Aimee Tan stood in front of the counter with excitement racing in her chest. She ignored the blazing heat that overtook the city of Chiba in Tokyo, Japan.
“Hai! Douzo! (Here you go!)” An old man in the counter who Aimee assumed to be the priest of the shrine smiled; he handed her a scroll of paper.
She felt lucky that she could speak fluent Japanese after minor the language for two years in University of British Columbia. And after she earned an ideal amount of money from her part time job as a Target cashier to fly back to Singapore via Tokyo, she couldn’t explain how happy she was for being there.
“Arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you very much!)” She replied while bowing politely.
Like a child who tried his best to hide a stray rat from his animal-phobic mother, the 22 years old tourist made a beeline to an empty corner of the shrine and scanned around to make sure that no one was around to peek at her fortune. The scroll she was holding contained not only the moment of truth but also a hint of hope for her future. Her fingers trembled as she unrolled it. It read,
Your words will be entwined with a stranger.
Question marks floated invisibly on her head as she confusedly stared at the paper.
“What does it mean?” she thought.
She shortly shrugged it off and stuffed her mysterious fortune into the right pocket of her denim shorts. Her eyes caught at the time shown on her two-years-old silver digital watch worn around her left wrist.
“Oh damn! It’s noon already? Flight is in two hours!” she gasped.
She fixed the strap of her white tote bag on her right shoulder before walking off to get a taxi.
Meanwhile, Jordan Hansen walked pass Aimee while heading to the shrine. He replayed a flashback when his Japanese friend, Tashiya convinced him to get a fortune.
“Trust me! You won’t regret of getting your first fortune! It’s like winning a lucky draw!” Tashiya grinned. His eyes glowed with excitement like the starry eyes of an anime character.
“Uh…I don’t think so,” Jordan disagreed, “I’m always the unlucky person who never gets to win any prizes or lottery.”
“Oh, come on! Don’t be so negative! You’re going to Tokyo and so I’m recommending you to make your trip a little more exciting by going to a shrine!”
“Recommending? More like forcing…”
Tashiya saw Jordan’s notebook on the coffee table in front of him. He immediately picked it up and smacked at Jordan’s left arm with its night-portrait hardcover.
“OUCH! What the f is that for??” Jordan snapped, rubbing his arm like a massage ball.
“Look, I don’t want to sound like your mother but you’ve got to give luck a chance! You have a life, buddy! Don’t just live it with…writing your blogs or watching a new episode of Two and a Half Men!” Tashiya said, “In fact, you’re lucky that you’re offered this assignment. I mean, writing an article about Japan? That’s amazing! Any writer would die to take this opportunity! And since you’ll be including a little bit about a shrine, why don’t you treat yourself with a fortune?”
Jordan inhaled deeply and stared at the wooden floor of the living room as he exhaled.
“What if I get a bad fortune, or curse as you Japanese call it?”
“Some people will get curses, but I believe that won’t happen for starters.”
“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”
“Look, don’t say another word about bad luck, okay? Just remember, this moment is your moment! You definitely will get a good fortune!”
The flashback was erased due to the blinding of the sun as he arrived at the counter. He fished in his jeans pocket for a 100 yen coin and gave it to the priest.
“I’ve never gotten a fortune before, so this would be interesting.” Jordan said.
The priest in front of him returned a smile. This made the 22 years old man thought that his British accent might have excited him in introducing this proud Japanese tradition.
He shortly handed Jordan a little scroll while saying in his best English,
“Good luck, sir!”
“Arigato Gozaimasu, you fine gentleman!” Jordan replied.
Saying thank you was the only Japanese phrase he had mastered in his four days’ trip. He exited the shrine and immediately called for a taxi. After a few minutes, he finally got into one of those public mobiles and realized that the scroll was still nestling in his right hand. Slowly, he unrolled it and read the sentence silently,
Your words will be entwined with a stranger.
“What in the world does this mean?”
He reread his fortune four times before blaming himself for doing such a ridiculous thing before his flight back to London which was in two hours. Tashiya was also to be blamed for making him getting such a strange fortune. He then crumpled it into a marble-size ball before stuffing it into his pocket.
20 minutes before departure to London, Jordan stood on the right side of the travelator to rest his feet. Suddenly, Aimee was rushing down the human conveyor belt and bumped into Jordan on his back. The black backpack which was slung on his left shoulder slipped down and crashed like a ton of bricks.
