The Unfinished Beer

saka

tter have western toilets close to the station because I need to take a piss. I almost soil myself searching around for a toilet. A pain like a knife being twists into my crotch, strikes throug

ber it says, For a

eigner, could be a drug dealer, could be a prostitute. All of tho

swers, 'Mo

good time. I'm in the public toilets

ou are brave. Give me twenty

n is easing. What kind of city is this? The city where anything goes I guess. It even smells different in the public t

planet in Tokyo, they just reject everything for the hell of it and laugh at suits and conformity. Tokyo girls, with their fake blue eye contacts and butterf

eyes are thin as are her lips. She raises her eyebrows, painted

. She has a top that says Fuck You Too! In blac

do you have? I'm not sur

up. She's at least forty, but her body is

aps. 'Well, you've called the right girl. How about let's

r out, her tiny hips swaying side to side under that dangling frayed denim. We walk out into th

taxi, we go back to

an't be fucking prostitutes on my first day here, it is totally ridiculous. She's on her mobile now, shouting out

prised when she grabs the change off him and g

oodles, school girls gossip with their heavy red backpacks swinging behind them. I follow this woman, this prosti

, a cheesy grin on her thick lips. 'We

20 levels up and is leaning over us. A silver fortr

soar up, some J-pop song, could be Hamasaki Ayumi, the sound is familiar. We reach the 18th

I guess. There is a bass thumping behind the door. She unlocks the door, opens it and ther

unge dominates the space. There are mirror

Do you like

urns down the music. Sh

e. She pulls two glasses out of nowhere and I slump on her white leather lounge and sip the ice-cold beer. I look around her apa

, she clinks my glass. '

ows, 'What do yo

ink and stands up

ng on or in some sort of kinky outfit, maybe a school girl or nurse. Yeah, I wonder how m

mile, she's not a prostitute at all, she's j

sed, don't you kno

the other are pink pills, probably ecstasy. I point

on my couch? It can part of the de

he's a very generous woman, trusting and slim. I nod and p

n stay two night

s out some rollies. She sprinkles, licks, twists and sucks and produces a joint. I has been a while since I have smoked. I normally do

owly and let it out into the room. It bites my throat and I cough hard. Eri lights one and

r shoulder

no problem. You

lf from my neck and elevates above me. Eri's eyes are almost invisible. There are clouds forming on the ceiling, they are tu

What is sex anyway? I've forgotten. She does have a very interesting stomach. It is tight and pale, mad

is ringing

el

oshi, Kei

new person already.

t this girls p

rt silence. I

his new job. He is writing fulltime now for

writer? That is my thing,

nd of a couple now. It was weird talking to him about that, b

So, how

n, you forgot to take all your medicine, I know you

I will just get s

medicine here,

better go, I was just chec

hang

tell myself, stand up, dance, be wild, but my feet are stuck to the ground, cemented into the soft caressing rug that

Eri is spinning around lik

y, but this lounge is the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on. I run my hands up and down the white leather, opening my ey

azy and senseless. Invisible chains are wrapped over my arms and legs

ver the top of me, she croaks, 'Ohay

running. I think I'm all out of fuel. It even takes me a

ugh strength to lift my head and sit up. I look at her th

Ryan, tell me more about yourse

English, my short stay in Tokyo, my stint at Macquarie University and my night on the beach with Keiko and her Americ

y god Ryan, you're amazing.

e and sprinkles it onto some T

offee without me asking, amazing. Plus she keeps handing me really fat joints, they are also amazing, deliciously amazing. A good night s

wana go out, I ca

into her room and comes back dressed in a tiny skirt and skin tight t

shouts, 'Let's

what else do you need. There is even music coming out of the pavement, at least I think I can hear it. A mu

ke moles. A guitar breathes light into the caverns. Smokes wafts above as we sit and sip more coffee. What is this plac

d a b

real and slides down my throat like ice on a hot plate, steam shooting out my nostrils. The music gathers strength and moves through me. The high hat is tappi

ar, 'Hey Ryan, now you're danc

and it is beautiful. I kiss her

heating on Sydney, Osaka

dead

. She has long piggy tales and is wearing a bright pink dress. I wonder what sh

pe of girl to have all kinds of friends, so I guess it isn't that strange. I

ffee and says, 'I'm so sorry

s, 'Hajimemashite,

ing out on her lounge and haven't heard a thing about any daughter or family. I guess I didn't ask though. Come

you meet you too, I'm R

uddenly excited, 'Oh, I

aroo, she has her hands bent down and she'

ss and Yuuka-chan has been staying at her grandmothers. Don't worry, my husband is cool with

ons at all, we were just buddies smoking large amounts of weed. But I hav

ts like. Most Japanese girls have chubby legs, or at least the ones I have been lucky enough to sleep with. Soft and round legs good for grabbing, not to say I'm n

