Utah Phillips died last Saturday night. Although I never met him, I feel like I've just lost a brother and could write a book about it just to tell you why. But I won't.
You're welcome. : )
I'll just link over to this one song of his, "The Preacher and the Slave."
It was written to put focus on the mis-use of power (political and religious) in America many decades ago.
And here are the lyrics.
Perhaps they elicit something large and loving in the world
that all people have in common.
But please do just one thing...
Please do sing along and please do sing it loud:
"The Preacher and the Slave"
Long-haired preachers come out every night,
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;
But when asked how 'bout something to eat
They will answer in voices so sweet
You will eat, bye and bye,
In that glorious land above the sky;
Work and pray, live on hay,
You'll get pie in the sky when you die
And the Starvation Army they play,
And they sing and they clap and they pray,
Till they get all your coin on the drum,
Then they tell you when you're on the bum
Holy Rollers and Jumpers come out
And they holler, they jump and they shout
Give your money to Jesus, they say,
He will cure all diseases today
If you fight hard for children and wife-
Try to get something good in this life-
You're a sinner and bad man, they tell,
When you die you will sure go to hell.
Workingmen of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight
When the world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, bye and bye,
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry;
Chop some wood, 'twill do you good
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye
The chorus is sung in a call and response pattern.
You will eat [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye]
In that glorious land above the sky [Way up high]
Work and pray [Work and pray] live on hay [live on hay]
You'll get pie in the sky when you die [That's a lie!]
Thus the final verse becomes
You will eat [You will eat] bye and bye [bye and bye]
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry [How to fry]
Chop some wood [Chop some wood], 'twill do you good [do you good]
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye [That's no lie]
...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Utah Phillips (1935-2008)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Mary Rosalie O'Brien Schmitz
Mary Rosalie O'Brien Schmitz
born April 21, 1923, Des Moines, Iowa
died November 8, 2007, Cincinnati, Ohio
You were an awesome Mom.
I love you and will miss you so much.
- tommy
...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tokyo Twins - Audio - Chapters 01 through 07
...
Tokyo Twins Chapter 01 mp3 audio
Tokyo Twins Chapter 02 mp3 audio
Tokyo Twins Chapter 03 mp3 audio
Tokyo Twins Chapters 4 & 5 mp3 audio
Tokyo Twins Chapters 6 & 7 coming Thursday, 20Sep07,
and each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
until completed.
...
Monday, May 14, 2007
Tokyo Twins Dedication
Tokyo Twins Book 1
is dedicated . . .
to Erika, Monika and Tak
to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
to Rev. Lyle Ball and Trudy Ball
Dozens of people, mostly SU friends,
kept me encouraged writing Tokyo Twins
during the past ten and a half months.
Some gave the effort a life-force
the story needed to sustain its own.
Like Demi Ebrite who offered great editing and story guidance
and gave me the confidence to get this project started
and moving forward quickly.
Like Jackson Jackson who introduced me
to the tragic and beautiful world of East Timor.
Like my reader and lyricist Jan Covington.
Like UnbreakableMJ, my friend
who lives the mystery and the magic.
And like the Kansas City Twins -- you know who you are.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Tokyo Twins Chapter 31 - How love goes. - (final chapter)
The girls sat and stared at the floor
and felt an unbearable weight inside.
A long minute passed.
The window of the control room
filled up with officials
looking down at the girls,
and the girls looked back at once
with eye contact intentional, undaunted,
and scattered the gawkers clean away.
Another long minute passed.
“Can we leave now?” said Katie O'Brien.
The engineer looked up at the studio clock,
and then at the girls, “We're locked down for...”
he looked up at the clock again,
“another 25 minutes.” .
The two swallowed sighs,
sat wordless and waited
and held each other by hands and wrists,
and now and again cleared the window,
then lay their backs upon the floor.
Uncle Tetsuo was the first to enter
from a crowd waiting at the control room door.
“I'll be taking you girls home...”
Katie and Susan O'Brien didn't respond, didn't move,
and targeted the ceiling for eye contact.
Two women in dark suits
entered the room and knelt,
each beside a girl,
and stroked their foreheads and hair
and whispered words that soon had the girls
sitting up, then standing, then led away
by Uncle Tetsuo and a few police officers.
They sat still wordless in the backseat
of their uncle's limousine.
The uncle planned and plotted
as a passenger up front,
while directing his driver
to the Gotokuji area of Setagaya-ku.
A few minutes from their temporary home
they could see in street lamp and headlights
the frogs that still covered the streets.
“Where is our Obá-chan?” said Susan O'Brien,
“our Uncle Kenji, Uncle Takunosuke?”
“Well? You see. Girls.
There was nothing I could do...
They broke the law.
They were arrested.
They were taken into custody.”
“What?” said Susan.
“How? What law?!
I'm confident they'll soon be freed.
When?
“Soon I hope. I don't know. But tomorrow....” said Uncle Tetsuo
“I want to know why they were arrested,” said Katie,
“and we were not!?”
“Please. Girls.”
Susan spoke again and slowly,
“I want to know why you were not.”
“Now girls. Everything will turn out fine..
Listen to me... tomorrow... you get to perform,
again, before the world. Isn't that amazing?”
“Huh?” said Katie.
“What?” said Susan.
“Tonight... you performed... in a sense...
for the entire world, and tomorrow...” Susan interrupted now...
“We were not perfor....” she paused, to hold her anger....
“That was not a performance!” Katie screamed.
This'll do wonderful things for your career, and quickly.
“We don't care about...” Susan started...
...and Katie interrupted...
“We aren't thinking...”
she paused and rubbed her face in her hands...
“about our careers right now.”
“You should...” said Uncle Tetsuo. “You're famous.”
“Famous.” said Katie.
“Yes.” he said.
“Are you crazy?” said Katie.
Now Susan spoke quickly, “We wanna know...”
and stopped and looked at her Uncle,
then started slowly in whisper,
“...what happened to our parents.”
“Girls, you did your part.
We're all proud of you.
There is nothing more to do
about your parents except wait.
But tomorrow... there'll be television crews
from over 25 countries to broadcast
your competition to the world!
The world is pulling for you,
the whole world wants you to do well tomorrow.
You should think about that!
“I want to go home now.” said Susan.
And Katie sat and seethed.
“and later, if your parents are still...” he began to say.
Susan reared back her arm and hand
and fired a right fist into her uncle's face.
“Do not say 'if'' about our parents.” Susan said.
Katie lowered her head and darted her eyes
far to the right at Susan.
Susan said, “I am not apologizing,” and held her arms crossed.
The three remained quiet for the remainder of the drive.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦.
Susan and Katie O'Brien jumped out their uncle's limo, and without a word entered their foster home in Gotokuji, said “Tadaima” to the old couple, and scooted upstairs to their bedroom.
“How can everything be so messed up?!” said Susan.
“I wanna know what happened to Mom and Dad.” Katie said.
There was a knock on their door.
“Come in.” said Katie.
“What happened to you?!” said the girls.
“I hurt my neck. Pretty bad,” said Godotnova-sensei, “I have to wear this brace for a while,” the coach stood arranging it with both hands.”
The girls jumped up and hugged their coach.
“The world wants to watch us perform tomorrow.” Katie said with sarcastic formality.
“What are you talking about?” said the coach.
“After last night a circus train of television media from 25 countries is showing up to watch us perform.” Said Susan.
“Who says.” Said the coach.
“Uncle Tetsuo.”
“He wasn’t arrested?”
“On the contrary…” said Katie.
“…he now runs the company.” Susan said.
“And he wants to bat a thousand on his first day in office, huh?” said the coach.
“How could he…?” the girls said.
