After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

dohta
behind,” the 
man said. “That doesn’t mean anything to you, though, does it?” 
“ 
‘Dohta’
?” Aomame asked. 
“Something like a living shadow. Here another character becomes involved—an 
old friend of mine. A man I can trust. I put my daughter in his care. Then, not too long 
ago, yet another character became involved, someone you know very well by the 
name of Tengo Kawana. Sheer chance brought Tengo and my daughter together as a 
team.” 
Time seemed to come to a sudden halt. Aomame could find no words to speak. She 
went stiff from head to toe, waiting for time to begin to move once again. 
The man continued speaking. “Each happened to have qualities that augmented the 
other. What Tengo lacked, Eriko possessed, and what Eriko lacked, Tengo possessed. 
They joined forces to complete a single work. And the fruits of their collaboration 
turned out to have a great impact. That is to say, in the context of establishing an 
opposition to the Little People.” 
“They made a team?” 
“Not that the two have a romantic or physical relationship. So there is nothing for 
you to worry about—if that is what you have in mind. Eriko will never have a 
romantic relationship with anyone. She has transcended such things.” 
“What are the fruits of their collaboration, exactly?” 
“In order to explain that, I must bring up a second analogy. The two have, so to 
speak, invented an antibody to a virus. If we take the actions of the Little People to be 
a virus, Tengo and Eriko have created and spread the antibody to combat it. This is, of 
course, a one-sided analogy. From the Little People’s point of view, Tengo and Eriko 
are, conversely, the carriers of a virus. All things are arranged as mirrors set face-to-
face.” 
“Is this what you call the compensatory function?” 

---

409
“Exactly. In joining forces, the man you love and my daughter have succeeded in 
giving rise to such a function. Which is to say that, in this world, you and Tengo are 
literally in step with each other.” 
“But that is not simply a matter of chance, according to you. You say I was led into 
this world by some form of will. Is that it?” 
“That is it exactly. You came with a purpose, led by a form of will, to this world of 
1Q84. That you and Tengo have come to have a relationship here—in whatever form 
it might take—is by no means a product of chance.” 
“What kind of will, and what kind of purpose?” 
“It has not been given to me to explain that, sorry to say,” the man said. 
“Why are you unable to explain it?” 
“It is not that the meaning cannot be explained. But there are certain meanings that 
are lost forever the moment they are explained in words.” 
“All right, then, let me try another question,” Aomame said. “Why did 
I
have to be 
the one?” 
“You still don’t understand why, do you?” 
Aomame gave her head several strong shakes. “No, I don’t understand why. Not at 
all.” 
“It is very simple, actually. It is because you and Tengo were so powerfully drawn 
to each other.” 
Aomame maintained a long silence. She sensed a hint of perspiration oozing from the 
pores of her face. It felt as if her whole face were covered by a thin membrane 
invisible to the naked eye. 
“Drawn to each other,” she said. 
“Yes, to each other. Very powerfully” 
An emotion resembling anger welled up inside her as if from nowhere, 
accompanied by a vague sense of nausea. “I can’t believe that. He couldn’t possibly 
remember me.” 
“No, Tengo knows very well that you exist in this world, and he wants you. To this 
day, he has never once loved any woman other than you.” 
Aomame was momentarily at a loss for words, during which time the violent 
thunder continued at short intervals, and rain seemed to have finally begun to fall. 
Large raindrops began pelting the hotel room window, but the sound barely reached 
Aomame. 
The man said, “You can believe it or not as you wish. But you would do better to 
believe it because it is the unmistakable truth.” 
“You mean to say that he still remembers me even though twenty years have gone 
by since we last met? Even though we never really spoke to each other?” 
“In that empty classroom, you strongly gripped his hand. When you were ten years 
old. You had to summon up every bit of your courage to do it.” 
Aomame twisted her face out of shape. “How could 
you
possibly know such a 
thing?” 
The man did not answer her. “Tengo never forgot about that. And he has continued 
to think of you all this time. You would do well to believe it. I know many things. For 

---

410
example, I know that, even now, you think of Tengo when you masturbate. You 
picture him. I am right about that, aren’t I?” 
Aomame let her mouth fall open slightly, but she was at a total loss for words. All 
she did was take one shallow breath after another. 
The man went on, “It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a natural human function. 
Tengo does the same thing. He thinks of you at those times, even now.” 
“But 
how
could you possibly …?” 
“How could I possibly know such things? By listening closely. That is my job—to 
listen to the voices.” 
She wanted to laugh out loud, and, simultaneously, she wanted to cry. But she 
could do neither. She could only stay transfixed, somewhere between the two, 
inclining her center of gravity in neither direction, at a loss for words. 
“You need not be afraid,” the man said. 
“Afraid?” 
“You are afraid, just as the people of the Vatican were afraid to accept the 
Copernican theory. Not even they believed in the infallibility of the Ptolemaic theory. 
They were afraid of the new situation that would prevail if they accepted the 
Copernican theory. They were afraid of having to reorder their minds to accept it. 
Strictly speaking, the Catholic Church has still not publicly accepted the Copernican 
theory. You are like them. You are afraid of having to shed the armor with which you 
have long defended yourself.” 
Aomame covered her face with her hands and let out several convulsive sobs. This 
was not what she wanted to do, but she was unable to stop herself. She would have 
preferred to appear to be laughing, but that was out of the question. 
“You and Tengo were, so to speak, carried into this world on the same train,” the 
man said softly. “By teaming up with my daughter, Tengo took steps against the Little 
People, and you are trying to obliterate me for other reasons. In other words, each of 
you, in your own way, is doing something dangerous in a very dangerous place.” 
“And you are saying that some kind of 
will
wanted us to do these things?” 
“Perhaps.” 
“For what conceivable purpose?” No sooner had the question left her mouth than 
Aomame realized it was pointless. There was no hope she would ever receive a reply. 
“The most welcome resolution would be for the two of you to meet somewhere 
and leave this world hand in hand,” the man said, without answering her question. 
“But that would not be an easy thing to do.” 
“Not be an easy thing to do,” Aomame repeated his words unconsciously. 
“Not an easy thing to do, and, sad to say, that is putting it as mildly as possible. In 
fact, it is just about impossible. The adversary that you two are facing, whatever you 
care to call it, is a fierce power.” 
“So then—” Aomame said, her voice dry. She cleared her throat. By now she had 
overcome her confusion.