Last Stop Tokyo

by James Buckler

  ‘What if you were in Osaka?’ she said. ‘Would it be easier to find a job there?’

  ‘Are you asking me to go with you?’

  ‘We don’t know anyone there and no one knows us. It would be a new start.’

  ‘What’s Osaka like? I’ve never been.’

  ‘It’s one of those cities where everything always seems on the way up. You’d like it, I think. To be honest, it’s a lot like Tokyo. Except they have an accent in Osaka.’

  ‘Maybe I wouldn’t understand anyone.’

  ‘You don’t understand anyone in Tokyo.’

  ‘I’m starting to.’

  She looked across the table at him, at the dark lenses of the sunglasses shielding his eyes. ‘Is that your answer?’ she asked.

  They were interrupted as a waitress approached their table with menus. Alex smiled at her.

  ‘Is there a payphone here?’ he asked. ‘I have to make a call.’

  She pointed into the back of the café, behind the kitchen. Alex stood up to leave the table.

  ‘Who do you have to call?’ Naoko asked.

  ‘I have to check my bank account,’ Alex said briskly. ‘I have to make sure I still have enough money to pay for us to get home. I’ll only be five minutes. Order anything on the menu that you think looks good for me.’

  She watched him walk away, weaving between the other tables on the shaded patio. There was an urgency in every step, which was jarring, after the days of drift and slumber. When he was gone, Naoko looked across to his place setting. Propped up against one another, like books on a shelf, were his wallet and his phone.

  They ate lunch slowly and then drifted through the market to buy postcards and souvenirs. When the heat became unbearable they paid for a driver to take them back to the beach. They waited for the sun to cool and then swam out from the rocks beneath the bungalow to the middle of the lagoon. They paced each other out to the bank of dead coral that had been piled up by the tide and protected the bay from weather. The water grew steadily colder as it deepened.

  ‘Do you think there are sharks?’ Naoko asked.

  ‘Taste the water. That’s how you can tell.’

  She dipped a finger in and pressed it to her lips.

  ‘It’s salty,’ she said.

  ‘Then there are sharks.’

  She swam towards him quickly, with a panicked look, and placed her arms around his shoulders for protection.

  ‘Do you really think so?’

  ‘Not in the lagoon,’ he laughed. ‘It’s not deep enough. They get scared by sheltered places. But they’ll be swimming around out there, beyond the reef.’

  ‘I don’t like it,’ she said. ‘They scare me.’

  Alex shrugged. ‘They have more right to be here than we do.’

  There was a pile of boulders lying at the foot of the cliff and they swam over and Alex climbed out first and hauled Naoko up on to the rocks with both hands. The sun had heated the smooth stone and they lay against it and felt their skin dry.

  ‘Can I ask you a question?’ Naoko said.

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Why are you being so nice to me?’

  He look puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Why are we here? What’s it all for? It’s beautiful here – the sea and the palm trees, swimming with you every day and being together. It’s wonderful. But what’s the reason? Why did you want to come away with me? Why here?’

  ‘Isn’t that enough?’ Alex said. ‘Here, we can talk and work things out and forget about the past.’

  ‘I expected you to be really angry about everything that happened, but you couldn’t be more calm about it. I’m not sure why.’

  ‘You can’t complain when I’m doing what we agreed. Don’t you think that would be unfair?’

  Alex stood up and looked around. There was a fissure hewn from the cliff about ten metres above them. It looked jagged and dark. He scrambled up the boulder towards it.

  ‘Where are you going?’ she called after him.

  ‘Up there.’

  ‘Why?’

  He looked back at her at the water’s edge. The surface of the rock she lay on shimmered in the heat.

  ‘To see what’s inside the cave,’ he called back.