“It is not stretching for generalities to say there can be only two reasons for his behavior.”
“Which are?” said the girls.
“First, as always, money. Second, as always, power… Hmmm. I remember. Ten years ago...” the coach continued.
“When you won the Olympic Gold?” the girls said.
“Yeah… things with the media got pretty slimy.”
“Slimy? That’s exactly our word choice.” Said Katie.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do except ignore them and shu them away as needed.”
“Like flies.”
“Much more difficult to dispatch than flies. So, get your bath and try to get some sleep now.” said the coach, “if there's anything you need during the night, knock on my door. We’ll talk again in the morning.”
“We'll take our bath in the morning.” said Susan.
“Alright. Just for tonight. Now get some sleep.” said the coach.
Katie O'Brien lit two candles, and the girls put on pajamas, and collapsed on the two futons already prepared.
“She didn't look like a person who could kill someone.” said Katie.
“Does anybody?” said Susan.
The girls lay on their backs, put their hands behind their heads,
and watched candle glow flicker across the soft wood ceiling.
“Our Obá-chan is in jail.” Katie started.
“Uncle Takunosuke and Uncle Kenji are in jail...” Susan jumped in...
“...and the world wants to watch us perform tomorrow?” Katie continued, “these television crews from 25 countries, right now,
should be at the jail that holds Obá-chan asking why a grandmother was arrested for trying to save the lives of her children.”
“Let's just win this thing tomorrow.” said Susan.
“Yeah. I agree.” Katie said.
“For mother and father.” said Susan.
“For Obá-chan.” Katie said.
“For Uncle Takunosuke,” said Susan, “who probably sacrificed everything he is...”
“…and everything he has.” Katie said.
“And for Uncle Kenji.” Susan said.
“And for his friends from Shinjuku.” said Susan.
“I think Uncle Kenji's in more trouble than anyone,” said Katie.
“Yeah. Me too.” Susan said.
“Let's both of us be clear about our performance tomorrow...” the one said.
“all that training...” said the other.
“all those years...” the one said.
“and who cares?” said the other.
“Our family sits in jail!”
“Hey you’re famous!”
“You should be thinking about your careers.”
“I feel so slimy!”
“I know.”
“But we gotta get through this... and get through it well .”
“Yeah. Do well for ourselves, huh?”
“We can do that much.”
“Some thing's missing here.”
“What?”
“Uncle Kenji.”
'”He's been with us everyday since we found out about Mom and Dad.”
“Wonder what he'd say about all this?”
Susan was shaking her head, “Well, I do know
what Mom and Dad would say about all this,
and what Obá-chan would say about all this...”
“Do your best.” said Katie.
“Yeah. And that's not what we heard tonight.” said Susan.
“Not from Uncle Tetsuo.”
“He just said ‘get the money’.”
“That's what I heard.”
“Well. I wouldn't mind having a bunch a money.
“Who wouldn’t.”
“Sounds easy then.”
“What?”
“We do our best for Mom and Dad.”
“And Obá-chan.”
“And we get the money for Uncle Tetsuo.”
“And for us!”
“Okay… Now… what'll we do for Uncle Kenji?”
“Huh. He'd say...' I don't know...'”
“Yeah.” the two giggled.
“He'd say what we both already know, and what's making us feel so slimy.” the one said.
“Yeah, he'd say it.” said the other.
“We are being used.” the one said.
“Bingo.” said the other. “And badly.”
“What’ll we do?”
“Tomorrow’s the day we've been working for.
“Let's win tomorrow for Obá-chan...”
“Maybe we should just break Obá-chan outta jail.” Katie laughed.
“What raise an army and attack at dawn?” said Susan.
“Wait a second. Wait a second.”
“What.”
“I just thought of something.” said Katie.
“Uh oh.” Susan said.
“You're right, never mind.” Katie said.
“What?” said Susan.
“Nothing. Forget it. Was just something...”
“Oh now you have to tell me.”
“... we don't want to do anything stupid tomorrow. Never mind.”
“Katie, tonight, I think we already won the stupid prize.”
Katie laughed. “And that's why... never mind.”
“Katie, if you'd don't tell me right now,
we are going to have the biggest fight ever.”
“Okay. I warned you.”
“Excellent. Here we go, I'm all ears.”
“That'll be the day.”
“Hey!”
“We should just go to sleep, huh?” Katie said.
“Katie?”
“What.”
“Talk.”
“Okay.”
And Katie explained her thoughts to Susan.
And Susan added many of her own.
And the sisters talked into the night
for the next three and a half hours.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
In the morning the girls were preparing for the day's competition,
checking their costumes, their apparatus,
applying make-up, fixing their hair.
“Morning.” said the coach.
“Sensei? Oh morning... did you watch… Sensei?... over the Internet… um…. what happened last night?” said Katie.
“At first, no. I couldn't. Then I did.”
“Thank you, sensei.” The girls said.
“Katie and Susan O'Brien, you are
the bravest human beings on the planet...
And the smartest...”
“Yes. Keep going?” said Susan.
“I'll never understand how you were able to do that.”
“Do what?” Said Katie.
“Love that much.”
“Can you do love?” said Susan.
“You did last night, Katie and Susan. You did love last night.”
“Hmmm.” said Katie.
“But... unfinished.” Susan said.
“How's that?” said the coach.
“What love does
remains incomplete, unfinished.
Kenji taught us that.” Katie said.
“I'll have to think about that one...
Love's a procrastinator, huh?” said the coach.
“Maybe. But it's also uncontainable. Katie said.
“Unmeasurable.” said Susan.
“That is... until, we have.” Katie said.
“Have what?” said the coach.
“Measured love.” the girls said.
“What happens when you measure love.” said the coach.
“You have a quantity, of course,
something to hang your hat on...” Katie said.
“but it's a quantity of something all together different.”
...not love, said Susan.
“He taught you that?” said the coach.
“Yes.” the girls said.
“We're almost ready, Sensei.” said Susan,
“just have to send out a quick E-mail.”
“Oh? I hope it's to a friend who shares your pain?”
“Might be.” said Susan.
“We'll see.” Katie said.
“Sounds mysterious.”
“Really? We were talking last night...” said Katie,
“...instead of sleeping...”
“I don't want to hear that...” said the coach.
“...and we looked at yesterday... what happened...
... we look at today ... what's gonna happen...
... and we put 'em together...” Katie went on.
“...might still call it a mystery...” Susan was nodding her head,
“but it's a mystery we now know.”
“And when you know...” said Katie,
nodding her head now, too, “you know.”
“Wonderful. I like that. Such confidence!” said Inga Godotnova.
And Katie and Susan O'Brien
grabbed their bags and gear
and walked quietly with Inga Godotnova
to Gotokuji Station, boarded the Odakyu Line,
and headed for the venue of their competition –
the Tokyo Olympic Coliseum in Shinjuku.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
The girls saw Kamakura-san, their cab driver last night, walking toward the south gate of Shinjuku Station. He introduced the girls to Nikko-san, the organizer of the frog diversion, and a host of other friends of Uncle Kenji including Yamato-san, the girls guide to Daiba on the Yurikamome. She walked hiding her tears along side the girls.
Many of them asked, “May we walk with you to the Coliseum?”
And the girls and Godotnova-sensei at once stopped and bowed and expressed their feeling of honor to walk among such friends.
.......
Katie and Susan O'Brien once inside the Coliseum immediately spotted their Uncle Tetsuo.
“Are you ready?” he smiled, a bit too big for Katie and Susan.
“We are so ready. Aren't we Susan?”
“Ready?” Susan repeated. More ready than I ever imagined we could be.”
