Short Story

Oil Ramita Chlearmchutidath Mr. Jamie English 1105 12 December 2017 The Return After the vivid light hit into my eyes, sound of butterflies flying around and a leave dropping down from the tree to my face. Then, I slowly open my eyes and everything around me is very dizzy as if I was just finished from a ride at the amusement park. I lay down for a while and start to realize that this is not the place where I belongs to. So, I think that I must have drink too much last night. But no, wait. I didn’t drink at all. I survey myself and notice that my belonging is missing. “Where is my phone? Where is my wallet?” I mutter. My pocket is empty. “I got robbed of it all, my wife is going to kill me,” I sigh. “Damn it! I’m in trouble.” I stand up and realize that we are having a big sale at a store today so I can’t be late for work. By looking around, I see a huge antique tree with golden yellowish leaves standing in front of me which is very beautiful and I am sure that I have never seen it before. “Where am I?” I asked myself. The weather is warm as the sun shone brightly. Unlike what I thought that it was going to snow a lot today. Suddenly I hear the sound “tinkle-tinkle”, I faces to that sound and see the train’s guard waving the red flag and holding the bell in another hand. I hurriedly run into him. “Excuse me, Sir. Where on earth are we?” I asked the guard. “This is your afterlife,” He said and then point his finger as the answer. I look at the way he pointed to and then I see the signs with the words ‘HEAVEN’ or ‘HELL’. it apparently shows me that I am in the world after dead. I slowly close my eye to think and then there is a flashback in my head, it is the moment when I try to attach the sale label back on the rooftop floor of the department store and then I hear the firework which make me panicked and accidentally fall to the ground. I can feel the wind heavily passing

through my body and the force of gravity is pulling me down to the ground. It was the scariest moment ever. My name is Junki Hasashi. On 22nd December 2015, I am completely dead. “Chugachuga chuga chuga choo choo!!” This sound wakes me from my flashback. I open my eyes and see that the train is coming to the platform.

Two days before his death;

At the Simsong’s group department store, there is the man name Junki Hasashi who work as an assistant manager at the women’s wear department. He is a very optimistic and enthusiastic person. While he walks through his department, he sees one customer complaining to one of his staff and she wants to refund the clothes that she already used once. He walks straight to that customer and helps his staff to solve this problem. “Look me into the eyes and said what is your name. I wore it just once and this is what happen. I wouldn’t have bought it if I knew it would become dirty so easily,” She continuously yelled at him. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. However, we cannot refund a cloth that has been worn,” He answered she gently with a smile on his face.

“You cannot? Am I talking to deaf person? Refund this quickly. Give me my money back!” She yelled at him and people around start to give attention to this situation. “We cannot, Madam,” He answered gently again and give she a big smile to show his sincerity. “Are you laughing. Do I look funny to you?” She said angrily. “No, Madam,” He keep smiling and answered it quickly to keep her from misunderstanding.

“Fine, let’s have a talk come here!” she can’t hold her temper anymore so she grabs his head cruelly to make him follow. But he stands still and stay clams. “I told you to come over here!” she said loudly. But he still be calm and stand still. “Please calm down, Madam,” He said. Then she realizes that other customers are taking picture of her hurting him. So, she feels embarrassed and said “Just you wait!” before she leaves. After that his staff thanks him a lot. He smiles and said “Alright, go back to work.” He also apologizes to other customers for the recent situation. Then he continues walking to check that everything is alright. On his way to his office, he meets his wife and his daughter unexpectedly so he walks straight to them. “Excuse me, Madam!” He shouted at a lady and her daughter. “Honey...” The woman replied. “Dad…” The small child said, as her mouth is covered by Junki’s hand. “Sh…. Keep walking, please. What brings you here?” He said softly. Junki is surprised to see his wife, Hideko, and his daughter, Yuri, here at the store during his working hours. “I came here to see what is on sale. I won’t reveal that I am your wife, stop joking by calling me as if I’m a customer here! So just go on with your business,” She said that as she knows he doesn’t want others to know about his family. He really cares and love them so he wants to keep them safe and separately from his work. “Nobody would suspect an ugly guy like you as her husband,” His daughter said. Then his wife laughs. “Hey, are you really my daughter?” He said. His daughter giggles. “Anyway, get going. I need to work” H,e said. He sends his wife and his daughter at the door, waves goodbye and blows them a kiss and then goes back to work.

In his office.

