By the time we reached the park, it was already past 8:00 p.m. We talked about our future and concluded that we had to start a new life – the park would be our new home. We were dog-tired and sleepy, so we decided to sleep and discuss about our situations next day. We could choose any places to sleep, because the whole park was our new home. So, I chose a bench under a big tree and could see a golden crescent moon on the starry sky. I tried to sleep; however, a bunch of mosquitoes attacked me mercilessly. I could not sleep under the constant mosquito attack. Besides, I was feeling famished, because I didn’t eat anything since the morning. Masa could not sleep under this condition and felt starving to boot. As a result, we decided to reconnoiter the town to find a house where we might be allowed to sleepover.

After we circled around the town for a while, we found a cozy house with a bright light in rooms. We pushed the door alarm – a woman who seemed to be middle thirties emerged from the threshold. She was extremely surprised to see us. We explained our sorry situation, and she let us in, with a sympathetic face. She made us Japanese style noodle, and we chewed it frantically, like a beggar who is finally nourished by a gentleman after begging in vain for five days in a row.

A tense three minutes later, he appeared the park with perspiration, laughing. We enjoyed playing the toy for a while, but soon a magical attraction was gone. We got bored and began feeling guilty. We decided to take it back to the store. As soon as we entered the store, the owner was rushing toward us with a furious look. We explained that we just borrowed it and fully intended to return it to the owner. However, he was so angry and did not listen to our reasoning. I was so scared and thought that he would call police in any minutes. I had to do something to alleviate his rage, so that I could prevent him from calling police. I uttered apropos of nothing, “I was threatened to steal it.”

“Who threatened you, little boy?”

“Masa’s big brother,” I lied promptly.

“It was a very bad thing to steal, boys.”

“I know – that is why I came back here to return it with my own freewill,” my self-defense mechanism was working at the top speed.

“I know that it was difficult for you to refuse to steal it when you were threatened, especially, in your age. I appreciate for your courage to return it though. You should understand that even if you’re threatened, it’s a bad thing to steal. I understand the situation now, so I’m not informing police but have to talk to Masa’s parents. I know them, because we’re working at the same building. His parents might rebuke you, but you have to accept it, since what you did was a very bad thing. You can go now, boys. I’ll take care of the rest myself.”

As soon as we apologized, we decamped in a low spirit. We were very jittery about the inevitable punishment. We discussed the matter over and over and finally came to the conclusion: we would leave for good. We were ashamed of ourselves and afraid of going home to face our parents. Besides, Masa’s big brother was going to beat me to death when he knew that I used his name to escape from the worst situation. We had no choice but leave the town forever. Thereupon, we were unexpectedly embarking on our first odyssey and riding on bicycles to the park, which was located in the neighboring town.

The toy store was located on the second floor of the building. His parents owned a cloth store on the first floor of the same building, so we had to watch out for our each steps. Sneaking in the toy store, he whispered, “Shogo, follow my lead and take your position.”

“Aye, aye, sir!” I replied with my right hand, touching on my forehead, like a good soldier.

While he was being on the watch for the owner, I was positioning myself right beside the object. He glanced at me every two seconds but still did not give me any signals. Five minutes had elapsed in this fashion since I positioned right next to the object. And he was suddenly glancing at me, giving me a horse wink, and nodding. I instantly snatched the object with quivering hands and galloped lickety-split like a crazy horse. I ran as fast as I could carry my legs. I had never run so intense. I ran for my dear life with my heart in my throat. My heart was palpitating and about to explode any minutes. It was a sheer miracle, because I did not remember how I pulled it off; nevertheless, I safely arrived at the rendezvous.

Above me, Mediterranean cypresses are soughing acoustically with a lukewarm breeze, that makes me lapse into reverie….

We were seven years old and in the first grade then. Masa and I were always together to look for something new to get us excited. Masa always carried M & M in his pocket. He always greeted his friends, “Do you like chocolate? Would you like to have Masa & Masa?” And then he would snatch M & M from his pocket as swiftly as lightening, with a delightful grin on his face, that was his favorite joke. He constantly stacked a dozen of M & M in his back pack, so that he would not miss any single opportunity to demonstrate his joke. To tell the truth, I was enormously jealous of his joke back then, and I am still jealous of it to this day. One afternoon, we went to a toy store and saw a transformation robot. However, it was in a box; we could not touch it. We really wanted to have it in our hands and look at it admiringly. We went to the outside and discussed about the matter heatedly. At the end of discussion, we came to the practical conclusion: we should borrow it. Apparently, we did not enough money to buy it but really want to play with it for a while. Thus, he suggested that we should borrow it for a while and play it until we are satisfied. And then we should return it to the store. He assured me that we were not going to steal it but to borrow it for a while, that was not a crime according to him. I thought that it was brilliant idea, and I was so excited about the prospect of having it in my hands soon. The biggest problem was how to operate our scheme effectively. We pondered it over and over and finally conceived of a brilliant plan. In fact, it was the dampest plan that human beings ever conceived of in the history; however, it was the excellent plan for us that moment. We decided that I would snatch it and run, because I could run faster than him; he would be on the watch for a store owner and give me a signal. Thereafter, we would meet at a parking lot.

I love strolling around Parque Mexico in the afternoon. There are always a lot of people ambling through organic paths with dogs that is natural to me. And yet it often makes me wonder why there are always a bunch of dogs there. For example, a person leans his back on a Palm tree and puffs a cigarette contentedly. And before him, over a dozen of dogs lay down on the ground in order, waging their tails restfully. People pay him for looking after their dogs while working, perhaps? He must be a Mexican dog keeper, I guess.

By the time I arrive at the park, there has been already many people enjoying the warm afternoon in a luminous sun-ray and serenely listening to the breeze soughing in Lebanese cypresses. I sit on a bench alongside a small lake which is inhabited by ducks and swans. And then I hypnotically contemplate a dug that is floating tranquilly on the undulated water in the current. “Buda could be floating on a river as sedately as it,” I think to myself entrancingly. And all of a sudden, sitting there alone in the dazzling sunlight, my boyhood chum’s image is cropping up in my mind apropos of nothing. We had created a number of adventures and pranks. We had a great time together and were inseparable once. Our brotherhood ended abruptly when we were in the third grade. I am wondering what he has become now.