“That's the spirit...” he said hustling them to a quiet corner. “We are lucky Godotnova-sensei is fluent in many languages. She will help you talk to as many TV reporters from around the world as possible. “
“She said that?” said the girls looking around for their coach.
“Not just your performance today, Katie-san and Susan-san,”
lectured Uncle Tetsuo, “but every little thing you say and do, from now on, will quite frankly have an impact on how much wealth, from sponsorships alone, can soon be yours.”
“Ah. Okay.” said the girls. “We understand.”
“And isn't that a nice thought.” he smiled too big again.
“Yes sir,” said Katie nodding her head at Susan.
“Yes sir,” said Susan the same way.
“Girls, over here!” they heard their coach's voice and ran in that direction. “You've got 90 minutes to warm up and practice your competition routines... I want to see how you do. Now let's use the time wisely!”
Media from 25 countries filled what remained outside the tumbling mats on the Coliseum floor, running cable, setting up extra lights, trying to get Katie’s and Susan's attention.
The girls looked as cool and relaxed as Inga Godotnova had ever seen them. One after the other, they danced and tumbled with a carefree and flawless precision.
“You’re perfect.” she encouraged them while the girls toweled down and rested. “You can win this today.” she looked into their eyes.
Many reporters tried to corner the girls after their warm-ups,
and they slithered away and stood near their coach.
“We don't have anything to say to those reporters,” the girls explained.
“Good. Then don't.” said Inga Godotnova.
The competition began and Katie and Susan O'Brien waited about one hour to perform before the judges.
Katie was first. And now she stood – poised and posed – at the center of the mat while the world looked on through camera lenses.
Grandpa's Lullaby cued… Kenji’s theme blended in… and suddenly Susan ran to Katie and the two grabbed hands moving fast to the front rows of the audience, pulling young children up to the mat, and laughing the while and rolling and tumbling with the children making play time of Katie's performance.
Their was a moan from the judges and from many in the audience.
More and more children were streaming onto the mat, laughing and screaming, crashing and falling over and into Katie and Susan O'Brien who now lay on their backs buried in kids and looking up at the Coliseum lights with calm on their faces and tears running down their cheeks.
Competition officials came onto the mat now followed by a crush of reporters and cameras too.
Each reporter was receiving – via cell phone devices – identical urgent e-mails from their editors.
It was the text Katie and Susan O'Brien
e-mailed that morning to the editor
of the Tokyo Daily Yomiuri Newspaper:
“TODAY, BEFORE THE WORLD,
KATIE AND SUSAN O'BRIEN,
14 YEARS OLD,
LIVING AT FUDA, CHOFU-SHI
TOKYO, JAPAN,
REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE
IN TODAY'S SHINTAISO COMPETITION
AT THE TOKYO OLYMPIC COLISEUM IN SHINJUKU,
BECAUSE OF THE UNJUST ARREST AND JAILING
OF OUR GRANDMOTHER, OUR UNCLES AND OUR FRIENDS.”
Inga Godotnova-sensei was waving the girls down trying to make eye contact, side-winding and pushing her way through a hundred pens in hands working notebook pages, digital recorders held high in all directions and cameras doing camera things of every click and kind.
She caught Katie O'Brien's eye.
“This is ringing!” she held high Kenji's cell phone, and mouthed the words.
She could read Katie's nodding head and moving lips,
“Please answer it!”
Inga Godotnova held the phone to her ear.
Katie poked Susan's shoulder and pointed to their coach.
“Who am I speaking to?” said the caller, a woman's voice.
“Well. Um, this is not my phone, it actually belongs to a man who isn't here right now,” said Inga Godotnova.
“But who are you?” said the caller.
“I am just answering the phone for... oh, never mind, I am sorry, please allow me to take a message?”
“Godotnova-sensei?!,” said the woman calling, “It's you! I recognize your voice!”
“Yes ma-am, who am I speaking to, may I help you?”
Katie and Susan O'Brien watched their coach sink to the floor, and nearly climbed over the heads and shoulders of reporters to get to her...
“Are you alright, sensei? Are you alright?”
Inga Godotnova was on her knees, weeping and holding out
the phone.
“Hello,” Susan said grabbing the cell.
“Susan! Susan?!”
“Yes? Mother?! Mother?!” said Susan.
“We're okay—Jack, your father, me—we're safe now. Amazing to reach you.”
“What… what happened?” said Susan.
“Some old man... also a prisoner here... this is weird... gave us this Tokyo cell number to call. You alright, Susan? Is Katie with you?”
“Yes. What about the old man?” Susan heard herself say. “Is he there too?”
“He and our two captors disappeared hours ago. No one can find them anywhere.” said the girls mother. “We're being escorted to the Kashmir border and we'll be home in two days.... how was your performance?”
Susan pulled Katie down with a bear hug to the gymnasium floor, weeping and holding the phone to Katie's ear, “It's Mother,” she said.
The crowd of reporters took notice of their identical urgent e-mails, took notice of the pile of children and twins again tangled upon the mats, and began to spread out, little by little, more quiet now... watching... writing... making a growing circle.
More than a few were jotting down identical leads for their reports and editors:
“This is a story
about two Japanese girls
whose names are
Katie and Susan O'Brien."
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
And the old man with his covered head took quickly into hiding the woman called ‘A’ and her friend called ‘B’.
“Don’t worry,” the old man said, “we’re going to get you safely home to Timor-Leste.”
“How are you going to do that?” asked A-san.
The old man smiled and raised an eye brow, “I don’t know.” he said.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
The end.
Tokyo Twins, Book One.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Tokyo Twins, Book Two – Chapter 32,
coming soon.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Tokyo Twins Chapter 30 - How love knows.
The rainy season commenced early
for Tokyo mid-Tuesday morning,
a droning monsoonal downpour
greeted late afternoon
by uprisings of hydrangea – lavender and white,
ballooning, dancing around station platforms,
then spreading out thick,
up and down the hillsides,
along the rails and tracks.
Katie and Susan O'Brien were walking
from Gotokuji Station on the Setagaya Line
holding umbrellas, and did not notice a single flower,
focusing now on what hurt.
“We're nervous.” said Katie
“Never felt this nervous.” said Susan.
“Wish it were tomorrow morning.”
“I can deal with the nerves of performing.”
“Yeah, compared to...” said Katie.
“...the stuff with Mom and Dad is killing me.” said Susan.
“Let's not think about it.” said Katie.
“Yeah right.” Susan smirked.
“Well?” Katie countered.
“We are practicing well.” said Susan.
“Go figure.” said Katie.
“Isn't it strange...?” said Susan.
“...biggest competition in our lives...” said Katie.
“...has to be tomorrow...” said Susan.
“Um. Check out the frogs.” said Katie.
“What's up with that?” said Susan.
“Careful, don't step on 'em.”
“What is this?”
“Wait. What time is it?”
“Ten till five, something like that.”
“Let's get inside.”
“Oh, Uncle Kenji's coming.”
Susan and Katie O'Brien failed at nonchalance
dodging the invasion of wet and vocal bull frogs
laying claim to the perimeter of the property
of their elderly hosts who were outside
waving their arms and talking fast
at police and national guardsmen –
themselves confused and without a plan
to manage, explain, or respond to
this intensifying amphibian shock and awe.
The girls ran upstairs to their bedroom
where Godotnova-sensei stood
wringing her hands
and walking in place.
“Pack your stuff. He's already here
waiting at the back door.” she said.
“Good evening Katie-san, Susan-san,”
said Kenji suddenly standing
right behind the girls,
“Don't worry, I'll wait here.”
“Uncle Kenji!”
“Hurry on girls,” said the coach.
“Put on your hoodies, girls,” Kenji started giving direction,
“and leave, when I say go,
one at a time,
out the back door,
30 seconds apart.”