Junki sits down and see the big red circle with the three red arrows pointed on tomorrow date on his calendar. It is his anniversary! He now knows now that this is the reason why his wife come to his workplace today. “Oh gosh! What am I going to do,” He said desperately as he totally forgot about it. “Genji!” Junki called out to his assistant. “ Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary already, and I don’t even have a clue on what to do!” The man got out from his chair and started walking around in circles thinking for a solution to this dilemma. “Maybe I should just buy some pork belly to take home instead,” The man cracked out a small smile and his assistant laughed to the joke he was referring. “Actually, I know a nice place here just by the corner,” Genji suggested. “I could reserve you some seats for tomorrow night for you to celebrate your anniversary, and you know, to outplay your wife. She thinks you are so into your work that you forgot the anniversary and that you care her less. This time, you could show that she underestimated you too much.” Junki let out a big and loud laugh, after hearing the assistant’s sense of humor. He nods back to show his thanks to the assistant for his great suggestion. The next evening, as suspected, Junki brought his wife to the restaurant his assistant had reserved the day before. The restaurant was well decorated, there were musics played inside. The waiters and the employees of the restaurant have great manners and services. The food was delicious, and everything seems to be working out well for his anniversary celebration; however, the prices are very high. With the fact that Junki is an assistant manager, it does not simply mean that they are rich. “Why is the food here so expensive! As if all the foods here are topped with diamonds or drinks filled with gold!” Junki complained about the price of the foods.

Hideko smiled, “Really??” she said to her husband sarcastically. “Well yeah, of course, despite how good it is, this is way too expensive. Why did Genji chose this restaurant.” “Wait, what? Genji, your assistant picked this restaurant?” Hideko replied. Junki flinched a little, “No…, I did not.” “Junki!” “No..!, I remembered our anniversary! I only had Genji to pick up a nice place for us to celebrate!” “I didn’t say anything yet about our anniversary, why are you bringing it up. Unless, you were afraid that I would know that you forgot!!” Hideko looked into Junki’s eye. “ I swear, I’m telling the truth!! I love you Hideko, as always, I care about you.”

Suddenly, Junki’s phone rang. Hideko’s smile turned into a frown. He leaves to take the call with the excuse that the store can’t run without him, which seems to be a common problem with him. After hanging up the phone, Junki returned to the table, “No sweat, it’s no big deal, just a big customer coming to the store, I’m sure the others could handle it.” As the couple continued dining at the table, Junki shaked his leg. Despite the cold air conditioning inside the restaurant, his sweat start to come out of his face. He constantly looks at his watch once in awhile, with his finger knocking on the table. “You should go Junki,” Hideko responded, after seeing his nervousness through his actions. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I am,” Hideko reassured her beloved husband. “Go finish your work.” Without wanting to leave his wife, Junki decided to take her with him to his store. Everything went very well during his work and the customer is very pleased, so he gave both the manager and Junki a gift for their long and great service. However, after finishing his

job,Junki and Hideko were getting ready to leave. Junki forgot his gift from the customer, so with Hideko’s well intentions, she brought the gift back too. Finally, the couple went back home safely and had a good night’s rest. The next morning, Junki woke up early as usual. He walked towards the gift and opened it. He was surprised with the content inside the small box. Every inch of the box is filled with money. As if the box was a pie, stuffed with money. Not long after that, he received a call from his manager. “This is Junki speaking,” Junki replied as he received the call from his manger. “Junki, you picked up the wrong box last night!” Junki was shocked with the answer, “Sorry sir, but I did not know. My wife picked the box up for me. She must have gotten confused between the boxes since they look exactly the same.” “Actually the box you had contained a bribe that meant for me,” the manager added. “A lot of people were suspecting me about the bribes but, all in all, you already picked it up so I need you to play the part for me and act that you are the one that is bribed.” Junki’s face turned pale as he listened to his manager’s unjust order. However, he must swallow his pride and play the part his boss wants him to. After ordering Junki to play his part, Junki decided to call Hideko to discuss on this matter. After hearing that she picked up the wrong box, Hideko tried to apologise to Junki. “I’m so sorry Junki, I did not know, I was just trying to be nice. You forgot your gift, so I brought it back for you.” “Why Hideko? Why? You are costing me my job, our income. My pride, my hard work for this store. People would think of me as a bad person, a corruptor,” Junki bursted out his anger. “What am I to you, exactly?” she finally asks. “For the 2329289th time, I have planned to go out with you, to spend time with you. But you are always constantly in for work. You dedicate yourself too much, that you do not have time to spend with your family,” Hideko answered furiously.

