Foreign Ground (Yuzuru Hanyu)

13. Stories From A Voyage: A Selection Of Travel Conversations

It hurt today. 

Some days it just hurt.

He wondered if it was always going to be like this. 

Will it always hurt?

Will it hurt when he's 35 and trying to play with his kids?

Will it hurt tomorrow?

Will it hurt this whole day today?

She was talking in a language he wasn't sure he has ever even heard before. He was pacing in figures around her. He understood nothing. But, he was there, pacing around, shaking the pain away.

The phone call ended, she sat down in one of the big chairs.

She observed his pacing, and suddenly, without a warning started narrating. She told him a story of an old dog. The dog was old and in pain, his joints hurt because of time itself.

"You say, I'm old dog?" 

"No... I'm saying... Maybe it's just the weather."

He stopped in front of her, not even thinking about the pain in his ankle, debating which difficult question to ask first.

"You say, your dad's dog is 15?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't see him since puppy."

"Yeah."

"So... you didn't see your dad 15 years?"

"It's not like I...- Well... Yes."

"Is he coming?"

"To the wedding?"

"Yeah"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Jesus! Of course he's not going, would you go?"

"If my kid asking me - yes."

"I..."

"You didn't asking?"

"Of course I didn't."

"Why coming to Japan then?"

"Cause I wanted to see him."

She looked away from him, behind him. Yuzuru turned around, following her look to see a little girl throwing a temper tantrum in front of the boarding gate, her mother dragging her tiny body across the floor. She screamed on top of her lungs, she screamed so hard her face was as purple as Yuzuru's daily bruises. He wondered, if it were acceptable, like it was for a two year old, would everyone at this airport be screaming until their voices completely perished. Yuzuru felt like that girl most days. He wondered if Lilis felt like that right now.

"You mad right now?"

"I'm not mad at you." She sighed and looked back at him.

"But you are mad?"

"I am a bit, yes... I'm just stressed out... I'm sorry, I know I promised you a vacation, but I'm making this worse than a business trip."  

"Hey, it is vacation for me. I haven't vacation since I was like her." He pointed back at the upset child.

"I wish it was like a beach wedding or something, but it's just same old, repulsive, Thessaloniki."

Yuzuru smiled. "You don't like it."

"No, not really." she sighed again. "Not many good memories."

"You speaking Greek?"

"Yeah... I'm bad at it"