Washing Statue Wanderlust – Chapter 3

YUKI

“Why do we have to take the statue with us? I don’t get it. You’re not making any sense.”

I reach for my green tea as the lady behind the counter hands it over with Koharu’s iced coffee. I wish I could drink coffee. I love the taste of it, but that much caffeine messes with my system, and I’ll do just about anything to not mess with my system.

“Arai wants to come. She said she used to travel and misses it. She’s dying to see the world again.”

Koharu’s eyes are wide and her mouth open. “First of all, you’re on a first name basis with a statue? Second of all, how do you know the statue is a woman? Third of all, I’m beginning to worry about you…”

“Don’t,” I say, laughing, except her eyes only widen further.

“That’s the heartiest laugh I have ever heard from you. Now I’m really worried.”

I take a long sip of cold iced tea and assess my life up until now. Always quiet, always on time, always polite, always looked over, always dismissed. Maybe that’s all about to change.

“Won’t we get arrested for stealing?”

“I don’t think so…”

“You don’t think so? That’s not good enough, Yuki.”

“Just hear me out.” I pull my phone out of my purse and look at the time. 05:53. I can’t believe how early I’m out of the house. I can’t believe I got Koharu to come with me! She usually sleeps until ten when she’s not at school. I take her arm and lead her towards the temple.

“This is what I propose. We go in first thing as it opens, we pick up Arai between us, leave this note I’ve prepared, and then slip out without anyone catching us.” On the note, my statement reads, “I have taken the Arai Kannon statue on a trip, and she’ll be back in a few days. My phone number is…” I left my phone number, name, and address. I’ll admit it’s not the best plan ever. In fact, it’s probably downright stupid. Something a teenager would do as a prank…

But I want to try this first. I don’t want to be denied this opportunity, a chance to travel and be protected at the same time. The temple will have my information and the worst that can happen is the police show up on my doorstep, and I get arrested for theft and trespassing and…

I begin to sweat as we enter the quiet courtyard of the temple.

“Good morning, Yuki! You’ve brought your friend with you. Does this mean what I think it means?”

I smile at the statue through the panic ricocheting in my chest. I’m going to die in jail. I can feel it right now.

“Well, Koharu and I would love to take you on a little vacation.”

“Eeeeeee!” Sounds of joy burst from Arai and I step back, assaulted by the high pitched noise accompanied by no movement at all. Such a strange dichotomy.

“Don’t get too excited,” I say, setting my green tea on the ground next to Arai. “Here’s my idea. Koharu and I will pick you up and take you down the street to where we stashed a box behind planters in someone’s yard. We’ll put you in the box and flag a taxi to take you to my house. From there, we hope to take the shinkansen tomorrow to Kyoto, and we’ll return you in a few days time. I’ve prepared a note for the temple priests…” I pull the paper out of my purse and show it to the statue. Can statues read? I have no idea.

“How upset are the priests going to be that you’re gone?”

“Well…” Arai’s voice putters out and my skin crawls with doubt. “Probably pretty upset. They get hundreds of visitors here every day to wash me. If I’m gone, it might cause a bit of a scandal.”

“I see…” My face falls and my arms collapse down to my side. Now I’m certain this is a bad idea.

“But I still want to go!” She rushes in. “Please, please take me with you.”

I glance at Koharu who stands with her arms crossed over her black t-shirt, the dyed tips of her short hair winking golden yellow in the rising sun. “She’s begging us to take her along.”

Koharu pinches her lips to the side. “We shouldn’t do this.”

“I was thinking the same thing, but how do I resist begging?”

“Please, pleaaaaaase,” Arai’s voice sounds exactly like mine as a little kid, when I would beg my parents for cakes and cookies, before I realized those things could kill me, well, put me in a coma and possibly kill me, but dangerous nonetheless.

“Okay. Let’s see what we can do.” I scan the courtyard. Everything is silent, all the way down to the birds in the trees. Not even a peep from morning insects.

I place my hand on Arai’s head and give it a light push. Nothing. The statue doesn’t budge. I put both hands on her head and push, sinking my weight into her side and forcing with my feet scrambling against the tiny stones in the courtyard. Yet the statue doesn’t move a millimeter.

“Huh.” I squat down at her feet and run my fingers long the bottom of her metal skirt before they bump over bolts. “Why didn’t you tell me you were bolted to the ground?”

“Oh? Am I? I’ve been here so long I’ve forgotten how I got here in the first place. Does this mean you can’t take me with you?”

A priests walks by us and I smile and bow at him, relieved I’m not taking the statue with me today. It was a bad idea to begin with.

“Well, I’m not sure. Perhaps we could still take you with us, but I’ll have to enlist help. Being bolted to the ground means you’re not going to get up and walk away easily.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” Koharu says, finally smiling and wiping the sweat from her upper lip. The air is already getting hot out here and the sun is barely up, but I’m pretty sure she was sweating because of our situation, not anything else.

I stare down at the statue and imagine her pouting with her arms crossed. It does seem unfair to keep her in one spot. But as the courtyard fills with people, my choices are now limited for the day.

I’m going to have to come up with another way to get Arai out of here.