A Little Spark For The Souls That’ll Burn Tonight
Shibuya Streets, 2008
It was such an ordinary night in Tokyo, people crossing the streets and losing themselves in the shining neon lights…
But there was a street that light didn’t cross at.
And there was a man sitting on a bench, trying to light a 7-stars cigarette.
He tried multiple times to make the lighter work but nothing happened. He tried again and once again, nothing worked. Meanwhile he was too busy with trying to convince the lighter it is useful,
a pair of footsteps passed across him.
Then came back.
He heard an thin, a bit annoying teenage-ish voice
“Sup Shinku!”
As he slowly moved his head upward he saw a familiar face. He nodded and murmured with the cigarette hanging out between his lips
“Hello, Kenji.”
And without even waiting for him to talk , Kenji got to the point.
“Look man, I know you’ve been through some awful shit since you got discharged. But still, I-“
“Debt you’re talking about isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
There was a little silence between them. Then Shinku interrupted the silence with a sigh.
“Well too bad I don’t have any money.”
“But I need the money.”
“And you’ll probably won’t get it back for a while.”
After an eerie silence, kenji’s eyes flickers to Shinku’s battered old lighter.
“Is that yours?”
“Yeah.”
“Give me the lighter and the debt is gone.”
“over my dead body dude.”
Kenji stops for a second, then with a sudden move, he tries to get the lighter but Shinku drew it back faster. Then his voice become louder.
“You’re drunk as fuck! Just go home already.”
“You’re the one who says that? Fuck you you radioactive bitch”
Another silence.
“You know what? Just-… just go home.”
Then their argument got disturbed by another voice coming out from the entrance of the street.
“Kenji!“
Kenjis eyes widened for a moment, then with a grin, he turned around.
“Lucky Luke? You’re still alive? They told us you got your ass overdosed in the back of The Black Dog?”
“Bitch you believed I’d do that anywhere else than Chika?”
Shinku slowly examined the appearance of this guy. Shoulder length blond hairs, a height around 5’9, long black coat and…
Sunglasses…? At night?
He decided this guy was one of those junkies and before he could finish judging him in his head, the “stranger”spoke up.
“Hey hey hey you’re not leaving.”
“Do I need permission from you now?”
“Technically. Tell me what were you guys arguing about.”
Shinku whispers under his breath;
“None of your damn business.”
Kenji murmurs
“Son of a bitch doesn’t pay me back.”
The guy pauses for a moment, then murmurs with a tired voice.
“How much?”
“2000¥.”
After the guy stares at Shinku for a moment, he takes out his wallet and hands Kenji the money, which makes Shinku stay in place for a second.
“What are you doing?”
“Paying your debt, old friend.”
And the lighter Shinku was trying to make work finally clicks and burns.
“…Old friend?”
“It makes me wanna cry how forgettable I am.”
“Thanks Lukas. Tell shin to do not take money he cannot pay back again please.”
“Oh definitely I will.”
“You gonna stay there?”
Shinku readjusts his eyeglasses and murmurs;
“Are you wearing sunglasses at midnight?”
“Don’t question I watched some guy with those in a movie he looked cool...”
“You’re still dumb.”
“Ouch.”
Then lukas checks his watch and murmurs
“Gotta go.”
“To where ?”
“Job.”
“You got a job? Plus you’re working midnights with sunglasses and leather jackets ?”
“Yeah…”
As a little smile places on Lukas’s lips, Shinku is looking at him behind the smoke of his cigarette
“pays surprisingly well.”
“Whatever that job is I wouldn’t hire a bipolar drug abuser to do it dude.”
“ouch!”
Shinku was quiet for a while, examining Lukas. He changed a lot and did not at the same time…
”anyways… see you soon I hope”
“yeah don’t expect much.”
As Lukas leaves and his footsteps slowly gets quieter, Shinku remembers those days with him in the ward partly. And as he thinks about those old days, his cigarette finishes, he slowly gets up and walks towards the direction Lukas went to…
End of Chapter 1.
