Free Tokio Whip by Arturo Silva Page B

discover.
    ***
    Ivy covers the tall smokestack. (Inokashira line)
    The way you watch a newscast in English as if it were a messenger from the real world the forgotten tongue and you question again if you are kidding yourself your existence here.
    ***
    Cafferty told me once in conversation that when he first set foot down here he’d felt his testicles fall to the earth, had felt himself for the first time a part of the real living world, had felt free to find out who he was or might be, felt that “he” was a no man who might be any man or any other being or thing, and wasn’t that enough or more than might be expected to have or to feel at least one’s testicles feel that – the testicles, the earth, you know. I thought of this tonight as I thought at home alone of how long I’ve been here and would, yes, call it “home,” but wondered how that had ever come about.
    ***
    Lang didn’t know if he was gaining or losing.
    Roberta? The city?
    This strange language.
    She didn’t want an orgasm, said it’d make her fall in love with him.
    ***
    Hmm. Yes, to love. To love the city. All the varieties of something so singularly unvaried. A mother for her child. A man for his money. A musician for his art. Me for ... well. And he for the city. What does it mean “to love a city”? Many people “love” their city for its history or its beauty or its convenience or any number of other reasons. But basically, I would say that they appreciate the place they live in. How does he “love” Tokyo? I can say for myself that I do not mind the place, and sometimes I really do enjoy being here, and at others I can find it exciting; but I must also admit that I always look forward to those times I can go back for a visit to Kyoto. Only twice last year, and one of those for the funeral. But even our funerals are different. It’s nice if he is happy loving the city, but I have to wonder if that love is the reason he is not married? We must be careful with our love, knowing where and when to give it, and not allowing it to go astray. Thus the gracious Kazuko.
    ***
    The girl who’s in the “radical manga ” group – she was born in 1963, the city was beginning to boom, and her friends called her “transistor glamour” because she was light, quick and had a brilliant future. It’s true, I’ve seen the photos, Marianne recalls.
    ***
    â€“ No, no, Kazuko, this is mine – and so are those to follow.
    â€“ Lang ...
    â€“ No argument. The evening is ours, the cost is mine. Your coat.
    â€“ Thank you, Lang.
    â€“ And how is Kazuo these days?
    â€“ Well, besides working ...
    â€“ He’s got a nice job, hasn’t he? With a publisher, is it?
    â€“ Yes.
    â€“ A publisher of what?
    â€“ Oh, one of those big publishing companies – factories, I should say. They do everything from Western classics, to Japanese classics, from weekly magazines to comics, and even from bestselling blockbusters from anywhere to pornography.
    â€“ So I’ve heard. Sounds exciting, fun.
    â€“ Well, he is intelligent enough to have covered most of the field in just the few years he’s been there. Now he’s an assistant manager in one division, but he may be transferred once again soon.
    â€“ Porno?
    â€“ Sorry, Lang, no.
    â€“ Oh, too bad, I thought I might have gotten some introductions.
    â€“ Well, I’m sure he could do that for you if you’re really interested.
    â€“ Kazuko, I’m interested in everything. Have to be.
    â€“ Well, I can ask
    â€“ No, no need to push now. I like the man, but hardly know him well enough to ask for a porno introduction. But that aside, I really would like to get to know him better. He seems a very intelligent man, and he knows his Tokyo.
    â€“ Well, I’m sure he knows it better than you or I.
    â€“ Better than me?
    â€“ Uhn, sorry.
    â€“ No, I’m sorry. I just take