  The mouth of the fissure was full of wet sand and pools of seawater where the high tide had flooded in. The entrance was under the overhang of the cliff and Alex felt his skin shrink when he stepped out of the sun and into the shadows. He climbed over the rocks at the cave mouth and walked back into the darkness. It looked like a gouge had been taken out of the headland, a seam that had been gradually worn to a perfect smoothness over thousands of years. For the first few metres, it was possible for Alex to stand tall and reach out his arms at full stretch and still not touch the sides. The rock wall was carved with names and dates, etched there by decades of others who had ventured in to explore. Alex kept going, over rock pools and banks of seaweed, until he was stooping, his head bent to his chest, back into the deep shadows where the sun never reached. He found a crevice in the rock and crouched down, concealed from view.

  After a few minutes, he could see Naoko in silhouette at the cave mouth.

  ‘Alex?’ she called out. ‘Alex?’ Her voice echoed in the darkness.

  He crouched in silence and waited.

  She took a few tentative steps into the cave. ‘This isn’t funny, Alex. Where are you?’

  He watched as she turned around and stepped back into the sunlight and then changed her mind. She climbed over the rocks and came towards him. He was freezing now, the moisture beading on his skin in the cold shadows. He breathed gently and waited.

  She was bent low, moving carefully over sharp rocks, finding solid footings before shifting her weight and creeping forward again. She came closer, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the dark and grasping for handholds. There was no sound except her breathing; her almond eyes were wide in the blackness. He could see the skin on her back flex across her ribs, her flesh exposed and her face so close he could feel the warmth of her breath, but she couldn’t see him. He remained frozen, watching her.

  Naoko moved slowly past.

  He lifted his hand out and touched a fingertip to her waist and she screamed a high-pitched full scream that ricocheted from the wet stone.

  He laughed and reached out to take her hand and she screamed again. He hugged her close and felt her body tremble against his.

  ‘You bastard,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘I thought you’d fallen down a ravine or something and couldn’t call out because you were hurt.’

  ‘I thought you were going to wet yourself.’

  ‘It’s not funny, Alex,’ she said, pushing him away.

  ‘It was just a joke.’

  ‘It’s too cold in here.’

  ‘I know. I’m freezing.’

  ‘I want to get out of here,’ she said.

  Yes, Alex thought. Yes, you do.

  Naoko turned around in the darkness and began to make her way back towards the light. Alex followed a few paces behind. He knew he had brought her there to frighten her on purpose, just to see if his lingering anger was able to overpower his affection. The answer wasn’t clear and it troubled him. He needed to resent her without question for what was to come.

  They swam back through the lagoon to the bungalow. Waves were breaking against the reef, peeling in an emerald line. In the shelter of the bay, the water was glassy and still. Naoko said she was tiring so she held on to Alex’s shoulders as he swam. They climbed out under the veranda and took the steps back to their room. The maid had been in to open the curtains and turn down the bed. They went into the long, tiled bathroom at the back of the bungalow and switched on the shower. Naoko rinsed the salt from her hair and Alex watched as the water ran down her spine and across the flesh at the small of her back.

  ‘I really like it here,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe we have to leave tomorrow. I don’t have anything important to go back for. Why don’t we stay longe
r?’

  Alex shook his head. ‘Our flights are booked to Bangkok and the hotel is already paid for. Then we have to get back to Tokyo. It’s too late to change the tickets. I like it here too but, trust me, we have to stick to our plans right now.’

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and felt her beneath his palms. He smelled the sun on her skin.

  Naoko looked up at him. She thought for a moment and then looked away. ‘I wish we were never going back,’ she said.

  25

  WHEN THE FIRST bout ended in a knockout, the crowd in the arena rose to its feet. The young fighter in the blue trunks lay prone on the canvas a few feet from the ringside seats. Naoko held on to Alex’s arm and he could feel her tensed beside him. The fighter’s eyes rolled back in his skull, blood spattered across his face.

  ‘I don’t like it,’ Naoko said. ‘Is he dead?’

  ‘No, he’s fine. Give him a few seconds and he’ll come round.’

  ‘The other one hit him with his knee. Is that allowed?’

  ‘This is Bangkok,’ Alex said. ‘Everything is allowed.’

  The trainer came into the ring and lifted the fighter’s head and placed a towel beneath it. The trainer slapped him hard on the cheek and he started to come to. The boxer in red danced and weaved in victory, his gloves held above him in the air, and the spectators in the ringside seats stood and cheered, with their eyes wide and their teeth bared, caught in the flash of the cameras. The roar from the crowd in the stadium rolled down from the domed roof.

