Rhapsody in Red

Glossary   PSIA: Public Security Intelligence Agency (** ** *) National Intelligence Agency, under the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Japan Gaijin: Foreigner. A derogatory term to refer to who is not Japanese. Sensei: teacher, wise or learned person. Frequently used to designate Japanese martial arts instructors. Aum Shinrikyo: Japanese syncretistic sect. Katana: Japanese single-edged sword, used by samurai and often used in ritual ceremonies. Sarin: Organophosphorus compound, considered a very powerful chemical weapon. It is a nervous agent banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 and the UN. Dirty nuclear weapons: These explosive devices spread radioactive elements in the atmosphere. They are also called radioactive bombs. After the 9/11 attacks, the fear of its use has grown, given that it is a relatively cheap weapon for its elaboration and that it can easily fall into the hands of terrorist groups. Zainichi: Residents in Japan of Korean origin, both those who retain the nationality of the latter country and those who do not. Many of them entered Japan during World War II. Samurai: Warrior of ancient Japan. Member of a military caste that governed the country for centuries. IRS: Internal Revenue Service. Tax Office of the Government of the United States. Tatami: (*) is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made using rice straw to form the core. Also used as flooring in Japanese martial arts.   Prologue         When the plane started its takeoff maneuver she closed her eyes because it was the first flight she could remember. When she had arrived in the country with her family she was just a baby and had no memories of that. The girl had fastened her seatbelt and followed literally the instructions of the stewardess and finally managed to contain her nerves when the aircraft took off and gained altitude leaving the city of Buenos Aires behind. She did not know when she fell asleep but it evidently happened when the nervous tension eased and the muscles of her body relaxed. Upon awakening the thoughts came to her mind in droves. Actually, it was not only the first trip of her adulthood but also her first trip alone and she was going to live in a country with a different society and with unknown rules and habits. Only then did she realize that although it was not her native country, Argentina had absorbed and incorporated her inside its conflictive but strong culture and that leaving that environment was like leaving a soft bed. She thought of her family, who she had separated from for the first time, of her parents hiding their feelings when they said goodbye, and of her little sister who could not stop crying in the huge hall of the Ezeiza airport. They had promised to go to visit her in six months, so this thought somewhat consoled her. Then her mind slipped involuntarily to Leandro. When her mind evoked his tall, thin figure, his big clear eyes and his easy smile, her heart shattered. She counted on seeing her family again in a not very long time and in reality she was going to live with some uncles who resided abroad so that this bond was assured. But ... would she see Leandro again? Would all the illusions she had woven from their first meeting evaporate in time? Would he wait for her? Would he remember her? For her part, the young woman knew too well that she would never forget the brief and intense romantic experience she had experienced with the young man, in fact the only love experience in her life. When the stewardess came to bring her the tray with the breakfast the fact took her out of her abstractions and the girl just noticed that her mouth had a bittersweet taste. The route of the plane appeared on the small screen at the back of the seat before hers and there she could visualize the destination of the flight.   Chapter 1   After climbing the luxurious Italian marble stairs to the mezzanine she left her coat on a semi-hidden rack behind one of the sturdy columns of the same material and approached the railing that dominated the ground floor of the hotel. In accordance with the canons of the early twentieth century in which the palace then housing of one of the traditional families of Buenos Aires had been built, the height of the mezzanine with respect to the ground floor was very large and Aiko had to overcome a certain sensation of vertigo when looking down. Like all her unexpressed thoughts she had formulated it in Japanese, a language that she still spoke at home with her parents but not with her younger sister, who was born in Argentina and seemed to reject the language of the family. She approached the piano and stroked it, which gave her a sense of pleasure. It was a German piece that undoubtedly dated from the same period of the palace, now turned into a hotel, and perhaps part of the inventory that the international chain had acquired a decade ago. The girl lifted the lid and removed the protective cloth. Then she approached the stool and sat on it, spread the sheet music of melodies that she had planned to play that morning, otherwise unnecessary because they were part of her repertoire and she knew them by heart. Her fingers