I wasn't going to the company after the accident took place. I was granted with a 6 month leave by the management. It was hard for me to rush back and forth everyday for work and walk and every other affair. So I took a house near the place Mancedra of Mancedra Lake. I felt the need of a break from the haunting noises of the city life for a while. The house was pretty awesome with its minimal style for living. It was a two-storied building with a fireplace, and a balcony with a thrilling view to the city lights of Tokyo. It was those lonely days when I started the habit of smoking. Other than the infinite night sky with the stars and the blurry burning lights from the city at night, the place was quieter and calmer for a lonely bird like me. The only one restaurant, Mancedra cuisine had some variety of food than what I had from the city. The lady who runs the restaurant was so generous that she would often send me some special dishes to my house. She had a boy who was very charming and adorable. There was a girl, almost his age in my neighborhood. They both loved to draw and play. I'd buy them crayons and pencils and papers and they used to give me some drawings as gifts. I had made a good relationship with the restaurant lady by a week of residence.
It was in those times when I wandered around the places for leisure and met with a guy named Ryan. He was a tourist from California and a freelance photographer. My interests in architecture really interested him that, He asked me if I could give a part of my time to know about that place. I was fascinated by that because nobody ever asked me to have a company just because I'm an Architect. I took a long pause before I decided to spend my time with a stranger.
The next day, we packed a few things for breakfast and lunch and a few things for hiking such as ................. We decided to hike the Mount Lavo which is one of the rarest locations for movie shoots. The ground felt hotter in the mid summer day. There was a little cottage over the very far end of the hiking station. We waited a long time for the dusk, to capture the perfect shot of sunset from the top. I felt so comfortable with him besides the fact that we met the day before. He asked me if I would like to take a picture. I said, I like the night sky in Tokyo more. I was being ironic and trying to be funny. But as a photographer, he took my words serious. He said that then wait until the moon rise to capture my picture. I was confused all of sudden. I had never even had a date night like that. We decided to wait until then and he told me the stories about all the places he had been to and all the people he met. Nobody ever took a word for granted until then that he is able to travel like he wished his entire life. His dreams came true like fantasy.
We waved goodbyes the next day. The last thing we did together was a dinner from Mancedra cuisine after a farewell party in the city. That night was my last stay in Mancedra. I also packed my things and went back to my apartment after saying all the goodbyes to the restaurant lady and her son and my neighborhood. I had made such a deep connection with those few people by these few months. I could feel the emptiness in my heart while I drove past those meadows in the cabin car.