Jesse Finally Booked Their Flight to Tokyo | Case Story
You get a rush when you see that airline confirmation email for your flight to Japan sitting in your inbox. This is the story of Jesse’s flight.
After years of saving pins and plotting trips, something unexpected happened.
Jesse never went to Japan. It never happened.
This year became next year, and that year became the next, and so on.
It’s a familiar story too. We all have those plans that we keep pushing off, because tomorrow is always possible and today is scary or just unreasonable.
But lucky for Jesse, his story did find an arc.
And it came on a completely boring completely normal day, and completely unexpectedly. Timelines collapsed and a peculiar series of events unfolded
But let’s start at the beginning, before all that.
Japan Was Always the Goal
Growing up, Jesse was obsessed with Hayao Miyazaki and all his films.
Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo…you name it, Jesse could probably recite it to you.
He also studied Japanese in his free time, not for any particular reason except for the simple one that he liked to. Well, plus it made him feel closer to the country he longed to visit.
Naturally, a trip to Japan wasn’t just a plan for Jesse. It was an inevitability.
Someday, he would go.
But as life would have it, the stars never quite aligned.
Apparently, life does happen.
Never the Right Time…
It’s so easy to push things off.
Next time.
Next year.
Next ____.
But the next thing you know, 10 years go by and you’re still pushing plans to tomorrow. The truth is, tomorrow never comes. It’s an illusion. Technically, tomorrow, like all imagined times, is just the present. An idea of the present, but still the present.
But I don’t want this to turn into some deep esoteric discussion on the nature of time and reality.
For Jesse and our travel story, the simple truth is, tomorrow became a habit. And that habit turned into 10 years of inaction, without even noticing.
It’s also possible that Jesse fell into the all-too-common trap I call sharing deflation. That is, by simply talking about a goal (i.e. sharing it), you somehow jinx it or release just enough dopamine that you don’t feel quite as motivated to make it happen anymore.
This is common with creative goals especially (speaking from experience here).
But for Jesse, the story of “maybe next year…” was starting to hurt. 30 was approaching and he still hadn’t experienced the country he claimed to adore so much.
The part that was really painful was now that he had the money to go, his excuses felt pretty lame. It was either his job (which he didn’t even care much for) or the conditions were imperfect. Like when he finally did have time off work, the tickets were too expensive or the weather wasn’t good for his perfectly envisioned first trip.
It was either logistics or an excuse. And Jesse was starting to think he’d never actually get to Japan in person. At least, not before his hair started turning grey. I know, 30 isn’t even that old. But the pressure’s still there.
Until one July morning, an unexpected email showed up in his inbox that changed everything.
“Hisashiburi!”
Don’t you love those outta-the-blue messages from people you’d pretty much forgotten about. Especially when they spark a series of events that put you exactly where you need to be at exactly the right time.
And that’s exactly what happened to Jesse.
Wednesday, July 22nd. A typical morning, slightly boring. Jesse checks his gmail.
The first e-letter immediately looks different from what usually lands in his inbox. It was personal and started off in another language.
Yea, you guessed it, Japanese.
It read, “Hisashiburi, old friend!”
Knowing Jesse had been a long-time student of the language, his friend Sarah felt fairly confident he’d know what it meant (“long time, no see”).
He proceeded to open the email and read it, but with a sense of foreshadow-y excitement. Like a grade-1 premonition that this letter was about to spark some shift in his life.
It started pretty normal, “How have you been? Way too long…”, etcetera etcetera.
But here’s the juicy part:
“I remember you were always obsessed with Japan...maybe you inspired me but I actually moved here! lol...So I’ll cut right to the chase, I’m not sure if you’re even in Japan, but is there any chance you’ll be in Tokyo at the end of September? I need someone to watch my cat and apartment for a couple of weeks. You can stay for free, of course...and I’d love to catch up when I get back! :)”
It’s like the universe rolled its eyes and just threw this one right into Jesse’s lap. And as fate would have it, he had some PTO saved up and the timing was good too.
He checked the plane tickets and (as good things tends to beget more good things), they were cheap.
Like, really great deals!
Plus, the end of September in Tokyo, although still hot, wasn’t mid-summer, so there’s a chance for some nicer weather.
Suddenly, Japan was happening.
He emailed Sarah back quickly, worked out some logistics, and by the end of the week, had his tickets to Tokyo booked.
All in?
$750 for the flights, nada for the accommodations, and a couple grand saved up to cover food, getting around and shopping. More than enough.
Sometimes, you find a plan. Other times, the plan finds you.
If you’ve been planning your trip but feel stuck like Jesse, just stay stoked, and believe that it’ll happen for you sooner or later.
Alright, that’s all I’ve got. If you like this story and want buy the artwork as a print, check out my shop here (all art is original…aka, no AI). Much love for the support.
Later ✌️
This post is part of a story series, meant to inspire exploration, jumping into the unknown and creativity. The stories are fictional, but inspired by truth.
