Repost: Nakamori Akina - Namida no Katachi no Iyarinngu 中森明菜ー涙の形のイヤリング

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Nakamori Akina - North Wing & Dramatic Airport 中森明菜 北ウイング＆ドラマティック‧エアポート (Part 2/2)

Dramatic Airport ドラマティック‧エアポート - Satoshi’s Story

This is also posed on Kayo Kyoku Plus. 

Chapter 1 Anxiousness

Satoshi was hurrying southbound on 19th Avenue towards the airport this evening.

19th Avenue ran north-south through San Francisco’s Sunset District.  There were 3 lanes each in both directions.  The cross streets, which ran east-west, all had their names’ initial letters follow the English alphabet, starting with “I” and ending in “W”.  Irving, Judah, Kirkham, Lawton, Moraga, ..., Ulloa, Vicente and finally Wawona.

The fog had slowly crept in.  It’d also been drizzling.

Satoshi stopped at the red light before Noriega Street.  He felt uneasy and a bit irritated tonight.  The squeaky sound that the windshield wiper made was not helping.

“10, 9, 8, ..., 2, 1, 0,“ Satoshi was looking at the pedestrian signal as it was counting down.  As the light turned green, Satoshi sped through.

“Shit!” yelled Satoshi.  He just saw the light on Ortega turning from green to yellow.  Satoshi quickly made up his mind.  He stepped on the pedal and sped right past the yellow light.  

The traffic lights along 19th Avenue were intentionally synchronized.  This helped during rush hour, but it also meant once you hit a red light you’d hit it in subsequent junctions as well.

Satoshi sped past the yellow lights at Pacheco, then Quintara, Rivera, Santiago.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t made it past Taraval as the light turned red long before he had any chance.

“6:08,” Satoshi peeked at his wrist watch irritatingly while waiting at the red light.  The windshield started to turn foggy and Satoshi had to roll down the driver side window.  He looked up at the sky and saw a few dimly flashing red and green lights.  They were from the wings of an airplane.  It was flying slightly slanted as it’s making a turn towards the airport.  Soon, the airplane disappeared into the fog.

Satoshi turned his head back to the road.  The light finally turned green, and he sped off without hesitation.

Chapter 2 Air Mail

(A week earlier)

Satoshi had not been sleeping well lately.  In fact, he had not been sleeping well ever since he got back from Tokyo a month ago.

“It’s all over,” those were Akina’s last words when they met at a cafe in Shibuya a day before Satoshi returned to San Francisco.  Satoshi had been trying to convince Akina to come with him.  Obviously, it didn’t end up well.

“Why don’t you stay with me in Tokyo?” Akina would end up arguing with Satoshi every time this topic came up.

Akina was actually not unreasonable.  Satoshi grew up in Japan and only went to the US after middle school.  He’s fluent in both English and Japanese.  His parents were still living in Japan.  Frankly, it would not be hard for Satoshi to find a well paying job in Tokyo.  However, Satoshi’s current job focused on the software industry, and Silicon Valley was at the center of a technological revolution.  He didn’t want to miss that opportunity.

On the other hand, although Akina's English was fluent, she had never lived in a foreign country.  It’s a big unknown whether Akina would be comfortable living in the US.

“Well, “ lamented Satoshi.  He had trouble falling asleep again tonight.

Satoshi woke up late the next morning.  It’s Saturday so he didn’t need to go to work.

Satoshi went to the kitchen and quickly made some brunch.  He wanted to run in the Golden Gate Park this afternoon.  As he went out, he saw Mr. Bergman the postman at the door steps.  Mr. Bergman had been on this post route for more than 10 years.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Bergman.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Takeda.  Looks like you have something from Japan today,” said Mr. Bergman.  He handed Satoshi an aerogram.

“Thanks,” Satoshi wondered who wrote him the letter.

“Take it easy.  You've been looking pretty tired lately,” said Mr. Bergman, as he walked to the next house on the block.

As soon as Satoshi looked at the address on the front of the aerogram, he almost screamed immediately.  It’s Akina’s handwriting!

Satoshi quickly tore it open.  

There’s only one line.

"I’ll soon be by your side.  - Akina"

Chapter 3 Reunion

San Francisco International Airport appeared to be melting away amid light drizzle.

Satoshi found himself on the ground.  He saw an airplane approaching the runway.

“This must be THE flight,” Satoshi thought to himself.

Even though he couldn’t see it quite clearly, Japan Airline’s red crane was so distinct that he could not have mistaken.

The airplane landed safely, and was slowly moving in Satoshi's direction.  Several people were transporting a white gangway to prepare for passengers to get off.

The airplane stopped in front of Satoshi.  He's intently staring at the plane door.  His heart was throbbing.

The door opened.  Passengers were slowly pouring out.