ve to take Yu-chan to

I'm left in silence

r I can hear a bird squeaking in the kitchen. It could be a Pelican, I know that s

houts in the kitchen. That pelican is really messing up the mood. Cracking up the silence, fluttering with

usband. He is probably getting head from some Osaka school girl right now, man I watch too porn. Weed helps to ease any guilt. Having Eri mount me and chatter away in Osaka dialect also helps to balance up that moral co

becoming more machine than man. You know how Japan is, with all that technology, robots could be walking down the street and we don't even know it. They could be inserting computer chips into our heads when we are sleeping too. Mayb

s echo off the spiraling walls and pan out into the stars. She has a ferries footsteps, so light an

are close in the night, like two butterflies remembering when they were once slimy caterpillars. We are brothers and sisters from another dimension. The vortex of

u think running to Osaka

r a drink, is everyone on drugs here? I don't do drugs, that stuff will kill you. Eri laughs as she hands me a can of Kirin. I guzzle it down and sit down slowly. I have no intention of dan

p and short skirt guides me back to my seat. That's the thing about Japan, if you pay for something you are rewarded. It doesn't matter if you've already had twelve beers, they'll keep refill

eat and my hands shake. What is this whole shaking thing anyway? I'm like some old man recentl

t doesn't feel like the first time. The white bedsheet b

hed for such a long time and I don't even know if I'm still breathing. I'm at some corner bar. The corner being a sharp jagger of bamboo nailed to some well poli

. I vacuum up the beer and

s to be around, there are black cloaks in mirky hats murmuring in the corners of my eyes. I sip my beer and they seem to fizzle up in the air, some sort of digital art perhaps, the Japanese are quite good at mixing

cket. There I find two notes, 2000 yen, not bad

all you deserve is a fist in the face and a killer never ending hanging over. Yeah I walked in on you, when you were st

creamy white, almost as white as her uniform. I guess all hospitals are the same in Japan, some sort of national standard for everything, the same beds, some bouquet of fake flowers in the corner, same painting of a beach and the same

me that worried look and would be holding my hand. She would understand why I am here, and perhaps she

e my brain a clean up, it was

l. Is it all a lie too? That sun burning up in the sky, layers of blue and violet oozing through with sounds of birds and freedom. The familiar hum of florescent light above me soothes my

belongs on a magazine cover, I have no idea why she working here, tending to drunks and idiots. When she smiles, her eyes tighten and her lips are like two halves of a strawberry, perfect

out even asking if I want it or not. I've been told not to drink anymore. Great advice for someone like me, no more drinking? That sort of advice doesn't mak

ly even know her. I can still hear her hyena laugh though and taste the smoke of her long cigarettes. Why did she always wear that h

s in for me. This place is like a jail, they don't let anyone have

ess me and pulls me up to her face. 'Hey, Ryan, I am

. She has saved me from this crazy place, so I owe her my

I, old fuck buddies from way back. This apartment of hers doesn't really seem like such a small place anymore. There are all these hidden corners that expand when you are n

arefree and 'down for whatever' That is the track we are listening to as I penetrate her. I must look like a real bastard right now, boning some guys wife while her daughter is sleeping in the next room. Where is this hus

n eternity of effort to force the words out of

the taste of each word in her big sexy mouth and finall

ns the fridge with a smile, reaches in, half her body entering the fridge. All I can see of her is her bony legs arching, feet clamped down to the tiles. She reemerges with

ring the huge bottle to my lips, two hands struggling w

hey, I wonder how they e

ccent and phrases. I must have been her

ght just be starting here in Japan, the big cultural revolution. Everybody is sick of working for some faceless company, wasting

feel like fire. This is how it should be between men and women. We should be able to just share a drink naked together and smoke a few joints, there is nothing wrong with that. What are clothes

cus like moving artworks. Quite strange really, watching my penis go in and out of her. What is sex really? Why do I need it so much? I know I can't live without women, that's true,

am rubbing my face, making my skin softer and softer. Eri is lighting another joint, her hair mopped over face. She ha

to do? Or maybe it is a magical bottle that refills itself when we are not looking, yeah that's it. It is a magic beer. I am going to stare at it and catch it ref

ny pink bra and pair of Nike shorts. I have magically p

s, 'Come

mping. I sway my head in a mushroom like angle. Colours spread from Eri's dance moves. She is a way better dancer than me. Twirling h

ust a childish little peck on the lips

you s

inish th

he bottle shit, this woman deserves a glass. I pour our two glasses full

i' and we scull our gl

pits. Eri has turned herself into a fully lit Christmas tree, spinning into greens and

ispers, 'We still have anot

t won the war yet, there is still one last battle waiting for us. This is madness, but th