“Omigosh! I’m so sorry!” she gasped.
The backpack, which was half zipped, had books and papers spilling out on the moving platform. She was about to reached her right hand out to pick up the things while suddenly her white tote bag slipped from her left shoulder and fell on top of the small mess.
“Japan Airlines flight 74 to London is now ready for boarding. Please line up at gate 65. Thank you.” A flight attendant announced from the PA system.
“Oh crap!” Jordan panicked.
“Singapore Airlines flight 100 to Singapore is now ready for boarding. Please line up at gate 87. Thank you.” The flight attendant made a second announcement.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Aimee apologized.
“It’s alright!” Jordan pulled a small smile. He tried not to lose his temper.
Aimee gathered her possession and stuffed them into her bag. Jordan did the same to his backpack. He had a glimpse of a night-coloured notebook peeking out of Aimee’s bag but he shook it off. He was sure that he took his notebook and put it deep in his backpack. Aimee flashed a smile before sprinting off like a cheetah. Jordan then slipped both straps of his bag pack onto his shoulders and arrived at the queue in front of gate 65.
Once Jordan arrived home, he made it into his apartment and left his luggage on a couch. He grabbed a bottle of apple cider from the silver LG fridge and poured himself a full glass.
“Ah! Home sweet home!”
He grinned to himself as his eyes were fixed at a sunset any artist would die to paint which stood in front of him. The orange ball sank little by little between two tall skyscrapers. The glass-to-ceiling windows were the ideal binoculars for Jordan to indulge in the picturesque view. He walked towards the windows and leaned against the back of a cream couch, admiring the orange and yellow painted sky that left a soft shadow of the Big Ben.
“Jordan! My man!” Tashiya suddenly barged in through the front door.
Jordan spat out his second sip. His eyes grew the size of baseballs as he turned around to see his goofy buddy trotted in.
“What the heck are you doing here?” Jordan asked.
“Why I’m here to see you, duh!” the dentist-in-training replied.
He helped himself with a glass and walked to Jordan’s right side.
“So how’s your trip?”
“It was great! I’ve gathered enough information about the iconic places in Tokyo.”
“Did you get your fortune like I’ve told you to?”
“Yeah, I did…but the fortune wasn’t something I…or you expect.”
“Well what does your fortune say?”
Jordan then realized that he hadn’t thrown his fortune away. He took out the balled paper from his pocket and smoothed it out before showing it to Tashiya.
“I don’t know whether it’s good or bad. The word “entwined” kind of kills me.”
Tashiya looked up and commented, “Maybe it’s a good thing.”
“How can you tell?”
“I don’t know! I’m trying to be positive here!”
“Anyway, I have an article to write.” Jordan sighed.
He took the fortune back and unzipped his bag pack. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out the notebook. His fingers pressed on the hard cover as he imagined his soon-to-be-published work got printed and distributed to the entire city. He slid his index finger through the middle of the pages and pushed it open.
“I was in Vancouver when this happened...wait a minute…since when did I write about Vancouver?” Jordan stopped.
He flipped through the pages; all he saw were lines of small, pretty handwriting and little drawings of flowers at the corners.
“This is not my notebook!” Jordan panicked.
He kept on flipping until he stopped at the last written page where a black-ink signatureAimee stood out.
Meanwhile, Aimee arrived at her house in Singapore. She flopped on her bed and cuddled her plump purple pillow. Her tabby cat, Nugget, tailed after her and jumped onto the bed next to her.
“Oh! How I miss my bed!” she giggled.
From her bedroom window, she could see Marina Bay Sands, Singapore’s well-known resort, standing tall and proud with its mega-brilliant lights. She then fished in her bag for her notebook and flipped to the middle.
“Didn’t I draw a rose here this morning?” she asked herself.
She remembered clearly that she used her red gel pen to doodle a small rose on the top right corner of the page. She then spotted the handwriting which was slightly bigger than hers.
“This is not my notebook!”
She read through the notes just to make sure. They somehow caught her eye in fascination, but her heart was still praying for her “lost” notebook. As she scanned briefly through every page to find the name of the owner, she was a little disappointed that there was not a single name written on it. She then settled herself at her study desk where her iMac was placed, ready to be used after a year of abandonment. Once she logged in to her Facebook account, she was surprised to see a bright red notification popped out on the message icon.
