Little Akira

[Pachipro]

While a student I lived in a rented small 2DK Japanese apartment (2 rooms plus a dining/kitchen). The rooms were 6 mats and 4 ½ mats and the kitchen was 3 ½. Not much of a “dining/kitchen”, but it was just big enough for a small table and two chairs if I wanted to put one in there. Also in the kitchen were the washing machine and refrigerator, and the entrances to the bath and the toilet.

I was living on the bottom center floor. On either side of me were married couples just starting out in life I guess, and they both had kids. In the mornings the husbands would go off to work early and the wives would stay at home with the kids to do their laundry, cleaning and shopping or talking to each other outside. One husband was a blue collar worker, owned his own small truck and, I guess hauled things for a living or contracted himself out. The other was a white collar worker and always went to work in a suit. What they actually did I never found out.

One of the families had a small boy who was born shortly before I first moved in. His name was Akira. While he was growing up, every time he saw me he would cry his eyes out like there was no tomorrow while he was in the stroller or in his mother’s arms and she did her best to console him while apologizing to me. For some unknown reason he was deathly afraid of me and, for the most part, I ignored him as I hardly ever saw him. Maybe it was because I was “different” in his eyes and he could tell, even at that young age, that I was not like the others of his kind. To him I was probably no different than a monster and probably looked like one with my long hair and all.

The wives were polite in the Japanese tradition and would always bow to me and say “good morning” or “good afternoon.” Sometimes we conversed, but it was just the usual small talk about the weather and such. The husbands I almost never saw as they both worked long hours and came home late. I think in the five years I lived in that apartment I spoke to the husbands only a handful of times.

When little Akira was a little older he used to play outside his apartment by himself. However, whenever I left the apartment to go to school in the late morning or come home in the afternoon and he was outside, he would again ball his eyes out and practically kill himself trying to get into his apartment. His feet would be running in motion while trying to open the door to his apartment which he could barely reach but was in such a panic that he couldn't open it.

Every time he did this, his mother would come out, bow and apologize to me, pick up the little brat and console him telling him that there was nothing to worry about and take him into the apartment. I tried talking to him on some occasions but he would have no part of it and would scream at the top of his lungs.

One day I thought to myself that this had gone far enough. If he wanted to cry for no reason at all I’d give him something to cry about. You’re a little older now and should not be afraid of me as I did nothing to cause you to cry, I thought to myself. So the next time I saw him outside I quickly glanced at the windows to make sure they were closed so his mother or the other neighbor could not see and I raised my arms in the air, walked towards him with the scariest face I could make and made like I was going to grab the little bugger and eat him for dinner.

Little Akira went into a panic. He tried to get up off the ground and his feet moved so fast he was not going anywhere all the while screaming at the top of his lungs. It was like watching a cartoon. A few seconds later he managed to reach the door and was pounding on it for all he was worth while looking back at me with my hands raised and slowly walking towards him. At the time it was the funniest thing.

As his mother came out I pretended like I did nothing wrong and tried to talk to him in Japanese as a parent would. Again his mother would bow and apologize and disappear with him into the house. This went on for about another year and once in a while I would play the monster. However, if he caught sight of me first walking down the street he would be in his house in a flash. Sometimes I would glance out the window before departing my apartment to see if he was out there. If he was, I would cough or growl real loud and I could hear him scurry into his apartment about ready to cry.

Shortly after starting school he suddenly stopped crying when he saw me, but you could tell he was still deathly afraid of me and didn’t want to be near me for anything. Since he stopped crying when he saw me, I stopped pretending I wanted to eat him.

At the time I thought it was the funniest thing. Today, I hope I didn't mentally traumatize the kid. “Little Akira” must be about 30 years old and probably has his own family. I wonder if he still remembers the “gaijin monster” that used to live next door to him and wanted to eat him for dinner? I’m sure he does. And I also sometimes wonder what he thinks about foreigners in general as he got older and how he feels about them to this very day. Do you think he would he allow his daughter to date, and maybe marry, a foreigner? Hmmm.

[ArmandV]

He probably grew up and became one of those cult members who gassed the subway in Tokyo a few years ago.

Didn't you try to talk to the kid?

[Pachipro]

Of course I did try to talk to him as I mentioned in the story, but he would have none of it. No way, no how. He was just too afraid of me from the first day he set eyes on me.

[Dutch Baka]

haha, poor boy!!!! You are so evil Pachipro

so when is your Book coming out?

[nurizeko]

He probably grew up to be a massive racist bigot who's a member of one of those nationalist parties and looks down upon foreigners.

Maybe though...you were just an imposing menacing looking person.

Nah, he's probably grown up (in all sense of the word) and wouldnt be bothered at all.

But I'm of the mind many Japanese have insecurity problems, but since Japan is (or was) a rigid social rule type of society thats understandable.

[Kinsao]

Hee hee... you sadist...
That's a funny story. I wonder. Perhaps you were the only foreigner that he saw. My mum told me that she was scared the first time she ever saw a Black person, she was around 2 years old and she had thought they were only a story made up by her father!

[Ewok85]

Hahaha, you're pure evil Pachipro!

I was expecting a happy or funny ending too... ah well, still, good read!

[RockLee]

Haha, poor Akira. I guess he's ok now, I don't think that'd give him a trauma. You didn't beat him up or hurt him physically, so it should be ok

[Kara_Nari]

Pachipro! You horrid monster, probably you are the reason for all the anti-gaijin places in the whole of Japan, how dare you! Hahah of course im only joking, but wouldnt that be funny?
Little Akira turning into a gangster and still being deathly afraid of gaijin... and owning a whole string of onsen and bars not allowing foreigners inside hehhe.... for fear that the big scary Akira eating gaijin was still lurking around...
Hmm im going to make it into a claymation.... thanks for the idea haha

*wow, all this talk of evil and its my 666th post!*

[misa.j]

I can't believe Akira didn't even start laughing after you pretended as a monster.

You did it over a year or more? You were so patient!