Time. 時間. Duration, lifespan, period. Whatever you call it, it is one of the most interesting, complicated, and important units in this universe. The action of spending time doing something, especially something that has no aim or is not very useful. Time is an ever-present force, an invisible continuum that stretches from the past through the present and into the future. It is a fundamental framework within which all events occur and every experience unfolds.
Time is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, and years, but its true essence goes beyond mere numbers. It is the silent witness to our moments of joy and sorrow, success and failure, love and loss. Each passing second is a reminder of life's fleeting nature, urging us to make the most of every moment.
Time is a teacher, showing us that growth and change are inevitable. It heals wounds, molds our character, and brings wisdom through experience. It challenges us to be patient, to persevere, and to appreciate the journey rather than just the destination. In essence, time is a precious, non-renewable resource. How we choose to spend it defines our lives and shapes our destinies. By valuing time, we honor the gift of existence, making each moment meaningful and each experience
worthwhile.
Many people may interpret the death of time as if time were a person whose death has occurred. It is somewhat like that. However, here time is not a person. It is the outcome of a series of events occurring through the use of this unit called time. If we express this through a famous quote:
"TIME AND TIDE, WAIT FOR NONE"
In other words, 'time' is a constant unit that is continuously ongoing. The best definition of time is that time is a continued sequence of existence and events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. In other words, we cannot bring passed time back. So, we can say:
TIME ∝ INCIDENTS
Time is inversely proportional to incidents.
This means that, as time passes by incidents are also happening. Once time passes, we cannot bring it back. For example, the years; 2020 have gone by, can we bring it back? No, this is exactly how our time unit works. Let me give another example. Suppose, I am drinking water from a bottle. Can we drink the exact same molecules, elements, shape, size, and amount of water that we drank? No. Time is like that. Once it goes, it cannot be brought back.
I am either lying down at home or sitting. Otherwise, I am playing a game for a while. I cannot focus on any work because the thoughts of that day are floating in my mind. Ishikawa told me he came to take me to the USA, Sho said everything was ready. Like this, I wasted 1 day, 2 days, 3 days... continuously wasting 4 days. After 4 days, I realized that instead of wasting time, I should go out for a bit. I live at The Roppongi Tokyo Club Residence building. My dad bought this apartment when he was alive and we were a happy family. After their death, whenever I felt bored, I would go to one place. Hinokicho park. When I used to watch Japanese anime, I saw that young people like me would hang out in parks, sit on benches, talk, and do so many other fun things. This sparked an interest in parks inside me, but I never had the chance to go. When my parents died, I started earning on my own. When I had nothing to do, I always went to the park. The park is just 5 minutes from my house, so I walk there. So, I went today too. Sometimes getting out in the fresh air is good, it refreshes the mind. I went to the park. As soon as I entered, I walked for a while, then sat on my favorite bench. It was the evening. The bench is in front of the lake. Then I took out my earbuds from my pocket and put them in my ears. After that, I played a song on my phone; someone tapped me on the head! When I looked up to see who it was, I saw Yuki! Then she came and sat next to me.
"Yuki! What are you doing here?"
"I was wandering around. Suddenly I saw you sitting here listening to music, so I tapped you. What are you doing here?" (Yuki)
"Nothing much. Just reminiscing old memories."
"You were bored, weren't you?" (Yuki)
I was taken aback. How did she know?
"How did you know that?"
"I didn't have to; your face shows it." (Yuki)
"Yes, I am bored. It's because of you guys! You all told me those things that day and got me thinking. Thinking like this is making my time pass."
"Follow me. We have to go somewhere."
"Where to?"
"Just come," she said, and then I started walking with her.
She walked out of the gate of Hinokicho Park and went in front of a car. She opened the door and asked me to get in. I got in. I asked her,
"Is this your car?"
"No, it's rented. My car is in the USA."
"So, where are we going?"
"You'll see." (Yuki)
She took a U-turn outside the park and started going straight through the 9 CHOME road. Then she stopped at the signal. After the signal, she entered the Gaien Higashi-Dori road. Then she headed straight. Finally, we stopped in front of a building. When I got out of the car, I realized that we were not in Roppongi anymore. We are in Minato city. She parked the car and went out.
"Let's go." (Yuki)
"Where?"
"Obviously inside!" (Yuki)
"Heh!"
We were inside of the UCC Coffee Academy. It's a coffee shop. After that, the two of us entered the shop. She told me to sit anywhere, as she was going to place the order. I went and sat on the sofa at the very back. She placed the order and then came and sat in front of me. Then my conversation with her started,
"So, how's the place?" (Yuki)
"It's good."
"Do you drink coffee?" (Yuki)
"Yes, I do, why?"
