The Bridge
Ichiro was able to arrive in the Philippines safe and sound. But since his project is in the province, he needs to take the bus going to Bataan. It will be a 3-hour trip and he can't wait to meet his crew.
They will be constructing the highway and a bridge that connects the province to the city. It's a challenging project but the reward is also bigger. He's very excited to meet the locals on the site as well.
He noticed that the place seems to be progressing already. But when the highway and bridge are done, everything will change in this province. It will be easier for everyone to go to the city.
After the 3-hour trip on the bus, Ichiro finally reaches the town. It's called Orani and it's an odd name. But he's familiar with the province since it's part of their history as well. It was invaded by its soldiers a long time ago.
But now, he will be making this place better. He's happy to see the smiles on the local's faces. It seems that they have already forgotten that era. He feels welcome already as he walks towards the site where their barracks are located.
Ichiro checks the GPS from his phone. He should be near it already. It's better not to bother the locals. They all look busy with their daily chores. So, he just continued to walk until he saw a bridge. That bridge should not be there according to the GPS.
"How come this bridge is here?" Ichiro asks himself.
He just brushed it off since he thought that the GPS locator might have used an old map. The bridge seems old but it looks sturdy enough. He immediately crosses it, which takes him about two minutes before reaching the end of it.
Ichiro can see their barracks from afar. But it looks like they are using old military tents. That's odd since he was sure that their company sent them new ones. He just ignored it and continued walking towards the barracks. Maybe they want to make sure that nothing will be wasted.
When he finally arrived in the barracks, it seems like they had the Japanese soldiers as well. His boss seems to make sure that he has an army in this place. He can't believe that he would go this far for his safety. But he's thankful since it's a remote place and it's hard to tell if it's safe.
"Excuse me! I'm the engineer assigned to this project. Where are my barracks?" He asked one of the soldiers in Japanese.
"Are you? Hey, guys! He said he's an engineer!" the soldier mocked him and the others laughed.
Ichiro felt like something was off around this place. But he can't back out now since he's already here. It will be better if he can find a local architect who is supposed to meet him here. This is unacceptable in his status. He's the leader of this project and he deserves respect from them.
"What's all this commotion about?" Another soldier who looks more important than the others asked.
"Captain, a new soldier had arrived. He said he was an engineer!" One of the soldiers informed him.
"What's your name, soldier?" the captain asked him.
"I'm Nagasaki, Ichiro. What is this all about?" He replied although confused.
"I think he's still disoriented from his flight. The government of Japan sent you here to help out with the invasion. But you need some rest for now. Follow me!" the captain explains to him.
Ichiro feels more confused now since these soldiers look serious. But the invasion ended years ago. It's already 2025 and they are still wearing the old Japanese army uniform. Maybe it was a prank and he needs to just play along. They usually do that to new arrivals.
When they arrived at his barracks, he saw more soldiers inside. It looks like an army barracks. He would be convinced if he didn't know that he was being pranked. The captain left him without a word and he decided to find his bed. Maybe he would be sharing this place with other members of the crew.
He takes the vacant bed and decides to take a nap. The others looked busy when he entered the tent. They just stopped and looked at him then went back to whatever they were doing. Where are the Filipino workers? They are all Japanese around here. He was expecting to be the only foreigner on this site.
That's when he saw a calendar on the wall near the bunk bed. It's in December 1941. How did this old calendar make it here? Unless he's back in time, it's not possible. But how will he explain the uniforms of the soldiers? That's when he realized that it might happen after he crossed that bridge.
How did he end up on this timeline? He suddenly gets up and notices that one of the soldiers is holding an old newspaper. It's in Nihongo but how did it get here? They don't share the news with other countries unless it's one of their territories. He started to feel dizzy about what was happening around him.
"Hey, are you alright?" One of the soldiers went to him.
"What's today's date?' He asked.
"It's the 5th of December. Three days to go before the invasion. Are you excited?" The soldier informed him and sat on the side of the bed.
"What year is it?" He asked and sat up.
"It's still 1941, man! Looks like you have a bad jet lag. By the way, I'm Yoshi! The soldier introduced himself.
"I'm Ichiro and I think I came to the wrong place and the wrong time!" He replied.
"Stop joking around, Ichiro! Get some rest. We will be out early tomorrow to take our positions." Yoshi laughed.
"Okay, it's nice meeting you!" He replied to him with a worried expression.
How can he be on this timeline of all the times to be in this country? It's when the Japanese invaded this country. He's sure of that since his grandfather participated with the invasion. He needs to wake up from this nightmare was soon as possible!