Tale of the shooting star

Chapter 6

A paper with a picture of a girl was posted on a wall, she wear her smile, but the picture display a sorrowful essence even if the girl was happy in the picture. Michael is walking on his way to work, and he come across with the picture of the girl on the wall. The picture caught his sight and he stop for awhile, there’s a word written below but it was written in Japanese so nothing he can do but just stare at the photo, but his sensation makes him understand what it means and make a guess that the word written below the picture is a word “Missing” but because of the language being use, he’s not sure about what was written, guessing between “Missing” or “Wanted” he proceed and move on, continue walking until he arrived at the Filipino restaurant with so many brown people who speak the same language as him working and eating in the restaurant. He put on his apron and when do his job, preparing, cooking the foods and washing the used cooking utensils. As he wash the dishes, he overheard the discussions of his workmates and Mrs. Lucy. Michael keep washing the utensils one by one also the coming piles of used plates. Mrs. Lucy and one of the staff bring another pile of used plates to Michael, then he asked them about the rumor he overheard, they started to talk about the Missing girl, she was missing since last week and the parents are so worried about her, and reported it to the police and now they’re in a search operation to find the girl. “Really? I hope she’ll be found and return home safe” Michael said, “Who knows, she’s just around or maybe go far away with his boyfriend” the staff with Mrs. Lucy said, “Who knows, maybe” Mrs. Lucy added. Michael told them about the picture of a girl being posted on the wall that he come across on his way to work, “No doubt, those girl is the missing girl” Mrs. Lucy said. The staff and Mrs. Lucy left Michael after a their discussion ends, Michael continue his works. The other staffs including Michael take a lunch break, a food was prepared for them, and it brings smile to their faces, “I really miss these foods so much” one of the Staff said as a dried salted fish together with a pink tiny shrimps and a small long bodied fish with salty grey liquid on it are prepared on the table. Together, in a room exclusive for all of them only, they enjoy their food, some of them eat using their bare hands, not with spoon or chopstick, “I miss eating by hands, because outside, I can’t eat like this” one of the staff said, “You know the Japanese, their culture is different from us” The other one said then crushed the dried fish by his fingers, remove the dry flesh, then he pick a rice then eat the rice with the dried fish together. “I miss these ginamos and hipon so much” Michael ate the tiny pink shrimps and the tiny long bodied fishes with a salty grey liquid on it with soft white rice. “I don’t used to eat with chopsticks,” one of the staff said while gathering his rice in one mound with the dried fish and few fishes with its salty liquid, the food they called ginamos, “Me either, way back home, I was comfortable eating by hands” the other one said then pick the mound of rice with crowd of tiny pink shrimps from his plate and then put it in his mouth. They jump from topics after topics while eating, sharing knowledge, details, stories and information whether it was past or present events, while they share meal together. Until some shares an information recently happened in the land they’re in, a news was spreading like a virus, there’s a girl who was missing, and the news becomes viral throughout their location. After their lunch break, they return to work, helping Mrs. Lucy in all the work like children helping their mother in a household chores. They again open the topic about the missing girl, and Mrs. Lucy told them that the girl was a schoolmate of her daughter, and now the news was spreading like a virus throughout their campus and starting to spread throughout the location they’re in.  “I hope the authorities will take action about this” Mrs. Lucy said and michael nodded as he listens to the mother figure in the restaurant they’re working.
