Tokyo Twins Chapter 31 - How love goes. - (final chapter)

The girls sat and stared at the floor
and felt an unbearable weight inside.
A long minute passed.
The window of the control room
filled up with officials
looking down at the girls,
and the girls looked back at once
with eye contact intentional, undaunted,
and scattered the gawkers clean away.
Another long minute passed.

“Can we leave now?” said Katie O'Brien.

The engineer looked up at the studio clock,
and then at the girls, “We're locked down for...”
he looked up at the clock again,
“another 25 minutes.” .

The two swallowed sighs,
sat wordless and waited
and held each other by hands and wrists,
and now and again cleared the window,
then lay their backs upon the floor.

Uncle Tetsuo was the first to enter
from a crowd waiting at the control room door.

“I'll be taking you girls home...”

Katie and Susan O'Brien didn't respond, didn't move,
and targeted the ceiling for eye contact.

Two women in dark suits
entered the room and knelt,
each beside a girl,
and stroked their foreheads and hair
and whispered words that soon had the girls
sitting up, then standing, then led away
by Uncle Tetsuo and a few police officers.

They sat still wordless in the backseat
of their uncle's limousine.
The uncle planned and plotted
as a passenger up front,
while directing his driver
to the Gotokuji area of Setagaya-ku.

A few minutes from their temporary home
they could see in street lamp and headlights
the frogs that still covered the streets.


“Where is our Obá-chan?” said Susan O'Brien,
“our Uncle Kenji, Uncle Takunosuke?”

“Well? You see. Girls.
There was nothing I could do...
They broke the law.
They were arrested.
They were taken into custody.”

“What?” said Susan.

“How? What law?!

I'm confident they'll soon be freed.

When?

“Soon I hope. I don't know. But tomorrow....” said Uncle Tetsuo

“I want to know why they were arrested,” said Katie,
“and we were not!?”

“Please. Girls.”

Susan spoke again and slowly,
“I want to know why you were not.”

“Now girls. Everything will turn out fine..
Listen to me... tomorrow... you get to perform,
again, before the world. Isn't that amazing?”

“Huh?” said Katie.

“What?” said Susan.

“Tonight... you performed... in a sense...
for the entire world, and tomorrow...” Susan interrupted now...

“We were not perfor....” she paused, to hold her anger....

“That was not a performance!” Katie screamed.

This'll do wonderful things for your career, and quickly.

“We don't care about...” Susan started...

...and Katie interrupted...
“We aren't thinking...”
she paused and rubbed her face in her hands...
“about our careers right now.”

“You should...” said Uncle Tetsuo. “You're famous.”

“Famous.” said Katie.

“Yes.” he said.

“Are you crazy?” said Katie.

Now Susan spoke quickly, “We wanna know...”
and stopped and looked at her Uncle,
then started slowly in whisper,
“...what happened to our parents.”

“Girls, you did your part.
We're all proud of you.
There is nothing more to do
about your parents except wait.
But tomorrow... there'll be television crews
from over 25 countries to broadcast
your competition to the world!
The world is pulling for you,
the whole world wants you to do well tomorrow.
You should think about that!

“I want to go home now.” said Susan.

And Katie sat and seethed.

“and later, if your parents are still...” he began to say.

Susan reared back her arm and hand
and fired a right fist into her uncle's face.

“Do not say 'if'' about our parents.” Susan said.

Katie lowered her head and darted her eyes
far to the right at Susan.

Susan said, “I am not apologizing,” and held her arms crossed.

The three remained quiet for the remainder of the drive.

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦.

Susan and Katie O'Brien jumped out their uncle's limo, and without a word entered their foster home in Gotokuji, said “Tadaima” to the old couple, and scooted upstairs to their bedroom.

“How can everything be so messed up?!” said Susan.

“I wanna know what happened to Mom and Dad.” Katie said.

There was a knock on their door.

“Come in.” said Katie.

“What happened to you?!” said the girls.

“I hurt my neck. Pretty bad,” said Godotnova-sensei, “I have to wear this brace for a while,” the coach stood arranging it with both hands.”

The girls jumped up and hugged their coach.

“The world wants to watch us perform tomorrow.” Katie said with sarcastic formality.

“What are you talking about?” said the coach.

