After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

Am I 
supposed to ring the bell?
she asked herself. 
Or was this some clever trap? Maybe Bobblehead was hiding behind the door, like 
an evil dwarf in a dark forest, an ominous smile on his face as he waited. 
He 
deliberately revealed himself on top of that slide to lure me over here and take me 
captive. Fully aware that I’m searching for Tengo, he’s using that as bait. A low-
down, cunning man who knows exactly what my weak point is. That’s the only way he 
could ever get me to open my door from the inside
. 
She checked that no one else was around and pulled the pistol out of her jeans. She 
flicked off the safety and stuffed the pistol into the pocket of her down jacket so she 
could get to it easily. She gripped the pistol in her right hand, finger on the trigger, 
and with her left hand pressed the doorbell. 
The doorbell rang inside the apartment. A leisurely chime, out of step with her 
racing heart. She gripped the pistol tight, waiting for the door to open. But it didn’t. 
And there didn’t seem to be anyone peering out at her through the peephole. She 
waited a moment, then rang the bell again. The bell was loud enough to get all the 
people in Suginami Ward to raise their heads and prick up their ears. Aomame’s right 
hand on the pistol grip started to sweat a little. But there was no response. 
Better leave
, she decided. 
The Kawana who lives in 303, whoever he is, isn’t at 
home. And that ominous Bobblehead is still lurking somewhere in this building. Too 
dangerous to stay any longer
. She rushed down the stairs, shooting a glance at the 
mailbox as she passed, and left the building. Head down, she hurried under the yellow 
light and headed toward the street. She glanced back to make sure no one was 
following her. 
There were lots of things she needed to think about, and an equal number of 
decisions she had to make. She felt in her pocket and reset the safety on the pistol. 
Then, away from any possible prying eyes, she shoved the pistol in the back of her 
jeans. 
I can’t get my expectations or hopes up too high
, she told herself. 
The Kawana 
who lived there might be Tengo. And then again he might not. Once you get your 
hopes up, your mind starts acting on its own. And when your hopes are dashed you 
get disappointed, and disappointment leads to a feeling of helplessness. You get 
careless and let your guard down. And right now
, she thought, 
that’s the last thing I 
can afford
. 
I have no idea how much Bobblehead knows. But the reality is that he’s getting 
close to me. Almost close enough to reach out and touch. I need to pull myself 
together and stay alert. I’m dealing with someone who is totally dangerous. The
tiniest mistake could be fatal. First of all, I have to stay away from that old apartment 
building. He’s hiding in there, scheming how to capture me—like a poisonous, blood-
sucking spider who has spun a web in the darkness
. 
By the time she got back to her apartment Aomame’s mind was made up. There 
was but one path she could follow. 
This time she dialed Tamaru’s entire number. She let it ring twelve times, then hung 
up. She took off her cap and coat, returned the pistol to the drawer, then gulped down 
two glasses of water. She filled the kettle and boiled water for tea. She peeked 

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715
through a gap in the curtain at the park across the street, to make sure no one was 
there. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror and brushed her hair. Even after that 
her fingers didn’t work right. The tension remained. She was pouring hot water in the 
teapot when the phone rang. It was Tamaru, of course. 
“I just saw Bobblehead,” she told him. 
Silence. “By