came into contact with the keyboard and Ballade pour Adeline's notes filled the ample space of the august palace's lobby causing a forced silence and a momentary interruption of the hotel activities, while all eyes were directed to the source of the melody. The piano had been wisely placed next to the railing of the mezzanine so as to make sure that its sound invaded the place and the artist and her instrument were at least partially visible by the passengers achieving the effect sought by the owners of the hotel. Aiko knew that she had already obtained her intention to draw attention to her presence and decided to lower the volume of the sound with an adequate selection of the pieces to be interpreted, so that her music acted as a backdrop for the activities of the guests and employees of the establishment but without being intrusive. Then she played For Elisa and after it a repertoire that recalled Richard Clayderman´s, planning then to continue with Yiruma´s, one of his favorites, by his temperament and perhaps by the common Asian origin. One of the managers of the hotel had gone up to the mezzanine and was observing her in silence from one of the corners. Suddenly Aiko realized that she was not alone in the large room and had a small start that happily did not affect her interpretation. When the girl looked at her boss she saw a broad smile on his face to which the man added a significant gesture with the thumbs of his hands pointing upwards. "Thanks Mr. Leduc." Said the girl in an almost inaudible voice while concentrating on the melody she was playing. Aiko had started that day with her performances at the prestigious Buenos Aires hotel and until that morning she had only had the opportunity to briefly visit the place where she was going to work. The elevated mezzanine had a privileged view over the spacious lobby of the hotel and the acoustics of the place were quite adequate. The piano was a famous brand and had been tuned recently so that the young woman caressed the keys with delight. The location of the place where only that the balcony and the elevator doors existed, ensured that none of the tourists or hotel employees had to carry out activities on the floor, so that the girl remained practically alone throughout the morning, which allowed her an adequate concentration in her work and to be able to enjoy the tranquility in the breaks she did with a certain frequency.   The young man diligently attended the secondary desk located in the hotel lobby that  officiated as a travel agency to serve tourists eager to hire City Tours in the city of Buenos Aires or trips to distant destinations such as the Iguazu Falls, Bariloche or other Patagonian destinations or on the Atlantic coast. The flow of requests for information was incessant and having to answer in a variety of languages represented an additional stress. That morning a large contingent of Brazilian tourists had arrived who mixed with the usual American and European aging couples so that the touristic booth had been in the middle of a permanent bustle. In the brief moments of rest the boy raised his eyes to the mezzanine from which sprang melodies that were only audible at times. Leandro observed with pleasure the gentle figure of the Japanese girl who had caught his attention when she entered the hotel lobby. Although he had seen her only fleetingly and from a distance the perfect features of her face and her slender silhouette had caught his gaze, so that when he saw her a while later sitting at the piano in the mezzanine and performing her romantic repertoire almost in direct line from his desk the sight had produced him a certain emotion even though the distance between them was considerable. As it was said the young man looked up to alternate his work with something rewarding and also to detect if the girl looked back at him at some time, but soon he got convinced that the object of his interest had not noticed his existence. He was wrong.   When she looked at her tiny wristwatch the pianist was amazed that it was already a quarter of an hour past midday so her commitment to the hotel was already fulfilled for that day. She finished the brief composition she was playing, closed the piano and as she got up took her purse from the edge of the railing, then descended the stairs and crossed the lobby. From a distance she saw Mr. Leduc waving a hand at her; Aiko thought it was good that her boss had noticed that she had exceeded the performance time on her first day. Staring straight ahead she went out to the gardens that bordered the palace entrance and walked to the bus stop located a couple of blocks away. A vehicle was about to leave and Aiko got on it just in time before the driver closed the doors. After several stops a seat was vacated and a man gently gave it to her. Once comfortably sitting the girl began a brief review of the events of the morning, as it was an involuntary habit to which her mind recurred frequently. Although it was not the first time she had performed the debut at the hotel had been an unexpected success, her doubts about whether she could play for a prolonged period were dissipated. The faces of the passengers of the hotel