“After last night a circus train of television media from 25 countries is showing up to watch us perform.” Said Susan.
“Who says.” Said the coach.
“Uncle Tetsuo.”
“He wasn’t arrested?”
“On the contrary…” said Katie.
“…he now runs the company.” Susan said.
“And he wants to bat a thousand on his first day in office, huh?” said the coach.
“How could he…?” the girls said.
“It is not stretching for generalities to say there can be only two reasons for his behavior.”
“Which are?” said the girls.
“First, as always, money. Second, as always, power… Hmmm. I remember. Ten years ago...” the coach continued.
“When you won the Olympic Gold?” the girls said.
“Yeah… things with the media got pretty slimy.”
“Slimy? That’s exactly our word choice.” Said Katie.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do except ignore them and shu them away as needed.”
“Like flies.”
“Much more difficult to dispatch than flies. So, get your bath and try to get some sleep now.” said the coach, “if there's anything you need during the night, knock on my door. We’ll talk again in the morning.”

“We'll take our bath in the morning.” said Susan.

“Alright. Just for tonight. Now get some sleep.” said the coach.

Katie O'Brien lit two candles, and the girls put on pajamas, and collapsed on the two futons already prepared.

“She didn't look like a person who could kill someone.” said Katie.

“Does anybody?” said Susan.

The girls lay on their backs, put their hands behind their heads,
and watched candle glow flicker across the soft wood ceiling.

“Our Obá-chan is in jail.” Katie started.

“Uncle Takunosuke and Uncle Kenji are in jail...” Susan jumped in...

“...and the world wants to watch us perform tomorrow?” Katie continued, “these television crews from 25 countries, right now,
should be at the jail that holds Obá-chan asking why a grandmother was arrested for trying to save the lives of her children.”

“Let's just win this thing tomorrow.” said Susan.

“Yeah. I agree.” Katie said.

“For mother and father.” said Susan.

“For Obá-chan.” Katie said.

“For Uncle Takunosuke,” said Susan, “who probably sacrificed everything he is...”
“…and everything he has.” Katie said.
“And for Uncle Kenji.” Susan said.

“And for his friends from Shinjuku.” said Susan.

“I think Uncle Kenji's in more trouble than anyone,” said Katie.

“Yeah. Me too.” Susan said.

“Let's both of us be clear about our performance tomorrow...” the one said.

“all that training...” said the other.

“all those years...” the one said.

“and who cares?” said the other.

“Our family sits in jail!”
“Hey you’re famous!”

“You should be thinking about your careers.”

“I feel so slimy!”

“I know.”

“But we gotta get through this... and get through it well .”

“Yeah. Do well for ourselves, huh?”

“We can do that much.”

“Some thing's missing here.”

“What?”

“Uncle Kenji.”

'”He's been with us everyday since we found out about Mom and Dad.”

“Wonder what he'd say about all this?”

Susan was shaking her head, “Well, I do know
what Mom and Dad would say about all this,
and what Obá-chan would say about all this...”

“Do your best.” said Katie.

“Yeah. And that's not what we heard tonight.” said Susan.

“Not from Uncle Tetsuo.”

“He just said ‘get the money’.”

“That's what I heard.”

“Well. I wouldn't mind having a bunch a money.
“Who wouldn’t.”
“Sounds easy then.”

“What?”

“We do our best for Mom and Dad.”

“And Obá-chan.”

“And we get the money for Uncle Tetsuo.”

“And for us!”

“Okay… Now… what'll we do for Uncle Kenji?”

“Huh. He'd say...' I don't know...'”

“Yeah.” the two giggled.

“He'd say what we both already know, and what's making us feel so slimy.” the one said.

“Yeah, he'd say it.” said the other.

“We are being used.” the one said.

“Bingo.” said the other. “And badly.”
“What’ll we do?”
“Tomorrow’s the day we've been working for.

“Let's win tomorrow for Obá-chan...”

“Maybe we should just break Obá-chan outta jail.” Katie laughed.

“What raise an army and attack at dawn?” said Susan.

“Wait a second. Wait a second.”

“What.”

“I just thought of something.” said Katie.

“Uh oh.” Susan said.

“You're right, never mind.” Katie said.

“What?” said Susan.

“Nothing. Forget it. Was just something...”

“Oh now you have to tell me.”

“... we don't want to do anything stupid tomorrow. Never mind.”

“Katie, tonight, I think we already won the stupid prize.”

Katie laughed. “And that's why... never mind.”

“Katie, if you'd don't tell me right now,
we are going to have the biggest fight ever.”

“Okay. I warned you.”

“Excellent. Here we go, I'm all ears.”

“That'll be the day.”

“Hey!”

“We should just go to sleep, huh?” Katie said.

“Katie?”

“What.”

