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Clam 2

July 14, 2013

When he was walking downtown, he saw a young woman crouching over.  She looked as if she had a pain in her stomach or something like that.  He looked around.  Nobody was there.  He called to her, "Are you OK?"  She looked up and said in a weak voice, "If you have something to drink ..."  He remembered that he had a PET bottle of mineral water in his shoulder bag;  but, he hesitated because it was already half drunk.  "Don't you have?" she asked in heavy breath.  He took the bottle of water, and gave it to her.  She immediately opened the cap of the bottle and drank all the water in one gulp.  Soon, she looked better.     She slowly stood up.  She was short.  She looked to be in her early 20s, a little younger than him.  She said, "Thanks a lot. I was revived by your water."  She smiled.  He thought that her mouth was kind of wide.  She said, "I definitely don't forget to bring water, but today I was very busy in the morning."  It was a little funny that she said 'definitely' for just water.  She said, "I'd like to pay you back for the bottle of water."  He laughed, "You don't need to think so serious for something so small like this."  He was about to say 'especially only half remained' but she seemed not to realize it so he didn't say that.  She insisted to buy him a bottle, so he decided to let her do it.     They walked downtown looking for a shop.  She introduced herself as a worker for an import company.  She was frank.  She talked about her favorite sports.  She liked snorkeling, wind surfing, jet skiing.  He teased, "All the things that you like to do are related to the sea.  You must have been a fish before you were a human."  She laughed, "Oh, you know well.  I like fish.  I mean, to eat."       Just as she said this, they passed in front of a 1 coin round sushi bar.  It was around noon.  They knew that the other was thinking the same thing, so they entered the shop.  She first ordered clam miso soup.  Then she picked up three different kinds of clam dishes in a row.  He was staring at her while she was eating.  She realized he was looking at her and said, "I have loved clams very much since my childhood.  When I was a child, my parents told me that I was transported in a big clam shell from the sea and they picked me up and raised me."  "Every parent tells their children those kind of things," he laughed, and asked, "Anyways, may I ask what company do you belong to?"  She replied in a surprised expression, "Do you know?  Shell." 　(To be continued ...)