in some beautiful dream.
So I forgot my fear altogether, and walked on.
After a while, the slope evened out into a gentle decline and the road widened. No sooner had I noticed the lights shining through the silhouettes of trees than I found myself arriving, all at once, in that small town. Little stores lined both sides of the street; the train station, which had ticket machines but no stationmaster, was flooded with light; and while hardly a soul was out and about, the houses were lit up.
The tavern was already packed with local men who had gathered to have a good time after work, so it would have been awkward for me to barge in. I decided to go into a run-down shop that sold udon .
The owner was just about to close up and seemed extremely annoyed to see me, but he grudgingly told me to come in, so I did. I was worn out from walking, and dying to sit down.
It was a small establishment: there were only four tables set out on the concrete floor. On my table stood an empty shaker labeled “Seven-Spice Hot Pepper” that looked as if it had probably been empty for about a century.
The man boiled the noodles in an offhand manner, then set the bowl before me. There you go, he said. The sounds of the variety show on TV echoed through the shop, but this only heightened the loneliness of the place. The noodles were so wretched I shuddered at the thought of eating them, and when I tried to order a beer the man told me he didn’t have any. Considering how bad this place is, I’d have been better off eating at the hotel restaurant, even though it’s sure to be overpriced and not very good, I thought.
The man was waiting for me to finish eating, fidgeting all the while... on the other hand, the noodles tasted terrible and they were barely even warm, and to top it all off, they had gotten so mushy they were falling apart... I had a hard time getting them down. Thinking it might brighten my mood to check and see where my hotel was, I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out the map. As I withdrew my hand, I heard something fall to the floor with a clonk.
An icy chill ran through me, piercing right to the bottom of my heart.
Lying on the floor was a black, egg-shaped stone just like the ones I had seen at that creepy shrine.
No way, it can’t be one of those, it’s just a coincidence. I tried to believe this, but I couldn’t. I tried to tell myself that the sight of those stones had frightened me so much that I blanked out for a second and put one in my pocket without remembering. But I didn’t believe this either. If I had done something like that, I would have feared for my sanity, of course, but that would have been a lot better than what I was feeling now.
I stared at the stone for a while in a kind of trance, then decided to forget the whole thing and leave it where it was, there on the floor of this nasty shop. Stop following me, I thought. Please.
The cool, collected part of my mind kept telling me there was no way a stone could have just walked into my pocket; it had probably just slipped in earlier, while I was eating my lunch outside. Either way, I decided not to think too deeply about it.
I wanted to get to the hotel as soon as possible; I wanted to be in a room of my own. I yearned to do ordinary things in an ordinary way, to watch TV, wash my hair, have some tea. The description of the hotel said it had a bath fed by hot springs. Yes, I would go stretch out in the hot water...
The man had started sweeping the shop, so I stood up, leaving the rest of my udon uneaten. The last thing I saw as I walked out was the man’s broom sending the stone skittering over toward one of the walls.
2
The Hotel
The lights were already out at the front desk. The carpet in the lobby looked a bit grubby and smelled like mold. But I was used to staying in places like this, so it didn’t bother me. I was just thrilled to have arrived.
I rang the bell several times, and eventually a woman emerged from the room behind the
So I forgot my fear altogether, and walked on.
After a while, the slope evened out into a gentle decline and the road widened. No sooner had I noticed the lights shining through the silhouettes of trees than I found myself arriving, all at once, in that small town. Little stores lined both sides of the street; the train station, which had ticket machines but no stationmaster, was flooded with light; and while hardly a soul was out and about, the houses were lit up.
The tavern was already packed with local men who had gathered to have a good time after work, so it would have been awkward for me to barge in. I decided to go into a run-down shop that sold udon .
The owner was just about to close up and seemed extremely annoyed to see me, but he grudgingly told me to come in, so I did. I was worn out from walking, and dying to sit down.
It was a small establishment: there were only four tables set out on the concrete floor. On my table stood an empty shaker labeled “Seven-Spice Hot Pepper” that looked as if it had probably been empty for about a century.
The man boiled the noodles in an offhand manner, then set the bowl before me. There you go, he said. The sounds of the variety show on TV echoed through the shop, but this only heightened the loneliness of the place. The noodles were so wretched I shuddered at the thought of eating them, and when I tried to order a beer the man told me he didn’t have any. Considering how bad this place is, I’d have been better off eating at the hotel restaurant, even though it’s sure to be overpriced and not very good, I thought.
The man was waiting for me to finish eating, fidgeting all the while... on the other hand, the noodles tasted terrible and they were barely even warm, and to top it all off, they had gotten so mushy they were falling apart... I had a hard time getting them down. Thinking it might brighten my mood to check and see where my hotel was, I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out the map. As I withdrew my hand, I heard something fall to the floor with a clonk.
An icy chill ran through me, piercing right to the bottom of my heart.
Lying on the floor was a black, egg-shaped stone just like the ones I had seen at that creepy shrine.
No way, it can’t be one of those, it’s just a coincidence. I tried to believe this, but I couldn’t. I tried to tell myself that the sight of those stones had frightened me so much that I blanked out for a second and put one in my pocket without remembering. But I didn’t believe this either. If I had done something like that, I would have feared for my sanity, of course, but that would have been a lot better than what I was feeling now.
I stared at the stone for a while in a kind of trance, then decided to forget the whole thing and leave it where it was, there on the floor of this nasty shop. Stop following me, I thought. Please.
The cool, collected part of my mind kept telling me there was no way a stone could have just walked into my pocket; it had probably just slipped in earlier, while I was eating my lunch outside. Either way, I decided not to think too deeply about it.
I wanted to get to the hotel as soon as possible; I wanted to be in a room of my own. I yearned to do ordinary things in an ordinary way, to watch TV, wash my hair, have some tea. The description of the hotel said it had a bath fed by hot springs. Yes, I would go stretch out in the hot water...
The man had started sweeping the shop, so I stood up, leaving the rest of my udon uneaten. The last thing I saw as I walked out was the man’s broom sending the stone skittering over toward one of the walls.
2
The Hotel
The lights were already out at the front desk. The carpet in the lobby looked a bit grubby and smelled like mold. But I was used to staying in places like this, so it didn’t bother me. I was just thrilled to have arrived.
I rang the bell several times, and eventually a woman emerged from the room behind the
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