Has someone slipped something into this bottle? Are the boys at Kirin manufacturing acid laced beer? I can see diamonds raining down from the roof, sprinkling down, bouncing o

to my old enemy/friend, my throat, please to meet you, here are my lungs, don't worry

ght teleport into another dimension? Then I realise I have already asked her and there is a full glass of beer sitting in f

talking to me, but I can't understand their language. The sofa just grabbed my butt cheek. I loo

g some sort of evil trick on me. Sip, oh Jesus, that hurts. The beer is betraying me. Turning into acid down my throat, how could you do t

iting in the corner swaying still. I pour her beer out in f

edy I think. Could have been Boomerang with Eddie Murphy. Love that one

pass it to me after taking a big hit. I can still sip away my glass of beer, slowly. The music has slowed and is surging through us in waves. If Eri wasn't mar

s to get on this stuff right now and there will be world peace easy. I couldn't hurt a fly. Even if some man tried to attack us right now I would just give h

ually, it is just a matter of time. I will conquer them all! I am the magnificent one, the white hawk in the

ars. I am left to the thumbing base and three quarters of a beer. I slurp it up and climb onto the sofa. It feels like a thousa

o, Rya

stomach, her tiny fists are tickling me. 'Ryan sa

hat does this mean for me? Probably less fucking in

whole collection, Nobita Kun, Shizuka chan, and that other yellow robot

says he very good English, 'Oh, hello, you mus

still in my undies. I shake his hand and run ba

d they are hugging in the doorway

wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Actually he looks pretty friendly at first glance. Yu-chan is chattering away, sh

he cheek. She smiles and winks at me. Is she winking because of the current awkward sit

just in Los Angeles Ryan, killer weed

? He almost has a British a

splutter, 'Look. I'm so so

mine.' He sits me back down on the sofa with a firm grip. 'Now you must try this coffee I got from N

nd pulls out a black jar. Opening it in

senses are still on super high from last nig

'Wow, smel

's all have a cup, my

e. Eri sits down next to me as her husband brews up the coffee. Now this apartment

y. I got that weed for him, just don't t

hat even possible? Anyway, that coffee is starting to smell pretty damn awesome. He is using a blen

wers, 'He can speak Engli

r that up

hat a pleasant surprise, 'He

'Yeah, I

ed talk to you. I

sounds sin

icine yet? Maybe I should send

plenty of me

n thinking about us a lot and I have realised how much trouble I wa

that was an eternity again. 'Don't wo

r what happened after, I mean I took you to t

he is talking about. Does

all, I know I have and I'm

just can't get that night ou

all I can say. I wonder what

My boss is giving me so much work and I have to go ou

ere. This boss is about to incr

o come back and s

n, please don't, I w

e to Osaka and pou

f work. Anyway, I just wanted tell you all t

for sh

ll you soon,

ye

alling out of guilt? Maybe she is about to go down on her boss

i is holding Yu-chan's hand like a real mother and I am like some uncle that has come to visit. Eri gives me that look whenever she can, you know that worried look that means we need to talk. Who knows what she's going to

Hiroshi cooks up a feast in the kitchen. Eri slides

h everything. When can

hould warn you, he might get a bit weird once Yu-chan has gone to her g

e guy won't shut up about he's magnificent adventures around the world, but he seems co

perfect blend of chili and tomato in the sauce. The c

Grandma has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. The smoke is making poor little Yu-chan cough. Hey, Grandma, didn't anyone ever teach you not to smoke around childre

look like he is about to get a big birthday present. Must be the anticipation of f

r cheeks implode and I can see the shape of her skull. She is like an apparition from hell, inhaling another innocent spirit. S

nt in his mouth. He has also taken off his shirt, must be hot from cooking. He refills my glass with some more wine and I take a sip.

D player. Fancy stuff. The music, once again, has no place in this tranquil little livin

had the chance to make it to Australia yet, I've heard

me, through and through though. I can't shake the Sydney off me for

capita in the world.' now his hand is on my leg.

as one hand between her legs and the other is gripping a digital camera. There is a red light shinin

gged into a freaky porno film. Hiroshi is rising beside me and my legs and arms are turning to stone.

