Conversations using only words ranked 5,801–5,900

Hey Emi, you walked in without limping today. Should I be excited?

A little excited, yes. Two months after that fall, I can finally walk to the station without stopping. My thigh still aches if I climb stairs too fast, though.

Are you still wearing that brace on your knee?

Only when I go out. It holds everything steady, and honestly it looks a bit cool. The doctor said the inflammation is almost gone, so the swelling and redness are finally calming down.

That is great. I remember you were worried the cut on your leg would bleed again every time you moved.

I was. And then it got infected, remember? The doctor said it was bacterial, so I took antibiotics for ten days. The wound is so small now, it seems to shrink a little every week.

Ten days of pills. Did you have trouble swallowing them? Those big ones always make me feel like I might choke.

I cut them in half and hid them in yogurt, like a cat. What about you? You had your checkup last week, right?

I did, and my cholesterol was a bit high. Too much ramen, too little walking. The nurse told me to eat more fish and less fried food.

Welcome to my world. I have been drinking those amino acid powders for protein, and my legs really do feel stronger.

Do they taste as bad as they smell?

Worse. But if it helps me regain the muscle I lost lying in bed, I will hold my nose and drink it.

Then let us make a deal. You keep drinking that stuff, and I will walk with you every Sunday. Good for your legs, good for my numbers.

Deal. Slow pace, though. And you are carrying the water.

Hey, Mika, did you hear? That little coffee chain we loved, Bean Road, has gone bankrupt.

No way! I walked past on Sunday and the shutters were down. So it's really over?

Completely. My friend Kenji was their accountant, and he says there's a whole pile of unpaid invoices sitting in a box.

Oh, the poor suppliers. The bakery next door was delivering bread to them every morning, wasn't it?

Every morning for three years. They had a handshake pact, no paperwork, just trust.

And now? Does a promise like that count for anything?

Legally, almost nothing. Even the proper contracts they signed were declared null the moment the company stopped paying rent.

So all those promises are just paper now. Wasn't there some big covenant with the landlord too, the kind you sign and feel very serious about?

There was, and that's where the real contention started. The landlord says he's owed six months; the owners insist it was three.

Let me guess. Lawyers everywhere?

They're trying arbitration first, actually. One neutral person listens to both sides, makes the decision, and everyone has to live with it.

Cheaper than court, I suppose. And what happened to the staff?

That's the sad part. Everybody got a termination letter on the same Friday afternoon.

All at once? Even Yuki, the manager who had been there since day one?

Even her. She's fighting her dismissal because nobody gave her any notice, but she's away in Osaka, so her brother is handling it by proxy.

Good for him. Somebody should be in the room for her.

Right? Anyway, I say we go support that bakery instead. Bread and coffee at my place on Saturday?

Sold. I'll bring the beans, you make it strong. Poor Bean Road, but life goes on.

Okay, be brutal. I'm running my conference talk one more time and you are the entire audience.

I'm ready. But please hold the microphone closer this time. Yesterday half your sentences disappeared.

Fair. So, firstly I explain why anyone should care about these beetles, then I show the numbers, then I finish with the fun part.

Good order. And by beetles you mean that whole genus you keep talking about at dinner?

That's the one. Six species, same genus, and two of them are vanishing fast.

Then say that in your first minute. People wake up for vanishing. How heavy is the quantitative part?

Three graphs. Counts per site, per year. It's all quantitative, so I was worried it would feel dry.

Numbers are fine if you tell me what they mean. Skip the middle graph and nobody will cry.

Ouch, but yes. Then I get to the part I love: we tracked a single carbon atom through their food chain.

Wait, one atom? That's your headline. Lead with that and the room is yours.

Really? I thought it was too technical. Also I need to thank Mei properly, she was the biggest contributor to the fieldwork.

Name her on the slide, not just in passing. Contributors remember. Can you actually integrate all my comments before tomorrow?

If I start tonight, it's feasible. Twelve minutes total, so cutting one graph helps a lot.

And there's a senior lecturer in the front row, right? The one who asks three questions in one breath?

He always does. Honestly, he is why I agreed to undertake this study in the first place.

Then he'll be delighted. Go fix the slides, and text me when you're done. I'll be up.

Thanks, really. Same time tomorrow, and I promise to hold the microphone like a professional.

Emi, tell me honestly. Whose brilliant idea was it to ride bikes up a volcano?

Yours, Dan. You said you had a yen to see that little mountain shrine before the summer ends.

I did say that. My legs are regretting it, and my saddle is trying to kill me.

Lower the saddle a little. There, that should be kinder to you on the last hill.

Better. Look at that black rock along the road. Is that old lava?

It is. The lava came down this valley about three hundred years ago and just froze there.