“Okay.” said the girls.
“Did you pack a change of clothing, just in case?” said Kenji.
“In case what?” said Katie.
“In case we're not back here tonight.” said Kenji
“Oh yeah.” the girls said.
They began shoving things into their training bags.
“I'm going with you.” said the coach.
“Got everything?” said Kenji to the girls.
“That might not be a good idea.” said Kenji to the coach.
“I'm ready, Uncle Kenji.” said Susan. “Got the music, Katie?”
“Yep...” said Katie, “... on a thumb drive, shoved inside my sock.”
“Good idea.” said Susan. “I got the lyrics. Same place.”
“I have to go with you.” said the coach to Uncle Kenji.
“Let's move down stairs now, girls. Back door.” said Kenji.
“Uncle Kenji, there must be a thousand bull frogs out there.” said Susan.
“More than that, actually.” he said.
“What's going on?” said the girls.
“It's Nikko-san and her friends to the rescue.” he said.
Nikko-san?” said the girls.
I'll explain later. Just watch you're step, ” said Kenji,
“Godotnova-sensei,” he continued to the coach,
and stood close to her, face-to-face,
“your role is important, right here.
It would be a good idea for you to stay.
The girls will need you when they arrive home tonight.”
“I thought you weren't sure if they were coming home tonight or not?”
“It would be better if you stayed here,” said Kenji.
“I'm going with you.” she said.
“Okay, then.” Kenji patted her on both shoulders
and looked her square in the eye. “Leave 30 seconds
after you see me go out the back door.” he said.
“To where?” said the coach.
“Okay everybody. Listen up.
Here's what we do:
Walk fast out the back door, but not too fast.
Two blocks in the direction away from the station.
Then one block south.
There will be a taxi waiting to meet us.
Ready? And remember. Do not run.”
Now all four, including Kenji, were running for the back door.
“Let's go, first one out,” said Kenji.
And Susan flew out running
with her hoody up over her head.
Katie counted off a long thirty seconds
moving up and down on her tip-toes,
and she too flew out the back door.
Then Kenji thirty seconds later.
Godotnova-sensei counted to infinity
and left at 18, took three steps,
and flew in quite the wrong direction,
her legs pointing up at rain clouds,
her head and shoulders falling to the ground.
“Ouch.” she screamed.
Several law enforcement officers
ran into the back yard and stood over her.
“Ouch, I slipped on a bullfrog. Landed on my neck” she cried.
“No, you slipped in the mud. Look.” the officer said.
“Where were you going in such a hurry?” said another officer.
“I was not in a hurry. I was on my way
to the convenient store,” she was grabbing the back of her head.
“For what?”
“For chocolate.” said the coach looking up with a stare.
“Where are Katie and Susan O'Brien?”
“I have not yet seen them this evening.”said the coach.
“Some of our men saw them running into the house.”
“Just ten minutes ago.” said another officer.
“I've been down stairs helping in the kitchen.” said Godotnova-sensei.
An officer in charge directed a team to search the house
for Katie and Susan O'Brien.
“They better be in there.” he said.
The coach sighed deeply
and closed her eyes in pain.
“I have not seen them.”
“Can you move?” an officer said.
“Um... wait a second... no. I can't move my legs.”
“Get an ambulance for her.” said another officer,
“and hurry up and find those two girls.”
Katie and Susan O'Brien and their Uncle Kenji
waited in the taxi for Godotnova-sensei
and counted off seconds.
“I don't think she's coming,” said Susan.
“They must've seen her,” Katie said.
“Should we leave?” asked Kenji.
“Yeah, let's go.” said Katie. “Oh... but where're we going?”
Kenji leaned over the front seat,
“Oh, it's you, Kamakura-san . Well now,
you have camouflaged even your own camouflage.”
“What's the password?” said Katie to Kamakura-san.
He breathed out and chuckled and shook his head. “I don't know.”
“Bingo.” said Katie. And Susan stifled a smile.
“Since I was meeting you at Shinjuku Station
and taking “our package” to Shimbashi Station,
we are now simply driving, as fast as we can,
to Shimbashi Station
to meet Yamato-san
who will escort you
via the Yurikamome monorail
to Tokyo Bay and to the reclaimed,
man-made island of Daiba.
“Man-made?” said Susan.
“How come?” Katie said.
“It was created as a defense position,
for the Tokugawa Shogunate,
used to be full of cannons.”
“Huh? That was a long time ago.” Katie said.
“What'd they do,
have a gazillion shovels and barrows
attached to a gazillion people
wheeling dirt to the ocean,
and dumping it in?” Susan said.
“That's exactly what they did.” said Kamakura-san.
“Where did all the dirt come from?” the girls said.
“The mountains.” he said.
“That's 60 kilometers from here, easily.” said Susan.
“You girls catch on fast.” he said.
“I wish that were true.” said Katie.
“Yeah,” said Susan. She turned to Uncle Kenji
and became quiet for a moment
while she measured-up her words:
“You remember, Uncle Kenji, on Sunday,
we road the train together to our gym?
And we asked you about the most important thing
there is to us right now.”
“Yes. You asked how you can stop one person from killing another.” said Kenji.
“Exactly,” said Katie, “and you told us a story about Buddha.”
“Yes.” said Kenji.
“All right,” said Susan, “will you help us understand something here?”
“Or at least confirm for us,” Katie jumped in,
“our total confusion over how anyone
could be so completely stupid
to think that such a thing could work?”
“Ah, then what is this thing...” Katie-chan,”
said Uncle Kenji, “... that one so completely stupid
actually thinks does?”
“I don't get it.” said Susan.
“What was it... that worked for Buddha?” Kenji said.
“He's Buddha.” said Katie.
“Yea. No problem.” Susan said.
“Okay. Yeah.” said Kenji. “So, Buddha was like...
showing off for his friends or something... ?”
“Yep.” the girls said.
“... making them feel small and powerless
compared to himself?” said Kenji.
“Well?” doubted Susan.
“Maybe not.” Katie said.
“Then what is this story about?” said Kenji.
“We have been talking about this, Katie and I,” Susan said.
“and to be honest...
it really does boil down
to the simple fact
that he is Buddha
and we are Katie and Susan O'Brien.”
“And that's good common sense.” Kenji said.
“Thank you.” said Katie.
“How could any human being
even dream of trying such a thing,
loving a mass murderer into complete helplessness,
and do so precisely at the very moment
of his bloody and lethal attack
against you... Hmm?” Kenji said.
“Yes.” said Katie
“So I think, said Susan, “our question
remains more urgently than ever.”
“Urgent yet unsolvable, huh?” said Kenji.
“Ah... yeah...” said the girls.
“... and good common sense,” said Kenji,
“as Katie just pointed out,
does not apparently allow
for this unsolvability, does it?”
The girls shook their heads.
“Have you reflected, a little bit,
upon our recent conversations?” said Kenji.
“Hmm. Some.”
“What did we say love is?”
“Um, it is who we are...” the one said.
“... and what everything else is, too?” said the other.
“Yes, and does that come
from anyone's intelligence
or even common sense?” Kenji said.
“I guess not.” the girls said.
“Then we know that Buddha
was not telling us a story about our stupidity...
... or about our good common sense, don't we?” continued Kenji,
... in this battle, this confrontation,
between Buddha and the mass murderer, Angulimala...
... what weapons were involved?”
“The strength and meanness of Angulimala.” said Susan.
“Uh ha.” said Kenji.
The girls were thinking.
“And what was Buddha's weapon.” Kenji said.
“Well, you can't say that love is a weapon, exactly...” said Susan.
“Why not,” said Kenji.
“Cause it doesn't make sense!” Katie said.
