{"id":2197,"date":"2021-11-30T21:25:14","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T01:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/?page_id=2197"},"modified":"2021-11-30T21:25:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T01:25:14","slug":"smartphone-in-osaka","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/fiction-archive\/smartphone-in-osaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphone in Osaka"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

“Eye and Morning Glories II” by Jury S. Judge<\/p><\/div>\n

Smartphone in Osaka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dave Gregory<\/p>\n

A sleek black Fujitsu smartphone rests face down on a wooden bench beneath a blooming cherry tree. On the same bench, a red-headed woman grips her purple Samsung and types with hyperactive thumbs.<\/p>\n

A blond man asks, \u201cAfter we\u2019ve toured Osaka Castle, can you help me select a birthday card?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust grab any card.\u201d She doesn\u2019t look up from her device. \u201cYour dad won\u2019t know what it says.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut your Japanese is better. I might accidentally buy a \u2018Sorry for your Loss\u2019 card.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor heaven\u2019s sake, just make sure there\u2019s a cake and balloons on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most photos on the Fujitsu have been transferred from previous devices. The oldest image, taken a decade ago, portrays the couple kissing in a log cabin. A fireplace blazes. Red-and-green wrapping paper lies crumpled in front of the blond man.<\/p>\n

The woman is often the sole subject: sitting on a tree swing at sunset; framed in an arched, stone doorway; lounging across a heart-shaped pile of yellow leaves. A smaller, circular image of the same woman reading a leather-bound journal appears above the name Belinda,<\/p>\n

followed by endless text messages to the phone\u2019s owner, whom she addresses as either Sweetie, Darling, or\u2014lately\u2014Dawson.<\/p>\n

In another early photo, Belinda\u2019s hair is tied in pigtails. She stands center-stage in a tiny theatre, under bright lights, wearing a hooded red cape. Other snapshots show her in different costumes. The newer the picture, the larger the theatre\u2014and the farther she drifts upstage. One- and two-year-old photos of the couple in New York don\u2019t show her on any stage at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not failure. It\u2019s a career change,\u201d he\u2019d texted after she booked their flight to Japan.<\/p>\n

He grips the bench with both hands and glances sideways. \u201cYou can\u2019t spend five minutes to help me buy a card, though I\u2019ve supported you from Smith\u2019s Falls to Kingston, then Toronto, New York, and now Osaka?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis again. You can do design work anywhere. Japan is the only place where I can\u201d \u2014she makes air quotes with her fingers, still clutching her phone\u2014 \u201c\u2018Teach English in Japan.\u2019 I have lessons to plan, assignments to grade. I don\u2019t know why I thought I could spare the time to play tourist with you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems silly that we\u2019ve been here six months without seeing the castle\u2014or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the couple appears together in photos stored on the phone, they always look happy\u2014shopping at outdoor farmer\u2019s markets, holding hands on wilderness trails, laughing beneath bright umbrellas\u2014but those pictures dwindle in number each year.<\/p>\n

In the most recent image, only minutes old, her lips form a straight line. She stands under a blossom-covered cherry tree with the green, white, and gold, pagoda-style castle towering in the background. A scowling portrait, taken seconds before this one, has already been deleted.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplore the castle if you want. I\u2019ll wait by the gate.\u201d Belinda rises and departs. Her feet<\/p>\n

pound heavily despite her slight frame. After ten steps, she glances toward a spot two steps behind her. She double-takes and glares at Dawson, who is still on the bench. Her eyes narrow. She marches onward, chin held high.<\/p>\n

He whispers, \u201cFuck it,\u201d stands, and walks toward the castle. The phone, which stores thousands of design ideas, presentation notes, and business contacts, remains on the bench.<\/p>\n

A short, gray-haired local man in a jacket and tie finds the abandoned Fujitsu half a minute later. He presses the main button, and the smiling faces of a red-headed woman and a blond man appear on the lock screen. He turns and looks in every direction, squinting.<\/p>\n

The Japanese man hurries toward the castle and intercepts Dawson near the entrance. He holds the phone beside the man\u2019s face, nods, and presents the device.<\/p>\n

Curious, Dawson stares at the illuminated phone. His eyes shift to the Japanese man, then back. \u201cHow\u2019d you get that picture?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawson reaches for his back pocket, taps it twice, then pats all his pockets. His jaw falls open, he shudders, holds a hand to his chest, and breathes deep. He accepts the phone and says, \u201cArigato, arigato, arigato.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Japanese man bows, and Dawson does the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how else to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stands beside his new friend, leans closer, and holds the device at a distance. The camera clicks. He glances at the new portrait of the two smiling men, displays it, then presses the device against his heart and slowly nods.<\/p>\n

Inside the castle, phone clutched in both hands, Dawson rides the elevator to the top floor for panoramic views of the fortress\u2014a green and pink oasis amidst a dingy city of concrete and glass cluttered with warehouses.<\/p>\n

Far below, a distant woman waits at the gate. He snaps a photo, then stretches the image with his thumbs until red hair and a purple smartphone become visible. Belinda is still riveted to her screen. Dawson takes another peek through the window. Her back has turned, and she\u2019s exiting the gate.<\/p>\n

He rolls his eyes, shakes his head, and releases a tiny laugh. He taps his phone and replaces his lock screen image with the picture of himself and the kind Japanese stranger, then continues touring the castle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

D<\/strong>ave Gregory<\/strong> is a Canadian writer, a retired sailor, and an associate editor with the Los Angeles-based Exposition Review<\/em>. Please follow him on Twitter @CourtlandAvenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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