contemplating her and listening to her music during extended periods had been recorded in her memory as well as the warm gesture of the manager, visibly pleased. Everything was a good omen in her first permanent job, in which she had to work from eight in the morning until noon, from Monday to Friday. But there had been another event of a different kind, although Aiko tried to push it to a side corner of her mind, since the modest and timid nature of his psyche formed in an oriental environment avoided all infatuation, all vanity. Despite this internal struggle, the young woman could not avoid the image of the tall, freckled young man staring at her insistently in his spare moments. In spite of herself Aiko had registered the handsome features of his face and his clear eyes; she could not help sighing and when she realized that the old woman who was sitting in the seat next to the bus looked at her smiling, her cheeks blushed. When her presumption was confirmed, the lady laid her hand on the Aiko´s. This gesture of excessive familiarity coming from a stranger, that would have been almost scandalous in the austere Japanese culture, was experienced with relief by Aiko, who in turn placed her right hand on the old woman's. Thus, she added another unusual event to her chest of sensations of the day, that of two women understanding only by sight and touch.   Aiko Teruya, or Teruya Aiko, had been born twenty-three years earlier in Osaka and when she was two years old her father, an employee of a Japanese industrial firm had accepted a job in remote Argentina and had moved to Buenos Aires, located more or less in the antipodes of his native place taking with him his wife and daughter. The second daughter, named Susana, was born in the new country. Despite parental expectations that after high school Aiko entered the Engineering Faculty she had shown early sensitivity and a clear vocation for music and after a discussion her mother Michiko had convinced her husband that the girl should follow her inclination because that was what would ensure her happiness. The persuasive words of the woman succeeded once again to convince her husband and the child entered the Conservatorio Nacional de Música López Buchardo.   Absent in her thoughts and memories Aiko looked out the window and realized that the bus had just left behind the stop where she should have gotten off. The girl stood up in an instant and trudged through the standing passengers until she reached the back door of the vehicle and rang the bell. However, the mishap did not take away the sweet aftertaste she felt at that moment.   Chapter 2   As she glanced at her wristwatch found that, according to her forecasts, it was ten o´clock. She was playing part of the repertoire of her favorite artist Yiruma and decided that when she finished River Flows in You she would make the second stop to let her fingers rest. However, a sixth sense warned her that there was a presence in the usually desolate mezzanine. The pianist pushed aside the stool and slowly, as with a certain precaution raised her eyes and looked over her shoulders. Although she was already aware she was being observed the girl could not avoid a slight start, more out of emotion than of fear. Aiko expected to find the figure of the manager Leduc or perhaps a passenger of the hotel lost in the elevator and seeing the young man from the travel agency surprised her. As if to confirm that it was really him, she turned her head towards the hotel lobby and verified that the counter was empty. "Hello." The boy said smiling and approaching slowly. "I'm Leandro, Leandro Valsecchi and I work in the travel agency booth." This last clarification was redundant because he had surprised the young woman's quick glance towards the deserted counter and had understood that she already knew who he was. "Hello." The woman replied a little perturbed and unable to avoid the blush that her shyness produced in the face of unexpected circumstances, even pleasurable ones." I am Aiko Teruya. "I have been watching you and listening all week and I am amazed by your musical talent and the extent of your repertoire." No doubt the young man knew how to flatter an artist, even saying strictly the truth. The conversation flowed easily from the beginning, which was not usual in Aiko's interactions with strangers but something impelled her not to miss the opportunity to chat with someone who had not left her indifferent since she had seen him. Even the girl herself was surprised at her open disposition to start a relationship, contrary to all her family education. At one point Leandro, who was observing the lobby at times over the railing, noticed that a tourist had stopped in front of his counter. He said. "If I want to keep my job I must return to my position right away. Tell me your cell phone number." In an attitude that would later seem unreflective to her, Aiko gave it to him and the young man went down the stairs repeating the number trying to associate it with some mnemonic rule. He approached his desk and guessing that it was a couple of Brazilian tourists spoke to his clients in Portuñol, that sui generis mixture of Spanish and Portuguese in which Brazilians and Argentines understood each other. " Desculpe-me. Eu fui ao sanitario. Como posso ajudá-los?"   