She is tired of always hearing him promise that “next time” things will be better, and how he is always sorry. She is tired of always having to be the understanding one when it comes to him putting work over his family. “Well, I’m sorry I do not have time for you when I am working to earn a living for our family,” Junki answered his wife and ended the call. That night Junki decided to stay in late at his office to finish up some works and assignments in the future. After finishing up the last details of his work, Junki finally decided to go home. However, sometimes destiny brings upon a breaking point in life. As Junki opened his car door, he looked up and noticed that one of the giant banners decorating the outside of his department store was dangling loose from one end. So he sees fit to go up to that ledge himself. After climbing up top, he slipped from the edge of the building and fell straight down to the ground below.

Back to the afterlife train station.

Junki follows the other souls and line up in the queue to receive the train’s ticket that indicates his destination. Whether it will be heaven or hell it is up to the ticket. After he waits for five minutes, it's finally his turn. The woman at the ticket counter, Maki, gives the ticket to Junki. He looks at it and smile, a giant word printed “HEAVEN” is stamped on the centre of his ticket. Finally, after waiting for a long time, he boarded the train to heaven. The train was moving upwards, deeper into the light in the sky. Junki looks into the blank space, outside of the train, but suddenly, all the happy memories he shared with his family came flooding back to him. At that moment, Junki realized that he needed out. There is nothing for him in heaven. “I have to go baaaaaaaack!” Junki shouted out as he exploded from his seat and came running down to the end of the train.

“There’s so much I have to do! I can’t leave my daughter this way, and more importantly, I must delete my secret collection of adult videos before someone finds out!” Finally, Junki reached the last bogie of the train. He bursted through the end of the bogie and jumped. The cool air rushed through him as he fell down the vast blue sky. At the end of his fall, a bright white light appeared. Junki closed his eyes from the brightness of the light he had witnessed. Still screaming, Junki slowly opened his eyes back. The picture he now sees is that he is in another place. Junki looked down and seen that he is now sitting on a chair. Across the table is Maki, the ticket keeper, who is sitting in another chair, staring back at Junki. She calmly waits for him to stop screaming (it takes a minute). Finally he stops. “Where am I? What am I doing here?” Junki asked. “You’re still in the afterlife, Junki Hasashi. You are now in our interrogation room.” Maki replied. “Do you remember what happened before you were here?” “Uh, I jumped out of the train. I still had something to do and I did not want to leave just yet.” “You had guts to jump off from a train to heaven, Junki. We have seen your determination and heaven has given you a chance to go back to Earth; however you still have the chance to reject this offer and you’ll be back to your heaven-bound train.” Maki then slides a paper which seems to be a consent form of some kind to Junki. “Although if you want to go back to the Earth, you must follow these three rules: One; is that you must keep your real identities secret, Two; you aren't allowed to get revenge, And last but not least, Three; You cannot interfere in the lives of others. If you were to break this rule, you will face with something far worse than death and hell itself.”

Without even the slightest hesitation, Junki signed the papers and told Maki that he would be careful. Once he finished signing the papers, the bright white light reappeared as Maki’s face dimmed out of his vision. Junki is woken up by a ringing phone, and finds himself in a fancy hotel room. Junki gets on the phone to receive the call, “Hello?” “Junki, it’s me, Maki.” “Why does my voice sound really strange? What have you done to me?” He catches a glimpse of himself in a full-length mirror, and gasps at the gorgeous stranger. He stares for a long time, hardly believing that this reflection he sees is himself. The reflection shows a man with a model’s body. A face smooth as a baby’s. He was goodlooking. “The phone we give you, can call me at any time. Also there is a watch to keep track of time that you have left on Earth. You will be given an empty wallet, which will produce whatever money you need, when you need it.” “Thank you Maki, I will take care,” Junki replied to Maki, before ending the call. As soon as the call is ended, Junki jumped out of the bed of the hotel room and changed his clothes. After that, he went to visit the department store he was working for when he still alive, The Simsong Department store. He passed by the big LED screen hanging on the wall at the centre of the store. The screen was happening to be featuring a news report concerning Junki’s death as the assistant manager of this store. Junki stopped and took a good look at the screen; the headlines read, “ASSISTANT MANAGER COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER CATCHED OF GETTING COMPENSATE.” “What in the world is that?!” Junki was really furious and confused, “I never did such a thing! It was the manager! And I did not commited suicide! It was an accident.” “Idiots!”, Junki grumbled.