“Of course it doesn't...
but compare for a moment,
what you know love is,
to your biggest fear ever.” said Kenji.
“Okay...” the girls said.
“Which is bigger?” said Kenji.
“Okay. I see.” said the girls.
“Now compare for a moment
what you know love is,
with some weapon, any weapon...
sword, gun, missal, bomb...” said Kenji.
The girls were nodding their heads.
“... which is bigger?” said Kenji.
“yeah...” Susan said.
“Given the infinite power of love,” said Kenji,
“would it not make good common sense
that in a battle between this infinite power on one side
and the weapons of your choice on the other...
well...” and Kenji shrugged his shoulders, “Who wins?”
“Okay. Alright. I see. But..., said Susan,
“how can you know,
if the time comes,
how can you really know...
that love will be enough?”
“How could anything infinite not be enough?” said Kenji.
“That doesn't mean that 'I know'.” said Susan.
“You do know.” Kenji said.
“But how do you know.” said Susan.
“There is no how about it,” said Kenji slowly.
The girls looked into Kenji's eyes.
“You simply know.” he said.
“But how?” said the girls.
“Just look at it.” said Kenji.
“Toss it up on the table, huh?” said Katie.
“Yes.” he said.
“That's it?” said Susan.
“Just look at it.” he said.
“But, come on, how do you know?” Susan asked again.
“If you apply to this process
of seeing how love knows
any more know-how than looking at it,
chances are zilch you ever will.” said Kenji.
“So war continues, killing, revenge.” said Katie.
“Is there anyone who has ever known
the power of love?” said Susan.
“Ask yourselves,” said Kenji,
“what powerful leader
throughout the history of humankind
who controls the machines of war
has had the courage to see?”
There was quiet now in the cab.
“At Shimbashi Station?” said Kamakura-san,
I am turning the cab over to you, Satchitananda-san.”
“And I'll drive it to Fuji Television Headquarters.” said Kenji.
“just keep your busy light on,
and the meter running.” said Kamakura-san.
“And us?” said Susan.
“My dear friend, Yamato-san, will be waiting
for you and Kamakura-san,” said Kenji,
“and then take you to Daiba and the Fuji Building
on the Yurikamome Line.
“Oh. The robot monorail train.” said Susan.
“Huh?” said Kenji.
“It's a train without a driver.” said Katie.
“How perfect.” smiled Kenji.
Kenji drove the taxi to Fuji Television Headquarters,
pulled in front of the main entrance
ahead of a line of other taxis now honking their horns.
Kenji kept the taxi lights and engine on, the meter running,
hopped out, and ran inside the building.
“I'm looking for Takunosuke Mori. This is an emergency.”
“Who are you,” said the guard.
“I'm his brother.”
“I don't think so. I know his brother.”
“He's got two brothers.” said Kenji.
“It's okay. I'll take it from here.” said Mori-san
standing now next to Kenji, with four guards,
two of whom grabbed Kenji's upper arms
and began walking him through an unmarked door in the lobby
where Mori-san casually followed,
and bowed and waved his gratitude to the guards.
“So you thought you would just drop in to say hello,
little brother?” said Mori-san.
“You know why I am here.” said Kenji.
“No, actually, I don't have a clue.”
he said lighting a cigarette,
“And I really don't care,” he continued
and exhaled a billow of smoke into Kenji,
“now, if you'll kindly allow these men
to accompany you to more secure quarters in the building,”
he said with another puff,
“I have,” he slowed the pace of his words
and blew more smoke at Kenji,
“more urgent matters to attend to.”
“I see.” said Kenji.
And his eldest brother nodded to the guards
and walked back into the lobby
and into an elevator to a top level floor
of the Fuji Television Headquarters Building
containing the main broadcast control room,
the corporation board room, and his own office.
The elevator doors opened
and there stood Kenji.
“Good evening.” said Kenji, bowing respectfully now,
“Allow me to assist you, my eldest brother,
in your more urgent matters?”
“How did you do that?” said Mori-san.
“I didn't do anything.” said Kenji.
The president of Fuji Television Network
ran passed his youngest brother,
into his office, and slammed and locked the door behind him.
“This is a nice office, eldest brother.”
Kenji said, standing in front of his brother's desk
and looking around,
“you've worked hard to deserve this.”
Mori-san lunged at his brother Kenji
only to realize he had disappeared.
Mori-san ran to a door,
his private entrance to the board room,
turned on the lights, and there,
seated at chairs around the table
were his sister, Obá-chan,
the foreign ministry agents, Taya-san and Kaneko-san,
his two grand nieces, Susan and Katie O'Brien,
his youngest brother Kenji,
and some man he fired, just a week ago.
“What are you doing here!?”
Mori-san pointed out this man.
“You quit this company last week!”
“I was fired.” said Nara-san.
“You quit!”
“I was fired without cause.” said Nara-san .
Obá-chan stood up and interrupted.
“Allow me, since nobody seems to know anything,
to direct this meeting if I may.” she said.
Mori-san was breathing heavily
and looking into everyone's faces,
the girls sat as students, silent, eyes in front,
Nara-san sat in defiance, his elbows on the table
Kenji sat a bit away from the table,
slouching into the back of his chair,
his arms holding up his neck,
his legs folded casually at the ankles,
and Obá-chan remained standing
looking at her brother.
“Takunosuke-san,” she said,
“I don't know all the reasons
why we are here, but we are.
So why don't we deal with
what ever those reasons are...
calmly, one at a time, right now.”
Everyone fidgeted.
Taya-san, the Foreign Ministry agent,
rose to his feet and spoke first,
“For starters, we have something
that belongs to you, Kenji-san.”
He reached into his bag,
and pulled out Kenji's flute
and holding it out in reverence with both hands
carried it to Kenji's hands.
Kenji stood and smiled
to his new friends, the agents
with gratitude and bows.
And as this happened,
Mori-san's middle brother, Tetsuo Mori,
walked into the boardroom
through the main door,
and sat in his brother's – the President's – chair.
“The issue here is this...”
continued the eldest brother, still standing,
“your daughter and son-in-law are about to lose their lives...”
He paused, trembling now.
And holding back tears.
“And I believe it's all his fault!” he said,
pointing his shaking right arm and hand at Kenji.
Kenji sat up. And there was silence in the room.
Obá-chan, also still on her feet,
some three meters from her brother, said,
“You might be the only person in this room
who actually believes that to be true, brother.”
“How can it not be true?!” said Mori-san.
“Dear brother, most of us here,
have heard Kenji's story, and what happened
from the time he left Tokyo Japan, until now.
Yes. Most of us here, except for you.”
“I don't need to hear his story.” he cried out.
“No, you don't.” said the older sister.
“But...” she continued, “their happens to be
a chapter we are all missing
from Kenji's own story.
and perhaps this is the time,
and this is the place.”
“Why are you looking at me?
You are wasting our time.” he said
and pounded his fist on the table.
“And perhaps it is you who are wasting ours, brother?” said Obá-chan,
“because the missing chapter of Kenji-san's story,
is actually part of your own,
and one that only you can tell.”
He fell back into a chair against the wall
of the board room and covered his face
and shook his head.
“No!” he began to mumble. It was not my fault!”
“What was not your fault, brother?” Obá-chan said.
“It was not my fault.” he said again more softly now, and weeping.
Kenji arose from his chair, walked over to his brother,
knelt down with two knees on the ground,
and held his brother around the shoulders.
“No, it was not your fault.” said Kenji.
And there was silence and crying in the room
and Kenji continued to lightly hold his brother
around the shoulders.
“There's not much time,” said Obá-chan.
“We have a full agenda tonight.