  The fighters for the next bout entered the ring wearing ceremonial headpieces and ribbons tied around their biceps. It was a middleweight bout and the boxers were lean and sinewy. The announcer introduced them to the packed arena.

  ‘Which one do you think will win this time?’ Alex asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.’

  ‘I’ll place a bet for us, but you have to choose, okay?’

  Naoko watched the fighters dance and weave. ‘I think the one in red is taller and looks stronger,’ she said.

  ‘But the other one looks quicker.’

  ‘I don’t know how to choose. They both look dangerous.’ She was still holding on to his arm, still tense.

  ‘It’s all in the eyes,’ Alex said. ‘It’s won or lost in the eyes. Choose which one has the killer look.’

  ‘I don’t see a killer look. They both look scared.’

  ‘Then guess.’

  Naoko pointed towards the ring. ‘The one in red – I think he’s going to win.’

  ‘Okay. Wait here,’ Alex said. ‘I’ll put our money on him.’

  He left the ringside and walked back to the gate that separated the seats from the grandstand. The locals stood on the cement steps that climbed up towards the back of the arena. On the higher terraces, the gamblers stood in groups and waved fistfuls of money in the air and shouted the odds. The professionals shouted loudest, holding phones to their ears and calling out in chaotic Thai, their voices high with adrenaline. It was impossible to work out what was going on.

  Alex stood up at the back of the arena next to the scoreboard, under the portrait of the king, where he’d been told to stand. He took a roll of dollar bills from his pocket and waved them above his head. The locals ignored him, but he held them at arm’s length and waited. In the ring below, the fighters continued their snake dance, twisting and moving and sizing each other up. The crowd was frenzied in the heat.

  ‘No dollar. No dollar.’

  A young Thai boy, maybe fifteen, walked along the terrace towards Alex. He smiled and shook a finger at him.

  ‘Only baht,’ he said.

  ‘I only have dollars, no baht.’

  ‘No dollar,’ the boy repeated.

  ‘I want to put two hundred dollars on the guy in red.’ Alex fanned the money in his hand.

  The boy looked at Alex through long lashes.

  He said, ‘You Alex-san?’

  Alex nodded. ‘Yes.’

  The boy clasped his hands in greeting. ‘You have everything for me?’

  ‘I have greetings from Tokyo.’

  ‘Very good. You have your hotel address?’

  ‘Yes,’ Alex said. ‘Chao Phraya Hotel, next to pier fourteen. I’ve written down the address and the room number.’

  Alex took a piece of folded paper from his pocket and handed it to the boy. He looked at it but Alex could tell he couldn’t read.

  ‘What time will you come?’ Alex asked.

  ‘Midnight. Maybe later. Okay?’

  The boy stood with a wide smile and bright white teeth.

  ‘Don’t come too late. You understand?’

  He made an okay sign with his finger and thumb. ‘No problem, no problem.’ He turned to leave.

  ‘Hey!’ Alex called after him, shouting above the noise of the stadium. ‘Place a bet for me. I don’t know how to gamble here. This place is fucking nuts.’

  The boy laughed and took the money from Alex’s hand.

  ‘Fucking nuts,’ he laughed. ‘Yes, fucking nuts.’

  The night boat filled with passengers at the pier next to the arena. It was hot and close and Naoko stood at the railing at the back of the boat with Alex beside her. The ferry weaved a course across the Chao Phraya river, avoiding long-tail boats and the islands of palm fronds that floated slowly out to sea. Naoko held the money in her hand and counted it.

  ‘How much is there?’ Alex asked.

  ‘I keep losing count. There are too many numbers.’

  ‘It’s only Thai money. We should spend it before we go to the airport tomorrow. It’s not worth anything in Tokyo.’

  ‘It’s my lucky money. I will keep it as a souvenir.’

  ‘That fighter really came through for you. Maybe you should have given some to him as a tip?’

