A Day As a Giant

A significant part of my childhood travels was given to the land of the rising sun, where I spent my time hoping that the 13 hour time difference would keep me awake continuously while I roamed around Hikarigoaka with my family.  Luckily, my jetlag did last until I stuffed it into my suitcase where it became contaminated and its effects were reversed. Unfortunately, that meant I would become oblivious to the world for two weeks after my departure from Japan.   The very same day of our arrival, we took a tour of Tokyo and cruised around my uncle's neighborhood, surveying the lines of traffic on the way; we could have walked faster to the supermarket.  Our entire group, my parents, brother, grandparents, uncle and I had decided to come here because my grandfather had become old and he was not glowing with health.  This might have been the last time I saw him. On the last full day of our vacation, we were dreading our separation. We remained melancholic until my uncle surprised us with a trip to Tobo World Square. We got dressed eagerly, cognizant of the attraction's immense beauty which my uncle had mentioned earlier.  We boarded into the recently scratched rental car, hoping that our luck would change. First, it was the car. My uncle was driving when we struck the side of the road and scratched the car badly, striping part of the dark blue paint off its exterior. Then the mosquitoes started stalking us, and for the past week, we were tormented by them everywhere we traveled.  Today, we were anticipating another horrible accident due to the dust collecting on our bug repellent.  As we rolled out onto the road, I noticed the lack of traffic on the road; we were driving over a highway alone, without another car in sight.  We emerged into the city of Nikko two hours later. My uncle, who was unaccustomed to driving such long distances, stopped the car and scrutinized the preparations for the annual summer festival. After the quick break, we navigated through the streets until I saw the Eiffel Tower and the Tokyo Skytree standing right next to each other.  I was immediately bewildered.

          “Is that Tobo World Square?” I asked, glancing sideways at the buildings.

“That’s where you’ll see the entire world,” said my uncle, answering an invisible person in front of the car instead of me.

I was completely perplexed by the sight of the two structures, smoke was billowing out of the Tokyo Skytree, and the Eiffel Tower had become slightly more distant than I had expected it to be. That perplexity subsided when I caught a glimpse of the entire miniature world as we traveled around the mountainous hills. When we finally became reached Tobo World Square, we were no longer anxious to sight see, but to diminish that horrible odor which drifted in the year. All of us wrinkled our noses and we about to complain about that unmistakable smell when my uncle said, “There are few farms nearby, and this was the best way to get some money for the government.”

“Okay, let’s go travel around the world in-” I scanned the sign and said, “Three hours.”We remembered about this being our final day together and secretly hoped that those two hours would last forever. After the usual quarrel about who would buy the tickets ended, we set off into the viewing area, binoculars in our hands.  I peered through them,   inspecting the miniscule people and the intricate details.  My mother pointed to the ‘Japan’ section, equally excited. We spent one hour examining the exquisite replicas. We were finished with Africa, Japan, Australia, South America, and we’re halfway through Europe when we are compelled to stop for my grandparents’ sake. We located a restaurant and we helped ourselves to peculiar tasting ice cream when I realized that my grandpa had disappeared. It was drizzling outside, but we disregarded it, and then I spotted him. I broke into a sprint and squeezed through castles, dodged other tourists, and skidded across a few tiles.

“Nana Bhai, are you okay?” I asked, suddenly annoyed at how he was wasting our time.

“I was just looking for the Taj Mahal; I want to see it again. It is what I want to see,” my grandfather said, emphasizing each word as he translated it to English, trying to explain something I clearly understood. He grabbed my hand and we ambled back to the restaurant, chatting about Nana Bhai’s previous visits to Japan. After this, we looked around the ‘Asia’ section and disappointed my grandfather by revealing that the Taj Mahal was not as enchanting as he had expected. Our eyes simultaneously fell on the Great Wall of China. It was a mammoth fence which lined most of the Asia section and numerous tourists were perched at the top of it, seemingly floating above our heads.  I realized that Japan was not the most diverse country, and that we were individualists in a sea of identical people. I glanced at the tiny people along the sides of the Great Wall of China. They all were nonconformists; they were different from the rest of the others, no two people alike. To them, their spectators are gargantuan, and every day they remain giants. That day, we were the giants, towering over the realistic replicas, and we had seen their world. We had seen the entire world and the sudden truth hit me. This was more than a mere attraction; it fulfilled every person’s last wish. Among these people was my grandfather, and he had seen the world. From atop the Great Wall of China, he could see past Tobo World Square and his view continued to the horizon where the sun had started to set.   I silently begged it to never rise, but it is the way things work, the sun will rise and the sun would set eternally, going around the world each day, finding its way to every corner of the Earth. Each day, I wake up and I don’t live my life as if it is going to reach its end soon, but instead, I recollect my memory of that one sunset, despite there being so many. It’s a mystery how, but somehow, it is responsible for bringing an end to our vacation. The sun is like everyone’s lives, eventually it will have to set. Even in the land of the rising sun.