And I say again, Takunosuke-san,
perhaps this is the time and place
to reveal the missing chapter
that Kenji will not tell.”
Kenji arose, and took another seat
against the wall near his eldest brother,
and sat up and leaned forward
and looked down at the floor before him.
“It was my fault.” said Mori-san,
grabbing the arms of his chair.
“It was my fault!” he said again.
“Go on,” said Obá-chan.
“What happened to Kenji that night –
he was four years old –
returning home somehow, by himself,
hiding there alone in our home,
enduring, the terrible bombings and fires,
and noise and death that night,
it all happened to Kenji alone,
by himself,”
he began weeping loudly...
“because of me...”
“Yes.” said Obá-chan.
“We were miles away from home,
the five children, mother, father,
you remember, Oné-san,
the long walk to our aunt's house for safety.”
“I was afraid.
Bombings were said to begin that night,
especially in our village,
thick with shops of war-time production
in every direction from our home.
And... Kenji-chan was so much getting on my nerves
kilometer after kilometer, so far away from home,
our family running from the bombs,
and little Kenji would not stop getting on my nerves.
We were walking behind everyone, Kenji and I.
I don't know. I suddenly I began to beat him.
And I continued to beat him.
And not lightly.
And I scolded him, over and over,
about what a bad boy his was
and how his only salvation,
his only way to ever have respect from our family
was to find his way back home that night by himself
to protect our home from the bombs,
so we all could return soon and safely.
And he would not leave me alone.
And I would not stop scolding him and beating him.
Until...
Until I looked around.
Kenji was gone.
I didn't think he would take seriously what I was saying.
He found his way back home.
The next day we found him buried alive.
When we pulled him out,
I could tell by the look in his eyes
Kenji thought he failed his mission
because our home was destroyed.
And his failing meant he would never
earn the respect of anyone, ever, in our family.
“Yes, I was young,” Mori-san continued,
but what I did was vicious... unforgivable.
I do not know what else to say...
Kenji-san, brother, I am sorry.”
Mori-san was finished. His head still buried in his hands.
Kenji nodded his head,
moved his chair closer to his brother,
and put his arm around him.
There was noise outside the room.
An aide to Mori-san rushed in to report
hundreds of national guardsmen and policemen
were preparing to enter the building.
Obá-chan walked over to her brother,
and too, knelt down on both knees,
and hugged her brother, and sobbed with him.
“Thank you,” she said. And slowly stood up.
“And now for the next item on our agenda.”
Authorities will be here moments from now,” said Mori-san.
We have to do something.”
“We can go to the control room, all of us,” said Kenji,
lock ourselves down, negotiate with
those holding Mieko and Henry!”
“Yes. Let's get moving.
Everybody. Follow me.”
“There is not much time, eldest brother,”
Kenji walked alongside his eldest brother,
and Nara-san the ex-building engineer
came up beside Kenji,
“in case you are taken into custody –
and this is not unlikely, oh,
sometime in the next minute or two –
please write the pass code on my flute.”
The President of Fuji Television
looked at his youngest brother
and the building manager he fired last week,
“I don't get it.”
“In the confusion that may arise shortly
when authorities are in the act of taking custody,
at least one of us here,
carrying this baton ,” Kenji nodded at his flute,
“might slip into the control room
at the last second,
continue our mission
to engage the captor in conversation,
and save the lives
of Mieko and Henry O'Brien.”
“Won't work.
I have to deliver the pass code
to the engineer by mouth and face-to-face.”
“Yes, I see, but this is, for us all,
an exceptional moment in time,
wouldn't you agree?
Naturally, an exceptional action...
may be called for.”
They looked into each others eyes.
“Just in case, eldest brother.
It is simply plan B.”
“Who could suggest such an action,
or comply?” said the eldest brother.
“Who knows?” said Kenji.
“If my career is not cooked already,
this'll do the job nicely,” the eldest brother said.
Kenji nodded, raised an eyebrow,
“Yes, it will,” he said,
and handed his brother a marker and the flute.
Kenji then spoke quickly and quietly
to Nara-san, the ex-building engineer
about a suggested tactical maneuver.
Next Kenji motioned to the girls,
took them by the shoulders
and whispered instructions to them.
“Sounds like an army coming up the stairs!” said Takunosuke Mori.
“Ten seconds and they'll be in here!” said Mori-san's assistant.
He took Obá-chan by the shoulder and whispered to her.
Finally, to his new friends the Foreign Minister Agents,
Kenji offered his gratitude, and a plea
that when things begin to happen to play heads up.
“Where is our middle brother, Tetsuo? Mori-san asked Obá-chan.
“He's not here.”
Police, men in suites, and national guard
were now streaming through six elevator doors
and two emergency stairway exits,
and into the circular foyer
that gave way along its circumference
to the president's office, to the board room,
and to the main broadcast control room.
Takunosuke Mori was the first person the authorities targeted.
“Catch!” he said to Kenji,
and threw the flute
now winging hard, end over end,
diagonally across the room.
Kenji reached out, grabbed the flute,
ducked low and kept moving.
“Gambatte!” he cried out from somewhere.
Obá-chan screamed loudly and fell to the floor.
Katie and Susan O'Brien heard their cue,
took a fast, deep breath,
separated from each other
and kept low to the ground,
knowing the lights would all go out,
via the handiwork of Nara-san, the building engineer –
and click – with perfect timing they did,
even in the main broadcast control room.
Their was confusion in the blackness
and authorities yelled out rapid commands.
“We're not dead yet.” Katie mumbled to herself.
and Susan, not so oddly, mumbled to herself the same,
their feet moving now, in unison,
reversing and spinning in mirror images,
the first steps of their Shintaiso duet,
the one they'd been practicing for months,
for the competition tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon.
Muscle memory now took over,
as it does in the gym, as it did last week
in the bamboo black of Hebi-yama,
this precise vision of motion
burned inside their minds.
“Pivot inside-step,
pause-and back-spin away
one, two, three, spins
step, two, roll inside,
tumble-up and there's the mirror,
not of glass
but eyes and faces,
from one me to another.”
Katie and Susan O'Brien
intuitively let fly in formation
the motions and movements themselves:
pivot and spin,
arms-up and tumble,
head straight and roll,
And over the tumbling blackness
Kenji let fly the flute.
And it landed as envisioned,
between the knees of Susan O'Brien,
and Susan O'Brien landed as envisioned,
within the arms of Katie,
at the threshold of the control room door,
and using their flow and momentum,
they opened the door, rolled in, closed it,
jammed the flute for a temporary barrier
between the floor and the bottom of the door
and prayed nobody but the engineer
noticed what happened.
“What on earth is going on here?!”
he said moving in the black of the control room,
“who has entered!”
“We are Susan and Katie O'Brien
Susan said to the control room engineer,
“we are the nieces of Takunosuke Mori.”
The man knew, of course, all these names.
“I have a flute,” she said leaning back,
“that belonged to Gandhi,”
and she tooted on its open end to prove it.
“The president of your company,” Susan continued,
“has written directly on it
the code you need to lock us down
and broadcast under emergency power.
He is now in the custody of police,
our parents, as you are likely aware,
are about to be executed,
in a live broadcast, over the Internet,
you must act with exception in this case.”
The man stood breathing heavily,
staring into the pitch-black,
Several officers had their hands
on the handle of the door to the main control room,
“I'll dictate it to you.” said Susan.
“Huh?”said both Katie and the engineer.
“Do it now!” said Susan.
The girls heard him sit at his chair.
Susan somehow, out of the black,
rapidly dictated the code.
The control room engineer
tapped rapidly on his keyboard,
and activated the emergency lock-out and power system.
The lights went on.
The flute was still jammed under the door.