Soon, more than half of the passengers had gotten out but still no trace of Akina.  "She has got to be on this flight!" Satoshi convinced himself.

At long last, a familiar face appeared at the door.  She was looking around as she stepped off the airplane, as if she was trying to find her bearing in an unfamiliar land.  She also looked a bit worn out from her long journey.

Satoshi rushed towards the plane immediately, pushing aside the crowd and arrived at the bottom of the gangway.  Akina started to notice him as she was walking down the steps.

"Satoshi!!!" Akina exclaimed.  She couldn't believe her eyes.

Satoshi ran up the gangway steps, ignoring all the people around who were clearly perplexed by his unusual action.  He put his arms around Akina, as if trying to tell her that she was the only thing that mattered in this world.

Chapter 4 Destination

"Beep~~~~~~! Beep~~~~~~!" the car from behind was honking impatiently.

Satoshi woke up from his delusion.  The sky was still drizzling.  The windshield wiper continued to make that noisy squeaky sound.

The traffic light in front of him had turned green.  This was the last traffic stop before getting onto highway 280, where it'd take him all the way to the airport.

Tonight, two hearts that once parted, yet still burned in love, would be reunited.

Satoshi stepped onto the pedal, and began his final rush.

(THE END) 

Disclaimer

The above short story is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Epilogue

The 2 short stories I wrote were based on the lyrics of North Wing 北ウイング and Dramatic Airport ドラマティック・エアポート.  Through these stories, I am trying to recreate the songs' scenes, mood, as well as emotions.

I absolutely enjoy songs that invoke my imagination.  North Wing and its sequel, Dramatic Airport, fascinate me because when I looked at their lyrics, I could immediately formed a story in my mind.

To all young readers, since both songs are from the 80s, that is the background of my stories as well.  This means email and cell phones were extremely uncommon.  Even long distance calls were quite expensive back then.  The World Wide Web was yet to be born (Internet existed though).  Snail mail ruled the world in communication.  And yes, there's something called aerogram - the cheapest international air mail available.

Both songs' lyrics were written by Kan Chinfa 康珍化, whereas all the music was written by Hayashi Tetsuji 林哲司.

North Wing was released as a single on January 1, 1984, whereas Dramatic Airport was recorded in Akina’s album, Possibility, which was released in October 1984.  North Wing only reached number 2 on Oricon’s weekly chart, while the album Possibility reached number 1.  There’s been some controversy regarding why North Wing didn’t reach number 1.  According to Wikipedia, it was due to the methodology used by Oricon at that time.  That methodology has since changed.  Had the new methodology been used, North Wing would have been number 1.  Some Akina fans were frustrated because that would have made Akina’s consecutive number 1 singles streak longer.

As for the music, I love the melody and the arrangement of North Wing.  In case you haven’t noticed, both North Wing and Dramatic Airport have the same unusual arrangement of starting with the chorus.

I couldn’t think of a better singer than Akina for both songs.

A few trivia about North Wing.  

North Wing refers to Narita International Airport Terminal 1’s northern section.  According to Wikipedia, “North Wing” was only one of the candidates for the song title.  Other titles considered were “Midnight Flight” in Katakana ミッドナイトフライト, and “Midnight Flight” in Kanji 夜間飛行.  The final title was decided by Akina herself.  The article says she’s influenced by Yumi’s (松任谷由実) song, Central Freeway 中央フリーウェイ.

Also according to Wikipedia, the Japanese audience suspected that the flight mentioned in the song was Japan Airlines 401 (someone actually went into such detail), which flew from Narita to London’s Heathrow via Anchorage Alaska.

I forgot exactly when I first listened to North Wing.  I was probably 14 or 15.  Even though I didn’t know Japanese at that time, somebody must have told me the story in the song.  San Francisco, not London, was the first city that popped up in my mind.  I don’t know why.  I’m currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area but that only started in mid-90s.  I was thinking of San Francisco even before I moved there.  Of course, London is famous for its fog but so does San Francisco.  

Another reason why I have San Francisco in mind was this line in its lyrics. 

日付が塗りかえてゆく　苦しいだけのきのうを
A brand new day puts new paint over my pain-filled yesterday

Technically speaking, if you fly from Japan to London or San Francisco, either way you’ll arrive on the same day (i.e. leaving Tuesday in Tokyo, arriving Tuesday in London or San Francisco).  But when I read this line, I immediately think of the international day line, which passes through the Pacific Ocean.  So, the plane must be flying over the Pacific to the US, and hence San Francisco because of its famous fog moving through the Golden Gate.