Jordan: Hi! I know this is random but I think I have your notebook. I don’t know how to explain this but do you have my notebook?
Aimee placed both hands on the keyboard and replied,
Aimee: Hi! Yeah, I think so…I happen to have this notebook with no name on it.
Jordan: Can you tell me whether the notebook you have now has my notes about Japan on the last few written pages?
Aimee did as he told, and sure enough, a long list of notes that included words like “Tokyo Tower” and “Tokyo Disneyland” were scribbled on what seemed like six full pages.
Aimee: Yeah, I see them!
Jordan: Oh, thanks goodness! Is it possible if you mail the notebook to me as soon as possible? I need those notes for my article.
Aimee: Hmm…or maybe I can take pictures of your notes and send them to you.
There was a short pause.
Jordan: Oh! No, there’s no need to! I prefer us switching back our notebooks through mail.
Aimee: It takes long to do so! I don’t know whether Singapore’s mail service is fast enough.
Jordan: Singapore?? Wait…you’re in Singapore??
Aimee: Why you sound so surprised?
It took five minutes for Jordan to walk around his apartment, gulping the rest of his apple cider like a shot glass, and taking deep breaths to calm himself down. The sunset from his windows sank into sleep as a glittery obsidian sky replaced the light. Tashiya, who was sitting on one of the stools at the marble white countertop of the kitchen, looked at him with a this-is-going-to-be-interesting-grin.
Jordan: Because I’m in London and I have no idea how could my notebook end up in your hands!
From the other side of the globe, Aimee could felt anger exploding from Jordan. Her mind immediately flashed back the accident at Narita Airport. Her jaw hung open as she realized that their notebooks were switched from the mess.
Aimee: Omigosh! You’re that man whom I bumped into at Narita Airport! I didn’t know that we have the same notebooks!
It was like a spark ignited in Jordan’s mind as he recalled the scene.
“I feel like killing myself right now…” Jordan mumbled, disappointed for not checking his notebook in the first place. He covered his eyes with his hands and squeezed his eyelids.
Aimee: Look, I know that this is urgent to you, so I would like to help you by sending you pictures of your notes. Besides, I owe you for what I did back there.
Jordan: Are you really sure? I don’t mean to trouble you…
Aimee: I don’t like seeing people stuck in their problems. Trust me, I really want to help!
Jordan was about to respond when Aimee attached photos within a minute or so.
“Well, that was quick!” he said.
He clicked on one of them and was satisfied by the clear quality of it.
Aimee: Oh! Btw, you have some really fun details about Tokyo. Your notes make me want to revisit Tokyo. :)
Jordan stared at the message box for what seemed like forever. He could felt a tiny drop of warmth growing in his heart like a good chocolate bar on a stressful day. He had never felt anything like this before; he had never received such a compliment from a stranger, or even a girl, in his whole life.
Jordan: Oh! Uh…thank you…
Aimee: So you’re writing an article about Japan? What is if for?
Jordan: It’s for The Times. I’m a journalist there.
Aimee: Oh, wow! That’s so cool! Maybe if your article is published, I would like to read a copy.:)
The conversation lasted for three hours. Jordan had never felt this close to a stranger before. Tashiya held a thumb up in the air, saying,
“I told you something good is gonna happen.”
The next evening, Jordan returned home an hour early from his usual shift. He had the smile of a Cheshire cat, a countenance he never had for a while. The first thing he did was to drop his business bag on the couch and opened his Macbook. Once he logged on to Facebook, he sent Aimee a message:
Jordan: Hi, Aimee! You won’t believe what happened at the press this morning! My boss liked my Japan article so much that he wanted to put it first in the travel column of tomorrow’s issue!
Jordan waited like a child eager to get a snow cone. To his happiness, a green dot automatically popped next to her name.
Aimee: Really? That’s fantastic!
Jordan: I can’t thank you enough for helping me out last night.
Aimee: No problem! :)
Jordan: Oh! And…about the notebooks, I’ll be sending yours to your house in Singapore tomorrow. Is that okay?
There was a short pause. It didn’t feel casual, it was more like deadening.
Aimee: I don’t think that’s necessary
Jordan: Why? Something wrong?
