An Uneasy Mind

by Avi King

“John! Why isn’t my breakfast ready?”

“I’m sorry sir, it’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Mr. Harrison knew he had a long day ahead of him and this little setback angered him. “John, is it ready yet?”

“Just about, Sir,” John called from the kitchen. “I’m making your plate right now.”

John brought out Mr. Harrison’s meal: two eggs sunny side up, two slices of buttered toast, an orange, and a glass of pineapple juice. He placed the meal in front of Mr. Harrison and took his seat across the table.

“Today you leave for Michigan for a conference,” John said as Mr. Harrison began eating. “You’ll be there for one night and then will fly off to China to visit your newest factory.”

“What time does the conference start?” Mr. Harrison asked, taking a bite of toast.

“It starts at six tonight. We should leave the house no later than ten.”

Mr. Harrison checked his watch, “That only gives me thirty minutes to get ready. Why don’t you delay the conference an hour?”

“I don’t think that will be possible…”

“I wasn’t asking you, I’m telling you that we are going to move the conference to seven instead of six.”

“Ok, I’ll inform them of the time change. Enjoy your breakfast.” John reached for his cell phone and left the room.

Mr. Harrison finished his meal and got ready to go. He took a long shower and got dressed. Carefully, he picked out a suit and after an additional fifteen minutes, he settled on a tie. He was finally ready by eleven o’clock. “John, it’s time to go. Where are you?”

John entered the room. “I’m sorry sir, let’s go. The car is out front.”

They exited the house and got into the car. Seven hours later they arrived at their hotel in Michigan.

“This room is too small for my taste,” Mr. Harrison hissed.

“Sir, you’re only going to be in the room for one night.”

“John, you’ve been working for me long enough to know that you do not argue with me. Just get a bigger room by the time the conference is over.” Mr. Harrison turned and left, leaving John standing alone in the room.

* * * *

“Mr. Harrison, it’s time to go,” John said as Mr. Harrison was getting dressed.

“Well, I’m clearly not ready. When does the plane leave?”

“In two hours,” John replied.

“Then what’s the rush? We have plenty of time.” Mr. Harrison picked out a red tie.

“It’s an international flight so you need to get there earlier than usual.”

“John, we will get there before the plane leaves and if not we can make a deal with the airline. There isn’t any problem. It will wait for us.”

“Sir, I’m not flying with you today, remember? I have to finish up here in Michigan. I’ll be flying out to meet you in two days.”

“And what am I supposed to do for two days in a country where I don’t even know the language?”

“I’m sure that you’ll survive. I hear there are a lot of interesting places you can visit. I hired an English-speaking guide to help you get around.” John headed for the door. “Your car is out front, and it’ll take you to the airport. I have to go to a meeting with the factory manager. See you in China.” And with that, John left Mr. Harrison alone to tie his tie.

* * * *

“How do people breathe with this kind of air?” Mr. Harrison coughed as he disembarked from the airplane. He moved through the crowds toward the main terminal. As he walked out of customs he saw a boy who couldn’t be more than 18-years-old holding a sign that read, “Mr. Harrison, CEO of Patron Energy.”

“I’m Mr. Harrison,” he grumbled to the boy.

“Hello, my name is Carter. I am part of the Chinese English Integration Program. I’m originally from-”

“Listen, Carter, I’m really tired right now and I just want to go to my hotel. Is that so hard?”

“No sir. I have a car waiting for you out front,” Carter said, as he turned to lead Mr. Harrison to the car.

“Carter, do you really expect my baggage to carry itself?”

“Oh,” Carter said, embarrassed. “Let me take that for you.”

Mr. Harrison sighed as he followed Carter out to the car.

* * * *

It was already light out when Mr. Harrison woke up. He got out of bed and walked downstairs to the living space of his two-floor hotel suite. Carter was sitting on the couch reading a book.

“Jimmy, where is my breakfast?”

“What? Oh, I didn’t know you wanted me to make it for you,” he replied briefly looking up at Mr. Harrison.

“If I don’t have my breakfast in the next ten minutes you’re fired and I’ll get someone new. Is that clear, Jimmy?”

“Sorry Mr. Harrison, I’ll get right on it. What would you like?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mr. Harrison muttered under his breath. “Just get me two eggs sunny side up, two pieces of toast, an orange and a glass of pineapple juice. Can you handle that?”

“Yes sir,” Carter said setting down his book and heading for the door.

Once Carter left, Mr. Harrison immediately dialed John’s number.

“Hello?”

“This is ridiculous! Why couldn’t you have given me a translator who could do more than just translate?”

“Sir, I finished here early. I’ll be flying out tonight and will be there when you wake up tomorrow. Just try to humor Carter for the rest of the day.”

Mr. Harrison was pleased by this information. “I’ll give it one day but if you’re not here tomorrow morning, consider yourself fired.”

“Yes sir.”

* * * *

Mr. Harrison knew that the day was going to be long. He tried to believe that he could handle Carter’s incompetence. It took all of his energy not to explode at everything that Carter did.

