Braving the Storm (Goodbye Canti)

September 30th saw the coming of Tropical Storm Jelawat upon Tokyo. Droves of Facebook updates were posted, friends urging each other to stay safe and indoors, as this typhoon swooped northwards from Okinawa, where it flipped cars over. I was released out of work early to ensure I would get home safely, but I was intent on meeting Ken at Asakusa, at the other end of town.
 Barely had I arrived, though, did I get a call from Canti - waiting outside my apartment with nowhere to go. So I rushed there. In the meanwhile, the cyclone picked up in intensity. By the time I arrived, it was at its worst, pounding trees sideways and raining horizontally. My umbrella turned inside out, and I scattered it to the wind. But I intercepted Canti, and all was good. Safe and comfortable indoors, we took some time to warm up. It was Canti's last day in Tokyo, and she had yet to go to Akihabara to buy some of the things she wanted. She was visibly upset.
 "We could go now," I offered.
 And we did that. We ran across Akihabara - a shopping spree in the middle of a tropical storm. The severity of the tempest was questionable. At times, the winds would drop completely and the rain would seem to have just stopped. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, a horrible storm gust would pick up, throwing the needle-like corpses of discarded umbrellas at our legs with savage vehemence. One such gale almost swept Canti off her feet, and it was all she could do to hold on to a pole or to myself to stop from being dragged down the streets of Akihabara. It was something out of a Hollywood movie. And the wares Canti had in mind to buy leave me without a comment.

Bye bye, Canti!

Unreluctantly, Ken joined us afterwards for dinner, unimpressed by the two of us running towards him wearing the cat and dog masks Canti had purchased. Soon, the storm ended, and we had but one task left: that of figuring out how we would send the witch home.
 Her flight was bound back to Indonesia at 6:20, the last train had stopped, and the first train the next morning would take her to the airport too late. Luckily, 10 minutes walk away was a shuttle bus leading to the airport, sparing her the price of an expensive Tokyo cab. The clock struck 4 in the morning and we were off again, this time to bid Canti farewell.
 And so my strange week of hosting an Indonesian witch came to an end. I don't recall having made a stranger friend, but it hadn't at all been unpleasant. Canti, she has plans to come back, so we'll probably see her around sooner or later.