“Talk.”

“Okay.”

And Katie explained her thoughts to Susan.
And Susan added many of her own.
And the sisters talked into the night
for the next three and a half hours.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

In the morning the girls were preparing for the day's competition,
checking their costumes, their apparatus,
applying make-up, fixing their hair.

“Morning.” said the coach.

“Sensei? Oh morning... did you watch… Sensei?... over the Internet… um…. what happened last night?” said Katie.

“At first, no. I couldn't. Then I did.”

“Thank you, sensei.” The girls said.

“Katie and Susan O'Brien, you are
the bravest human beings on the planet...
And the smartest...”

“Yes. Keep going?” said Susan.

“I'll never understand how you were able to do that.”

“Do what?” Said Katie.

“Love that much.”

“Can you do love?” said Susan.

“You did last night, Katie and Susan. You did love last night.”

“Hmmm.” said Katie.

“But... unfinished.” Susan said.

“How's that?” said the coach.

“What love does
remains incomplete, unfinished.
Kenji taught us that.” Katie said.

“I'll have to think about that one...
Love's a procrastinator, huh?” said the coach.

“Maybe. But it's also uncontainable. Katie said.

“Unmeasurable.” said Susan.

“That is... until, we have.” Katie said.

“Have what?” said the coach.

“Measured love.” the girls said.

“What happens when you measure love.” said the coach.

“You have a quantity, of course,
something to hang your hat on...” Katie said.

“but it's a quantity of something all together different.”

...not love, said Susan.

“He taught you that?” said the coach.

“Yes.” the girls said.

“We're almost ready, Sensei.” said Susan,
“just have to send out a quick E-mail.”

“Oh? I hope it's to a friend who shares your pain?”

“Might be.” said Susan.

“We'll see.” Katie said.

“Sounds mysterious.”

“Really? We were talking last night...” said Katie,
“...instead of sleeping...”

“I don't want to hear that...” said the coach.

“...and we looked at yesterday... what happened...
... we look at today ... what's gonna happen...
... and we put 'em together...” Katie went on.

“...might still call it a mystery...” Susan was nodding her head,
“but it's a mystery we now know.”

“And when you know...” said Katie,
nodding her head now, too, “you know.”

“Wonderful. I like that. Such confidence!” said Inga Godotnova.

And Katie and Susan O'Brien
grabbed their bags and gear
and walked quietly with Inga Godotnova
to Gotokuji Station, boarded the Odakyu Line,
and headed for the venue of their competition –
the Tokyo Olympic Coliseum in Shinjuku.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

The girls saw Kamakura-san, their cab driver last night, walking toward the south gate of Shinjuku Station. He introduced the girls to Nikko-san, the organizer of the frog diversion, and a host of other friends of Uncle Kenji including Yamato-san, the girls guide to Daiba on the Yurikamome. She walked hiding her tears along side the girls.

Many of them asked, “May we walk with you to the Coliseum?”
And the girls and Godotnova-sensei at once stopped and bowed and expressed their feeling of honor to walk among such friends.
.......

Katie and Susan O'Brien once inside the Coliseum immediately spotted their Uncle Tetsuo.

“Are you ready?” he smiled, a bit too big for Katie and Susan.

“We are so ready. Aren't we Susan?”

“Ready?” Susan repeated. More ready than I ever imagined we could be.”

“That's the spirit...” he said hustling them to a quiet corner. “We are lucky Godotnova-sensei is fluent in many languages. She will help you talk to as many TV reporters from around the world as possible. “

“She said that?” said the girls looking around for their coach.

“Not just your performance today, Katie-san and Susan-san,”
lectured Uncle Tetsuo, “but every little thing you say and do, from now on, will quite frankly have an impact on how much wealth, from sponsorships alone, can soon be yours.”

“Ah. Okay.” said the girls. “We understand.”

“And isn't that a nice thought.” he smiled too big again.

“Yes sir,” said Katie nodding her head at Susan.

“Yes sir,” said Susan the same way.

“Girls, over here!” they heard their coach's voice and ran in that direction. “You've got 90 minutes to warm up and practice your competition routines... I want to see how you do. Now let's use the time wisely!”

Media from 25 countries filled what remained outside the tumbling mats on the Coliseum floor, running cable, setting up extra lights, trying to get Katie’s and Susan's attention.

The girls looked as cool and relaxed as Inga Godotnova had ever seen them. One after the other, they danced and tumbled with a carefree and flawless precision.

