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Introducing our new article series with writer Maha Harada. Dive deeper into the world of pearls through her essays and stories exclusive to Mikimoto.
Vol.6
Eureka
An exquisite short story exploring the beauty of dressing and living as your heart desires.
Beth was always surrounded by friends and even had a handsome boyfriend.
Filled with admiration, I started sketching her fashion looks in one corner of the classroom.
Part 1
Back when I was 20 years old, I had a friend that I greatly admired. It was so long ago that I can no longer recall her real name in full, but everyone called her Beth. She was incredibly stylish with an air of sophistication, so the foreign-sounding nickname was a perfect fit.
I remember every single item that Beth wore and carried, down to the smallest detail — the texture of her cardigan, the color of her silk scarf, her gloves, shoes, handbag, as well as the journal and handkerchief she kept inside, the pearl studs worn right on the edge of her earlobes, her hair accessories... Not to mention the radiant dimples that came out whenever she smiled, her thick, boldly defined eyebrows, and her soft-looking hair falling to the shoulders.
Before our lectures, I would go to the classroom early and take a seat at the very back, secretly excited for Beth to arrive. Because I was good at drawing — although not to the extent of going to art college — I would sketch her outfit of the day in my notebook when she appeared.
Beth was always effortlessly chic. That’s what impressed me the most. I wondered what it’s like inside her closet. How she puts together her outfit each day. She must look good not because she tries hard but because whatever she selects reflects her beautiful nature. In other words, she had a sense of class despite being young which made her look cool without even trying.
I envied her. For having someone — me — secretly admire her. I could never be in that position. Not in a million years.
I was born and raised in a regional city in Japan . My family ran a modest store, but we always lived under financial strain. My parents still let me go to a university in Tokyo just as I had wanted. But with hardly any allowance from my parents, I had no choice but to make ends meet by juggling multiple part-time jobs and my studies.
My friends were all extravagantly living the perfect university life — socializing at tennis camps and club-organized parties, going out surfing and skiing, and staying abroad in LA with their host families. Meanwhile, I was serving food in a cafeteria, handling the reception of a clinic, and selling snacks through live demos at a supermarket, living a life where it was hard to tell whether I was a university student or a permanent part-timer.
Because of how I was, I had no interaction with Beth. She was always surrounded by friends. Plus, she had a boyfriend who was tall, handsome, and kind-looking. I heard some friends gossiping that he came to pick Beth up by car and waited for her outside the university’s front gate.
I saw it too — it was a foreign-made car, right?
A red Italian sports car. So cool...
Throughout the train ride from my part-time work back to my apartment, I pondered upon how a red Italian car was just not right for Beth. In my mind, her boyfriend should have been riding a small and sweet German car known as the Beetle.
Sometime later, I heard on the grapevine that Beth had dumped that boyfriend. See? I saw that one coming, I chuckled to myself.
There was no way that Beth could have known I looked up to her. But that didn’t matter because she had her life, and I had mine. I knew our lives were never going to intersect.
The age of twenty didn’t bring me any good news. Far from getting excited about the endless possibilities ahead, I only vaguely felt the future coming. Where will I be in the future? What will I be doing? Whatever happens, tomorrow keeps on coming as long as we’re alive. That isn’t a bad thing, I always thought.
Maha HARADA
b. 1962 Tokyo, Japan
Based between Tokyo, Paris, Kyoto, and Nagano, Maha Harada is a creative visionary and exceptional storyteller who has produced world-class, category-defying writing.
Harada is one of the founding curators of Tokyo’s acclaimed Mori Art Museum; when it was established, she was sent to represent the Museum as a project researcher at its principal cultural partner, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. It is for this reason that Maha Harada is renowned as Japan’s leading creator of art novels and art entertainment.
She is among Japan’s most talked-about writers and creatives, and her extraordinary experiences give her an unparalleled ability to blend art and literature. Harada’s art novels journey into the past to breathe fresh life into some of the world’s most beloved artists, who still enchant countless people today. These stories transcend time and generation crossing the boundaries of nation and region. At the same time, they are rooted in the experiences of a woman born and raised in Japan.
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