Page 32 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze
But Lily pulls me along. Pulling me after her by my hand – she could drag me to hell for all I care.
And that’s dangerous. So damn dangerous.
There’s a line to our left and Lily pulls me to it. I’m a bit confused but it seems to be a ritual before entering, where we need to wash our hands and rinse our mouth before we continue.
“I feel so out of place here,” I tell her, and she nods in understanding. “Like I’m disrespecting this place by coming as a tourist.” A look around reveals that tourists are very much welcome, but I still feel like an intruder.
“We don’t have to stay long,” she assures me and nods to our left. “Let me get a protection charm and make a wish.”
“A wish?”
“You see those wooden boards over there?” She nods to our right. “You donate, then write your wish on there and put it on the wall.” She watches me eye the wall. “Would you like to make one as well?”
“You know what? I think I do.”
"Now, what's that street over there?" I ask Lily later as we make our way back to the station. When I expressed wanting to make a wish I had so many ideas running through my head, but as soon as it came to writing it down, my brain was blank.
In the end it was ‘Time’ I put on it. One word, very simple compared to other, long messages I saw on it. Not any less important, though.
“You mean Takeshita street?” Lily asks and I nod. The name is lighting up over a blinking arch over its entrance.
“It’s a shopping street. You see, Harajuku is one of the fashion districts of Tokyo. This is where you’ll find the more alternative styles. In my opinion, it's gotten a bit heavy on tourism stuff, though. The last time I was here, it felt like every second store was for souvenirs. Do you still want to go take a look?"
"Sure." I nod and shrug. "I mean, we're here anyways, we might as well make the most of it."
"Great. Let’s go!" She smiles and walks ahead. Before we throw ourselves into the shopping masses, I make a point to grab her hand again, though.
"Don't want to get lost." I wink at her, noticing the most adorable blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Oh, okay," she mumbles, avoiding my eyes, and we start walking.
Walking along this narrow road with her, I can safely say she was right. There are a lot of tourist-geared shops and food stalls, and it’s very, very crowded. We move at a snail's pace, so slowly it becomes frustrating, and at the same time, we need to evade people who suddenly stop or try to rush their way through the slow stream.
I can feel her growing antsy next to me and it makes me smile. She's definitely not a slow walker, I noticed that in my feeble stalker attempt yesterday. She usually walks with purpose, wanting to get from A to B efficiently.
Crawling forward appears to make her really frustrated, judging by the grimace she’s trying to hold at bay and the way her hand claws into mine. Suddenly, she pulls on my arm and I follow her into a side street.
"God, I need a break," she says with a deep sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose between her eyes. Looking around to orient herself, her eyes light up when she sees a little crepe stand just to our left. "Oh hell yes, I can use a snack. Would you like one, too?"
I look over her shoulder to look at the menu, but finally shake my head.
"I’m good, but you go ahead," I say.
"Alright," she singsongs happily and lets go of my hand to join the end of the line. It only takes her a few minutes until she returns with a cone-shaped crepe filled with strawberries, cheesecake, ice, and a grin on her face.
“Is it good?”
“Hell yes!” She nods happily and takes another bite, a bit of whipped cream in the corner of her mouth.
Now I really want to lean down and get a taste of it by kissing her. And now that I've thought about it, I can’t seem to think about anything else but the taste of her plump lips. Fuck.
"Are you alright?" she asks me with a raised eyebrow and licks the speck of whipped cream away. “You look like you’re dissociating. Do you have heat stroke?”
I force myself to shake my head and get my act together.
"I’m okay." I cross my arms in front of my chest and dig my fingers into the fabric of my shirt. “Just daydreaming.”
Goddamnit, Adam. Get it together.
