I awoke to the feeling of falling, clutching Elliot close to my chest. I gyrate my jaw in a vain attempt to remedy the pressure on my ears. The fuselage shook with minor turbulence as it started the final descent into Tokyo. My mouth was dry, lined with a disgusting film from having slept for the past three hours. Or maybe four. It’s hard to keep track with the time zone changes. I moved my head back and forth to stretch out the stiffness.

A strand hair fell in front of my eye as I looked out the window. Clouds hovered silently over the ocean as it curved outward in every direction. It wouldn’t be long and I would be coming up on the eastern coast of Japan, where I would land in Narita International Airport.

Tokyo was just the next city on my long list. It has been...

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