After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

dohta
can only be born through it. And to create a 
dohta
, the 
proper maza
must be there.” 
“That’s your opinion, Tengo.” 
Tengo shook his head. “I wouldn’t call it an opinion. As I listened to you 
summarize the plot, I just thought that must be the way it is.” 
As he rewrote the novel, and afterward, Tengo had pondered the meaning of the 
maza
and the 
dohta
, but he was never quite able to grasp the overall picture. But now, 
as he talked with Komatsu, the pieces gradually fell into place. Though he still had 
questions: Why did an air chrysalis materialize above his father’s bed in the hospital? 
And why was Aomame, as a young girl, inside? 
“It’s a fascinating system,” Komatsu said. “But isn’t it a problem for the 
maza
to 
be separated from the 
dohta
?” 
“Without the 
dohta
, it’s hard to see the 
maza
as a complete entity. As we saw with 
Fuka-Eri, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what that means, but there is something 
missing—like a person who has lost his shadow. What the 
dohta
is like without the 
maza
, I have no idea. Probably they’re both incomplete, because, ultimately, the 
dohta
is nothing more than an alter ego. But in Fuka-Eri’s case, even without the 
maza
by her side, the 
dohta
may have been able to fulfill her role as a kind of 
medium.” 
Komatsu’s lips were stretched in a tight line for a while, then turned up slightly. 
“Are you thinking that everything in 
Air Chrysalis
really took place?” 
“I’m not saying that. I’m just making an assumption—hypothesizing that it’s all 
real, and going from there.” 
“All right,” Komatsu said. “So even if Fuka-Eri’s alter ego goes far away from her 
body, she can still function as a medium.” 
“Which explains why Sakigake isn’t forcing her to return, even if they know her 
whereabouts. Because in her case, even if the 
maza
isn’t nearby, the 
dohta
can still 
fulfill her duties. Maybe their connection is that strong, even if they’re far apart.” 
“Okay …” 
Tengo continued, “I imagine that they have multiple 
dohtas
. The Little People 
must use the chance to create many air chrysalises. They would be anxious if all they 
had was one Perceiver. Or the number of 
dohta
s who can function correctly might be 
limited. Maybe there is one powerful, main 
dohta
, and several weaker auxiliary 
dohta
s, and they function collectively.” 
“So the 
dohta
that Fuka-Eri left behind was the main 
dohta
, the one who functions 
properly?” 
“That seems possible. Throughout everything that has happened, Fuka-Eri has 
always been at the center, like the eye of a hurricane.” 
Komatsu narrowed his eyes and folded his hands together on the table. When he 
wanted to, he could really focus on an issue. 

---

693
“You know, Tengo, I was thinking about this. Couldn’t you hypothesize that the 
Fuka-Eri we met is actually the 
dohta
and what was left behind at Sakigake was the 
maza
?” 
This came as a bit of a shock. The idea had never occurred to Tengo. For him, 
Fuka-Eri was an actual person. But put it that way, and it started to sound possible. I 
have no 
periods
. So there’s no chance I’ll get 
pregnant
. Fuka-Eri had announced this, 
after they had had intercourse that night. If she was nothing more than an alter ego, 
her inability to get pregnant would make sense. An alter ego can’t reproduce itself—
only the 
maza
can do it. Still, Tengo couldn’t accept that hypothesis—that it was 
possible he had had intercourse with her alter ego, not the real Fuka-Eri. 
“Fuka-Eri has a distinct personality. And her own code of conduct. I sort of doubt 
an alter ego could have those.” 
“Exactly,” Komatsu agreed. “If she has nothing else, Fuka-Eri does have her own 
distinct personality and code of conduct. I would have to agree with you on that one.” 
Still, Fuka-Eri was hiding a secret, a critical code hidden away inside this lovely 
girl, a code he had to crack. Tengo sensed this. Which one was the real person and 
which one the alter ego? Or was the whole notion of classifying into “real” and “alter 
ego” a mistake? Maybe Fuka-Eri was able, depending on the situation, to manipulate 
both her real self and her alter ego? 
“There are several things I still don’t understand,” Komatsu said, resting his hands 
on the table and staring at them. For a middle-aged man, his fingers were long and 
slender. 
“The voice has stopped speaking, the water in the well has dried up, the prophet 
has died. What will happen to the 
dohta
after that? She won’t follow him in death like 
widows do in India.” 
“When there’s no more Receiver, there’s no need for a Perceiver.” 
“If we take your hypothesis a step further, that is,” Komatsu said. “Did Fuka-Eri 
know that would be the result when she wrote