It was Friday afternoon in 2006 or was it 2007? I remember not the exact year. There were several people scattered in the hall but some were strategically located on every corner of the hall.
The hall was quiet, a pair or two of the people in the suit whispered to each other while the rest just stood at specific places observing the hall.
We were all waiting for the Malaysian VIP to arrive. We were informed that the VIP was going to be late due to Friday afternoon rush hour.
I was observing the people in the hall apart from those in the suits.
She was looking at some paintings and some posters hanging on the wall.
When she saw me,. she smiled at me and I smiled back at her.
Then, she walked towards me.
I introduced myself to her and I addressed her with formality.
"Just call me Aki', she said casually. We had a good chat. . She was very friendly. She was also candid, talking about her life, how she missed her life during her younger days.
Among the things we talked were about her younger days on how she liked and enjoyed the night scenes at the clubs. She even became a DJ for night clubs in Tokyo at one point in her life.
We had a nice time chatting and laughing. I was comfortable talking to her, felt like i have known her before.
We chatted for about 15 mins before the guy in the grey suit who was talking to his ear piece, approached her and said something to her in Japanese.
She waved at me and told me it was nice talking to me before she was ushered away.
Then, came a Japanese lady in a suit approached me and telling me in a fluent American English that I failed to follow the protocol.
Aki Abe came and talked to me. What was I supposed to do? Walked away? Ignored and snubbed her?
Whatever it was, I had a nice time talking to her.