I also went through a little fact check myself.  Or should I say exploring the theoretical possibility?  If you fly midnight in Tokyo, that’ll be 3pm London time (I’m using GMT, not sure about daylight saving in UK) and 8am San Francisco time in summer.  Direct flight to London takes around 13 hours so it’ll arrive 4am in London.  This matches Dramatic Airport’s lyrics that the flight arrives at night.  Similarly, flight time from Tokyo to San Francisco is around 9 hours and it’ll arrive at around 5pm.  With drizzle and fog (霧雨), which was mentioned in Dramatic Airport’s lyrics, San Francisco can look pretty dark even at 5pm.  I would accept that “the flight arrives at night” in that case.

My conclusion is that London is likely what Kan Chinfa had in mind.  But my version of North Wing and Dramatic Airport will always happen between Tokyo and San Francisco.

Nakamori Akina - North Wing and Dramatic Airport 中森明菜 北ウイング＆ドラマティックエアポート (Part 1/2)

North Wing 北ウイング - Akina's Story

This is also posted on Kayo Kyoku Plus.

Chapter 1 Anxiety

Akina had been staring at the door bell for more than 10 minutes.

“Ring it,” she urged herself.  “Isn’t this what I’m coming for?”

“Ding-dong!”  Akina hesitantly pressed the door bell.  It was already 7 in the evening.  “He should be home,” Akina thought.  It was summer and the sun was not supposed to set this early.  Nevertheless, the fog has slowly crept ashore, making the sky cloudy.  The street lamps were already on and lights from neighboring houses started to sprinkle up one by one.

Twenty seconds of waiting felt like forever.  “Why isn’t he answering?” asked Akina irritatingly.  However, part of her was actually hoping that Satoshi’s not home.   She had no idea what to say in front of him.  Actually, that’s not entirely correct.  Rather, there were so much that Akina wanted to say that she didn’t know where to start.  She had tried to run through all possible scenarios on the airplane.  She even asked the air stewardess for pen and paper, thinking that it would help her clear her thoughts.  That paper was still blank when she landed.  

“Let’s leave it to fate,” Akina thought with conviction.

The outside door lamp above Akina’s head lighted up.  Her heart was throbbing heavily.  She could hear her own heartbeat.  

The door slowly opened.  There was Satoshi.

“Hhh......Hhh......Hi......,” said Akina with a grin.  She was trying hard to keep the smile on her face.

“A......A......Akina......!!!” Satoshi was seemingly taken by surprise totally.  He’s not expecting any visit at this hour, let alone Akina’s.

“I......I just landed and hmmm....came here to......see you,” said Akina.  Her voice was almost trembling.

Another thirty seconds past and that seemed to take forever.

“Come on in.  It’s getting cold outside,” Satoshi finally said.

It was a 3-story Victorian style building in San Francisco.  There were 2 units inside, one on the 2nd floor and another one on the 3rd floor.  The ground floor was a garage.  Satoshi was living on the 3rd floor.

“I’ll make some coffee,” said Satoshi.

Akina left her luggage in a corner of the living room floor.  She walked to the bay window, and took a peek outside.  It was quiet.

The living room was relatively unfurnished, with only a small couch, a bean bag chair, and a small round coffee table, making it look quite spacious.  There’s an orange lamp hanging off the ceiling.

The sky was getting darker as fog was building up.

Akina had calmed down a bit, even though she still had no idea what to say next.  The air was filled with peace and smell of coffee.

Akina sat on the small couch.  Satoshi brought 2 cups of coffee over from the kitchen.  He put one down on the coffee table in front of Akina.  He took the other cup with him and slowly sat down into the bean bag chair.  They almost started sipping simultaneously.

“I have been thinking a lot since you left Tokyo,” Akina started talking calmly.  Her eyes were looking down on the coffee table though, trying to avoid any eye contact with Satoshi.

Satoshi was staring at his own cup, trying to avoid eye contact with Akina also.

There was a long awkward silence.

Chapter 2 Awakening

Akina went completely blank.

“......” Satoshi’s mouth was moving.  He was murmuring something but Akina couldn’t discern.

“We’ll start our final descent into San Francisco...,” a voice buzzed abruptly.

“What is that?  Why is he talking like a pilot?” Akina felt a little disoriented.

Akina opened her eyes slowly.  The seat belt sign flashed once, accompanied by a little chime.

“Oh!  It’s a dream,” Akina suddenly realized.  There was a pen and a blank piece of paper on the tray table in front of her.  She must have unknowingly fallen asleep.  

“I wish I could just take whatever’s in my heart and stuff it into yours,” Akina thought.  Sometimes, she thought like a small child.  She put the pen and paper away and closed her tray table.

“Local time in San Francisco is,” the pilot paused, as if he’s checking his watch, “6:08 in the evening.”  Noise inside the cockpit made the pilot’s voice sound hoarse.

