After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

moment I died
. Someone was strangling me. A man I had 
never seen before.” 
“Do you recall his face?” 
“Of course. I saw him many times in my dreams. If I ran across him on the street, I 
would recognize him right away.” 
“What would you do if you saw him in real life?” 
Kumi rubbed her nose, as if checking to see if it was still there. “I’ve thought about 
that too—what I would do if I ran across him on the street. Maybe I would run away. 
Or maybe I would follow him so he wouldn’t notice me. Unless I was actually put in 
that situation, I don’t know what I would do.” 
“If you followed him, what would you do then?” 
“I don’t know. But maybe that man holds some vital secret about me. And if I play 
my cards right, he might reveal it to me.” 
“What kind of secret?” 
“For instance, the reason why 
I’m here
.” 
“But that guy might kill you again.” 
“Maybe,” Kumi said, lips slightly pursed. “I know it’s dangerous. It might be 
better to just run away. But still the secret draws me in. Like when there’s a dark 
entrance and cats can’t help but peep in.” 
The cremation was over, and Tengo and Kumi, following tradition, picked up 
select bones from his father’s remains and placed them in a small urn. The urn was 
handed to Tengo. He had no idea what he should do with it, though he knew he 
couldn’t just abandon it. So he clutched the vase in his hands as he and Kumi took a 
taxi to the station. 
“I will take care of any remaining details,” Kumi told him in the cab. After a 
moment she added, “If you would like, I could see about interring the bones, too.” 
Tengo was startled. “You can do that?” 
“I don’t see why not,” Kumi said. “There are some funerals where not a single 
person from the family attends.” 
“That would be a big help,” Tengo said. And he handed her the urn, feeling a little 
guilty, but honestly relieved. 
I will probably never see these bones again
, he thought. 
All that is left will be memories, and eventually they, too, will vanish like dust
. 
“I’m from here, so I think I can take care of it. It’s better if you go back to Tokyo 
right away. We all like you a lot here, but this isn’t a place you should stay for long.” 
I’m leaving the cat town
, Tengo mused. 
“Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Tengo said. 

---

748
“Tengo, do you mind if I give you some advice? I know I have no right to do so.” 
“Of course.” 
“Your father may have had a secret that he took with him to the other side. And 
that seems to be causing you confusion. I think I can understand how you feel. But 
you shouldn’t peep anymore into that dark entrance. Leave that up to cats. If you keep 
doing so, you will never go anywhere. Better to think about the future.” 
“The hole has to be closed up,” Tengo said. 
“Exactly,” Kumi said. “The owl says the same thing. Do you remember the owl?” 
“Of course.”