Tokyo Lights Through The Eyes of An Immortal (1)

Chapter 1:

The cafe is doing better than ever, thought Yoshi, bringing the final customer his cappuccino. Impressive, so old and yet so pure. He left the elderly man with a green light above his head to his drink and heading back to the coffee bar.

Pulling out his book, “How To Get Away With Murder” by David Malioccio, Yoshi skimmed through a few pages before bringing his gaze back up to the old man who was trembling slightly as he pulled out a handful of coins and then hobbled to the exit. “Have a nice evening!” Yoshi said, but the man, who must have been hard of hearing, ignored him. Once the old man was out of view, he relaxed.

Yoshi’s back, which had been straight as a ruler all day, finally slouched, sending a wave of cracking vertebrae through his spine. His eyes shut halfway and he slung the grey towel over his shoulder. He undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie. The cafe uniform was not uncomfortable, but after spending a day in it, the material started to feel rough and suffocating. He ran his fingers through his gelled hair and watched it fall out of form. His blond bangs flew in front of his eyes as he yawned and made his way over to the empty cappuccino cup and pile of coins.

After putting the money into the cashier (secretly slipping a few extra cents in for himself) and washing the coffee cup, Yoshi sat down at his favorite booth at the back with his book. Clouds had been gathering above Tokyo for a few days now, but it seemed like they finally agreed to cry upon the grey city. As puddles formed in the nooks and crannies of the sidewalks and roads, umbrellas of all different colors and patterns sprouted up like tulips in spring.

He laid his head against the cold window and watched people with green and red lights above their heads, run for cover under roofs and trees. Over the years, Yoshi had noticed the increasing number of red lights and it always gave him an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. All of those people would commit a sin. However, Yoshi felt some sense of security knowing that he was one of the few who was able to stop that.

After a few minutes, he stood up and started making his way towards the storage next to the bathroom. Fumbling through his key ring, Yoshi found the silver skull key and inserted it into the keyhole. After a few long turns, the final lock moved out of the way. The door opened to the same thing every time. A pyramid of bodies that Yoshi would stack up throughout the day. The red lights above their heads had check marks running through them, indicating that they really were gone.

Pride radiated off of Yoshi as he moved the bodies into the body disposal slide. With each body he slid in, he pictured the number of people that he saved from the aftershock of their sins. Boss will be proud, he beamed as the pile decreased in size.

At first, the job was difficult for Yoshi. He still had his sense of morality and righteousness back then, but after a few years of hard work, it disappeared along with his sensitivity to dead bodies. The five-step process was another thing that Yoshi had gotten used to over time.

First, Yoshi had to check their light. A red light above a customer’s head meant that they had committing a sin in the past or it was destined in their future. Yoshi’s duty was to eliminate those people. A green light meant the customer was an innocent do-gooder. Second, after taking a sinner’s order, Yoshi would add a half teaspoon of poison to their coffee. The poison acted in two stages; the first one being an upset stomach, and the second being death. The customer would rush to the bathroom thinking that the coffee wasn’t settling well, but soon after, they would pass out and greet their painless demise. After a few minutes, he would unlock the door and slide in. The fourth step was moving them into the storage room through a small door in the bathroom that was labeled “Emergency Materials; Employee Only”. The final, but most exhausting step was hauling the accumulated bodies into the slide and sending them down to hell at the end of the day.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Yoshi headed back into the main hall of the cafe, surprised to see someone in his favorite booth, reading his book.

“Good book,” she said, not glancing up at Yoshi.

“Sorry, we are closed,” Yoshi answered, trying to hide his surprise and confusion.

“Planning on committing murder any time soon?” she asked with a sarcastic chuckle.

“You can stay here until the rain is over, but after that please leave.”

“I’ll have a cup of earl grey tea while you’re up please.”

Yoshi grunted, making his way over to the bar and brewing some tea. He looked at the poison disguised in a whole milk canteen and then back at the woman. His eyes relayed back and forth between the two.

“I’d like my tea sometime today,”  the customer said, still skimming the book.

The shaking barista nodded, spilling the poison-less tea on himself as he approached his client.

“Enjoy,” Yoshi mumbled out.

“Sit with me,” the mysterious woman demanded.

“I’m sorry, I have other customers waiting for me-,”

“There isn’t anyone here.”

Yoshi laughed awkwardly, forgetting that the cafe was already closed. Before he could decide his next move, the lady had already chugged the hot tea and had stood up.

“I’ll see you around then,” she called from the door. Yoshi, who was in a haze of chaotic thoughts, barely managed to smile and wave. Throughout his years working at the cafe, he had never encountered someone with a purple light.