Part 2 The translator - Glimpse IV

The ice was hard and slippery under her little boots, so she dared not make any further steps. Holding her little blue bunny plush tighter to her chest she looked back.

The pale-yellow cabin made of pine wood was basking in the late afternoon sun, the snow had melted of it leaving a bare roof. In front of her the newer wood cabin had a darker color which looked almost black against the sun’s light. It rose much higher and seemed to tower over her, it’s shadow almost reaching her like the safety wing of a mother chicken.

She knew she had to go to the big cabin, that is where her room was, all the guests stayed at the big new cabin while the host family stayed at the old yellowish cabin. But the ice was too slippery and the cabin too far. To her left was the bellow, if she fell, she would never stop falling so she dared not look that way down only up to her right. And up was the snow-covered hill, black trunk trees aligned the dark fences delineating plots of lands between neighbors and further still was maybe a street, an old car glided there from time to time, she knew.

The sun was going down between the mountains as she was looking at it, so she knew she couldn’t stay there forever, night and bitter cold were coming.

She carefully and slowly took a step and it worked, much to her joy now she was closer to safety. So, they took another step and another so, soon she was slowly walking to the cabin. Until she finally slipped and started tumbling down through the snow and ice. She tried to grab onto a dead weed or bush, but it snapped, and she kept slipping on the ice and onto a frozen path and then the earth under her was finished and only the forest bellow was left. She fell off the cliff.

Spiked spruces hardened by ice awaited for her far down below. Some even glistened in the sunlight as they rushed toward her ready to impale.

Hot water rushed into her mouth and she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. She felt a stone ceiling above her head pushing down on her, so she turned and tried to go the other way where she was being pulled. Finally, she reached air where she could open her eyes without being burnt and gasped so loudly she heard a woman yell at her.

Are you OK?! An old woman asked in japanese.

She looked around confused only to see a naked elderly woman half risen from the pool looking at her while her friend looked equally surprised at the foreigner.

Yeah, I think so. She replied to the old women while touching her own face and body and coughing.

Her swimsuit bra had shifted so she put it back in place and sat back down in the hot bath. The two japanese women returned to their gossip, only to occasionally try and catch a glimpse of her without being seen so as not to be too obvious they were gossiping about her.

“How stupid they must think I am. Stupid foreigner comes in a swimsuit to the bath then falls asleep in the bath.Then almost drowns. I hope I didn’t yell in my sleep as I was falling.” All these thoughts rushed through her head as she sat there trying to seem normal.

The old women eventually got out, naked as newborns, then showered their pruny butts and left.

She eventually got out as well, her fingers had long wrinkled up, washed as much as you can wash with a swimsuit on, dried her hair and left as well.

- Are you ok? She heard a man ask her in spanish. Do you speak spanish? He added looking at her. He was in a robe like her and seemed to have come out of the men’s spa.

- Yes, I’m OK, don’t I look ok? She replied looking confused at him.

- Your face is very red; do you have a heart problem? You shouldn’t stay to long in the hot water, no more than 15 minutes even if you are healthy.

- She looked around for a clock and then asked.

- What time is it?

- About half past 5. He answered after looking at his wrist watch.

- She had been in the spa for almost 2 hours she realized.

- Oh! She laughed nervously then continued. Yeah, I stayed more than 15, I didn’t know, at home I soak for about an hour.

- Well, good thing you are young and didn’t pop a blood vessel.

- Doesn't that happen in the cold, since you get blood clot?

- Sorry! He blurted out. I’m just a writer not a doctor, I just know it’s bad.

He had very beautiful dark brown eyes, they looked like two black marbles.

- Well take care of yourself. He then did a little hand wave goodbye and left the hallway.

“You little shit.” She thought to herself and then walked to her room. His reaction annoyed her more than she had wanted so resolved to think of something else.

“Why would I dream of those poems again?” She remembered her dream the day before, while brushing her hair in the mirror.

“Maybe I should go watch a play, I should ask the ryokan management, maybe they know if anything is on tonight, worth watching.” And she left her room modestly dressed ready for a night out of good food and maybe a show.

And so, she was out and about town again, the festive atmosphere never seemed to end here and this lifted her spirits. She needed to feel happy again, she hadn’t felt happy in a long time and traveling alone on some adventure always made her happy.

A little shrine with weather-bleached statues at its entrance was neatly tucked away between two old japanese inns, or ryokans as the locals called them. She stopped in front of the of the two granite foxes, looked for some coins in her wallet and gave it to the shrine. She held her hands up to it and whispered to herself.

- Thank you for helping me find my way back here, I wish I never had to leave.

She had never been religious or superstitious, but she loved Old Man Winter, Halloween and anything Japanese, really. She smiled broadly at the fox statues and wondered what was written in the stone scrolls in their mouths. She had read somewhere long ago what it symbolism, but couldn’t remember just now.

- Hi! Glad to see you are ok. A shy familiar voice spoke from behind her.

- Oh! Hi! Yes, thank you, I’m fine, you? She answered after she turned around to recognize the hispanic man.

- Good, good, hungry. Know any good places?

- There is a korean bbq house not far from here, they used to have a magic show as well, not sure it it’s still open now.

- Sounds awesome, can you tell me the address and name?

- I don’t remember the name but I’m going there myself, so I can take you if you want. Are you with anybody else? And she looked around for anybody that may look like companions of his.

- No, no, just me, I’m afraid. I don’t want to impose, if you have other plans I understand.