“Susan. Wow. Magic!” Katie said.
“Katie. Wow. I peeked and memorized it
as our Uncle wrote it down.” said Susan.
The time in Tokyo
on the Fuji Television Network
studio clock read exactly 8:00 pm.
The control room engineer
flipped switches, pushed levers,
and typed long strings of characters onto his keyboard.
Now standing at the window
Susan and Katie, watched the lights – there –
come back on outside the control room, – and there –
watched Obá-chan and Uncle Kenji and Uncle Takunosuke,
and the two Foreign Ministry Agents and Nara-san, the building engineer,
all now in hand-cuffs, being led away by authorities – and there –
watched these six turn at once their heads
and gaze upon the tears and panicked mouthing
of the unheard voices of Katie and Susan O'Brien.
“Why are they taking our Obá-chan away... and our uncles!”
“Your show is starting now.” said the engineer.
The image of A-san appeared in a large studio monitor,
and the girls continued standing at the window,
staring in the direction of their loved ones
already gone.
“Where is the Prime Minister of Japan!”
the girls turned around...
“who is that..”
“your parent's captor...”
“her?”
“huh? she looks like a mom.”
“Your show is now in progress,” the engineer whispered.
“She can see us?” Katie whispered back.
“Am I on the right channel here, or what?!” said A-san.
“She can,” said the engineer, “and she can hear you too.
“Where is the Prime Minister of Japan? Is this the right connection?”
“What should we say?” The girls were urging the engineer for guidance.
Again, he whispered, “tell her she's on the right connection.”
The girls grabbed each other tightly...
“Yes,” both said, “you are...
on the right connection.”
“This is being broadcast to the entire world, ma-am.” said Susan.
“Everyone can see us.”
“Where is the prime minister of Japan?!
The girls hugged each other more tightly,
“We are sorry, ma-am, we do not know anything
about the prime minister of Japan.”
Off camera, all could hear
the muffled sounds
of the gagged and hooded prisoners –
Henry O'Brien, Mieko O'Brien, and the old man.
“Are you the one...” Katie started,
“holding our parents hostage?”
“Your parents? “Your parents,” A-san repeated,
“Who are you?”
“We are Katie and Susan O'Brien.”
said Katie with Susan nodding her head.
“Oh for godsake,” said A-san. “This is wrong.”
“Can we talk to our mother and father?” said Susan.
“Oh no. This is so wrong.” said A-san.
“B, prepare the executions,
I am not playing this stupid game.”
“This is not a game, ma-am,
we just want to see and talk
to our mother and father. Please?” said Katie.
A-san slumped to the floor crying, and holding her face in her hands.
At least two minutes of silence passed by.
“Your parents have to die...
just as each and all
of my own five children...
died... unfairly...
...and people must know.
People must learn.
“Learn what?” said Susan.
“Learn what it is
to have one's family
horrifically murdered before your eyes,
without warning,
without cause.
There is never rest from the anger,
never rest from the grief.”
“We are so sorry.” said Susan.
“Yes. We are.
Yet, we do not know
about that, ma-am,
we just want to see and talk
to our mother and father.” said Katie.
A-san broke down again
and moved away from the camera lens,
that fed on nothing now except a blank wall,
yet the audio of her sobbing,
and the fears and whimpers
of her three prisoners
was coming through.
A-san popped up suddenly
in front of the camera,
with wild eyes and anger,
“B, remove their hoods and gags,
and turn the camera onto
the two prisoners from Japan,” A-san paused,
“Talk for two minutes...”
she said slowly to Katie and Susan O'Brien.
A-san was breathing heavily,
“Then they die.”
Katie and Susan O'Brien both tried to smile,
and sobbed loudly at the sight
of their fragile and exhausted parents...
their mother's hair was tangled
and drawn straight and covered in dust,
their father had facial hair and battered eyes,
and looked twenty years older.
The girls sank to the floor still in their own embrace.
The studio engineer moved the camera down and close to the girls' faces.
“Susan-chan, Katie-chan!” said Mieko O'Brien.
“Oh my God, girls, it is so good to see you,” said Henry O'Brien.
The girls were kneeling
holding each other
and looking at their parents,
heads and shoulders and arms shaking hard,
their young voices moaning
and crying with agony and grief.
“Girls.” said their mother.
“Girls.” she said again.
“Girls, look at me.”
The girls looked into the camera still crying and shaking.
“Girls. Tomorrow you have an important competition.”
“Yes. Girls.” said Henry O'Brien.
“Tomorrow is what
you have been living for
each and every day
for many many years.”
There was silence amidst the sobbing from both children and parents.
“B, get the brother and bring him here, quickly,”
said A-san off camera, “And you, the world out there,
I do so hope you are paying attention.”
she gazed closely into the camera lens now.
“Our brother, Jack!” cried Katie and Susan O'Brien.
“What is this!” said both Mieko and Henry O'Brien,
screaming now and struggling hard in their shackles.
A-san covered the camera lens with something
and blocked the view.
“Quickly B, she said.
Still off camera, Henry O'Brien began to speak.
“Jack is here? How in the world...” then he shifted gears,
“Girls. Tomorrow.” he gathered his words and breath,
“You have trained hard for this competition.
You have a good chance to earn
your places on the Japan National Team.”
“Yes,” said Mieko O'Brien, “and we know you will succeed.”
“Mother and father...?” said Katie.
We will succeed, said Susan.
“We have...” started Katie.
She began pulling a thumb-drive
from her pants leg,
“...we have our music with us
that tomorrow we will perform to.” said Susan.
“Can we play it for you?” said Katie,
and handed it to the engineer.
“Oh...” cried Mieko O'Brien.
“Yes, please play it,” said Henry O'Brien.
And then, over audio waves came the melody of the lullaby
written by the children's grandfather, in 1939,
himself, at 16 years old, still a child
growing up in Des Moines Iowa.
Henry broke down crying again. As did the girls. And they listened.
Grandpa's_Lullaby.mp3
*
“There are lyrics now,” said Susan over the music.
“Yes! Mother and Father, now there are lyrics
to our grandfather's song!” said Katie.
“Bring in the prisoner,” said A-san in an angry monotone.
B escorted Jack into the room,
shackled, hooded and gagged,
and B pushed Jack onto his knees
next to his father on camera.
“Jack!” the girls said.
“Let Jack talk!” said Susan.
“Do not remove his hood and gag,” said A-san to B.
Jack murmurered. And the girls
tried to continue talking over their sobbing...
“There are lyrics to grandfather's song now, said Susan.
“That's wonderful. How did this happen?” said Henry O'Brien.
“That's enough. Gag them all again,
and back on with their hoods.” said A-san.
The song continued in a loop
playing from from the main broadcast control room
of the corporate headquarters
of Fuji Television Network
in Tokyo Japan.
Susan picked up the beginning of the song,
“I'm going to read the lyrics to you.” she said,
“they came to me in a dream last night
through our grandfather in Des Moines, she said.
“Oh for God's sake,” said A-san still off camera.
“B, this is it, prepare the executions.”
All could hear off camera the sounds of automatic weapons being loaded.
And Susan began to read
to the meter of the melody
still playing:
"Close your eyes my sweet child,
rest your thoughts, my dear one,
it is time to go to dreamland now.
A place so safe
a place so warm.
a place where you can meet no harm,
Rest, my child ... ...
Rest, my child ... ...
Shut your eyes
and ease your mind
leave your troubles
all behind:
and let's see where your dreams may go.
Dance on clouds and swing on stars
Leap from moonbeams, land on Mars.
Let us slip away...
to dreamland now."**
“You have no idea.” said A-san.
“Correct!” said Katie,
“We have no idea.
We do not know you.
