Ink Portals

A man's world

17

Ming Yamoto caught her reflection in a shop window as she strode by. She stopped and adjusted the lapels of her beige overcoat and felt her father's necklace on her skin, it was tucked away, as always, close to her chest. She wasn't pleased with the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, or the little pouch of sagging skin under her chin; the years spent clawing her way to the top of the jewellery industry had not been kind to her.

Ming's older brother, the man who was supposed to take over the family business from her father, was a drunkard and a womanizer. He died in a car crash coming home one night, pissed out of his mind as usual; the car struck a lamp post head-on and sent him flying through the windshield. He came to rest on the sidewalk with his limbs contorted in the gloomy streetlight. Hungry stray cats had converged on his body a short while later, nibbling at his lips and earlobes. The cats sat, ominously grooming themselves when the first witness, an old man on his bicycle, came across the scene at sunrise.

For a moment Ming saw her brother smiling back at her in the window with his half-eaten face, covered in grime and blood. He was in a wrinkled suit with his tie half-way undone, swaying gently on his feet. He held up his drink and belched loudly, as if taunting her. She shuddered inwardly, doing her best to put the memories of her wayward sibling out of her mind.

Ming's chauffeur waited patiently a few paces behind her. She composed herself and checked her watch. Being late for an appointment in Japan was considered extremely rude, but on the other hand, showing up too early would fluster the shop assistants and make them feel rushed. Ming found that the ideal time was around five minutes before the appointment started. Not late, not overly eager, but just right.

Two trendy young women, one sporting pink hair, and the other blonde, greeted Ming with eager bows as she entered the salon. The pink-haired woman took Ming's bag and placed it into a small crate that would be stowed away for safe keeping; the blonde took her coat and hung it over a hook in the waiting area. Ming loosened her scarf and took a seat. A shop assistant promptly came over and started soaking Ming's hands in a tub of luke warm water before the treatment would begin.

Outside the salon Arthur had found a bench from which he could see in through the window. He glanced at Ming every now and then, leaning back in his seat with one arm casually draped over the backrest, trying his best to blend in with other shoppers. The mall was a busy place with hordes of people shuffling along, browsing the huge variety of products crammed into shop windows.

For a tense moment Arthur accidentally locked eyes with Ming's chauffeur, who was sitting in the waiting area by the window. Arthur quickly averted his gaze, pretending to look at a group of passing mall-rats in school uniforms. When he snuck another peek a few seconds later the chauffeur was scrolling through his phone, idly passing the time until he would have to ferry Ms. Ming back to her office.

Arthur shifted in his seat, he was starting to feel paranoid just sitting there like a loner, he thought maybe he was too close to the salon, what if the driver became suspicious of him? He got up and meandered over to a sushi bar across from the salon. He sat down at the restaurant and ordered a portion of sashimi with a cup of sake, pointing out items on the menu to his waiter who spoke little English but nodded politely.

Time seemed to drag by. Arthur could see the shop assistants, still hard at work, buffing and polishing away at Ming's nails. Soon the food arrived. Arthur ate while watching the salon door like a hawk. He finished his meal and chugged down his third round of sake. The nerves were starting to get to him. Then, finally, the salon door swung open as Ming and her driver left the shop.

Arthur searched his pockets for the roll of Yen Jack had given him, after exchanging the last of their US currency at the airport. He quickly scanned the prices on the menu and slapped down the approximate amount of money on the table, then rushed off into the crowd of shoppers. Arthur locked his sight onto Ming's beige overcoat, trying his best not to lose her while navigating the maze of people in his path. Somewhere behind him Arthur heard someone calling out in Japanese, at first he thought it might be someone trying to get the attention of a toddler who had wandered off too far from its parents. Then he realized the voice was following him, it was gaining on him through the sea of shoppers; he turned around and saw his waiter frantically trying to catch up with him.