That shape near the top resembles a sleeping dog. Do you see it?

Now that you say it, yes. It really does resemble a dog with its nose in the grass.

Okay, bikes locked. Wow, these stone steps are covered in vine.

Watch your feet. One vine grabbed my ankle last time and I nearly said something rude to a holy mountain.

Two hundred steps for one tiny building. That takes real devotion.

The old caretaker climbs it every single day. That kind of devotion is hard to imagine.

Speaking of him, is that him at the gate? He is waving at us.

He always comes out to greet visitors. Wave back, he loves a proper hello.

It is so quiet up here. Just one solitary pine tree and the wind.

People used to pray here to an almighty mountain god who controlled the fire below.

After that climb, I would pray to anyone with power over hills.

Sit down, breathe, and enjoy it. Going down is the fun part, I promise.

Mika, you have to see this. The comment section on that bakery post has completely exploded.

Oh no. What happened? The photo was just a loaf of bread with a cute caption about morning sunshine.

Right, and then someone showed up and wrote that only tourists pay that much for bread. Pure inflammatory nonsense.

Of course that lit a fire. Was the person actually upset, or were they just there to troll?

Definitely the second one. Every reply gets nastier. It feels like they wanted a confrontation from the very first word.

And now forty strangers are arguing about bread prices. Honestly, calling people names over a loaf is so childish.

Then it got worse. Someone dropped a rumor that the owner is closing the shop next month.

Is that true? I walked past yesterday and the line was out the door.

No idea. Nobody checks anything. Meanwhile one guy keeps posting to flex his baking degree from Paris.

Oh, the expert has arrived. People who show off like that usually feel a little insecure underneath.

That is a kind way to read it. I was just going to condemn all of them and close the app.

Well, I do disapprove, but yelling at strangers never fixes anything. A little empathy costs nothing.

True. You know what the baker did? She replied with one line: the bread is still warm, come say hello.

That is beautiful. Come on, let us go buy two loaves and be part of a nicer story.

Deal. And this time, no comment section. Just bread.

Okay, the couch downstairs is officially ours for the night. I even brought the big bowl.

Is that popcorn? Please tell me you made the salty kind and not that sweet stuff.

Salty, of course. I am not a monster, Mika. Now sit down, the opening credits are starting.

Wow, look at those fonts. Everything about this film is so retro. The suits, the cars, the phones with the curly cords.

Nineteen sixty-eight, baby. And listen to that music. It sounds like a tiny jazz ensemble crammed into a recording booth, maybe six players, no more.

I love it. Wait, who is that man in the hallway? He keeps looking over his shoulder.

That is our hero. Do not blink or you will miss it, he swaps his coat right there by the door.

He did! And now he has glasses and a moustache. That is a terrible disguise. His own mother would know him.

Nobody in this movie recognises anybody. That is the rule.

Okay, but why is he looking at the rooftops now?

Because there is a sniper up there. See the little flash of light? He is aiming from about four hundred metres away.

Oh, that is tense. And he just walks away whistling. Cold.

He is hiding a lot of sorrow, actually. He lost someone in the first ten minutes and he has not said one word about it since.

That explains the rain. It rains in every single scene he is in.

Right, the rain is basically a metaphor. The sky is crying so he does not have to.

Listen to you. Pass the popcorn, film professor.

Here. And no talking during the train scene, that part is perfect.

I promise. Honestly, this is the best Friday I have had in weeks.

Mika, we have been walking this same aisle for twenty minutes. Are we shopping or are we training for a marathon?

Shopping, obviously. Look at this coat though. Touch the sleeve. That is not normal apparel, Ken. That is a work of art.

It is a nice coat. It is also four hundred dollars. Did you become a millionaire while I was in the food court?

Not yet. But look at the color. Auburn, sort of a reddish brown. It matches my hair perfectly.

So you want to spend four hundred dollars because it matches your head. That is an impulse, Mika. A very expensive sudden urge.

Every good thing in my life started as an impulse. Including our friendship, by the way.

Fair. But wear it with a vest under it and you will look like a magician. No sleeves, just shoulders and confidence.

A classy magician. Elegant. Sophisticated. People would clap when I walked in.

Okay, seriously. Does it come with a warranty? If the buttons fall off next month, can you get it repaired for free?

On a coat? Ken, that is for washing machines, not fashion.

I am just saying, for that price it should be the deluxe version with gold thread and a free assistant.

It does have a pocket. And a hood. And look, there was a leather glove in the sleeve. Someone left one behind.

One glove. That is a sad little story right there. Somewhere a man has one cold hand.

Fine. I will walk away. If I still want it on Friday, I buy it and you say nothing.

Deal. And if you do buy it, I will tell everyone you look amazing. Even if I am quietly crying about your bank account.

