Under the Osakan Sun by Hamish Beaton

Under the Osakan Sun by Hamish Beaton

Author:Hamish Beaton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781877551079
Publisher: Awa Press
Published: 2012-05-31T21:00:00+00:00


The next day, with girlfriend-hunting now off the agenda, I set off to north Osaka City to do some shopping. I soon found myself in a large book store that stocked English novels and magazines. I had visited the store many times before and knew my way around. I was busy scanning the English magazine rack, when I suddenly looked to my right. A beautiful angel was standing on tiptoe, trying to reach a magazine on the top shelf. She was dressed in a simple summer dress, and her dark brown hair was tied in an elegant twist.

She retrieved the magazine and looked around. Our eyes met and the angel smiled.

I stepped forward in a daze. ‘Excuse me,’ I asked in English. ‘Could you tell me where the English books are?’

The angel’s smile widened. ‘Ah, yes, I am looking for an English novel too. Do you know Pride and Prejudice?’

I blinked in surprise. The angel spoke perfect English. ‘This way,’ she beckoned, and led me to the English fiction section, where I had been standing only minutes earlier. We chattered happily as I helped her locate Jane Austen’s classic novel. I then pretended to be looking for a Charles Dickens’ novel to prolong the conversation.

The angel’s name was Yumi and she was in her final year studying English at a university in Kyoto. She had come to Osaka for a day’s shopping and was trying to find Pride and Prejudice for a coming reading assignment. I quickly explained that I had studied Pride and Prejudice at high school and was very familiar with Jane Austen’s work. I neglected to mention that I had completely detested the book and never actually read the ending.

‘Would you like to go and have a drink?’ I asked impulsively.

To my surprise Yumi nodded and suggested we go to a nearby café. For the next three hours we talked non-stop. Yumi laughed at my stories of life in Kanan Town, and I was smitten with her stories of her rural Kyushu childhood and her life at university.

Conversation soon turned to our respective interests in music and movies, and Yumi suggested that we move to a nearby CD store so she could show me her favourite Japanese artists. We laughed our way around the CD store, joking about each other’s taste in music. In a lovesick haze, I splashed out and bought a CD I had never listened to before (and, after listening to it at home later that night, decided never to listen to again).

It was starting to grow dark outside, and I daringly asked Yumi if she would like to have dinner. Again to my surprise she agreed, and we ate at a pasta restaurant on the top floor of a department store with an amazing view of the city. The sun set and the lights of Osaka came to life. The meal was delicious. I did not want the evening to end.

‘I know it’s getting late,’ I said at length, ‘but would you like



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