Touched by an Angel 

            Where do I begin? It was about a year ago that I was introduced to the term, "cosplay." For a long time, a friend of mine has attended something yearly called, Anime Weekend Atlanta. For years he wanted me to attend with him, but for years I had neither the time nor the interest. My opinion of anime is that it's a nice form of art, can be fun at times, but to me seems mostly like a competition between the writers to see who can make up the most ridiculous story.
            Well, eventually, my curiosity got the better of me and I looked up cosplay. I looked at images and read definitions and these people really seemed to love what they were doing. It wasn't something I would do, but I almost envied their dedication and the way they seemed to totally lose themselves in it. I began to notice that many cosplayers were actually famous for what they did, which surprised me at first, but with the internet putting the world at your fingertips, I suppose it wasn't too much of a stretch.
            I have been known to look up celebrities from time to time to see what kind of people they are in real life. Most of them don't really impress me, to be honest. This was also the case with many of the cosplayers I looked up. That's when I came across a beautiful Japanese cosplayer named Misako Aoki. As I read about her, I found out that she is a nurse as well as a cosplayer. Above all else about her, that was what impressed me the most.
            Anyone in this world can be rich or famous for something or other, because at the end of the day, we're all just people. But it takes a true quality human being to care about others, especially people you don't even know...and especially to the point where you would make a career out of it. I know Misako isn't the only nurse in the world, but I had honestly never heard of a celebrity being in a field like that. From what I've observed, they usually just travel around spending the money they make entertaining people. For an entire year and more, the name Misako Aoki stayed with me and I decided that if I were ever to be asked which celebrity I would most like to meet, my answer would be Misako. But no one ever asked.
            Eventually, 2013 rolled around and my friend finally convinced me to attend AWA with him. I had nothing better to do. The first day there, we saw lots of cosplayers and bought some merchandise, but I had a terrible headache and didn't have a very good time. We were wandering around in the dealer room that first day when my friend noticed that I looked kind of bored. He told me that there were supposed to be some celebrities there and asked if I'd like to go see who they were. "Whatever," I thought. I told him I probably wouldn't recognize any of them and the lines were probably going to be way too long anyway.
            This is when I said something that I had no idea at the time would change my life forever. I remembered the name Misako Aoki from a year or so earlier and as more of an excuse not to go and see any of the celebrities who were actually there, I told him, "The only celebrity I would ever stand in line for would be Misako Aoki." I half expected him to say, "Who is that?" because he is more into anime than cosplay. But he said something that still gives me chills (the good kind) to this day. He said, "I think I saw that name on the list." You could have heard a pin drop.
            My heart started to race. Could it be? But how? I had to know, so we went to the information desk. They told us that indeed, Misako was there at the convention. The one time I had decided to accompany my friend to AWA in the 13 years I had known him, the one and only celebrity to ever truly impress me as a person just happened to be there. Misako was doing a questions panel and the line stretched around the building. We waited in line until someone told us we were actually in the wrong line. We decided to go home and try to see her the next day.
            The second day, we simply waited too late to come to the convention and weren't able to see her that day either. We attended the rave that night and I had fun, but in the back of my mind, I thought to myself, "You really did it this time. You blew your only chance to ever see Misako Aoki in person." I danced and tried to forget.
            The third day, we walked around as the event wound to a close. We were walking in the dealer room again and my spirits were down. The event had turned out just as I'd expected it to when I'd agreed to come with my friend. It was alright, but I felt disappointed. As they announced that there were only 30 minutes left (4:30 p.m.) until they shut it down, we made our way toward the exit. That's when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A familiar face. No way...could it be? It was Misako! She was standing right there, just a few feet from us, in front of a couple of people who had cameras and notepads.
            I stopped in my tracks and whispered to my friend, "That's her!" His predictable response was, "Who?" I told him, "Misako!" I told him I had to get her autograph, so we made our way to the nearest table. They must have been associates of hers, because they were selling all sorts of Misako merchandise. I just wanted a pen and a piece of paper.
            They told us we could buy some pictures for her to sign, so that's what happened. They told us she was in an interview, but she would give me an autograph afterwards. My friend told me he was going to walk around and would meet me back at Misako's table before 5:00. I waited. Suddenly, I realized that I was about to meet the one celebrity in the entire world whom I would ever truly care about what she thought of me and I had no idea what to say or how to act. My heart raced. My hands were damp. Would she be warm and friendly? Would she be cold and unfeeling? What was she really like? Then I realized I had not been paying attention. How would I know when the interview was over? I asked this and one of the ladies told me she would find out directly.
            When she walked back over, she told me Misako would momentarily break off the interview to sign my autograph. I don't know if my mouth was hanging open at that point, but I imagine it probably was. As Misako made her way over, I held up the package full of pictures. It was sealed and difficult to open without tearing it. I apologized and my sweaty, shaking hands finally managed to open the package. I handed one of the pictures to Misako and she reached out and held up the dealer room badge I had hanging around my neck, asking for my name. What's my name? For a moment, I completely forgot. Finally, I managed to tell her, then someone with her helped her to spell it correctly in English. I thanked her and shook her hand, then I waited for my friend to come back as she went back to her interview.
            When he finally returned, he asked me if I had gotten any pictures with her, using my phone. I wanted to smack my own forehead. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I could just turn around and... There she was, walking toward us, interview at a close. This was it. Now or never. I gathered up every bit of courage in me and walked toward her. I apologized for troubling her again and asked if I could take a picture with her. Graciously, she agreed.
            As my friend held up my phone and tried to figure out how the camera worked, I dared to put an arm around Misako. We both smiled and my friend took the shot. Of course, his hands aren't that steady and the shot came out somewhat blurry, but I wasn't going to dare ask for another one. As I put my phone away, Misako turned toward me and smiled. I thanked her profusely and tried to tell her how honored I was to meet her and how impressed I was that she had not only followed her dreams of cosplay, but that she was a nurse as well. All the while, she smiled that beautiful smile of hers and thanked me for the compliments. She even bowed a couple of times. Was I supposed to bow back? I felt like such an idiot.
            As I shook her hand and tried to stammer out my thanks, she gently placed her other hand over the back of mine and held it firmly there, and for a brief moment which seemed to me like an eternity, we were no longer shaking hands...but holding them. I felt a lump forming in my throat. Was I going to cry? No! I couldn't do that in front of her, lest she think me some weird obsessed otaku. I can't even remember the moment our hands parted or when we finally said goodbye. All I can remember is the warm, gentle yet firm embrace of her beautiful hands as she held mine.
            Though Misako has probably already forgotten about me, I will never forget the day my heart was stolen by a true Angel. Aishiteru, Misako-chan. My heart belongs and will always belong to you. ♥

"How do you talk to an Angel?" - The Heights