by Kumi Kobashigawa
Medicine Woman Jane
told her good buddy Junko, “Tomorrow will be a beautiful new beginning for you,”
when Jane was talking to Junko about her wildest dreams. It was a beautiful
moonlit night. They were sitting under the shade of a tree in the backyard and
eating juicy grapes and drinking excellent red wine with the roasted garlic
chicken, jellyfish salad, and sugar-free dessert, which they had bought for a
very low price at a local market.
“Listen to the voice
of the heavens, open your mind and then you’ll land on your feet!” Jane cried
in a quivering voice. “There she goes again,” Junko thought as Jane always
talked about the purported predictions in her dreams even though her prediction
had never come true.
Finally, Jane’s long
talk finished, and they looked blankly for a short while at the beautiful full
moon. The scent of the citrus fruits wafted in the air.
Then, some sweet
music was heard from somewhere. Junko looked around and the crazy star-crossed
lovers could be seen over the fence. The girl was sitting on a grand piano, and
the boy was serenading her with a popular love song of the 1970s, and they
began to dance under the moonlight.
“They’ve probably
watched a few romantic musical movies too much,” Junko thought to herself.
After that, Jane
began to talk again, but Junko was tired, so she said goodbye to Jane and walked
home. As soon as Junko arrived home, she went to bed and, without remembering
Jane’s prediction, fell fast asleep.
The next day, Junko arose
and found the hands of the clock pointed straight to 9:00 A.M. “Oh, dear!” She
muttered, remembering she had a job interview that day. She had decided to find
a new job because the job of Medicine Woman, she felt, didn’t pay well enough.
She dressed in a
hurry, spread sweet honey on burnt toast and got into her car. She hurried on
her way to a company that she was going to interview for. When she made her way
through the forest road, suddenly a deer leapt out from the right side of the
trees. She turned the wheel sharply to the left but her car slammed into a tree!
Fortunately, she
didn’t suffer any serious injuries. She called the police and the company, but
her brand new car was wrecked completely, which caused her to cry
uncontrollably.
Anyway, she was
bound for the company in a daze. She got into a taxi and got out just a few
blocks before the company. Then, she heard the distinct sounds of people
squealing up ahead. She came closer there and saw that George Clooney was just
coming out of the building. A crowd of female fans was surrounding him, snapping
pictures and asking for autographs.
Junko tried to make
her way through the crowd but one of the fan shouted, “Hey, you are in my way,
step aside!” and pushed Junko. Junko fell onto the street. She tottered back to
her feet but found her right knee was bleeding. “Oh, shoot,” she muttered and
went into the closest store to use the restroom and wash the injury, and went
back into the company.
After her job
interview and the journey back home, she was very tired. She opened the fridge,
took out yesterday’s dinner, and asked the girl next door Tomomi to join her
for dinner.
Tomomi came soon,
and they began to eat like sad funeral mourners. Tomomi asked Junko what had
happened that day, then Junko began to tell her about her journey and about Mr.
Clooney. Tomomi listened carefully to Junko and cheered her up.
Afterwards, they
watched a documentary movie while sipping on warm milk. Then they felt sleepy,
so Tomomi went back to her room and Junko went to bed.
“It was an awful
day,” she muttered to herself under the heavy wool blanket and she was soon
dreaming of escape from her bad hair day.
However, further
misfortune was creeping closer upon her.
Unfortunately, she
was seemingly unaware of the hair monster wearing with an evil smile and gulping
down a strawberry shake just beyond the bedroom door!
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