After a time she reached a hand down and helped him. He took off his pants, then pulled the skirt down to the floor.
— Say something, he said.
— What do you want me to say?
He pulled her underwear down to her knees.
— I don’t know, anything.
The brim of her hat obscured her head, so he removed it. Underneath, her hair was plastered against her scalp.
He started to push against her. She was so much shorter than him. He had to bend his knees and push her against the toilet. He reached around her front and grabbed one of her breasts.
— I can’t even get it in there, he said. You're too small. Why don’t you suck my dick instead? Even though it’s been in your ass...
She turned and knelt before him. She took her hat from his hand, placed it on her head, then eased his penis into her mouth. He felt the dull rhythm of her tongue against its underside. After a while he came in her mouth. She drew back, tore off some toilet paper from the dispenser and wiped him off. He leaned against the wall.
— Shit... I didn’t think such a quiet girl would do this. I mean that in a good way, you understand.
She pulled up her underwear and put on her skirt. He was about to pull his pants up when she embraced him. She held her arms tightly around his waist and pressed her face to his chest. He felt a slight dampness against his skin, but cradled in his arms Hidemi’s body, so much smaller than his, was soft and warm.
— I have to go, he said, and pulled away from her.
•
He came back and found her two days later. It was the same time of day. An old man sat next to her on the bench. In front of them, ducks drifted on the pond.
— Can’t believe I found you, he said. I was thinking about you all day yesterday. I’ve been working on my story and I was wondering what you’d think of it.
— Oh?
— Yeah, I think I’m near the end, but I’m having trouble with the descriptions... what have you been doing?
— Nothing, really.
The dog he’d seen before was back. It was wearing a collar, but he couldn't see its owner anywhere.
— We should do something some time. Maybe we could go to a movie some time. Even though there’s nothing good on any more. It’s all just the same bullshit.
— I don’t like going to movies.
— Yeah, me either.
The old man got up and walked off. He sat down in his place.
— There’s only maples in this park, he said after a while. It’s spring soon... we could go see the cherry trees somewhere else.
— I don’t like cherry trees, Hidemi said. I’m afraid of them.
He asked her why, but she wouldn’t explain.
— We should go out though, he said.
She got up and walked towards the pond. On the other side, the dog’s ears pricked up. He followed her around the pond, found a stick and tossed it to the dog. Hidemi walked over and picked the dog up. Its head and tail drooped over the sides of her arms. It struggled, but her short arms held it to her chest.
— You think maybe it belongs to that old man? Check the collar.
Hidemi frowned.
— I want to kill it, she said, and walked off in the direction of the toilets. He walked behind her and reached a hand around her waist.
He followed her into a stall in the women’s room. She handed him the dog, then unbuttoned her pants. She slipped them off, removed her underwear and lifted the toilet seat. The dog cried as she took it from his arms. Taking hold of its legs, she tied them together with her underwear. Then she threw it in the toilet.
It thrashed and whined. She slammed the seat down on its head and pressed her foot to its throat. He saw it take her toes into its mouth but she held down. The dog’s head disappeared into the toilet. Only its hind-legs still ensnared in her dark blue underwear were visible as their nails scrabbled against the smooth white curve of the bowl.
He worried about how present he was. He felt the need to assert himself, but the light pressure of Hidemi’s hand on his wrist, her fingers
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