“Mr. Harrison, today, I have planed for us to experience the city first hand. I have even hired a tour guide for us. He only speaks Chinese, but I will be able to translate for you.”

“Well, let’s just get this day over with. I’m sick of this country already.”

The two of them left the building and met their tour guide outside.

“Ni hao! Wo jiao Wang Ming.”

Carter translated, “Hello my name is Wang Ming.”

“Why do I care what his name is?” Mr. Harrison was already losing his patience with Wang Ming.

“Well, let’s get going. He told me that there was a lot for us to see.” Carter said enthusiastically.

They started walking through the city. Their fist stop was the local fish market to help Mr. Harrison learn about the local culture. Mr. Harrison wasn’t engaged, he felt as if the smell of the fish was penetrating his body. Wang Ming was rambling in Chinese about something or other, but Mr. Harrison wasn’t listening. Finally Carter told Mr. Harrison that it was time to go.

Mr. Harrison turned to go when he realized that he had to use the restroom. “Jimmy, I’ll meet you outside. I’m going to find the restroom.” Carter kept walking with Wang Ming toward the front of the market. Mr. Harrison shrugged them off, and continued toward the back of the market where he thought the bathroom was. After a few minutes he found a bathroom, or at least something that could pass as a bathroom. It was just a room with a bucket in the middle. After he finished with the bucket, he exited the fish market onto a busy street. It didn’t take him long to realize that both Carter and Wang Ming were gone.

“JIMMY, CHO CHANG! Where are you?” Mr. Harrison yelled into the crowded street. A few heads turned, but no one really paid any attention to him. He started to push his way through the busy street, trying to find a familiar face, but he soon gave up, realizing it was pointless.

Mr. Harrison’s first priority was to find out how to get back to his hotel, which he didn’t even know the name of. “Hey, can anyone tell me where I am?” Again no one noticed him. He felt invisible. He reached for his phone. It wasn’t there. He double-checked all his pockets. His phone wasn’t there. “Great,” Mr. Harrison muttered. “Now what do I do?”

Mr. Harrison wandered the people-filled streets for hours. He didn’t even know what he was trying to accomplish. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and he was starting to get hungry. He slipped into a restaurant.

“Ni hao, ni xiang chi fan ma?”

“Listen lady, I don’t speak Chinese. Can you just give me something to eat?”

“Ni xiang chi fan ma?”

“NO! I just want some food!”

“Fan, mean food.”

“Ok. You,” he said as he pointed at her. “Give me,” he pointed at himself. “Fan,” he motioned his hands to his mouth.

“Hao, ni zuo zai zher,” she said as she led him to a table.

A few minutes later the lady came back with a plate of food that looked as if she had cut up a pig, dipped it into its own blood and cooked it in oil. However, since he was so hungry, he shoveled the food down his throat without even minding the taste. After he was done he paid his bill and left.

He took to the streets again looking for anything that may have resembled his hotel. It was getting late when he decided to stop for dinner. He was in a much less crowded neighborhood. There was nothing open. His stomach hurt, probably from his lunch. Eventually he selected a street corner and sat there as if he were homeless. Soon after he sat down, a man approached him. “Ni hao, you look lost would you like to come with me? I can get you a meal.”

At this point Mr. Harrison was too tired and weak to tell the man to get lost, so he grumbled and let the man lead him up the street and into a temple. Inside Mr. Harrison received a warm meal and a mat to meditate on.

“If you would like, I will teach you how to relax your mind. You seem like a very stressed individual, and I think that a good session of meditation would help you.”

Mr. Harrison sighed, “I’m very tired right now. I just want to go to sleep.”

“Please sit on your mat cross legged and place your hands face up on your knees,” the man acted as if Mr. Harrison hadn’t even spoken. “I will now walk you through a guided meditation.”

Mr. Harrison sighed again and did as he was told. He smelled the incense, which was hanging from the ceiling above. He felt calm. As he listened to the man’s voice, he relaxed his mind and began to forget that he was lost in the middle of a foreign country and knew absolutely no one. The man’s voice continued to send words into his mind, eventually the man faded away and Mr. Harrison was asleep.

* * * *

The next morning Mr. Harrison woke up relaxed. He wasn’t panicking, wondering where he was or what he needed to do. He simply went up to the man who had helped him the night before and asked him for a phone.

“John,” Mr. Harrison said as he heard John’s breath on the other end of the line.

“Sir, where are you? I’m at your hotel and you aren’t here.”

“It’s alright John, I got lost yesterday. Can you please tell me what the name of the hotel is and give me some directions to get back?”

“It’s called the Middle Kingdom Suites. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?”

“No, I’ll be fine. It will be nice to get some fresh air. When I get back we can plan for the meeting.” With that, he hung up the phone and walked outside.

He walked through the busy streets thinking about all that he went through the day before. He thought about why he was in the situation that he was in. He wondered why he had done what he had done. The streets felt much less busy than they had the day before. He walked by the restaurant where he had eaten lunch the previous day. The lady who served him yesterday was out front welcoming in customers. He looked at her and smiled. She caught his gaze and smiled back.