- I’m on vacation so I have plenty of time. She replied and started walking in the direction of the restaurant and gesturing to him to follow her.

- Vacation? Sounds nice. I’m sort of on vacation.

- Yes, I remember you told me you are a writer. What genre do you write?

- Mostly detective mysteries with a bit of science fiction. What do you do?

- I’m a translator, what publishing house are you with?

- Ouch...I guess thank you or curse you? And he laughed nervously.

He was making a joke it seemed to her. She laughed back with him so to not seem rude. She had promised to take him to the restaurant, that implied spending time with him, best not make it awkward just yet.

- I work for H.A.E.. He mentioned in passing waiting to see her reaction.

- That was a big company, he was probably proud of himself and expect her reaction to be that of impressed.

- Hmmm, they have that game Y.A.N.A. online, I saw in the news it had some big update coming, people were excited about.

- Yes! He smiled broadly with his perfectly white teeth. We had a big expansion released this month.

- Congratulations. She replied calmly. We must drink tonight then.

- Oh no, no, I’m not a drinker and judging by your slavic accent I don’t stand a chance against you.

- It’s not a competition, just a celebration. She said as she welcomed him into the BBQ place.

- Oh! We’re here, glad it’s still in business.

- Yes, me too.

It was just as joyful and crowded as she remembered the place.

- Good evening! Welcome to Bābekyūmajikku! Table for two? An attendant asked.

- Yes! He answered.

- Do you still have magic shows here? The translator inquired.

- Yes, I will seat you next to the stage?

- Thank you.

- Thanks, yes! The writer echoed her reply.

The table embedded grill brought back many fun memories and even the pillows were the same. Round, navy with flowers embroidered on them, but she never noticed until now the flowers were in fact a crane. Though in the dim orange-ish light it was hard to tell what it was.

- Thanks for bringing me here, the place looks awesome.

- The food is even better. You’re not vegan are you, right?

- No, no, I like meat, I’m fond of it actually.

- The reproduction of organs here was pretty authentic, all the organs tasted like they should.

He seemed stumped, she should have said something else she thought trying to read his face and what he was thinking.

- Great! He said with an awkward smile.

- Does it help to write on paper? Prevents leaks? She asked timidly trying to change the subject.

- What? Ah, well yes...if I don’t lose them. It’s just easier for me to keep track of everything, I like paper to be honest.

- That’s nice, do you come up with new story lines or do you just adapt the books to video game?

- At this point we have diverged a great deal, Y.A.N.A. online has been around for over 50 years now.

- Wow! So long?

A fox maid in yellow had come to their table bringing a tray with complementary tea.

- Good evening! What can I get you? She said as she placed the tea on the table.

The writer was watching the maid’s face attentively and hers, “Did he knew her?” She wondered, “Fancy pants writer like himself, probably knows all the girls in town.” And she hoped she wasn’t walking into a trap or trick, some sort of love triangle, she had no patience for that.

- House special platter please, we want a taste of everything. And she looked at him for confirmation.

He nodded in approval and asked for a desert menu as well since there wasn’t one on the table.

- As the waitress left, her fox tail dangling behind her, he replied to her old question.

- Yes so, we have a core team of writers, they’ve been managing the story lines, as you probably now the books are over 200 years old now, and there have been many adaptations of them. I just write the NPC dialogue lines.

- You seem quite dedicated, keeping track of everything, I imagine with all those notebooks.

He sipped from his tea remembering something.

- Yeah, I’m a bit of a fanboy, I grew up with H.A.E. stories, my dad was a fan, he worked in the film industry. I try and sneak in as much world lore reference as I can. Newbies may not notice, but the hard-core fans I think will like the nuggets from just meeting some random NPC filler.

- Hmmm, they are lucky to have you, I should ask for your autograph now, while you still aren’t famous.

- He let out a embarrassed laugh, and she liked his voice, it was warm and kind and he seemed like a good person.

The fox-maid waitress had returned with a huge platter of all kinds of meats and veggies for them to grill.

- Dear god! He exclaimed. That looks amazing!

- Thank you and have a good meal! The show will start soon, we hope you enjoy your time here at Bābekyūmajikku!

- Yes, thank you! He replied to the maid, she then returned from where she came.

After she was out of sight, he asked the translator excitedly.

- Is she a robot?

- No, she’s human that’s why it’s so expensive here. I’m not sure about the magicians though, probably human too or some kind of alien, most likely.

- Really?! That would be awesome, I rarely see them we have so few! I saw once this alien, lady I assume, and she had this super bizarre hair like tentacles, just sitting in the bus on a seat in front of me! I was really curious I really wanted to touch her hair...

- Don’t do that. She said as she flipped her meat on the grill.

- No, I didn’t, it may have been her boobs for all I know, I didn’t want to start a interstellar diplomatic crisis, but... you know?

- Yeah, I try not to stare too much whenever I see one.

- Have you? Have you translated alien writers?

- No, I specialize in Earth languages. But I have colleagues who do.

- How many do you speak?

- I can speak fluently 7, write with no problems in 5, naturally, and a have an implant. She gestured to the side of her head. With this I can manage easily in 19 languages.

- You got a good neural mesh?

- It was worth the investment for the extra memory and power.

- Will you get a cyber-brain next.

- Neah, it’s out of my budget.

- Would you if you had the money? He asked with sympathy in his voice.

- Neah. I don’t know.

And she took her bbq, dipped it in the sauces and ate it.

- This is so good!