He continued to watch the news and has seen that the manager is also interviewed to show opinions on this matter. “He was a good man, Junki. It is hard to believe that he receives bribes, but it is the real truth. The whole lot. I also believe that he committed suicide to escape the trials and the investigation of getting the bribes,” The manager answered the reporters in a cautious and calm manner. Junki clenched his fists as he listened to the report. The manager was lying, blaming all the guilt onto him. Blaming all the guilt onto the dead, so that no one could try to oppose him. All his co-workers, his employees, all of them and even his wife actually think that he has committed suicide. “After all I’ve done for this company, all my efforts, my times wasted. What I get back is getting stabbed right in the back by my own manager, the person I respected most in this company.” Junki felt disappointed, he was let down by the people whom he has respected and worked for. “I cannot leave like this,” Junki demanded, “I must do something, I have to prove everyone that I am innocent.” And as Junki finished watching the news report he came up with a plan to serve justice to his old self. Junki kept track of the customer, who has been giving the manager bribes every time he visits. Day after day, Junki took photos of the manager and the customer secretly. From the front of the store to the restricted areas reserved for the staff. After days of scouting, he finally has enough information to reveal the actual truth behind this issue. He also holds a collection of picture as a strong evidence to support his idea.. However, he could not simply walk out to the crowds and make an announcement in broad daylight. Junki realized that the rules would be broken if he were to attempt to complete an action like this. “If I told the truth to the people, this would mean that I will break the rules the heavens told me to obey.” Junki talked to himself. But then, he remembered someone who could help. Someone ,whom he matters the most, his beloved wife Hideko. He looked at his

watch from heaven and seen that his time is going to be run out soon. It was his last day on this Earth. That night, he took a taxi to his house where his old self used to live in with his family. Watching from the pavement across the house, he sees Hideko and Yuri in the kitchen room playing happily like before. At that moment, Junki had several flashbacks of him reliving this moment like dejavu. It is the same picture he sees every time he comes back to home from work early. However, this time, he is dead and now, Hideko is cooking food for Yuri. Normally, Hideko is not a good cooker, she only knows how to do instant noodles, but with the absence of Junki, she must take up this role by herself. Tears ran down along his cheeks from his dark brown eyes. He was crying, yet full of happiness and a peace of mind. Suddenly, Junki noticed something that was off, something strange. He wiped off the tears from his face and took a closer look into the house from the windows. He had realized that his wife, Hideko is now dressed in a uniform which is coded for his store company only. That shocked Junki. Tears ran down again, but more came out than before. He now feels the guilt and the burden he has left for his family to deal with after his death. Hideko now takes Junki’s role as the head of the family. But, this did not distract his real purpose of visiting here. He planned to give all the photos of the manager and the customer he took since he came back from the dead to Hideko. So, to top off his last minutes on this Earth, he walked to the front door of his house. The sound of Hideko and Yuri playing inside slipped through the edges of the door. As he raised his finger to press the doorbell, he started to see himself vanishing. His tears ran even harder than before, as he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the doorway. Junki finally came home. His last seconds on this Earth, is spent as if he had come home from his long day of work, just like it would be when he was alive. By the time Hideko opened the door, there was already nobody at the other side of the door. Hideko glanced her eyes left and right to find the person who pressed the bell. She then looked down onto her feet. There is a big envelope lying at the doorstep just by her feet. Hideko picked it up and saw the writing on it, saying

“ You know I would never leave you without a cause.” She opened the envelope and seen the pictures inside. Her eyes started to fill with tears. This was enough for her to prove her husband innocent. “Junki?” Hideko’s voice trembled as she thought of the picture of her caring husband. But there was no answer to her call, the silence of the night was there. No one was there, not even the slightest sound of a car passing by the road or the howls of the wind. There was literally nothing at all. But then, she felt something. She heard the wind calling her name. “Hideko...” She looked up into the sky and saw that the sky was clear. So clear, that she could easily see the constellation of stars and moons across the sky. She noticed one star just above her head. Its light shining brighter than the others. As she looked at the twinkling star, she wiped off the tears off her face and smiled. “Mom, what’s taking you so long, I’m very hungry,” Yuri called out for her mother. “Coming, sweetheart, I’ll be there in a sec.” After her daughter’s call, Hideko went back inside with the envelope. She continued to cook dinner for Yuri. That night, as Hideko was laying her back on the soft sheets of her bed, she finally came up with something to do with the pictures inside the envelope. She decided to go and have a chat with the owner of the company. She wants to discuss the controversial problem between her husband and the unjust manager with the owner herself. The next day, after sending Yuri to school, Hideko rode her car straight to the main office of the company, Simsong Building. Luckily, when she got there, the owner himself was vacant. He had no meetings at all that day, so she did not have to make an appointment in advance. This means that she could meet the owner today without having to wait for an appointment or a queue. Hideko got into the central elevator and pressed the last floor button, Floor 19. It was the top floor on the building. It was a penthouse. She came out of the

