osutoraria

Yuki smiled at the sun as it playfully flickered its warmth over the faintly rippling harbour. Barely a breeze stirred in the early morning.

A golden glow lit up the buildings she could see through the Sydney Tower glass, dappling across the Opera House, lighting up the trees of the Botanical Gardens and giving life to the sleepy streets below.

The street lights disappeared as the sunlight touched them, fading away as though it was their turn to sleep.

Yuki sighed. Away from the stress of Tokyo life, Sydney seemed to calm her like no other city. There was something about Sydney that filled her spirit like no Japanese city could.

There were only a few other tourists in the Tower at this time. It was so quiet that she could hear them whispering in the new dawn, not wanting to break the spell. The only other sound was the hum of the refrigerator in the cafe nearby.

She looked at her slowly fading reflection in the window. She'd tried out a new blue coloured mascara to match her light blue eye shadow but it really didn't look good in the morning. Her long black hair and slightly darker skin, a bit darker than most Japanese she knew, went well with her brown and tan top, dark tan coat and dark brown skirt. She idly played with her little clip-on koala attached to her brown guchi bag that she'd bought the day before. "Maybe I'm getting a bit old for all these cute things" she muttered.

A ping and the lift behind her opened. "There you are!"

Yuki almost dropped her bag. It was Kumiko. How did she find her?

Kumiko answered before she asked the question. "Toshio said I'd find you here. Come on. We have to get to the Zoo before feeding time!"

Yuki looked downcast. "Just a bit longer"

"But, it'll take us awhile to get to Circular Quay, buy our tickets, then get the Ferry, then line up at the zoo. We need to be there by 8.30am if we want to see everything." Kumiko pleaded.

Yuki, turned and looked out the windows. The sun had risen fully and the glare made it hard to see anything. Time to go.

They both headed for the lift. Kumiko looked her up and down. "I really don't think blue mascara goes with a brown jacket or pink shoes" she said as they got in. The lift doors closed.

Yuki groaned. She hoped she wouldn't get another lecture on fashion. Kumiko was gorgeous. Tall, thin, knew how to dress. Always had the right style that matched her body type. She even had an elfin smile and perfect teeth. "Well, I'm happy with it, and I think that's what matters" she replied.

Whenever Yuki and Kumiko had gone to a bar in Tokyo, especially the ones in Roppongi, Kumiko was always the one spoken to first.

She sometimes wondered why Kumiko stayed her friend. She could have easily made many more attractive friends than her. Yuki was aware that she was on the plump side from many nights drinking. She'd even been described as cuddly by one of her friends.

Plump, darker skin and short. Not an appealing combination in Japan. It was one of the reasons she escaped.

She didn't know why Kumiko would want to leave though. Kumiko had had a great job there as a translator and had plenty of boys sending her gifts all the time. Maybe she'd been bored.

The lift doors opened again. Level 1 in Centrepoint. They got out and looked around. The whole place was completely deserted apart from a blond guy sweeping the floor.

"Okay" said Yuki. "Which way?"

Kumiko pointed to some escalators that took them down to a tiled area and past some shops with shutters covering their doors. It led out onto Castlereagh street. They turned left and headed towards Circular Quay.

"You know, it's just a short walk to St James station. We could take the train to the Quay." Yuki suggested.

"Nah. You haven't been here as long as me. We could get there before the train arrived on the platform! And this way we can walk past Chifley Plaza and have a quick look in." said Kumiko.

"You're the boss." Yuki smiled. Even though Kumiko was pretty direct, she liked being around her. Kumiko's confidence was infectious and some friends even described her as crazy. But she was fun and Yuki could put up with a bit of directness from her. She also knew the reason for a visit to Chifley Plaza. Mick could be there.

They set off down Castlereagh street, heading towards Martin Place. There was a warm breeze blowing that was fresh and clean. The streets were tidy and there were very few people and cars. It looked like it was going to be a great morning.

Yuki really was looking forward to going to Taronga Zoo. But she knew that this was going to be her last chance. Tomorrow, it was back to work and tomorrow.., tomorrow the awful thing will happen. She didn't want to think about it now. She knew her life would change forever in 24 hours.