The transparent glass door of the restaurant opens, three girls walk inside, Ai, Aiko and Mizuki, Aiko looked around like a scanner and detector of a fictional detective using more advance technology, and she checked the foods just by taking a look on each of them, raising her eyebrows and bowing only her head slightly, “This is the restaurant I talked about you last time” Mizuki said, she turns to them after she look at the chicken dish she ate last time when she first visit the restaurant. “The smell is good, the food looks not bad, but I don’t know if I’ll like it” Aiko said, “But let’s see if I will” Ai sniffing the air, with her eyes close and slowly raising her head in a slow and slight motion. “This one, I fall in love with this food so much” Mizuki showing them the chicken dish with a dark caramel fluid sauce where the chicken meat soaked, “It’s good and also it was sweet” Aiko raise her eyebrow again as she take a look to the chicken dish, “What was that food?” Aiko asked, “It was what is it again?” Mizuki replied, then asked the staff attending the foods and costumers, “What was the name of these food?” She show the chicken dish, “Ahh this maam? It is adobo maam, and this, it is humba, this one is kare kare and this one is paklay” the staff answered and show them many more variety of foods that Aiko and Ai never seen in their whole life, “Aiko nodded with her eyebrow raise slightly, then the staff smiles at her and then Aiko smiles back, opposite from the feelings her eyes shown, but her childlike face with bangs and fluffy soft pinkish white cheek conceals it. When the staff went on to serve Mizuki who was selecting dishes, Aiko’s smiling face immediately change into her usual face. She look around, seeing most of the people are brown skin, who speak with different language that they couldn’t understand, brown skinned with different complexion of brown, some are light, some are lighter, some are dark and some of them are darker, Aiko faces Ai, “Most of the people here are gaijins, I think where the only Japanese here” Aiko said, then Ai looks around to see the same sight that Aiko sees, “I see..” Ai then look at Aiko and Mizuki, they talk in Japanese language that the people around them couldn’t understand as well, “Dong patabang nya mi alsa dire dong maayo kay dako ka ug lawas” a middle aged woman said to the staff who collects the used plate left behind by the costumer after they eat. Mizuki, Aiko and Ai take the vacant table and have a seat while waiting for their orders to come. They talk about the rumored missing girl, while waiting for their order, the name of the girl is Sayo Hayashi, she went missing last week and was last seen riding on her bicycle. “Even those guy Hiroshi went missing since then” Aiko said, “Those guy claiming to be Saaya’s secret lover?” Mizuki asked, “Yes, I don’t know where he is now, still I don’t believe about his claims” Aiko said, “I think he just go with her boyfriend, you know.. like in the movie” Their orders has come, the aroma of the dishes they ordered captures their senses, like a bait in the hook to attract the fish, “Smells good, looks like it’s delicious” Ai prepare her chopsticks, and so on Mizuki and Aiko, among the people who mostly use spoon and fork in the restaurant, only them are given chopsticks exclusively, the only light skinned individuals with childlike faces eats. “Itadakimasu,” Mizuki take a bite. Aiko watch her eating and then she look at the food and take a small bite, and as the taste touches her tongue, she get another piece of the food and continue eating, “Wow, I never  thought that these dishes taste good” Ai enjoying her  Adobo and Humba, “The chicken and the pork dish taste sweet” Aiko added, “I told you both, foods here taste good” Mizuki pick another piece of adobo by her chopstick and then take a bite, “I’ll recommend these restaurant to our friends in the industry” Ai said, “I didn’t know that Filipinos have good quality food” enjoying their foods, two Japanese costumers arrive, ordering and then eating in the restaurant, they enjoy adobo and humba as well same as Mizuki, Aiko and Ai, “I think some other Japanese love Filipino foods too?” not later that one hour, two Japanese girls enter the restaurant, and the other one was carrying a camera and filming everything inside, capturing their surroundings and talk in front of it as if she’s talking with imaginary audiences inside the camera. Then she approach the two Japanese and talk with them as if she’s a reporter conducting an interview. After talking with them, she notice Mizuki’s group and then approach them, as she steps forward, she face the camera and talk once again with her imaginary audiences. She face the camera on Mizuki and her two friends, “hello” she met them with her smile and joyful spirit, Mizuki and the two girls responds waving their hands and said,  “Konnichiwa”. “Not only Filipinos come here, but also Japanese like me” She said, then she talk with them and start to act like a reporter, “At first, I was just curious when I discovered this restaurant, but when I tried their foods, I fell in love with Filipino foods” Mizuki answered the questions being asked by the Japanese with a camera and acting like reporter who do her own documentary videos. After a short talk, she then film herself while ordering, eating her food and leaving the restaurant. Mizuki, Ai and Aiko finish their food and walk around the city, “You know girls? Before I have a hard time going out because of the trauma I’ve got after the incident” Mizuki said while her head slightly bowing down, “I can’t believe I’m now recovered from my PTSD” Mizuki looked at Aiko and Ai, “Me either, I still remember, after the incident happened to you, you have anxiety even to me..” Aiko said, “I’m so thankful to you Aiko, your characteristics may be intimidating, but you are a true friend” Mizuki replied,  “How about me Mizu-chan?” Ai added, Aiko then close her eyes and shake her head slightly with a slight smile on her lips, “Of course, why will I forget you who make me smile in those times?” Mizuki replied. While Aiko listens, she remember the time they’re together in the hospital attending Mizuki, they saw a doctor preparing an injection for a patient, “Aiko..” Ai said, with her eyes like puppy and slowly tightening her grasp on Aiko. Aiko notices Ai, completely paler than her usual complexion, slowing her own mouth’s natural fluid, and felt her flesh vibrating a little bit, Saaya approaches behind her and notices Ai sweating a little on her temple, “Hey!” Saaya tapped her back,  Ai screams but silenced by Aiko as the doctors and nurses around looked at her with a question marks on their heads, “Sorry” Ai said. Aiko grin after she remembered those moments inside her mind,
“Aiko? Why are you smiling?” Ai asked,
“Ahh.. eh.. Nothing.. nothing at all” She said while smiling and looking at Ai’s face, “Anyway, will you resume your idol life with us? So that we’ll be complete again.. except without Saaya anymore..” She added,
Mizuki sigh, “I don’t know,” Mizuki look on a huge billboard with faces of of cute idols, “Maybe I’ll choose these quiet life for now, away from the public, most of all, away from obsess fans” Mizuki lower her head slightly.