  Naoko furrowed her brow and folded the thick wad of notes and pushed it into her bag. ‘I’m Japanese,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how to tip.’

  The ferry stopped at the pier in front of their hotel and Alex helped Naoko on to the pontoon. The hotel was a tall, elegant tower surrounded by spidery palms and topped with an illuminated sign that flashed in the night. There was a man-made beach at the river’s edge, with fine, white sand imported from the Andaman Islands. The sand was warm underfoot as they crossed the beach and walked up the landscaped pathway leading to the hotel entrance.

  Inside the lobby was a lush rainforest of ferns and orchids and a sunken water feature. The Thai staff smiled and clasped their hands in greeting as they walked through the entranceway and waited for the elevator.

  Their room was on the twenty-seventh floor, overlooking the Memorial Bridge and the curve of the river where the boats formed a procession as they motored downstream. The room was almost frozen by the air conditioning, the windows were frosted and the marble floor was chilled under foot. Naoko ran a bath in the sunken tub and they sat at either end, facing each other.

  ‘Thank you for bringing me here, Alex,’ she said. ‘I had a wonderful time in the islands and in Bangkok. I’d heard stories about how great it is here but I feel lucky to have seen it for myself.’

  ‘It was good to relax and talk things through. I knew we just needed some time alone.’

  There was a knock. ‘Room service!’ came the muffled call from the corridor.

  Alex climbed out and wrapped a towel around his waist. ‘Wait here,’ he said.

  Naoko lay back in the water and Alex closed the bathroom door behind him.

  When he opened the door to the room, he pressed his fingers to his lips so the man, standing there with a blank expression, and the boy, smiling just as he had in the arena, knew not to make a sound.

  He showed them into the room and they walked silently over to the bed.

  Alex picked up Naoko’s suitcase and set it on the mattress. The man unzipped it carefully. He made small breathing noises from his nose as he opened the case and looked through Naoko’s clothes folded neatly inside. She had packed light
ly, just as Alex had told her. At the top were the sarongs she had bought to give as gifts when she returned home and the man pulled these out gently, trying to keep them in the same order they had been packed. Alex noticed he was wearing blue latex gloves, the kind surgeons wore. He stood dripping water on to the tiled floor, the towel tied tightly around his waist.

  The man slipped a backpack from the boy’s shoulders. He opened it and took out a package of thick plastic, securely wrapped in layers of silver insulation tape. He leaned over Naoko’s open suitcase and lowered the package carefully inside. When the stack of clothes and sarongs was replaced, he smoothed them down and zipped the case shut again and looked at Alex as he peeled off the latex gloves and pushed them into the side pocket of his creased jacket. The boy smiled and made the okay sign again with his finger and thumb.

  Then they turned and quietly walked out, closing the door behind them.

  Alex stood alone in the empty hotel room, the water pooling around his feet. He couldn’t remember what the man looked like.

  As he walked back into the bathroom, Alex noticed how fast his heart was beating. He had known this moment was approaching ever since they had arrived in Thailand but he still felt in shock. The magnitude of the situation was overwhelming. The potential danger waiting in the future impossible to comprehend. He opened the door and looked down at Naoko reclining in the bath, the hot, soapy water up to her neck. She had placed a wet cloth across her eyes.

  ‘What did room service bring us?’ she asked.

  Alex climbed slowly into the bath and leaned back against the tiles.

  ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘They got the wrong room.’

  26

  ‘YOU DON’T OWE her a thing, Alex. Not any more.’ Jun’s voice was trembling as he spoke. Alex could hardly see him in the steam of the bath house. He could feel drops of cold sweat run down his temples and drip into the swirling water. The two Japanese men quietly sipped their sake, watching for a reaction.

  ‘What are you saying, Jun? I don’t understand.’ Alex’s voice rang around the wood-and-paper room.

  ‘Right now, you are in debt for five million yen plus interest and it is growing by the day. You have no job and no way to pay back the money. We’re giving you a way to wipe the debt clean – more than clean. We will arrange everything – the flights, the hotel, everything – and we will pay you extra for your trouble.’