The Game

Yesterday, I saw a salary man who was alone, playing a crane game at a game center at like 11:30pm. I came across him after having wandered away from my friends and I felt compelled to watch him. Everything about the scene put out an atmosphere of futile loneliness. I watched him put in one 100円 coin after another in a depressingly solemn effort to make the stuffed doll fall down. He was holding a briefcase.

I could not help but guess about his life and wonder what circumstances led him here, alone, so late at night, quietly struggling to win a small prize.

Eventually, the doll did fall over and was hanging over the edge. It looked like the little blond girl with the square mouth was nearly about fall. But no matter how many coins he gave the machine, the stuffed doll simply would not come down to where he could reach it.

So, after having ran out of either money or hope, he simply touched the glass and looked inside the bright machine for a few seconds. Then, he slowly picked his briefcase back up and walked away.