February 13, Friday
Proceed or Suspend
It’s raining hard outside now. What if some unearthly creature called “shinigami” or death god came to me one day. And he looks stunningly just like Chiba, Takeshi Kaneshiro’s role in Sweet Rain. (I’d die in his arms, hehe in my wildest dreams) Chiba is a rain man because it rains hard when he’s around. Serious talking here, what if Chiba indeed comes to Manila and I’m his current subject. He will have to decide if I live or die.
A shinigami’s job is to decide whether this certain life of a person is worthy of death. They don’t deal with suicides and illnesses, only those that are foretold. They go to funerals but only those cases of children because children don’t understand many things. They choose either to “suspend “or “proceed”. Suspend means that that person’s life has been chosen to continue for it hasn’t fulfilled its purpose just yet. Proceed means that that life is without a doubt worthy of death for it has fulfilled its purpose already.
Chiba’s first subject is a 27 year old female office worker named Kazue Fujiki. Fujiki thinks that there is nothing good in her life. When she was little, her parents died from a car accident. The couple who took her in died as well from a fire. And her boyfriend died in a car accident too. She herself has been thinking a lot about death and that she wants to perish just like them. Then Chiba came to her life and she seemed to have some hope alive again. But then we know what Chiba’s purpose after all, that is to judge whether she dies or she lives by making contact with her. Fujiki has been receiving these weird calls from a stalker who wants to her voice. Surprisingly, that weird caller is a music producer who is looking for new talents and he happened to like her voice. When Chiba saw this and found out that her voice is special, he decided to suspend and that way she lives. Because a singing career might be the fulfillment of her life’s purpose.
His second subject is a male 40 year old yakuza leader Fujita. Fujita wants to take revenge to Kuriki, another yakuza leader who killed Fujita’s boss some time ago. Chiba came to the picture as an informant who knows the whereabouts of Kuriki. Unknown to him, his most trusted ally Akutsu was sent by Kuriki’s gang to keep an eye on him to kill him at the right time. Fujita was tricked that there is a certain meeting but it turned out to be a plot to corner and kill him finally. Akutsu, who looks at Fujita like an older brother decides to ask Chiba’s help only for them to get caught. Fujita came to save Akutsu but it wasn’t him who died there but Kuriki. But Chiba has decided to proceed for Fujita to die in a car accident.
And his last subject is a 70 year old hairdresser who lives near the sea. Chiba came to get his hair cut but unexpectedly, the old woman knows what he really is. She lost her husband and she abandoned her son for fear that anyone she loves will die. She already has a grandson but she doesn’t want to meet the 7 year old boy. So she asked Chiba’s help to gather some 7 year old boys to get a haircut for free the day after tomorrow. There was this particular boy who wanted to pay. She knew exactly then who among those boys was her grandson. Incidentally, the woman’s son is Akutsu the former yakuza member. That means this woman is Kazue Fujiki. And so Fujiki and Chiba met again. She said she has no regrets and that she can die anytime. And for the very first time, Chiba has seen a real blue sky. He now seemed to understand what Fujiki meant that a life maybe ordinary but important just like the rising of the sun.
Kazue Fujiki has made her purpose. She became a singer and she had a family and a son. She might have abandoned her son but she is already forgiven. She finally meets her grandson and she has find complete peace at last. Akutsu is Fujiki’s son who she abandoned when his father dies when he was little. He became the closest ally to Fujita, a yakuza and came to know how to live again. When Fujita died, he renewed his life carrying on what Fujita has taught him about life and built his own family.
We may never know when our time is, but what’s important is that we make our everyday as worthy as the life that was bestowed on us. Do what we have wanted to do. Be happy and find contentment in life in ways that we feel secured. Forgive and forget. Let go and move on. Move forward and find that star that will shine on us alone. And if we do, we will be that star that will shine for them alone as well. And if we get a “proceed” in that fateful time, we have live with no regrets and will leave with no regrets. Don’t forget to live.
