The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin Page 0,35
‘Thanks,’ she said and stepped gingerly onto the glass, shuffling across the glossy surface, which was quite busy with everyone gazing downwards. If she had a stool, that might make a cool shot, standing slightly higher than everyone else, looking down at everyone with their necks bent. Then she could juxtapose the shot with another one, perhaps at the Shibuya Crossing with everyone peering up.
The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Bloody Gabe. If he’d been here, she might have asked him what he thought.
Looking down, she was relieved to see that there was a secondary framework of steel and glass less than a foot below, but even so, she felt a slight touch of disorientation. It really was a long way down. But at least it felt totally safe and, with a smile, she realised it reminded her of the Round Tower in Copenhagen and the tiny circle of old, thick glass that provided a view all the way to the bottom.
All thoughts of feeling safe were brushed away on the next portion of the climb to the top of the tower when she was swept along by the crowd of enthusiastic tourists, both Japanese and Western, into the lift which was on the outside of the building. Standing pressed against the glass, she held her breath during the rapid climb over the next hundred floors. Around her were excited cries and gasps of awe, some smiling faces, some apprehensive and others wide eyed with wonder, and for a moment she wished there were someone with her to share the heart-whooshing sensation as the lift glided upwards leaving little goose bumps of not-quite fear and not-quite excitement. Being on the outside of the building was both disconcerting and exhilarating and thankfully lasted a matter of seconds before the doors opened and they were disgorged onto the Tembo Gallery with its 360-degree view of the city.
Touching one of the huge curved glass panels, Fiona stopped, stunned by the sheer size of the city spread out below and the engineering feat that had built this extraordinary tower so high up in the sky. The sheer ingenuity of man never ceased to amaze her.
The view was truly spectacular, the city spread far below and stretching out towards the horizon. For a moment, she considered trying to take a series of panoramic pictures that she could match up at a later date to create the full 360-degree view as one. It was tempting but also a bit dull and technical. The idea didn’t grab her by the scruff of the neck and make her want to seize her camera with that adrenaline-junkie hope that this might be the big one.
She watched as a young boy reached out as if he could touch one of the skyscrapers in the distance, his face wide with wonder. And the idea clicked. She could take photos of the responses of other people up here and their reactions to the views and the sights. This was where a mentor would come in really handy. There was still over an hour before she was due to meet Gabe.
Irritated by his absence, she abandoned the views and took the lift back down to ground level in search of a coffee shop.
Having scanned the street at the bottom, in case he was anywhere in sight, she resigned herself to drinking coffee and brooding for the next hour until it was time to meet him. Foolishly, she still hadn’t asked to swap mobile numbers. As she went to open the door of the nearest coffee shop, she spotted Gabe, sitting three tables ahead with a cup in one hand, pushing an empty sachet of sugar around the table with the other.
She watched him, his finger toying with the white packet. Bored, was he? Good. He deserved to be. She’d assumed he had better things to do and that was why he hadn’t accompanied her. It stung that he clearly couldn’t be bothered. With a grim face she ordered a cup of coffee at the counter using a combination of sign language and nodding and made her way over to his table.
Without saying a word, she took his empty cup from him, not quite slamming hers down but making sure she had his full attention. Then she pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.
She was pleased to see that he seemed startled and then wary.