One evening, in the aftermath of an unprecedented disaster, I received an email from my friend Paulo. “Come to Lisbon”, it said. At the time, I had no work scheduled and was feeling a little worn down by the constant aftershocks. I immediately looked for a ticket online and easily booked a flight for the following Wednesday. ” I’ll be on a flight that arrives at Lisbon airport next Wednesday at 9:30 PM “, I emailed him. He replied with a simple ” OK “.
I had only met Paulo once, the year before. I didn’t know his address. I figured that if Paulo wasn’t at the airport, I would just find a hotel, relax for a few days, and then fly home. But when I walked through the arrivals gate, there he was, holding up a large sign with “Mina Imai ” written on it.
When we arrived at Paulo’s house, he gave me a set of keys for the house and my room, along with a piece of paper. ” The people in Lisbon are all very kind “, he said, ” so if you get lost, just show this to anyone “. The paper had his address and phone number, and underneath, written in Portuguese, were the words: ” She is my friend and she is lost. Please help her get back to my house “.
The next day, we had breakfast at a nearby cafe. ” I’ll be back around 8:00 PM, let’s have dinner at home “, he said before heading to work. I went back to the house for a while and relaxed on the balcony. In April, Lisbon was filled with the gentles sun and beautiful green leaves, and the breeze, carrying the faint scent of the sea, felt wonderful. That afternoon, I walked around the city. The cobblestones sparkled, and the city was filled with light. I decided to visit the Belem Tower, which Paulo had mentioned at breakfast. An emerald-green sea spread out before me, stretching to the horizon. I thought about how, more than 400 years ago, Portuguese people had set sail from this very spot to come to Japan.
At dinner, I told Paulo that I had gone to the Belem Tower and how beautiful the sea was. ” That’s not the sea “, he told me. ” It’s a river “. “Do you like coffee? ” he asked. When I said yes, he told me about a special phrase that only works in Lisbon. He wrote it down on a piece of paper: “Uma bica, faz favor “. It’s means “One coffee, please “. He also told me I absolutely had to try pasties de nada.
A little after 10:00 PM, the intercom buzzed. ” Hiii! “. It was Paulo’s friends, Rita and Alex, who had come over with a big box of wine. We all hit it off immediately and spent the night drinking and talking for hours. When I got sleepy, I left everyone while the party was still going, went to my room, and fell asleep the moment I got into bed. The next morning, I went into the living room and found the three of them passed out on the floor and the sofa. Many workplaces in Portugal have flexible hours, so this was apparently normal. Without any panic, they left one by one at 9:00 and 10:00, saying ” See you later “. And then Paulo, too, left for work.
I walked to a nearby coffee stand. And I ordered a coffee by saying, “Uma bica, faz favor”.
