Did You Forget Our Meeting? —The Day I Was Swept Away by Foreign Hospitality—

It was supposed to be a meeting, but before I knew it, four hours had passed.
This is a story about how my own hurried heart was eased a little.

This is a story about my first manga client.
This client is Majid, an Iranian man who runs a Persian rug company in Tokyo.

I'll save the story of how I first met him for another time.
He is such an interesting person that you could probably write a whole book just about him.

That afternoon, I visited Majid's company right on time for our appointment.

I had been commissioned to create manga for his company's social media posts.
I had prepared a list of ideas and thought I would just take some photos of the products. I figured it would be over in an hour.
I was already thinking ahead to what I would do when I got home, and what I needed to take care of next.

When I arrived at the office, there was someone else there besides Majid.
I learned he was a friend from Iran, just like Majid, and worked as a chef at a cafe in Tokyo.

Just as I thought we were about to start the meeting, Majid and his friend smiled and said, "We've prepared something."
In the blink of an eye, what was laid out on the table was...

A meal with colors I had never seen before. And for some reason, there were even drinks lined up.
It was an Iranian rice dish called Baghali Polo.

—When will the manga meeting actually start?

"Come now, let's eat first."

Once they said that, I couldn't say anything else.

The food, which I was tasting for the first time, was surprisingly delicious.
I learned that the chef friend had put his heart and soul into making it.
The two of them chatted endlessly, and in the end, the meeting that was supposed to last an hour went on for over four.

During that time, I don't know how many times I started to say, "Um, about the meeting..."

Majid has been in Japan for about 30 years.
His Japanese is even much better than mine.
He takes great pride in his work.

Even so, the way he spends his time like this really shows his cultural roots.
Perhaps to him, hospitality toward the person in front of him is more important than a strict schedule.

Before I knew it, the sky outside was a beautiful orange sunset.
They even gave me souvenirs to take home.
I felt a little ashamed of myself for being so rushed and chased by time.

Thanks to them, it was a day where both my stomach and my heart were filled before the manga meeting even really began.