pajamas. She says, 'Hey, Ryan there was some guy her before from the Police. He

e? I just renewed a couple of months ag

s, 'Oh yeah, I'm really sorry about the drugs and the whole movie thing. We didn't get

camera over me. I ask he

quite sure what he is but I told you befor

sofa and slides into my naked leg. The smell is so bad, like off tomatoes that

ge white drugs. Oh and the date raping doesn't help either, not that I

hing that my trigger my memory. I turn the hot water up and my skin burns. Steam fills the room and I inhale it trying to get sober. What is it with the Japanese and porn? Honestly the stuff is ge

the door, the steam flows out like fire smoke. Sh

f Osaka. Osaka is mine. Eri guides me out the door and whispers, 'Hey, I

nds lik

away. Goodbye again Keiko, I

pain shoots up my arse. What did they do to

nt is half open, it is urgin

oman rushing from here to there. I buy a hat and a plastic pair of sunglasses, better hide my face and

o a hotel, they probably have my name and photo in every hotel in the city by now. I am a wanted man no

n't bad either. There is this beautiful woman on the cover with skin as white as snow. Her lips are thin and her eyes deep. Above her impressive face are the words Kangoku, Oide ne (Come to Korea). There

lace for me? Japan doesn'

a red and blue bikini. Her white breasts are bulging beneath, suffocatin

ing about finishing my book. As you can see, my characters are very complex. You have to be feeling some symp

ter be really careful who I talk to now. Any suspicious middle aged, overweight men should be completely avoided, they will all be un

w times, I think. The sake burns done my throat. Luckily the guy working here i

I am Lee. My

f they tell the cops about me I will be safe. I have to be

e and smooth. There are books in English in this store too. You know the usual bestselling novels. There are the Stephen King classics: Pet Cemetery, It and The Shinning and there are the Wil

and I take a sip. It burns again. I sip again and it burns more. Maybe I can burn away my voice so I don't have to talk anymore. That way the cops can't reco

wicked stench of shit and pitch isn't that bad. We all piss anyway, I am just s

heir perfect smiles. I have had a girl with a smile like that haven't I? I'm sure I have licked a perfect row of teeth b

l out writers for the world to eat up. Damn them all, those liars. Damn them all to hell. If I saw an

e stacks a James Patterson novel on the shelf. Ah, James Patterson, so what if you know so much about criminal law,

y of Young Jump. I can't actually buy anything at this store. It is way too open and high profile. When you buy st

left in the bottom.

sky-scrapers and traffic lights. Looks refreshingly interesting, who is the writer? There is a tiny name at the bot

ie is smiling with a pair of thick rimmed glasses on. What is he doing w

skipping work and fucking his best friends girlfriend. But Ryan doesn't realise that his life is about to change. His best friend Jimmy, is about to kick him and his girlfriend Kazuko out forever and they will be forced to embark on strange and wild advent

tually find the light and realise their wicked ways, or will they dig o

ow lives and works in Beijing and writes for That's Beijng. He has published short stories in the T

ing on here? He has published a book all about me? That

ow what you have done. You can't just go around living your life like

a window beside me. There is a white curtain blowing in the breeze. There is a beeping machine

en a while since I have had a woman touch my body. I take a peak, yep,

o Tokyo and set things straight with Jamie and Keiko. Jamie needs to stop this whole writing thing too. He knows very well that

injecting me with a tube. The machine next to me is beeping quite loudly now, someone needs to turn it off, come on, I

Blackened branches and leaves are falling to the ground and smoke is rising into the sky. The

the pages are already burnt. They are all

ko was buzzing with pride because we had been shouting her dinner for days with our first month of pay. Jamie and I were wearing our new suit

g pretty wasted. Jamie was his usual, unaffected self, downing

shed writing my book. Now I know you have always fancied yourself as a writer, but I

ook without telling me? I am meant to be the writer anyway, he's was always meant to be the tall, ladi

other, bringing up Uni and old ex-girlfriends. It was getting really chi

back and asked,

was feeling a bit s

w she used to tutor me in Uni and I started to cheer up. Ma

o what ever hap

wow you remember that. She went back to

ber feeling my heart race. I knew exactly what I was doing

had long missed. I then pulled down her pants and threw her onto my bed. And I fucked her as hard as I could. She liked it too. I remember feeling so proud

her and shouted, 'Rya

. Then he shouted at Keiko, 'Y

red as a child. I remember him pickin

're dead to me! You and Rya

storme

he was crying in the club and we met one of her friends Kazu, this guy with dreadlocks. I don'

un, I'm so

minutes. I feel lighter, like I have been on one of those fat busting diets. Someone is touching me. Long skinny finge

I wish I could have yo

s to

burns. There Eri is standing in a

r, 'Wher

e and sighs. 'You're in hospit

een caught. They'll have my rec

hey told me, that tomorrow you have to fly back to Sydney. Th

ed a different name. The cops must be cyborgs here. There is no point in trying to fool robots. They have p

my eyes. I don't want Eri to see my cry. It

much of a struggle and there are eyes following out down the carpark, into the police car. Even busy men in suits are turning their heads from the

forget you.' but she is looking

e ticket and says,

on't have guns. We zoom through the night, and I try to photograph Osaka. It is just blurry lights a

uid on my finger. Taking a look, I see that it is blood, it appears Hiroshi did have his

, Sayonara!' I am al

oints to my air ticket. I walk into

all and you just push me away. I will never