Wayside - 1920s Japan Dramedy

An afternoon lost among the dirty Chicago streets was not where Yuko pictured her day going. And to think, just one moment of idle window shopping would be perhaps the most disastrous mistake of her life! Not to mention the most dangerous! If it weren't for that incredibly gorgeous velveteen hat seducing her from the glitzy window of Marshall Field's, Yuko wouldn't be a fish out of water in one of "America's seediest cities."

Not that Yuko herself necessarily thought so ill of her temporary home - up until this sudden, terrifying change to her afternoon plans, Yuko thought Chicago to be a lovely town through and through, even on the night she stormed out to heaven knows where, only to be rescued by a wily, insufferably charming working man who seemingly had a fancy for leaving girls at their doorstep with nothing but a squashed heart for a 'goodbye'-!

Not now, Yuko!

She shook her head. What was wrong with her? Forget Alfred, she would never see him again.

She had to find Missus Morris! The stuffy, Christ-fearing middle-aged woman her aunt had urged to take Yuko out for the day was more than Yuko could handle on her own. She could tolerate the hour-long ceremony at a Catholic Church, but confession?

“Your aunt told me you have some things you should make right with God,” Missus Morris had the audacity to suggest with a smile, and in front of strangers no less!

Yuko shuddered, circling the block in an unsuccessful bid to clear her head and get a grasp of her surroundings.

No luck. She wandered back to her spot by the shop window, still steaming about the humiliating morning courtesy of her aunt and her nutty friend.

Did these Catholic people seriously find it normal to simply air out their shortcomings to a priest, a complete stranger? Not to mention he refused to even be in the same room when you told him what was on your mind!

She merely nodded and smiled when Missus Morris eagerly pointed out all the single “well-to-do” men returning to their automobiles after the service.

“You don’t have to confess to the Father. But look! None of them know what you did that night you ran away.”

Yuko’s eyes bounced to a display case of pocket watches, tick tick ticking away as her worried face reflected in the glass. She would rather stay here, head downturned and numb to the world behind her, than go back to Missus Morris.

But she couldn’t. She sighed and reluctantly swooped her head from side to side only to see hundreds of buildings that looked just like the one next to the other.

If only Alfred were here, he would surely know exactly how to help her, just like last time!

Instinctively Yuko's hands shot up to her cheeks, covering the lower half of her rosy face from the swirling world around her.

Goodness, can everyone simply keep their eyes to themselves?

She turned her body back towards the shop window, pretending to show more interest in men's pocket watches than she ever knew herself to have.

Even before leaving for Chicago, Yuko knew it was common sense to assume she would be stared at. She was different, a rarity, and to many, unsettling. She remembered the off-chances a foreigner crossed her path in Japan, and now, miles and miles away from her home, she made a silent vow never to stare at a "gaijin" longer than was polite or cross to the other side of the road when one was on the streets of Osaka.

After her allotted two minutes of self reflection and pity, Yuko's face yet again reluctantly twisted away from the shiny refuge of department store wares. She hadn't the slightest clue where Missus Morris might be, and to make matters worse-

Glooooop

"Ah-!"

Yuko bit her lip.

She would not cry over a silk shoe covered in horse poop. Goodness, there were children starving on the corner just a few feet away!

The little faces joined the passersby and stared and stared at Yuko, their rosy cheeks hidden under a dusting of dirt.

Suddenly Yuko lost the urge to hide her face - rather, her clothes were much more worthy objects of shame.

Honestly, how earth could she have been so blind until today?

She had no business complaining about her shoes or getting lost because of window shopping when there were people starving right under her nose!

Pull yourself together.

She had no right to grumble and moan. The little girl sitting cross-legged on the pavement strengthened Yuko's resolve, her tiny hands trembling with gratitude and curiosity as Yuko gave her a few pennies.

"Thank you." The tiny angel mumbled from her pink lips, and as if she were possessed by her own late mother, a sudden wave of maternal desire flooded Yuko's body as the girl generously rationed out her pennies to her friends.

If these poor children can survive their whole lives on these streets, I can certainly manage one afternoon.

"Where are you from?"

"Hm?"

Just as she worked up enough gumption to tear herself away, Yuko turned back around to face the poor little children so desperately intrigued by her mere existence. It was as if she were an alien!

"I've never talked to someone like you before," The girl spoke up first.

"Are you from China?" The two boys soon followed suit, eyes as wide and shiny as marbles.

"Tom!" The girl mumbled in embarrassment. "You can't just ask that!"

"Why not?"

Before Yuko could butt into their squabble and give the correct answer, a firm hand gripped her shoulder from behind.

"Good gracious, I finally found you!" Missus Morris was nearly in hysterics, her blonde coils twisting about her face from under her hat. “Where is your head at, girl! And your shoe! What would I tell your aunt if I lost you? That would go over swell-!” With a roll of her eyes, Missus Morris caught a glimpse of the three children at her feet. “Oh heavens-! Yuko, come along.”

“Wh-?”

“We’re leaving. You need new shoes. Now don’t you worry, that is exactly why we have the churches.”

Yuko sneaked one last glance at the children, becoming smaller and smaller with every step.

Japan. I’m from Japan.

Yuko tried her best to mouth the words just before the little girl cut out of view, her tiny hand still gripping her penny as she sent Yuko off with a wave shaky from hunger and neglect.