Twilight Express, Chapter One: Melina

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The sleeper train from Osaka to Sapporo pulled out of Kanazawa station. Melina returned to her newspaper, content that nobody had boarded; she was enjoying the solitude of the salon car.

It had been her idea to take the night sleeper to Sapporo. The Osaka office manager had tried to talk her out of it, explaining that the bullet train would get her there much faster while the sleeper would take 21 hours. But Melina insisted, explaining that she would like to see more of Japan, which was true, and begging the office manager to excuse her eccentricity.

During her nine months in Japan, she had spent almost all of her time in one high-rise or another. And the sleeper trains’ names themselves appealed to her in a kitchy way: Cassiopeia. Sunrise Seto. Moonlight Nagara. Dream Nichirin. She was aboard the Twilight Express.

Melina was traveling to Sapporo to set up her company’s third new research department. The only woman in the Boston office, she had hardly been able to believe her luck when she was chosen for the two-year assignment. Although she was the only researcher fluent in Japanese, she was also one of the youngest, not quite 29 years old.

But the reviews were even better than she had hoped, especially after she finished her first config in Tokyo a month ahead of schedule. The locals admired her respect for Japanese culture and business etiquette. She wasn't like other foreigners who seemed appalled that the entire world didn't speak English.

After nine months in Tokyo and Osaka, she was headed north to the Sapporo office for what she was hoping would be an easier setup. Her assistant, Yoko, was already there and was setting up the computer servers.

Melina picked up her newspaper again, hoping to find a sudoku puzzle or even a New York Times crossword. But suddenly she had company. She looked up at the man, nodded politely, went back to her newspaper.