Her name was Miako. She was a Japanese girl from Ginza, Tokyo. We met through a friend, a Canadian photographer. I, a photographer myself, was immediately struck by her uniquely sensual look. Her face, reminiscent of Monica Belucci, only Japanese, made me question my own idea of beauty.
II. FIRST ENCOUNTER
Her English was very poor, but luckily after my year in Tokyo, I learned enough Japanese to start a simple conversation with her. She was very shy when I introduced myself and asked her about her name. "Mi-a-ko", she said with a very girly voice. She was 23, she added. Her body was amazing. I've never fallen for slim girls before. But her figure was something new to me. The face and the body matched perfectly. Her long and stretched figure was the perfect reflexion of her angelic face. I just couldn't stop staring at her. My friend noticed it and the situation became pretty awkward. He nudged me and I came back to my senses. Maiko is a Japanese girl and there are certain ways of looking at a Japanese girl that are utterly unappropriate.
I was ashamed of myself. I saw she blushed and while my friend appologized for me, she said 'nevermind', but nodded with her head nervously. She left very fast after this. My Canadian friend said: "Man, please, don't make my friend so shy. She's been through a lot. You really look a bit like her ex-boyfriend, the one who betrayed and hurt her." I was shocked. I didn't know about this. On the other hand, how could I? I was just myself. I lost myself in her. Should I appologize for that? I did to him. But I didn't mean it. All I had on my mind was Miako's gorgeous face.III. SUNDAY IN GINZA
Two weeks later. It was a normal sunday in Ginza in September. I had no assignments for the weekend, so I decided to walk around on my own. I strolled down the main street slowly. As a stranger, I saw Ginza with different eyes. Literarly. I saw girls, dressed up like lolitas, emos or gyaru... It's not like I saw something like that for the first time, but every girl reminded me of Miako. I missed Miako. Because I thought about her all the time. I stopped for a moment, took a big look into all directions and there I saw it: The Nagasaki center. I decided to go to the Paulista to try that famous coffee of their's. Before I entered I noticed there's not many people. Maybe because of sunday and morning. A bad combination. So I strolled down the main aisle wondering where to sit. I looked left and right, walked few steps further and there she was, sitting behind a giant palm tree: Miako!
I froze. It caught me off-guard. What should I do now? Should I greet her, sit beside her? Will I appear rude again? Or should I sit elsewhere or walk off? Will I offend her again? Suddenly she lifted up her head and smiled, 'cause she saw me. She said: "Malukko-san, purizu sit beside me." That made all my nervousness vanish in an instant. She said she came here few minutes ago. I ordered my latte and switched to Japanese. I told her again I was sorry to stare at her the first time we met and hoped she would forgive my impoliteness. She told me she was alright and actually felt flattered by my staring. Suddenly she asked me in English: "Malukko-san, do you tink I am pletty?" I seemed clearly unprepared for a moment, but then again I quickly came to say: "Miako-san, I think you are very pretty. You are the most beautiful girl I ever saw." She blushed and smiled and replied with a sweet voice: "Ah, you just flattel me. I donno if I am pletty. My eksu-boyfliend say I no plety. He took off wit othel gal. My healt is bloken. I must cly evely day." Her face expression went from happy to sad when she looked at me with her watery eyes. "Miako, please, look at me." Her tearful eyes resembled a crying manga girl. "Never again let anyone tell you something like that. You are gorgeous!" I replied. She looked at me with a big question mark. I asked her: "Do you understand 'gorgeous'? She shook her head. I said in Japanese: Senrei. She smiled brightly, but still tearing up. It was like sunshine and rain at same time. I took her hand and said: "You are happy now. Keep it that way." She replied: "Arrigato, Malukko-san. Ar-ri-ga-to" We kept quiet for a moment, I took a sip of my coffee and thought about how to make her smile again. I had a wonderful idea. I said to her: 
"Miako-san, would you go out with me tonight?" She immediately said yes. We exchanged phone numbers and started a conversation about Ginza. Where to go, what to do... she smiled. She told me many stories about how much fun she had in this or that place. I kept looking at her dreamy eyes while she went on talking. I imagined how I can lose myself in them from close. I wondered how it would feel to intertwine my fingers with hers, pull her close and kiss her. Gently and lengthly. I...I found myself back in my apartment. It was afternoon. I wasn't tired, but I tried to rest. I wanted to lay on bed and continue dreaming. I still remembered Miako's smile when we parted one hour ago. And how she walked away with her sexy long and perfectly built legs. It was in that moment when I noticed that she wore a mini skirt and high heels. She walked so gracefully. Out of this world? Definitely. My head was full of nonsense. This girl was all I had on my mind these days. Virtually all of the time. I just let my imagination thrive, I was definitely losing all my maturity in one day. I changed from man to boy. And never before I felt this way. I was a bit embarrassed. But I thought to myself: What the heck. Who cares. I'm in love.