"Thank goodness! Because I've ordered coffee." (Yuki)
After that, she sighed and looked at me prematurely.
"Will you be my life partner?" (Yuki)
I started screaming out of shock! I was completely shocked. What is Yuki saying? HOW COULD A PUNK LIKE ME GET LIKED AND GET A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL BY SOMEONE GREATER THAN ME!!! How could a distinguished person like her like someone like me, and the biggest thing, why would she propose marriage?!! How could she do that!!! At that time, I was surprised, in shock, thinking these things. Then I heard her calling me.
"What happened?" (Yuki)
''Nothing, I was just shocked!"
"I am serious, given your current situation, you really need a partner!" (Yuki)
She's telling the truth. I am completely alone right now! No friends! No siblings. No family.
Then she said,
"You need a family now. How long will you stay alone? You can't stay alone. That's why I'm telling you to make a decision, will you marry me or not?" (Yuki)
I sat quietly for a while.
"I have waited for you for 7 years. I lost my patience to see you. That's why I convinced Ishikawa and Sho and persuaded them to bring you here. The three of us missed you a lot." (Yuki)
Then she said something that made me extremely emotional.
"Do you remember, during the summer holiday of 2023? You told me on that bench in Hinokicho Park that you and I would be friends for life. No matter how many storms we have to go through! We became BFF (Best Friends Forever)." (Yuki)
Hearing this, I started crying. She gave such a beautiful smile and said,
"You haven't changed a bit. Our newborn baby!!!! You used to cry over everything since you were little." (Yuki)
That's why everyone used to call me 'newborn baby' and I would say,
"I'm not crying."
She smiled. Watching her, I smiled too. Then Yuki happily said to me,
"So now tell me, what will you eat?" (Yuki)
"I'll eat whatever you'll order."
"Alright then. WAITER!"
A man came and said,
"Yes, madam. Can I take your guys' order?"
Just by looking at his dress code and the way he spoke, I realized that this is really a high-class coffee shop.
"Uh.... yeah. Just give me whatever she takes and also give me this SPECIAL ORANGE DRINK with extra ice."
"Okay, sir. I'll be with your order in a moment. Also, to you too, madam."
About 10 minutes later, he brought our order. I was completely surprised to see it! There was an Italian tiramisu, special pancakes, and my favorite, and for drinks, a special cocktail. Seeing all this, I said,
"I thought you would just feed me a simple dish and leave!!! Now
I see you have brought a royal feast."
"Of course! After so long, I met my boyfriend, so I thought I'd give you a little treat. Now eat quietly."
Then I asked her to wait a bit and I went to the washroom. I washed my hands, and then my phone started ringing. I took the phone out of my pocket and saw that Ishikawa was calling. As soon as I picked up the call, he asked,
"Where are you now?" (Ishikawa)
"I'm at Minato in a coffee shop with Yuki. Why?"
"You just wait there. We're coming." (Ishikawa)
Saying this, he hung up the phone. I thought Strange! Then I washed my face again. While wiping my hands and face with a tissue, I came out and saw that Ishikawa and Sho were sitting and talking to Yuki. As soon as I got there, Ishikawa and Sho said,
"Yo. What's going on?"
"So, that's why you called me,"
"Yes, we have some good news for you." (Ishikawa)
"What?"
The three of them stared at each other and smiled at each other. I got confused.
"I'm not understanding the situation right now. Why are you all laughing?"
Ishikawa stopped his smile and said,
"Your passport is ready."
I gave a smile and sat next to Yuki.
"Really?"
"Yes. That's why I told Yuki to bring you here today, to celebrate this day."
Then Sho gave a slightly irritated look at Ishikawa and gave him a nudge. He signaled with his eyes to tell me something. I still didn't understand anything. Then Ishikawa said,
"We need to go to your place for a while."
"Of course, you will. Where are you staying right now?"
"We are currently at a hotel." (Ishikawa)
"Check out from your hotel. Bring your belongings and come to my place."
"We were thinking the same, whether we should stay at your place or not? We didn't want to cause you any trouble." (Sho)
"What trouble? I've seen my childhood friends after so long, I need to take care of them a bit. Go to the hotel right now, get your things, check out, and come with me!"
"Oh, there's no need to go!! It's just unnecessary trouble." (Yuki)
I got annoyed!
"Why shouldn't you go? You guys will come to my place right now. This is my final decision! Otherwise, I'll not go to the USA."
Then they said,
"Alright, fine. We'll stay at your place."
Hearing this, I got happy and smiled.
.....
Time passes like a daily activity in our lives. It happens every moment; some have bad times, and some have good times. We must go through both. Is it the same in my case too? Or am I different from the usual?