LAST NIGHT IN TOKYO 3 DAYS AGO

I remember holding a white see-through plastic umbrella, shielding a Japanese girl from the rain. She was lying cold on the ground. She was coughing blood and I held her hand…..

Tokyo Downtown. Pouring rain. I was standing on the street and I saw a guy knocking down a woman and kicking her in the stomach while she was lying defenseless on the ground. It was like a movie scene from “Sin City.” I ran over to her and the guy disappeared. It was raining and I somehow got a hold of an umbrella and held it over her, while holding her hand, calming her down and signaling someone to call an ambulance.

She was freaking out and I kept saying “it’s okay it’s okay” and when she finally gained a little strength to look up at me, she smiled vaguely but peacefully, with dazed eyes and she finally calmed down. As the medics came, she kept squeezing my hand like she was holding on to dear life, but slowly it slipped away as they carried her into the ambulance and took off.

….. And that was just one of the flashes from a night, when Tokyo became the mother of all mothers and made sure I wasn’t gonna get home anytime soon. Next morning I missed my flight and had to live through another movie, “The Terminal.” – the one with Tom Hanks, – as I was stuck at the airport for 2 days.

Currently writing from an airport in Paris, this close to being home. Never thought I’d be this happy to set foot in Europe again. ♥