Aimee:I’ve just received an email from my boss. He wants me to fill in the shifts of a worker who just got fired. I’m going back to Vancouver tomorrow morning.
Jordan: Oh! No problem, I can just mail it to your Canadian address then.
Aimee: I don’t think this is working, Jordan…we’re so far away from each other…
Jordan’s heart dropped like a stone dragged from the sky.
Jordan: Don’t you want your notebook back?
Aimee: Of course, but I don’t know any other convenient ways to get it back…
The aura of happiness which overtook every inch of Jordan’s body that whole day diminished like an extinguished flame. He immediately logged off Facebook and slammed his laptop shut. His eyes caught a glimpse of Aimee’s notebook from his unzipped backpack and he gently pulled it out. As he opened it and stopped at the middle, he read,
“I was in Vancouver when this happened. My heart was shattered in chandelier pieces after my recent breakup, but the city itself had brought me back to the light of hope…”
His light brown eyes were magnetic to Aimee’s story that he read the entire thing till he forgot to eat dinner. Her words sent him to an emotional state; tears trickled down from his eyes as he felt on how hard she had tried to stay strong. Without hesitation, he flipped his laptop open once more and Google-d his new favourite website.
Back in Singapore, Aimee waited anxiously for Jordan to reply, but there wasn’t a new bubble popped in the message box. She couldn’t hold back her despair for not staying in her hometown a little longer or even enjoying the only vacation overseas she had afforded. Her world of worry was interrupted by Nugget’s meow. Surprised, she looked at the striped furball who was sitting nonchalantly on Jordan’s notebook.
“Nugget, what are you up to, boy?” she asked.
Her voice nearly burst into a giggle when she noticed the cover. She gingerly pushed her cat away and flipped the notebook open. She stopped at a couple of pages; a draft about The George Inn where two of her favourite inspirations, Shakespeare and Dickens, swept her off in a whirlwind of wonder. Instead of diving into her bed covers, she kept her night light on and read all of Jordan’s article drafts.
The arrival area of Narita Airport was flooded with passengers and flight attendants. Jordan was the first to run out of the Japan Airlines aircraft and straight to the direction where connecting flights were located. This time, both of the straps of his black backpack was slung onto his shoulders and Aimee’s notebook was clutched in his right hand. He was about to charge towards a travelator while suddenly he bumped against a woman with long, straight, black hair, and a familiar-looking white tote bag. She was about to fall until she quickly regained her balance and lifted her bangs that covered her dark chocolate eyes.
“Aimee?” Jordan asked, surprised and relieved.
“Jordan? What in the world are you doing here?” she asked back.
“Well, I don’t know where to begin,” Jordan said, “I…uh…well…”
He could feel his heart thundering wildly against his chest and his cheeks tainted with shades of red. He finally inhaled deeply and explained,
“The reason why I’m here is because I’m looking for you. I figured that since you’re flying to Vancouver I have a sense that you would stop by here in Tokyo.”
Aimee stared at him blankly before a cherry lip smile was slowly formed.
“And I don’t know anything about you until I read your…wonderful poetry and stories in this notebook and I’ve never felt anything like this before but without any of this, I wouldn’t have met someone like you, someone who captures me through words.”
The chatters that resonated with the sound of feet stomping were interrupted by Aimee’s sudden laugh.
“What? What did I do?” Jordan stared in shock.
“I’m sorry!” she choked between her laughter, “I just thought that your reaction is just adorable!”
Jordan could feel everyone was watching them. But all he focused was Aimee’s beautiful laugh.
“I have no idea that you would come all the way from London just to see me. Ever since we chat online, I’ve never felt this close to a person for a while. I’ve always tried to stay positive but I’ve never felt so enlightened and different since I get to know more of you through your writing. Reading your works is like looking through you in a mirror. Even though we haven’t met thoroughly, I sense that there’s a chance for us to face in person.”
Jordan and Aimee seemed to lean closer to each other. Their eyes locked and they gradually held their notebooks in front of each other. At the same time, their hands brushed together like silk as they switched back their possessions.
“So…Aimee…you wanna go for lunch?” Jordan asked.
“Sure! I like that!” Aimee agreed. She was blushing too.
“Are you gonna miss your flight?”
“It would be a pleasure to be here in Tokyo with a perfect stranger like you.”
Jordan grinned. They found themselves holding hands as they walked towards the exit.