And we do not know
what has happened to you,
or to your family,
or to your friends...
We do not know
why you are so angry.” And Katie paused.
A-san growled and pounded her head against her knees.
“But we do know one thing,”
said Katie O'Brien softly, slowly,
sobbing and shaking even more,
“We do know,” and she held Susan tighter,
and looked into her sister's eyes,
“we do know...”
and the two cried loudly now,
pausing once again...
“you do have our permission...
to do whatever it is...
you have to do.”
And Susan was nodding and sobbing,
and softly said, “Yes.”
At once,
the arm of A-san
reached over the camera.
There was a sound of metal in the air.
And the broadcast connection stopped.
(end of chapter 30)
* melody, “Grandpa's Lullaby”- copyright©2007 by John B. Schmitz
** lyrics, “Grandpa's Lullaby”- copyright©2007 by Jan Covington
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Tokyo Twins Chapter 29 Part 5 - Underground lowdown.
a serialized online story
by Tommy Schmitz
In the wee hours of Tuesday morning just before sunrise
Kenji found the turf-covered makeshift manhole in Shinjuku Park,
slipped inside and groped through
the secret passages of the underground
and found the plywood panel entrance
to the clubhouse of his friends:
the cavernous Tokyo Metropolitan Sewer System.
He knocked.
Yamato-san,, his usual subterranean tour guide,
was listening for his arrival on the other side
and slid the panel sideways
enough for Kenji to squeeze through.
"Good morning," Kenji smiled,
and he removed his shoes
and placed them along a row
of about 50 other pairs
belonging to those who awaited his arrival.
"Is your friend here?" Kenji asked her.
"Yes. He's looking forward to meeting you
and learning more about his role tonight." said Yamato-san.
"You are the best, Yamato-san." said Kenji smiling at her.
Yamato-san blushed and bowed
and Kenji walked to the center of the room
making small talk along the way
and paused looking calmly at all his friends
until he had their quiet attention.
"Tonight folks, we're having a party."
He grabbed his hands behind his back
and stood up straighter and paused again.
"Let's gather around a few moments to discuss it."
His friends sat quietly and with interest,
knee-to-knee,
forming a circle around him.
"Thank you for meeting here this morning," Kenji started,
"This will be the first time for any of you
to hear about the party plans
as a community, all at once,
though I trust each of you has discretely shared
with the others your own specific roles
and listened to their roles as well."
Kenji paused again and looked at each face around him.
"Correct?" he said.
"Well...." said a man hesitating,
"...We weren't sure if we were suppose to or not,
so, of course (he looked about at his friends)
we all took the liberty
of doing just that. Yes." he smiled and finished.
"Excellent. Then you know the plan better than I do," said Kenji,
But just for fun, let's go briefly group by group
and listen to your roles and how they fit together.
As you know, I'll be picking up our package,
at the alpha zone,
right here on the map,
near Gotokuji Station on the Odakyu Line...
(Chapter 29 - part 5 continued below.)
Apr 18, 9:16pm
"The package, again, Satchitananda-san?"
Someone spoke up. All knew him by his chosen name.
"Two sisters, fourteen years old." said Kenji.
"And they are aware of their journey to
the headquarters of Fuji Television?"
Someone else spoke up.
"Yes." said Kenji, "And this calls forth,
of course, the Diversion Team,
our first group to speak.
First group?
What have you cooked up
to divert the ever watchful eyes and ears
of our police and national guard
who have laid siege upon
the alpha zone."
A woman stood up.
"Yes, Nikko-san." Kenji said in welcome.
"We wanted to make this a community effort,
and so far, two hundred of our street-living friends
have agreed to participate
in the diversion's planning and execution," said Nikko-san.
That's some pretty slick organizing on a moments notice.
How did you do it?
"We are a tightly knit group of people."
she simply said.
"I see. And what's in store?" said Kenji.
"Each of our 200 friends is now collecting
two hundred and fifty bullfrogs
from park streams and rice paddies around town."
"Oh?" said Kenji.
"We believe the sudden appearance
of 50,000 bullfrogs on the streets
within a radius of 100 meters around the alpha zone
will create an effective diversion for you." said Nikko-san.
"Ambitious and creative, my friend.
But how will you
transport that many frogs? Said Kenji.
"Sir many of us collect tadpoles each spring,
raise 'em in discarded pvc trash bins
partially filled with water.
We each have a trash bin.
The trash bins are on wheels.
Pretty simple."
"What about the element of surprise, my friend...
how will you avoid detection?"
We'll be in and out of the alpha zone without notice, sir.
Really. I am impressed., but how, if I may ask?
By using the Tokyo metropolitan underground
Running beneath the train and subway systems,
Places that many of us call "the way home",
And just as many of us call "home" itself.
"Good work my friend." said Kenji,
"Second group?"
A man stood.
"Kamakura-san, how are you this morning?"
"Well and strong because of you, my friend." said Kamakura-san.
"I'll be handing off our package
to you this this evening, I believe?" said Kenji.
"Yes right here in Shinjuku, Satchitananda-san."
"Excellent," said Kenji, "And what is your plan?"
Kamakura-san spoke of a simple camouflage
that delighted Kenji,
and the next group spoke of disguise,
another group of secret compartments
inside subway cars,
and yet another of stealth
while moving about in plain sight.
The sixth group and final group was actually one person,
and new to this community.
Kenji stood up for the introduction:
"Finally, we have a new friend here today,
courtesy of Yamato-san - thank you -
someone who's agreed to be our relay anchor
and inside sleuth, someone who knows
the Fuji Television Headquarters building,
especially its power, mechanical and security systems.
Folks, let's take a moment to meet Nara-san.
Nara-san, would you stand up, please?
Nara-san smiled and took several relaxed bows
inside the various directions of the circle.
"We trust your years of operating
the facility and technical systems
at Fuji Television Headquarters
will serve to carry our package
all the way home inside the building?" said Kenji.
"And home is...?" said Nara-san.
"The main broadcast control room." said Kenji.
"Ah yes. Then you may be interested in knowing
that this control room has the ability
to lock itself down and operate fully
under emergency power." said Nara-san.
"Oh. This is good." said Kenji.
Nara-san explained:
"It's designed to securely allow broadcasting
during a national security crisis.
The president of Fuji Television Network
is the only one who can initiate
the activation of the emergency system."
"Did you say the president of Fuji?" said Kenji.
"Yes." said Nara-san.
"And how does the president of Fuji do this?" asked Kenji.
"With a password."
"And how is the password used?"
"The executive delivers the password
to the chief engineer of the control room
who knows where and how to employ the password
to power-up this security system." said Nara-san.
"Verbally or in writing?" said Kenji.
"Verbally. And face-to-face." said Nara-san.
"Ah. So the engineer knows everything
but the pass word?"
"Correct."
"Can he refuse a command from the president
to initiate the system for any reason?" said Kenji.
"He cannot, sir." said Nara-san.
Very good, Nara-san. Kenji said.
"Will I have the pleasure of seeing you," said Nara-san,
"this evening, Somewhere in the vicinity of the control room,
Satchitananda-san?"
Hmmm. I'm pretty sure it is where I'll be," said Kenji,
"awaiting with open arms the delivery of our package,
care of your expertise, Nara-san."
"Of course, Satchitananda-san. We only await
your own password to ensure all the stages
of this plan work seamlessly?" said Nara-san.
"Oh yes, and once again,
I don't know." said Kenji.
Kenji was stepping back now,
into the walls of the club house
to make his way above ground.
"When will you tell us?!? they said together.
But Kenji was already gone.
(End of Chapter 29 - Part 5
End of Chapter 29
Next: Chapter 30, complete, no parts)
...