After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

I’ve finally made it to the starting line
, Tengo thought. Not that any decisive facts 
had come to light, but from the things his father had said, and his father’s attitude, he 
had begun to gain some vague understanding of his own origins. That “image” that 
had long tormented and confused him was no meaningless hallucination. How much it 
reflected actuality, he could not say with any precision, but it was the single piece of 
information left him by his mother, and, for better or worse, it comprised the 
foundation of his life. With that much now clear, Tengo was able to feel that he had 
lowered a great burden from his back. 
And, having set it down once and for all, he realized what a heavy load he had 
been carrying. 
A strangely quiet and peaceful two weeks went by, like a calm sea. He taught four 
days a week at the cram school during summer vacation, and allocated the rest of his 
time to writing his novel. No one contacted him. Tengo knew nothing about how the 
Fuka-Eri disappearance case was progressing or whether 
Air Chrysalis
was still 
selling. Nor did he want to know. Let the world move along as it pleased. If it had any 
business with him, it would be sure to tell him. 
August ended, and September came. As he made his morning coffee, Tengo found 
himself silently wishing that this peaceful time could go on forever. If he said it aloud, 
some keen-eared demon somewhere might overhear him. And so he kept his wish for 
continued tranquility to himself. But things never go the way you want them to, and 
this was no exception. The world seemed to have a better sense of how you wanted 
things 
not
to go. 
The phone rang just after ten o’clock that morning. He let it ring seven times, gave up, 
reached out, and lifted the receiver. 

---

375
“Can I come over now,” a subdued voice asked. As far as Tengo knew, there was 
only one person in the world who could ask questions without a question mark like 
that. In the background Tengo could hear some kind of announcement and the sound 
of car exhausts. 
“Where are you now?” Tengo asked. 
“At the front door of the Marusho.” 
His apartment was less than two hundred yards from that supermarket. She was 
calling from the pay phone out front. 
Tengo instinctively glanced around his apartment. “Don’t you think it’s risky? 
Somebody might be watching my apartment. And you’re supposed to be 
‘whereabouts unknown.’ ” 
“Somebody might be watching your apartment,” she asked, parroting his words. 
“Right,” Tengo said. “All kinds of weird things have been going on around me, 
probably having to do with 
Air Chrysalis
.” 
“ ’Cause people are mad.” 
“Probably. They’re mad at you, and I think they’re a little mad at me, too. Because 
I rewrote 
Air Chrysalis
.” 
“I don’t care,” Fuka-Eri said. 
“You don’t care.” Now Tengo was parroting her words. The habit was catching. 
“About what?” 
“Your apartment being watched. If it is.” 
He was momentarily at a loss for words. “Well, maybe I 
do
care,” he said at last. 
“We should be together,” Fuka-Eri said. “Join forces.” 
“Sonny and Cher,” Tengo said. “The strongest male/female duo.” 
“The strongest what?” 
“Never mind. My own little joke.” 
“I’m coming over.” 
Tengo was about to say something when he heard the connection cut. Everybody 
was hanging up on him. Like chopping down a rope bridge. 
Fuka-Eri showed up ten minutes later with a plastic supermarket bag in each arm. She 
wore a blue-striped long-sleeve shirt and slim jeans. The shirt was a men’s shirt, 
unironed, straight from the clothesline. A canvas bag hung from one shoulder. She 
wore a pair of oversized sunglasses to hide her face, but it didn’t look like an effective 
disguise. If anything, it would attract attention. 
“I thought we should have lots of food,” Fuka-Eri said, transferring the contents of 
the plastic bags to the refrigerator. Most of what she had bought was ready-made food 
that only needed heating in a microwave oven. There were also crackers and cheese, 
apples, tomatoes, and some canned goods. 
“Where’s the microwave?” she asked, looking around the kitchen. 
“I don’t have one,” Tengo said. 
Fuka-Eri wrinkled her brow in thought, but had nothing to say. She seemed to have 
trouble imagining a world without a microwave oven. 
“I want you to put me up,” she said, as if conveying an objective fact. 
“How long?” Tengo asked. 

---

376
Fuka-Eri shook her head. This meant she didn’t know. 
“What happened to your hiding place?” 
“I don’t want to be alone when something happens.” 
“You think something is going to happen?” 
Fuka-Eri did not reply. 
“I don’t mean to keep repeating myself, but this is not a safe place,” Tengo said. 
“Some kind of people seem to be keeping an eye on me. I don’t know who they are 
yet, but …” 
“There is no such thing as a safe place,” Fuka-Eri said, narrowing her eyes 
meaningfully and tugging on an earlobe. Tengo could not tell what this body language 
was supposed to mean. Probably nothing. 
“So it doesn’t matter where you are,” Tengo said. 
“There is no such thing as a safe place,” Fuka-Eri repeated. 
“You may be right,” Tengo said with resignation. “After a certain point, there’s no 
difference in the level of danger. In any case, I have to go to work soon.” 
“To the cram school.” 
“Right.” 
“I’ll stay here,” Fuka-Eri said. 
“You’ll stay here,” Tengo echoed her. “You should. Just don’t go outside, and 
don’t answer if anybody knocks. Don’t answer the phone if it rings.” 
Fuka-Eri nodded silently. 
“So, anyhow, what’s happening with Professor Ebisuno?” 
“They searched Sakigake yesterday” 
“You mean, the police searched the Sakigake compound looking for you?” Tengo 
asked, surprised. 
“You aren’t reading the papers.” 
“I’m not reading the papers,” Tengo echoed. “I just haven’t felt like it lately. So I 
don’t know what’s happening. But I would think the Sakigake people would be very 
upset by that.” 
Fuka-Eri nodded. 
Tengo released a deep sigh. “They must be even angrier than before, like hornets 
having their nest poked.” 
Fuka-Eri narrowed her eyes and went into a short silence. She was probably 
imagining a swarm of furious hornets pouring out of their nest. 
“Probably,” Fuka-Eri said in a tiny voice. 
“So, did they find out anything about your parents?” 
Fuka-Eri shook her head. They still knew nothing about them. 
“In any case, the organization is angry,” Tengo said. “And if the police find out 
that your disappearance was an act, they’ll be mad at you too. And mad at me for 
covering up for you even though I know the truth.” 
“Which is precisely why we have to join forces,” Fuka-Eri said. 
“Did you just say, ‘Which is precisely’?” 
Fuka-Eri nodded. “Did I say it wrong?” she asked. 
Tengo shook his head. “Not at all. The words sounded fresh, that’s all.” 
“If it’s a bother for you, I can go somewhere else,” Fuka-Eri said. 

---

377
“I don’t mind if you stay here,” Tengo said, resigned. “I’m sure you don’t have 
anyplace else in mind, right?” 
Fuka-Eri answered with a curt nod. 
Tengo took some cold barley tea from the refrigerator and drank it. “Angry hornets 
would be too much for me, but I’m sure I can manage to look after you.” 
Fuka-Eri looked hard at Tengo for a few moments. Then she said, “You look 
different.” 
“What do you mean?” 
Fuka-Eri twisted her lips into a strange angle and then returned them to normal. 
“Can’t explain.” 
“No need to explain,” Tengo said.