They move on their way to their destination as they talks all about their lives and even teasing Ai about her fear and embarrassing moments. After a moments of being together, they part ways from each other to go home, “Sayonara Mizuki, Sayonara Aiko” Ai wave her hand from a meters away, “Sayonara Ai,” Mizuki wave back, and so on Aiko wave without a word, only her smile without showing her teeth and then turn their backs on each other and went on their own ways. Ai arrive at their house, “Tadaima” she went to her room afterwards, she take a seat after changing her clothes and then open her tiktok account and went on livestream, talking to her fans, greet them with her smile and then receive so many gifts from foreigners who visits her livestream and was crazily fascinated with her smile.
“Beautiful”
“You’re so cute”
“Kawaii”
“Lovely”
Comments flooded her livestream, like a landslide it rushes continuously.
Aiko arrives at their quiet house, it was empty, only the sound of silence will be heard, like an abandoned house but more arranged and well organized. She goes inside then close the door. She went to her room, change her clothes, then drop herself heavily on her soft bed that makes the impact of her fall been absorbed by the foam. She breathe deeply then close her eyes. Her phone rings, then she get it, put it on her ear and hear a voice talked, “Ok mom, dad” She said,
“We plan to buy you an expensive car our little princess”
Aiko breathes deeply, “No need mom, I don’t need it..”
“Ok my dear, but just tell us what you want, we will buy you anytime” her mom answered, then says goodbye then ended the call.
Aiko sighs, “Business business budiness always business” she take a look on their family photo, and then to the photo of her and an old woman smiling together, she get out of her bed and went to the balcony, looking up the sky, exactly a shooting star appears, that reminds her of the moment she have with her grandmother, the time when she was a child, she rarely talk and play with anyone in school, when the class is  dismissed, she go straight to a house somewhere, welcomed by an old woman, “Grandma..” she cried, and her grandma hugged her, she prepare her a ramen and they eat together. She ate all of her ramen leaving the bowl empty, “gochiso sama deshita” Aiko said,
“Now may I see your smile?”
Aiko slightly stretch each side of her lips on each opposite side,
“Please..”
Aiko then stretch it more up to her ears
“That’s it, come here” she said, then Aiko stand up then hugged her, “Do you want to look at the stars?” she added,
Aiko nodded and she take her out and they gaze on the stars together. Suddenly a shooting star appears in the sky, “Look grandma!” Aiko points her finger to the shooting star, “Grandma, what is those one?” Aiko asked, “That was a shooting star sweety,” Grandma replied, “Shooting star?” Aiko looks at the stars, “Woahh cool, stars are cool..”
After the vision of of the past faded, she pick up the photo and touching her grandma’s image with her thumb, “Stars are cool, but even my wish to the stars can’t bring you back to me grandma” Aiko’s tears rundown her eyes, “You’re the only one who was here for me and willing to listen to me but like the shooting star, you’re gone after you show up..”
In the Police station, the officers got a new report connected to the girl, Sayo Hayashi, her parents has passed away, the report, “Is that true?” a police officer asked, “Yes, the parents of the girl who went missing has passed away, her mother commits suicide out of sorrow and because of that, her father died as a result of heart attack” one officer replied. The authorities spread the picture of the Sayo Hayashi hoping to find her. One early morning, a middle age man walk around with his dog, he stops for awhile  because he notices his dog pauses, it barks multiple times as if it sees something from afar. It runs away and and the middle aged man lose his grip on its tie. “Hey! Come back here, bad doggy!” He run after the dog. Until it stops the turns to him and barked, then it sniffs in a pile of leaves, and scattering it. A bad smell struck the middle aged man that makes him puke. After the dog scattered the leaves, it turns to its owner and bark, the middle aged man’s eyes almost want to pop out from its eye socket as he shake and his sweat runs down on his face, “A corpse!” he shouted. The cops went to the place where the body was found as the middle aged man testifies his experience. The cops found an ID together with the body, “Sayo Hayashi” the name written in the ID.