we have met before; do you come to the water cooler often? Or, babe, I have a condom with your name on it…'

'Oh God, I'd apply for restraining order if he ever said that…' girlish giggles interrupted the flow of conversation.

An uninteresting conversation, really, but Soujiro couldn't help but listening. There was something vaguely familiar about the voice.

'I want another toro….'

'You can have mine.'

'Really? This is absolutely delicious. How come you don't like toro?'

'I used to, once upon a time not too long ago.'

'Yeah? Well, your loss. It's mine now.'

A round of muffled laughters was followed by minutes of silence. He supposed they were busy eating their dinner. He made a sign for another round of sushi.

'You know what, Matsuoka, forget about your weekend work. We're going to gold coast tomorrow. It's going to be a double date with a couple of absolutely, heavenly guys who are far less creepy than your Yamada. I'll help you finish the report tonight and we can drop it in his office tomorrow. I'll talk to him later, OK. Please, we've been planning this for the whole week…'

'I'm not convinced with your 'absolute heaven' term, but if you insist…'

Soujiro's attention deepened as he heard the girl's name. It couldn't be. It had been so long, he had given up his quest after so many failed inquisitions. He thought about barging into the booth behind him if not for the realization that it was not Tokyo, his personal playground, and he could not very well do as he pleased.

He had finished his fourth round of toro when the occupants of the booth behind him rose from their seat, and for the first time in a very long time he found himself too excited to even make a sound.

She didn't look a day older than the last time he had seen her. She had kept her hair long and straight, with a series of curls at the end, the way he liked it. The only thing different was probably the way she dressed, which he supposed was the sign of a more mature life style than a college girl. She wore a simple thin linen white peasant top which he supposed would go well with the climate and a short black A-line skirt that ended just a few centimeters above her knees, with high heels that only accentuated her slim and well defined legs.

She walked to the cashier with her friend in tow, and after a few seconds of hesitation he rose to his feet to follow their steps.

He had imagined a million scenarios on why she had left without a single word. Or how they would somehow meet again and what their conversations were going to be like. He had millions of questions he wanted to ask and sentences to utter, but his mind was left blank as he walked just a couple of meters away from her. He could just step a bit faster to touch her hair and catch her wrist just so he could feel her soft baby skin again, but for some reason all he could do was just stared ahead and fell into steps as hers.

She was still talking animatedly to her friend as she turned her head to fix her long hair. Her laugh was still warm and contagious, and it seemed as if she were having the time of her life. That was until she met his eyes. Her hand froze mid air, hang between her shoulder and the top of her head, her pretty mouth was tightened in a look of pure shock.

'Matsuoka?'

Her friend's question was hung in a cool air conditioned air as she turned her back almost violently and ran towards the door.

'Yuki! Yuki!' He cursed at his inability to predict what could happen beforehand and he hurriedly pulled a few hundred dollar notes from his wallet and shoved them onto her friend's palm.

'Can you please?' he flashed a smile as he asked the astounded girl in front of him before started running in her direction. She was wearing quite a pair of heels and he was pretty sure he could have easily outrun her.

'Yuki! Oh fuck it, wait, Yuki!'