After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

Air Chrysalis
taught 
you a lot about the writing of fiction. It should be a big help the next time you write 
your own work.” 
“If there is a next time,” Tengo said. 
A big grin crossed Komatsu’s face. “Don’t worry. You did your job. Now it’s my 
turn. You can go back to the bench and take it easy, just watch the game unfold.” 
The waitress arrived and poured cold water into their glasses. Tengo drank half of 
his before realizing that he had absolutely no desire for water. He asked Komatsu, 
“Was it Aristotle who said the human soul is composed of reason, will, and desire?” 
“No, that was Plato. Aristotle and Plato were as different as Mel Tormé and Bing 
Crosby. In any case, things were a lot simpler in the old days,” Komatsu said. 
“Wouldn’t it be fun to imagine reason, will, and desire engaged in a fierce debate 
around a table?” 
“I’ve got a pretty good idea who would lose that one.” 
“What I like about you,” Komatsu said, raising an index finger, “is your sense of 
humor.” 
This is not humor
, Tengo thought, but he kept it to himself. 
After leaving Komatsu, Tengo walked to Kinokuniya, bought several books, and 
started reading them over a beer in a nearby bar. This was the sort of moment in 
which he should have been able to relax most completely. 
On this particular night, though, he could not seem to concentrate on his books. 
The recurring image of his mother floated vaguely before his eyes and would not go 
away. She had lowered the straps of her white slip from her shoulders, revealing her 
well-shaped breasts, and was letting a man suck on them. The man was not his father. 
He was larger and more youthful, and had better features. The infant Tengo was 
asleep in his crib, eyes closed, his breathing regular. A look of ecstasy suffused his 
mother’s face while the man sucked on her breasts, a look very much like his older 
girlfriend’s when she was having an orgasm. 
Once, out of curiosity, Tengo had asked his girlfriend to try wearing a white slip 
for him. “Glad to,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll wear one next time if you’d like that. 

---

159
Do you have any other requests? I’ll do anything you want. Just ask. Don’t be 
embarrassed.” 
“Can you wear a white blouse, too? A very simple one.” 
She showed up the following week wearing a white blouse over a white slip. He 
took her blouse off, lowered the shoulder straps of the slip, and sucked on her breasts. 
He adopted the same position and angle as the man in his vision, and when he did this 
he felt a slight dizziness. His mind misted over, and he lost track of the order of 
things. In his lower body there was a heavy sensation that rapidly swelled, and no 
sooner was he aware of it than he shuddered with a violent ejaculation. 
“Tengo, what’s wrong? Did you come already?” she asked, astounded. 
He himself was not sure what had just happened, but then he realized that he had 
gotten semen on the lower part of her slip. 
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t planning to do that.” 
“Don’t apologize,” she said cheerily. “I can rinse it right off. It’s just the usual 
stuff. I’m glad it’s not soy sauce or red wine!” 
She took the slip off, scrubbed the semen-smeared part at the bathroom sink, and 
hung it over the shower rod to dry. 
“Was that too strong?” she asked with a gentle smile, rubbing Tengo’s belly with 
the palm of her hand. “You like white slips, huh, Tengo?” 
“Not exactly,” Tengo said, but he could not explain to her his real reason for 
having made the request. 
“Just let big sister know any time you’ve got a fantasy you want to play out, honey. 
I’ll go along with 
anything
. I just