The next day was Friday and because of the large influx of tourists, Leandro could not get away from his desk and had to settle for saying goodbye to Aiko when the girl left the hotel at noon to attend her piano lessons. After leaving the hotel in its full eight-hour day, the young man had to go to the building of the National Technological University in order to complete some paperwork for the delivery of his diploma as an engineer in the collation of grades that would take place a couple of months later. When leaving the university instead of returning to the small studio that he had bought in the quarter of Palermo Leandro had to go to his parents' house to give mathematics classes to his younger brother Ariel, who had some exams the following week.  When he finally arrived at his apartment he was exhausted, undressed and lay on the only chair to catch his breath before getting into the shower. As soon as he felt energy had returned he walked over to the bed and pulled the cell phone out of the back pocket of his pants. Sitting down in the bed, he searched the device directory and selected a name. At the third sound, Aiko's voice was heard answering the call. Leandro did not yet have enough experience in life to notice that the girl's tone had a hint of anxiety, which he would then have attributed to waiting for his call. "Hello Aiko." Leandro's voice sounded sweet."Hello. Who's talking? "The girl's question was completely unnecessary and only pretended to simulate an indifference that she was far from feeling. The talk turned on the respective activities and since it was the second time they spoke after the personal meeting in the mezzanine of the hotel it served the purpose of creating a certain basis of familiarity and to make the other interlocutor aware of certain usual activities; the exchange of trivia is never idle between two people who are approaching with caution. Finally Leandro entered the subject. "Tomorrow is Saturday. Do you have some plans for it?"   Aiko graduated the speed of his response to give it a casual look. "No, nothing so far". "I would like to see you ... that is, if you want." This time the woman answered without hesitation. "Yes, the truth is that I would like it." "Where do you live? Aiko gave an address."It's in Colegiales." She clarified immediately. "I know the area fairly well. When can I go to meet you?" "Is six o´clock all right? Do you have a car?" "Yes. We could go to a bar in the Palermo Hollywood area. Do you know it?" "Only by name. I do not drink alcohol." "You can take what you want. I'm not a big drinker either." "Another thing. I must not come back too late; I do not want to alarm my parents." "All right."   Leandro's father had given his son the Toyota he had used for twenty years and that still worked fairly well. The boy drove the old vehicle to the address in Colegiales and barely had time to park it when Aiko emerged from the door of the house and waved. The young woman looked beautiful with her light color wide skirt and her perfect face barely made up. Remembering the teachings of his father Leandro got out of the car, turned around in front of it and proceeded to open the passenger door to let the girl in. Aiko once again blushed at being the object of the unusual gesture of courtesy, completely absent in her family traditions. "Oh, how nice! As in the old movies." "My old man opens the door of the car to my mother ... that is, when they are not fighting." The answer had a sad and ironic tone, but by discretion Aiko refrained from asking him if his parents litigated frequently, Leandro drove to the old recycled neighborhood now  named  Palermo Hollywood in which every second door is a bar, confectionery or restaurant. At that relatively early hour he got a place to park on Humboldt Street. They walked a dozen steps and the boy asked pointing to a place with an Irish name, painted green and exhibiting painted green clovers to leave no doubt. "Does this place look good to you?" "It´s all right but remember that I do not drink alcohol." To enjoy the fresh air, they sat at one of the few tables outside the restaurant and a waitress quickly emerged from the bar and came over to take care of them. When she had retired Aiko said. "What a kind attention! What accent does she have?" "Surely Colombian. That's why she's so kind." "Irish bar with a Colombian waitress?" "This is Buenos Aires 21st century." Leandro noticed that male passers-by, still not very numerous, stared at his table mate and began to lament for not having sat inside the premises. Unable to refrain it he said in a somewhat awkward way. "You look beautiful! You are the center of all eyes." Aiko could control her embarrassment and said. "Are you jealous?" "I do not have the right to be jealous...yet. Rather, I feel proud." The upbringing of Aiko had banned phrases so flattering and the girl instinctively covered her face to hide her blush. Leandro perceived the situation and decided to restrain his enthusiasm and move on to talk about topics that interested him. "Well, Aiko Teruya, tell me about your life.