9 August 2012
Yūrei Pt.1 Ch.3
City Lights
Everything is quiet. The woman in front of me has dozed off and her children remain blissfully silent. Most of the passengers' lights have been turned off and all of the blinds, except one, have been pulled down. My fifth cup of coffee sits, cold, on the tray table and my backpack is lying open on the floor below me, half filled with magazines and travel leaflets. After a while, the trolley comes round, again, and I order something to eat from the menu on the side. Soon after, a Flight Attendant comes back to my seat and hands me my meal; a small, shallow bowl of mild curry; three strips of floury naan bread and a plastic sealed pot of steaming custard, with mini plastic forks and spoons. However, when I try to eat it, I get a shock. The curry tastes as though someone poured a cup of cold water on it just before serving and the naan bread is quite chewy, but the custard is very nice. It burns my tongue, but at least it tastes like custard- sort of. Once I've finished the meal, the roof of my mouth is dry and slightly cracked and the inside of my right cheek is sore from where I pierced it with my fork. At least I'm full now, I tell myself, full of what, I dread to think, but at least I'm full. An hour left until descent begins, I see- the time is 11:37:42pm in Japan and I can already feel the effects of jet lag taking over.
I'm beginning to doze off, again, when it happens. It starts as sort of a queasy feeling in my chest, but, soon enough, it mounts to a crescendo of cold stabs and a violent lurching sensation deep in my stomach. Quickly, I make my way to the metal door that leads to the restroom and I swing it open. Once inside, I close it again and sit down. It's strange how this part of the plane feels almost like a different aircraft altogether, flying alongside ours, disconnected. The sink is the size of a piece of paper and the toilet is almost touching the floor. Next to the toilet, on a metal rack, hangs two sheets of half ply paper. I won't go into too much detail of how, but the point is that I survived. Barely. When I emerge, I make my way back to my seat, a little unstable, and slowly settle down again, among my travel leaflets and coffee cups. After a while, I do eventually get a little more rest, but not much. When I wake, I see there are only 10 minutes left until we begin our descent. Deciding it's time to get prepared, I zip up my backpack and swing it over my shoulder, adding the complimentary airline pens, socks and toothpaste to its contents and tighten my shoelaces. I put the little lemon scented hand wipes in my pocket and fold the tray table back up. When the symbol shows on the screen, I put my seatbelt back on and cover my ears. Of course it doesn't work, in fact it only makes the pressure worse- I swear I'll never get on another airplane as long as I live.
I can't hear anything, except a snapping blur in my left ear and a constant buzzing in my right. The metal door ahead of me slides open and the passengers slowly filter out. I follow behind and make my way down a long wind tunnel, towards the main terminal and take a seat on a bright white bench. Above me, black light pours through the glass ceiling, scattered across the floor by kaleidoscopic chandeliers. My head feels clouded and my legs are weak as lead. The backpack over my shoulder is dragging me down and my shoulders are aching. After a while, I get to my feet again and walk over to a nearby inside shop, where I purchase a guide book, a Japanese phrasebook and a box of paracetamol for the migraine that is beginning to arise in my head. The man at the counter speaks quite fluent English and tells me of a nearby hotel that I should check into for the night. Thanking him, I take one of my pills and head out of the door. As I step out into the cold night, a chilling wind blasts my face, knocking me back. A few drops of water fall from the black sky and run down my cheek as I look around me. The world seems vast beyond all imagination and engulfs me in a flame of eternity. Skyscrapers reach high into the sky and thousands of city lights burn down into my soul, far below. I have landed in Tokyo- under the watch of city lights.
Yūrei|Ch.3 • Opuss № I