elevator and as suspected, there is a secretary waiting at a table just by the entrance to the owner’s room. “Hasashi, this way please. Mr. Simsong has been expecting you,” the secretary greeted Hideko as she opened the door for her to enter the room. Hideko walked straight inside holding the envelope in her hand. The owner was sitting at his chair, looking at the great view of the city through the large windows of the penthouse. “Great view, isn’t it?” Mr. Simsong started the conversation. “Yet it is very strange to see all what is happening in the city around you,” the old man continued, “the cars, the traffics, the chaos around you sometimes makes you ponder.” Mr. Simsong looked at the envelope Hideko brought. “What is it you want to discuss with me today?” Hideko was nervous, she was biting her lips. Although she is doing the right thing, something in her mind is afraid. She was afraid that the owner would end up like the manager, a corruptor. However, some parts of her trusted that he is the one that would help her bring justice to her husband, Junki. Hideko, finally explained the story behind this problem. From the moment she accidentally picked up the wrong gift box, to the moment she had her last call with Junki. She explained how he did not come home at the night of his death. She told the owner that she took the photos of the manager and the customer by herself. That the manager is actually the one to blame on receiving all the bribes and the corruption within the system. Once she finished, the owner had one more look into Hideko’s eye. He knew that Hideko was telling the truth. He could see the pain and sadness in her eyes. “Please mister, help me. Although he may have been dead already, but please, at least bring justice to the memory of my beloved husband.” tears started to run down on Hideko’s face once more, “He has dedicated his life for your work. He has always been a hard-working man all his life.”

The owner nodded his head, accepting the truth that Junki is a loyal worker. He has seen Junki since he was just a small employee of the company. His hard work has gained him promotion in the ranks, finally making him an Assistant Manager of the store. With his sympathy and sentimental feelings for Junki’s family. He agreed to help Hideko with all his power, to bring justice to Junki. “I’ll help you myself Hideko,” Mr. Simsong replied emphatically, “It’s time for the world to know the real sinner.” “No!” Hideko shouted. “Please, you don’t have to tell the world about this. Junki would not want this. I don’t want the whole world to think of this action as a revenge. I meant no harm, I just want justice for my husband, and that’s all I need.” “So, if that’s what you want, I’m okay with it,” Mr. Simsong responded to Hideko’s suggestions. After finishing discussing the problems, both of them thanked each other. Hideko thanked Mr. Simsong for his cooperation, while Mr. Simsong thanked Hideko for showing him that there is still goodness and justice inside the world among the chaos and problems that may conceal it. By the time Hideko left the building, it was already time for her to pick up Yuri, so she did. After picking up her lovely daughter from school, they both came home and played some board games together to kill time for dinner. Days and weeks pass quick as a rocket. One day, when Hideko came back with Yuri, she received a letter inside the letter box. It is very rare for the box to contain mails and letters. She grabbed the letter from inside the box. The writings on the front were written very well in a formal handwriting. “Hope your husband is at peace. - S.” Hastily, she opened the letter to see what was written inside. Hideko, I have did what you have asked. I finally told the manager to tell the truth behind the controversy with your husband, Junki. At first, he still didn’t admit that he took the bribes,

but when I showed him the photos you took, he finally split out the truth, all of it. Thanks to your photos, we finally forced him to tell the truth. The board has decided to fire him and to appoint you as the new manager of the store. This change would be affected from the moment you read this letter. Looking forward to see you in work -

S.

Her tears ran down her cheeks again. The difference this time is that these are tears of joy. Finally, Junki’s justice is now restored. At last, he is free of regrets and worries. Hideko now has a great job. Her job would not be as hard as before. She does not need to worry about their wealth and income anymore. It was a new beginning, a new chapter of life. Hideko drove to work happily as she hasn’t done in a long time. She was guided to her new office and was assigned a assistant to help her. She opened the door to the office and saw a well-known face. “ Good morning, Hideko. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you smile.” “You too, Genji.” Both of them smiled and cracked out a laugh as they started to pack out their things and set up their office. At Hideko’s desk lies a gift from Mr. Simsong, the owner of the store group. Alongside the gift, there was a small piece of paper, “What you need to get started.” It was a cat holding up a sign. On the sign is a Japanese word painted by a brush saying the word, “hope”.