“The weather is cloudy and it’s drizzling right now with a temperature of,” the pilot paused, “55 degrees Fahrenheit,” he paused again, and continued, ”or 13 degrees Celsius.”

“Flight attendants, prepare for final landing,” the pilot said.

Akina straightened her seat up.  Her ear could feel the air pressure changing.  Looking out the window, she could only see a blinking red light on the wing.  A faint trail of white stream was visibly extending from the wing tip as it cut through the moist air of the night.  It looked like the plane was buried in thick cloud as she couldn’t see anything on the ground.  

“You're waiting for me beneath the clouds, aren't you?” Akina thought, as if trying to convince herself.

Chapter 3 Calling

(12 hours earlier at a Tokyo downtown office)

“With much regret, today’s Akina’s last day with us.  She joined 4 years ago as my assistant.  Since then, she’s been involved with a number of highly visible projects, most recently being the collaboration with Kleiner Perkins of Silicon Valley.  Both me and Mr. Watanabe were trying everything to convince Akina to stay.  Unfortunately, it looks like she has made a pretty firm decision, a personal one.  Let’s send her off with our best wishes.  Akina, good luck and best wishes to your future.  My arms are always open if you ever want to come back,” said Mr. Fujiwara in front of the whole team.

“Thank you, Mr. Fujiwara.  I’m sorry to let you guys know that today’s my last day.  Some people here may not know but this is actually my first full-time job.  I’ve always considered Mr. Fujiwara to be my second father.  I’ve grown a lot under him during the past 4 years.  I love my job and I very much wanted to continue my career here.  However, there’re moments when you hear a calling, a kind of mysterious force, that you know you should follow, or otherwise, it seems that happiness may slip through your fingers.  Ultimately, I’m answering to that call and have made my decision to leave,” said Akina, her tears pouring through her eyes.

She continued, “it’s been a privilege working with every one of you, particularly Mr. Fujiwara.  Thank you and I wish everyone best of luck as well.”  Akina took a ninety degree bow as she bid farewell to her fellow colleagues before walking out the office.

In the elevator, Akina wiped away her tears with her hands, although her eyes were still red.  It’s been a busy day.  This morning, she took a last glance at her empty apartment and checked out with the landlord.  After arriving at the office, she’s been talking to people non-stop all day, transferring her work.  She also skipped lunch in order to purchase the airport limousine ticket for tonight.

Two weeks ago, Akina could not have imagined that she’s leaving everything behind and going to San Francisco, alone.

4, 3, 2, 1, the elevator door opened.  Akina walked out of the building and went downstairs into the subway station.  She needed to take out her suitcase that she put into a locker earlier this morning.

“Passport, air ticket, limousine ticket, cash.  Ready to go!” Akina went through the absolutely necessary items in her handbag.  She looked at her wrist watch.  It’s 8:02.  Her flight was around midnight.  “Better early than late,” she thought, and went straight for the limousine.

Chapter 4 North Wing

Narita International was packed with people.  Akina arrived at Terminal 1 and couldn’t believe her eyes.

The 80s saw a huge wave of Japanese tourists roaming all over Europe and US, as Japan entered a period of miraculous economic growth.

It took more than an hour for Akina to check in and get her boarding pass.  The gate was in the northern section (aka North Wing) of the terminal.  She took no time and hurried through departure security and inspection.  She wanted to make a last phone call before taking off.

“Dad, it’s Akina.  I’m at the airport right now.  Where’s Mom?”

“We’re all wondering if you’re going to call tonight.  Mom is in the bath.  Did you bring enough clothes with you?  Even though it’s summer, I’ve heard San Francisco can be quite chilly,” said Akina’s Dad.

“Don’t worry.  Hey, I think they’re calling me now.  Say hi to Mom and Akiho for me.  You take care of yourself.  I love you, Dad,” said Akina.

“You take care of yourself too.  Call us when you get there,” Akina’s Dad took a pause.  “Just remember, you can always come back,” he continued.

“Bye Dad,” Akina hung up.  Her heart started to feel the weight as she looked at the boarding status flashing beside her flight number on the monitor.

Chapter 5 Midnight Flight

The jet engine was roaring.  The plane began to thrust forward.  Akina’s body was thrown backwards, pressing her back against her seat.  The objects outside the window moved away faster and faster.  Soon, the plane got off the ground.  

Akina looked outside her window.  It was a clear day in Tokyo.  The city lights grew smaller and smaller.  Her journey had begun.  It felt surreal.

“It’ll be a brand new day on the other side of the ocean.  No more regrets, no more sorrows,”  Akina thought to herself.

(To be continued…)

Disclaimer
The above short story is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Repost: Some Thoughts on Kouhaku 2021 紅白歌合戦２０２１

 My latest blog entry in Kayokyoku Plus.  Enjoy!

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