It was 7 o'clock. My cell phone kept ringing. Miako! I, drunk from all the daydreaming, previously fell asleep like a baby. So I had to come back to my senses. I picked up: "Moshi moshi?" She sounded nervous yet excited. We said we'll meet at the Mitsukoshi, at the main entrance, at 8 o'clock. I was nervous picking the right shirt and pants. I didn't want to be overdressed, but too casual was also a bad choice. I found a middle way and luckily on time. I hurried up, almost ran downstairs all excited. My heart was pounding like crazy. I couldn't believe I was having a date with such a beautiful girl.I arrived first. After few minutes of waiting, I became more and more tense. And suddenly it struck me. I saw her approaching me from the distance. Boy, did she look sexy! She wore dark brown boots with high heels, black semi-transparent stockings, a short brown skirt matching the boots and an incredible silky carmine coloured blouse with a glittery collar. Her hair was falling over her shoulders with the tips touching her breasts. Amazingly seductive. On top of all that, she wore a perfect make-up. Her cherry-red lips still lingering in my mind. When she said 'hi' with her cute girly voice, I felt those lips will kill me. I survived.
So we decided right away to go to the cinema. I wouldn't mind if we just stood there near Mitsukoshi or if we went back to the café. Nothing mattered as long as I was with her. The main street in Ginza was crowded. While we were walking, I fooled around, kept making silly jokes or gave her compliments. She clearly enjoyed my company. And she knew I was falling for her. She clearly enjoyed that, too.The movie was ok. I didn't pay so much attention. I enjoyed to be so close to her, to smell her fragrant perfume, see her silky skin from so close. Many times I closed my eyes and just breathed in slowly... Breathed out slowly...
IV. WE BREATHE
We breathe fast, in my room, kissing and more. I have her. She's mine. Our fingers intertwined. I won't let go, she can't let go. The night of my life. My consciousness is almost lost and repeatedly recovered. Her skin delights me, gives me the shivers. How did I make it? Now I lost myself in her eyes constantly, vigorously, endlessly. It felt like the night should never stop, because everything post this night would seem irrelevant.
V. LOST IN GINZA, LOST IN MIAKOTwo months later. Our love won't decline. We are immersed in Ginza. Ginza is the part that connects us. While I have my photo shoots, Miako started her model career. First for some teen magazines, later for Scawaii! and Woofin' Girl and some others. She became big. But she says she does that because I gave her confidence. She's doing that for herself. Sometimes I worry about all that, because now some people in Ginza stop us, snap photos of her, ask for her autograph. Of course they're polite, but what if there's suddenly someone who's not? I just hope I can protect her. She loves to be shot with my camera. She loves to pose for me. She wants to be dreamy and show me those sad eyes she had two months ago. She does that to please me. Or to shock me. She succeeds in both ways. She loves to wear my shirts and gaze out of the window while asking me to keep the moment with my camera. She says I am the one who can capture the real Miako. Her English improved. I even taught her some Slovene. She's cute when she tries and fails. There's so much more to her than her apparent looks. Her sexiness is deeper than what meets the eye. She said I am the one who went the deepest. I can touch her soul, she says. She wants to be with me forever, she repeats many times with her cute girly voice. She loves to put one arm around my neck, and with the other one seizing my chin and kissing me. She always smiles. We enjoy the walks in Ginza, we love to stroll down the Hibiya park. She loves to kiss me near the clock. Ginza is ours. We own it.
VI. OUR FAIRYTALE
Two years later. Miako loves me more than ever. Can this be a fairytale? All my friends have relationship problems. My Canadian friend divorced with his Japanese dream girl. But I am happy. I keep reading books with no happy ends. I keep wondering why it doesn't happen to me? Why am I still so deeply in love with Miako? Why I have no fear of losing this happiness like others did? It's Miako. She's the key and I am the lock. We are a perfect match. It's how we connect. We always do. Wheather I go to Osaka and she goes to Seoul. We are connected. Nobody comes before 'us'. I still make photos of her. They are deeper. Now I'm capturing her for eternity. For the sake of both. Last sunday we came accross the first photo I snapped of her. It was in September 2004. A sunday. We reminisced about the old times, about the first sunday we went out. We decided to repeat that day. We went to the Paulista, sat at the same desk and sipped coffee. We had a good laugh remembering our first conversation and her broken English. After dark, we went to Mitsukoshi. We decided that I go first, while she stayed at home getting dressed. I waited for her at 8 o'clock. She came 10 minutes late, but her amazing clothes made up for the waiting. It was like that same sunday she first blew me away. I felt the same goose bumps she gave me in that very moment. We went to the same cinema as that time... and we had tons of fun. When we returned to my apartment, I asked her to sit on my couch. I went to the kitchen, opened a bottle of Slovenian white wine, the one I kept for a special occasion. This was one. I gave a toast to our future, told her I love her and reached in my pocket. I took out a small box, she had a feeling what will follow. She started to shiver. I opened it up: a ring. I went down on my knees and said: "Miako, you are..." And asked a question. What do you think was her answer?
VII. 'YES!'
"Miako, my dear, in that sunday something amazing happened. You made me happy forever." (Miako, I looked at your dreamy eyes and knew the answer. And Miako, we don't need love expressed in words. That moment was real, Miako.) I will never forget your dreamy eyes and the seductive smile you gave me. It felt like whole Ginza stopped for a moment. We stopped. And we made it move again. "Now, Miako... this is how I see you, how I see myself, how I see us and our love. How do you see it, Miako?" She just smiled, grabbed my chin carefully, kissed me softly and replied with her cute girly voice: "Yes."
Our love is eternal.
[Photos: Erika Sato]
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