Shinji gave me a ride to the train station that was on his way to his project site. On the way there, he picked up his co-worker, Masa. It was the first time I ever met Masa, even though I am the one who introduced Masa to Shinji. We got to talking about how that happened.
Masa was dating Mimi, a younger sister to Satoshi who was my youngest son, Kanta’s close friend since 5th grade in elementary school. Because of that relationship, I became friends with Masa and Mimi’s mother. One day, Mimi and Satoshi’s mother handed me a business card. “Mimi’s boyfriend is doing video work. Shinji is successful in that field. If you don’t mind, won’t you please pass this business card to Shinji?” I did, and here we were, 10 years later, riding together in Shinji’s car. You never know how things work out.
I told Shinji and Masa of my personal story of the instance that you never know how things work out. I was 20 year old college student living in USA, and at that time my boyfriend was a drug dealer who sold cocain and marijana to doctors and attornies. Maybe because my step-father was an alcoholic, but I never got into drug or alcohol. My boyfriend and his drug dealer friends came up with a brilliant idea of using me as a drug runner. On a Christmas eve, as we sat around and talked, they said to me: “Hey Fuji, what do you think of going to Colombia and bringing back some stuff for us? It’ll work out great since you are so squeaky clean, and they will never check you!” I didn’t think deeply about it and just said, “Okay. Sure. I can do that.” After that, my boyfriend and I drove about an hour outside of the city on mountenous road and reached a beautiful log cabin. I still remember running outside a couple of times during the night to get logs for the fireplace. It was freezing cold, blazing stars between the trees.
Shortly after that talk, my boyfriend was arrested for reckless driving. He paid a lot of his drug money to hire the best attourney in the state, but he could not wiggle out of the police officer finding Quaalude and marijuana in his car. With that, there was no more talk about me going to Colombia to run his errand.
Shinji was delighted to hear of my past. He laughed and exclaimed, “Wow! You mean I could have been like this (crossing his arm in front of him, posing like a rapper) if you started on the drug runner’s path?” I was stunned to think of that possibility. I was telling them of that story because I was thinking of my own path that could have gone very differently if I did become a drug runner. I might have been arrested. But Shnji was thinking that he could have been born of different father, born with different mix of genes, living a totally different life if my boyfriend wasn’t arrested back then.
You never know what will happen today. How things will turn out. But one thing is sure in my mind. It’s all adventure and just following your heart, be kind, have courage (Cinderella movie quote), and life is wonderful.
FUJIKO SUDA 