Ghosty Afuta Daku

23:55

Let us examine the view opening up before us. We see the figure of a ghost. He sits at a restaurant table, muttering to himself. On the table lies an open Japanese newspaper, with a few job advertisements circled with a ballpoint pen. Let us examine the view before us more generally. An unimaginative restaurant in the middle of the night, in the middle of a big city, in the middle of nowhere. 

The automatic door slides open and a relatively young man in a leather jacket steps inside. A fashionably cut hairstyle hanging over his forehead, a single earring dangling from his ear. The man strides straight to the ghost and sits down opposite him. The man looks at the ghost for a long time and then asks what he is reading. The ghost replies that it is none of his damn business. 

The man snatches the newspaper from the table and comments that lately, newspapers haven't really offered any interesting job advertisements. The ghost does not reply, he just sourly takes a sip from his coffee cup. Then the man asks if the ghost happens to know Chinese, as he has circled a job advertisement seeking Chinese-speaking social media influencers and fake news writers to influence global opinion.

The ghost snatches the newspaper back and tells the man to mind his own business. The man sits lost in thought for a moment, then asks if the ghost has eaten yet. The ghost replies that he cannot really afford to order food, so he only ordered coffee. The man says that the chicken salad here is passable, and it’s his treat. 

The ghost asks what the man wants from him, saying there’s no use trying to cozy up to him because he is not interested. The man replies that he is just trying to be kind to a homeless person who has suffered a wretched fate. The ghost says he is not homeless, that he has his own magnificent mansion by the sea, but for certain reasons, he cannot be there right now. In a voice full of sympathy, the man replies to the ghost that yes, of course, that is exactly how it is.

The man in the leather jacket pulls some money out of his pocket and hands it to the ghost. The ghost looks at the man, his eyes narrowing.

00:40

The ghost is still sitting in the same restaurant, eating the remains of the chicken salad and counting the money. The automatic door slides open again and a middle-aged woman with short, yellow-dyed hair steps inside. Her gaze sweeps through the restaurant and then stops on the ghost. She walks briskly to the table and, without asking, sits down opposite him. The ghost does not even bother to flinch, he just hides the money within the folds of his sheet. 

The woman looks at the ghost appraisingly and then asks if he happens to know Chinese. The ghost replies, asking what the hell in his appearance suggests that he would know Chinese, to which the woman responds that just a moment ago the ghost had called her client on his cell phone to submit a job application for a Chinese-language position, stating his desire to influence global opinion and earn a little pocket money at the same time. The ghost had given the address of this restaurant as his contact information and had accidentally sent a selfie along with it. 

The ghost mutters something about data privacy and begins to gather his hems to leave, but the woman grabs him by the wrist. Listen here, you robed Romeo, the woman says, I am the caretaker of a nearby hotel and I need your help right away. That exact client you called earlier is at the hotel waiting for help with some problem, but they don't speak a word of Japanese, and since I don't speak any Chinese, I need someone to interpret. Listen here yourself, the ghost replies, I cannot help you, so wipe that look off your face and let go of my hand. The woman tightens her grip. They stare at each other for a moment, then the woman slowly lets go.

The yellow-haired woman digs a wad of money out of her pocket and shows it to the ghost. The ghost looks at the woman, his eyes sparkling.


01:15

The yellow-haired woman is in the hotel office with the Chinese client and the ghost. The client speaks to the ghost at length. When the speech ends, the ghost translates it from Chinese into Japanese using a translation app on his cell phone. The yellow-haired woman says nothing.


01:43

The ghost walks along a deserted side alley, counting the bills he received. He comes to a larger street and hails a taxi. Getting inside, he asks the taxi driver to drive him to the other side of the city, and slumps into the back seat to take a short nap.
The taxi driver looks at the ghost in the rearview mirror, and then asks if the ghost has possibly been in his ride before, as he looks so familiar. The ghost doesn’t reply, he just huffs without opening his eyes. The taxi driver continues driving. His shift is drawing to a close. He smiles. Jazz plays softly on the radio. 

The taxi stops at a traffic light; it takes a moment for the lights to change. On the adjacent lane, a black motorcycle waits for its turn, its rider revving the engine. The ghost awakens from his slumber, opens the back window, and tells the motorcyclist to keep it down. The motorcyclist gives the ghost the finger. The lights change to green and the bike shoots off. The taxi turns left at the lights.


01:48

Muttering, grumbling. 

02:29

The taxi has dropped the ghost off in front of a small convenience store. He goes inside the shop, heads straight to the dairy section, and picks up a milk carton. Noticing that the milk is low-fat, he puts it back and takes a carton of whole milk. He checks the expiration date on the carton and then puts it into his shopping basket.

On the dairy shelf, between the strawberry milk and the banana milkshake, there is a cell phone that someone has left behind. The phone rings. The ghost stares at it, then looks around for a moment, and seeing no one, answers the call. Threats in Chinese. He listens for a moment without saying anything, then ends the call and puts the phone back on the dairy shelf. After thinking for a moment, he pushes the phone into the deepest corner of the shelf.


02:35

A man with glasses is working at a computer. He pounds the keyboard continuously, clearly enjoying his work. On the security camera monitor next to him, the ghost dressed in a white sheet is seen walking out of the convenience store and onto the street.

On the monitor, the ghost opens the milk carton and drinks for a long time, then accidentally spills the rest of the milk onto his chest. The ghost gets upset, shouts and rants, jumping up and down on the milk carton. Other people passing by keep their distance. The man with glasses does not even glance at the monitor. He takes a short break to light a cigarette, and then continues working with the cigarette dangling from his lips.


03:17

The ghost has found his way under a highway bridge. He has piled up dry wood and lit a campfire. He strips down and wrings the worst of the milk out of his sheet. Then he props the sheet up on a stick and lifts it over the campfire to dry. The moon peeks from behind the bridge railing, rats rustle beneath the dry leaves. The ghost looks at the small river running beneath the bridge, lost in thought.


04:29

The ghost walks along the riverbank. 
The man in the leather jacket is reading a newspaper in a nightclub.
The yellow-haired woman is cleaning a hotel room.
The taxi driver is sleeping in his own bed.
The motorcyclist is riding along the highway.
The man with glasses is pounding the computer keyboard.

The darkness begins to give way to the light.


06:45

Let us examine the view opening up before us. We see the figure of a ghost. He walks toward the edge of the city. A waking metropolis, smog hovers in the cloudless sky, birds are singing. Let us examine the view before us more closely. An author full of stories in the middle of the road, in the middle of a big city, in the middle of countless opportunities.

Grumbling and muttering fill the sunny morning, and the ghost stops for a moment to look at us as if we were somehow a nuisance. Then he starts walking toward some destination.



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