“You’re perfect.” she encouraged them while the girls toweled down and rested. “You can win this today.” she looked into their eyes.

Many reporters tried to corner the girls after their warm-ups,
and they slithered away and stood near their coach.

“We don't have anything to say to those reporters,” the girls explained.

“Good. Then don't.” said Inga Godotnova.

The competition began and Katie and Susan O'Brien waited about one hour to perform before the judges.

Katie was first. And now she stood – poised and posed – at the center of the mat while the world looked on through camera lenses.

Grandpa's Lullaby cued… Kenji’s theme blended in… and suddenly Susan ran to Katie and the two grabbed hands moving fast to the front rows of the audience, pulling young children up to the mat, and laughing the while and rolling and tumbling with the children making play time of Katie's performance.
Their was a moan from the judges and from many in the audience.
More and more children were streaming onto the mat, laughing and screaming, crashing and falling over and into Katie and Susan O'Brien who now lay on their backs buried in kids and looking up at the Coliseum lights with calm on their faces and tears running down their cheeks.

Competition officials came onto the mat now followed by a crush of reporters and cameras too.

Each reporter was receiving – via cell phone devices – identical urgent e-mails from their editors.

It was the text Katie and Susan O'Brien
e-mailed that morning to the editor
of the Tokyo Daily Yomiuri Newspaper:

“TODAY, BEFORE THE WORLD,
KATIE AND SUSAN O'BRIEN,
14 YEARS OLD,
LIVING AT FUDA, CHOFU-SHI
TOKYO, JAPAN,
REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE
IN TODAY'S SHINTAISO COMPETITION
AT THE TOKYO OLYMPIC COLISEUM IN SHINJUKU,
BECAUSE OF THE UNJUST ARREST AND JAILING
OF OUR GRANDMOTHER, OUR UNCLES AND OUR FRIENDS.”

Inga Godotnova-sensei was waving the girls down trying to make eye contact, side-winding and pushing her way through a hundred pens in hands working notebook pages, digital recorders held high in all directions and cameras doing camera things of every click and kind.

She caught Katie O'Brien's eye.

“This is ringing!” she held high Kenji's cell phone, and mouthed the words.

She could read Katie's nodding head and moving lips,
“Please answer it!”

Inga Godotnova held the phone to her ear.

Katie poked Susan's shoulder and pointed to their coach.

“Who am I speaking to?” said the caller, a woman's voice.

“Well. Um, this is not my phone, it actually belongs to a man who isn't here right now,” said Inga Godotnova.

“But who are you?” said the caller.

“I am just answering the phone for... oh, never mind, I am sorry, please allow me to take a message?”

“Godotnova-sensei?!,” said the woman calling, “It's you! I recognize your voice!”

“Yes ma-am, who am I speaking to, may I help you?”

Katie and Susan O'Brien watched their coach sink to the floor, and nearly climbed over the heads and shoulders of reporters to get to her...

“Are you alright, sensei? Are you alright?”

Inga Godotnova was on her knees, weeping and holding out
the phone.

“Hello,” Susan said grabbing the cell.

“Susan! Susan?!”

“Yes? Mother?! Mother?!” said Susan.

“We're okay—Jack, your father, me—we're safe now. Amazing to reach you.”

“What… what happened?” said Susan.

“Some old man... also a prisoner here... this is weird... gave us this Tokyo cell number to call. You alright, Susan? Is Katie with you?”

“Yes. What about the old man?” Susan heard herself say. “Is he there too?”

“He and our two captors disappeared hours ago. No one can find them anywhere.” said the girls mother. “We're being escorted to the Kashmir border and we'll be home in two days.... how was your performance?”

Susan pulled Katie down with a bear hug to the gymnasium floor, weeping and holding the phone to Katie's ear, “It's Mother,” she said.

The crowd of reporters took notice of their identical urgent e-mails, took notice of the pile of children and twins again tangled upon the mats, and began to spread out, little by little, more quiet now... watching... writing... making a growing circle.
More than a few were jotting down identical leads for their reports and editors:

“This is a story
about two Japanese girls
whose names are
Katie and Susan O'Brien."

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

And the old man with his covered head took quickly into hiding the woman called ‘A’ and her friend called ‘B’.
“Don’t worry,” the old man said, “we’re going to get you safely home to Timor-Leste.”
“How are you going to do that?” asked A-san.
The old man smiled and raised an eye brow, “I don’t know.” he said.
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
The end.
Tokyo Twins, Book One.

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

Tokyo Twins, Book Two – Chapter 32,

coming soon.

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