Read Online The Complete Karma Trilogy by Jude Fawley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jude Fawley
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coffee, please? And no room at the top, if you will. Room is for the weak.”
The barista didn’t seem to know how to respond, but did seem to understand him. He smiled subserviently, and shouted the order back to another worker behind him.
It had been somewhat of a concern to Matthew, that he would come that far just to be unintelligible. He was ashamed of the feeling, but he was very relieved when the few brief words and a couple notes of yen were turned into a coffee, in correspondence with his will. It reassured him.
Before returning to the group of men across the street, he took a seat at one of the tables by a window in the corner of the cafe, at which a young college student was already sitting. The action considerably shocked the man, since Matthew was straightforward to the point of rudeness when taking the seat, but his reaction didn’t slow Matthew down. The man didn’t have time to object before Matthew offered a fairly formal introduction of himself, and extended his hand. With a visible diffidence, the man took his hand.
In Japanese, Matthew said, “And what would your name be, young sir?”
“Hiro.”
“And you attend a university, from what I see?”
“Tokyo University.” The student took great care to use as few syllables as possible to answer.
“So very abrupt, and here I’m just trying to get used to speaking again.”
Hiro responded by making a large, ironic smile, and saying, “Well, I am very busy, so...” He then pulled a book out from the bag at his feet, and flipped it open to a random page.
“How long do you think you’ll remember the things you read in that book?” Matthew asked. “If you are extremely interested by them, and have an excellent memory, maybe a year at best.” Matthew read the title of the book—it was a book on physics. “Unless you become a physicist. But that is the only exception to that rule. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. I’m at the end of my year, only with Japanese instead of physics. One more day, and I’ll lose it all. Wouldn’t you feel compassion, if our situation was reversed—you worked so hard to learn physics, and I, the physicist, refuse to remind you of all of the basic principles you desperately need, because I am too busy?”
“You don’t make sense,” Hiro said.
“Is it my Japanese, or my thought process?”
“Your thoughts, I suppose.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Matthew said as he stood up, and tousled the man’s hair. It was entirely inappropriate, and Matthew smiled as he did it. Hiro refused to look up at him as he left. “Enjoy being a physicist, little Hiro. Study hard.”
Back across the street, Matthew took the first sip of his coffee. It was tepid, at best. “Wonderfully refreshing,” he said to the men around him, back to comfortable English. They had all been standing in the same place, awkwardly, for the fifteen minutes he had been gone. “And sorry to keep you waiting so long. Certain necessities I had to take care of. But if you’re all ready, I believe it is about time for our appointment.” After saying that, he glanced at his watch for the first time in several hours to make sure that he hadn’t lied. “Very close to our appointed time,” he repeated.
He led the way inside, his guards close behind. The main lobby was unassuming, with white tile floors and a small reception desk, flanked by elevators. Hallways branched off left and right, their length visible only for a moment as he briskly made his way to the reception desk. To the lady that sat there, he said, “I believe we have an appointment, for 3 P.M., with the board of directors? We’re with the American government.”
She nodded, typed a few things into a computer in front of her, and said, “If you will take the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, you will be escorted from there.”
“Thank you very much,” he said, and led his group to the elevator. No one said a word on the way up.
Eventually he
The barista didn’t seem to know how to respond, but did seem to understand him. He smiled subserviently, and shouted the order back to another worker behind him.
It had been somewhat of a concern to Matthew, that he would come that far just to be unintelligible. He was ashamed of the feeling, but he was very relieved when the few brief words and a couple notes of yen were turned into a coffee, in correspondence with his will. It reassured him.
Before returning to the group of men across the street, he took a seat at one of the tables by a window in the corner of the cafe, at which a young college student was already sitting. The action considerably shocked the man, since Matthew was straightforward to the point of rudeness when taking the seat, but his reaction didn’t slow Matthew down. The man didn’t have time to object before Matthew offered a fairly formal introduction of himself, and extended his hand. With a visible diffidence, the man took his hand.
In Japanese, Matthew said, “And what would your name be, young sir?”
“Hiro.”
“And you attend a university, from what I see?”
“Tokyo University.” The student took great care to use as few syllables as possible to answer.
“So very abrupt, and here I’m just trying to get used to speaking again.”
Hiro responded by making a large, ironic smile, and saying, “Well, I am very busy, so...” He then pulled a book out from the bag at his feet, and flipped it open to a random page.
“How long do you think you’ll remember the things you read in that book?” Matthew asked. “If you are extremely interested by them, and have an excellent memory, maybe a year at best.” Matthew read the title of the book—it was a book on physics. “Unless you become a physicist. But that is the only exception to that rule. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. I’m at the end of my year, only with Japanese instead of physics. One more day, and I’ll lose it all. Wouldn’t you feel compassion, if our situation was reversed—you worked so hard to learn physics, and I, the physicist, refuse to remind you of all of the basic principles you desperately need, because I am too busy?”
“You don’t make sense,” Hiro said.
“Is it my Japanese, or my thought process?”
“Your thoughts, I suppose.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Matthew said as he stood up, and tousled the man’s hair. It was entirely inappropriate, and Matthew smiled as he did it. Hiro refused to look up at him as he left. “Enjoy being a physicist, little Hiro. Study hard.”
Back across the street, Matthew took the first sip of his coffee. It was tepid, at best. “Wonderfully refreshing,” he said to the men around him, back to comfortable English. They had all been standing in the same place, awkwardly, for the fifteen minutes he had been gone. “And sorry to keep you waiting so long. Certain necessities I had to take care of. But if you’re all ready, I believe it is about time for our appointment.” After saying that, he glanced at his watch for the first time in several hours to make sure that he hadn’t lied. “Very close to our appointed time,” he repeated.
He led the way inside, his guards close behind. The main lobby was unassuming, with white tile floors and a small reception desk, flanked by elevators. Hallways branched off left and right, their length visible only for a moment as he briskly made his way to the reception desk. To the lady that sat there, he said, “I believe we have an appointment, for 3 P.M., with the board of directors? We’re with the American government.”
She nodded, typed a few things into a computer in front of her, and said, “If you will take the elevator to the twenty-seventh floor, you will be escorted from there.”
“Thank you very much,” he said, and led his group to the elevator. No one said a word on the way up.
Eventually he
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