That is the nicest thing you have said all day. Come on, let me buy you a coffee with my four hundred dollars.

Mika, come look at this. My dad's old log splitter is leaking again, and the whole garage floor smells like a chip shop.

Oh wow. That puddle is huge. Is that the hydraulic part? The bit that uses liquid pressure to push the blade?

Exactly. There is oil running down the hose, so I think the hose is cracked somewhere near the top.

Let me squeeze it. Yeah, feel that. Right where it bends into a tight coil behind the motor.

Nice catch. So here is my dilemma. A new hose costs about sixty pounds, or I try to patch this one with tape and hope.

Tape and hope. That is a bold plan for something with that much pressure inside it.

Fine, fine. Pass me the wrench? It is under that rag, I think.

Found it. Your hands are already covered in grease. You look like you lost a fight with an engine.

The grease is the fun bit. Okay, first attempt, turning now. Nothing. Completely unsuccessful.

Try pulling the clip off first. And where did the little bolt go? Did it drop into the tray?

Somewhere in that pile of metal bits. Hand me the magnet on a stick. It will pull the bolt straight out.

Here. Oh, that is satisfying. Three bolts and a very old key came up with it.

That key has been missing since I was fifteen. Right, hose off. Look at that split.

It is wide open. Honestly, tape would have lasted about four seconds. Shall we tie the end in a knot so it stops dripping while we go to the shop?

You cannot tie a knot in a hose that stiff, but I like your confidence. I will use a plastic bag and a rubber band.

Classic garage engineering. So you are going to renew the whole thing properly this time?

Yes. New hose, new seals, fresh oil. And I should renew the insurance on the trailer too while I am spending money.

Listen to you. Three hours in the garage and the eventual result is a shopping list.

An eventual result with a free key, thank you very much. Come on, I will buy you a coffee on the way.

Mika, have you had the news on tonight? The square is packed with people.

I saw it. Thousands of them out in the rain, waving flags and shouting. Do we know what set it off?

It's the new deal between the two governments. A bilateral agreement, signed by both sides, but half the country feels it was signed behind their backs.

So people are ready to revolt over a piece of paper?

It's more than paper to them. One woman on the screen said her family lost their land under the old rules, and nobody ever apologised. She called it a national disgrace.

And she's rightly angry, honestly. If that happened to my grandparents I'd be in that square too.

The tricky part is who's showing up. Some people in the crowd are talking about ethnicity, saying only one group truly belongs there.

Oh, that's how a protest turns ugly. One speaker says the wrong thing and it stokes all the old resentment.

Exactly. And I think some of it is intentional. There's a politician standing on a truck, deliberately choosing words that make people furious.

Does he actually believe any of it?

Who knows. He calls himself a patriot, says he loves his country more than anyone, but he's never done a day of public service in his life.

My uncle would say real love for a country looks a lot quieter than that.

Your uncle is a wise man. Meanwhile the police chief keeps repeating that keeping everyone safe is paramount, nothing matters more.

I hope he means it. Sending riot units into a crowd that size would be pure insanity.

Total madness, yes. The one good sign is that both governments agreed to meet again next month with protest leaders in the room.

That's something. Talking beats shouting, even if the talking is slow and boring.

Slow and boring is underrated. Right, I'm making tea. Shall we watch the rest with something warm?

Yes please. And Ken, put the kettle on before the next headline breaks my heart.

Okay, Mika, admit it. You dragged me here because you knew I'd order two burgers.

Guilty. But look at this place. Same counter, same grill, same grumpy guy flipping patties since we were kids.

He's a longtime neighbourhood fixture. My dad used to bring me here after baseball practice.

Mine too. And somehow the flavour hasn't changed at all. Smoky, a bit sweet, that sauce.

It's the mayo, I swear. He mixes something into it. Garlic? Pickle juice? He refuses to tell anyone.

I asked him once and he just laughed. He's a little paranoid about the recipe, actually. He thinks the chain place down the road is trying to steal it.

Honestly? Let him be suspicious. Places like this survive because they're incapable of cutting corners.

True. No greed here. He could have opened five branches and made a fortune, but he never wanted more than this one room.

Meanwhile he still remembers that I hate onions. That's how a tiny shop keeps going while big ones close.

He told me last winter was rough, though. Rent went up. A regular customer quietly became a sort of patron and helped him fix the roof.

That's beautiful. So the diner can thrive again. Did he ever thank the guy publicly?

He put a small card by the register. And he promised to notify everyone before he ever retires, so nobody shows up to a locked door.

Good. I'd cry into my fries. Okay, one more round, extra mayo, and I'm paying today.

Now that is real love. Same table next month, same order?

Same table, same order, same happy stomach. Deal.