Monday, November 10, 2008

The Pit of Darkness


A friend of mine e-mailed me the other day, saying that he was on his bike heading toward Hasunuma. Unfortunately, I wasn't home at the time, so wouldn't be able to entertain him. The next day, he told me that he had a horrible time trying to find Hasunuma, and managed to get completely lost and turned around, while some maleficent force (apparently me) mischeiviously altered the roads as he traveled them, ensuring that he never reached his destination.

Later on, as I contemplated his story, it occurred to me that he had been attempting to find Hasunuma by bicyle, in the dark. He had emailed me at some time after 5 pm, and our area is in the full clutches of dusk by then, with 5:30 bringing on full darkness. Add to that the ongoing joke (which is quite true) that Hasunuma is located in the "pit of darkness", and it is no wonder he never found us. I began to wonder exactly what he was planning to find at the end of his great journey, which would reveal to him that he had discovered our fair town. A bustling city? No way! A cozy cluster of warm shops? Nope. A spattering of random lights? Not likely. In fact, without a specific and quite exact destination (the ramen shop, for example) there is really no way to distinguish any point of Hasunuma from any other expanse of dark field and random home.

In order to somehow come to closure on this traumatic journey, I invited him over for dinner last night. We traveled by car this time. As we drove, he tried to pick out landmarks that told of his previous path of travel. This proved very difficult, as one curve seems much like the next, and rice fields don't offer much in the way of distinguishing characteristics. I'm not sure if he was really prepared for the 'non-existance' of Hasunuma. It turns out he actually had ridden right into Hasunuma, and only a dozen blocks from our home, in fact.

So much for 'following the lights'. They certainly won't lead you to my home!

2 comments:

butuki said...

KIM! I hadn't even realized that you had written this! So much for adamantine bands of friendship! I guess I was still too embarrassed to face you after my miserable "unmapping"!!!

It's been what, three years now? (WOW!) and I really do miss the Pit . Of . Darkness. But mostly I miss you and the kids and that little beacon of joy and life all the way out there amidst the trackless rice paddies.

Hope you guys had a wonderful time in Kobe. Big hugs to you all!

Miguel

butuki said...

I want to see you and Jack and Cristina and Karla, so I might very well head out there sometime this or next week.