Eiichiro's Diner

Tokyo, Japan - 2002

Eiichiro was about to close for the night. Most of his loyal customers had either already left or paid. The latter meant that they were about to leave soon as well. He stretched his back and yawned loudly. He loosened his tight belt a bit to give his belly extra room to breath, as he had indulged in a couple of corn dogs and beers during the night.

The diner was quiet that late at night. It was not on a main road, but rather on an side alley. Most of its patrons were late night workers from any imaginable industry. Lawyers, businessmen, actresses, taxi drivers, sex workers. Everyone was welcomed. No questions asked. No side looks given by Eiichiro or other customers. Walking into Eiichiro's diner was like walking into an imaginary and utopian world of peaceful coexistence. It was a well-kept secret among the locals. A hidden spot for people wanting to escape their harsh realities and enter a world of warmth, acceptance and, of course, taste.

His last customer was just leaving and Eiichiro turned off the main gas stove and went outside to switch off the welcoming light. It was shining its magenta light bright into the dark alley and it was about time he gave it some rest. Before going back in, he took a deep breath filled by Tokyo's chilly midnight air and looked around. Tokyo is one of world's cities that never slept, however, Eiichiro could hardly see any people at that time of the night.

As he was going back in his diner, he nearly met face-to-face with his last customer. He was a short man, wearing glasses. From a few conversations that Eiichiro had with him, he'd got the impression that he was an accountant in a big firm. They promptly bowed, apologised and wished good night to each other. Eiichiro realised he was at last alone in the diner and stretched his back once more. He switched off the main lights, leaving only the side walled ones turned on. He had plenty of work to do before going to bed, such as cleaning the dishes and putting any leftovers in the fridge for the next day. It was a one-man diner after all. His sister had offered her help more than once, but Eiichiro had mastered the art of polite refusal. He preferred it that way. He had become the master of his own little world.

As he was putting the rest of the kimchi back in the fridge, he heard the front door opening. He raised his head and saw a young man, probably at his late 20s, wearing a wrinkled business shirt. His hair was dark brown and had a small scar in his right cheek.

"Sorry, are you closing?" the young man asked apologetically. He looked tired from whatever he had to endure at his day work.

"No, no, please come in." Eiichiro kindly lied, as he couldn't refuse serving anyone no matter how late it was. "I don't have many ingredients left, but I can prepare something simple and quick if you like."

"Yes, of course, that will do, thank you" the young man said and took a seat in front of the counter. He took a quick a look at the menu just above him and almost immediately said "What about Tan-Men?"

Eiichiro smiled "Yes, of course, that won't be a problem at all. Something to drink?"

"Yes, one beer please, thank you." the young man replied.

Eiichiro opened a beer bottle for him and put it gently beside him. "It won't take more than 10 minutes." Eiichiro promised and turned his attention to the kitchen stove. He heard a big sigh coming from the young man. "Tough day at work?" Eiichiro asked.

The young man raised his head slightly to look at Eiichiro. "Oh, sorry. Yes, tough day indeed," he continued "it's almost time to conclude our financial year at work and we had to work overtime today. And probably the following days too." He sighed again. "And my boss doesn't listen to us anymore. I have all these great ideas to make our work faster and easier for all of us,..."

"But he always seems to know better, doesn't he?" Eiichiro finished the young man's complaint with a smile on his face.

"Yes, exactly." the young man managed a faint smile too. "And then I have to return home after work and put on another mask for my wife and kids. They have their own problems and I always try to be a good listener, but they are like my boss sometimes. They don't listen either. That's the problem with people nowadays. Everyone pretends to listen, but noone really does. In the contrary, almost everybody seems to enjoy talking about themselves." he left a big sigh once again.

Eiichiro nodded and said "Well, I'm afraid I can't offer any advice on how to deal with people in general, but I can try to to make you feel a bit better with my ramen soup."

"Ha, thanks, but I doubt that." the young man said. "The only ramen soup that could actually make me feel a lot better right now would be my grand-mom's soup. I used to visit her every summer and the first thing I asked from her was that soup. No other soup so far has matched the taste, texture, and warmth of my grand-mom's soup. God rest her soul."

"Please," Eiichiro said "feel free to tell me how she made that soup."

The young man obliged immediately and seemed to be getting relaxed in the reminiscence. "She used to gather all vegetables from her garden. Everything was so fresh. She cooked the noodles to perfection, and then rinsed them under cold water. The eggs were also boiled until the yolks were nice and soft. She always humoured my appetite for more spring onions. I like them a lot."

"I see," Eiichiro nodded. "Go on."

"She had the habit of cutting the nori into very thin strips that melted when it touched your mouth. Along with a generous dose of home-grown ginger, it was an explosion of spiciness and warmth." this memory brought the smile back at the young man's face.

Eiichiro kept nodding. He looked so focused at preparing the the soup.

The young man continued. "The pork and chicken were cut into tiny pieces and looked like they were dancing with the soy sauce around the bowl. The bowl itself was pre-warmed slightly in her oven, which made the soup simmer even when she put it in front of you on the table. She peeled, halved the eggs and placed each half evenly in the bowl. Her every movement was delicate and controlled, like she was doing a dangerous chemical experiment. She loved us so much and always smiling when me and my brother were running around her."

"Ready!" Eiichiro shouted and startled the young man, who snapped out of his storytelling. "I hope you like it. Be careful, it's still quite hot."

The young man split the chopsticks and with a slight bow said "Itadakimasu" and started eating.

"This tastes... exactly like..." the young man looked pleasantly surprised.

"Go on." Eiichiro waved at him and crossed his arms. "Make sure not to neglect anything."

The young man took a pause from eating. "The spring onions, the broth, the eggs, the noodles, everything is how I remember it. How did you know what it looked like, how it tasted?"

"I thought it'd be nice to be the first person today that actually listened to you. So that's what I did. Thanks for the story by the way." Eiichiro smiled. "It sounds like your grandmother was not only a good person, but a great cook as well. I wish I had met her."

"Thank you." the young man said with trembling voice and teary eyes. "Thank you..."