After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

Air Chrysalis
?” 
“From the blind goat.” 
“Good answer. What are your friends at school saying about your winning the 
prize?” 
“I don’t go to school.” 
“Why don’t you go to school?” 

---

184
No answer. 
“Do you plan to keep writing fiction?” 
Silence again. 
Tengo drank the last of his coffee and returned the cup to the saucer. From the 
speakers recessed in the café’s ceiling, a string performance of soundtrack music from 
The Sound of Music
played at low volume. 
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens … 
“Are my answers bad,” Fuka-Eri asked. 
“Not at all,” Tengo said. “Not at all. They’re fine.” 
“Good,” Fuka-Eri said. 
Tengo meant it. Even though she could not speak more than a sentence at a time 
and some punctuation marks were missing, her answers were, in a sense, perfect. The 
best thing was her instant response to every question. Also good was the way she 
looked directly into the eyes of the questioner without blinking. This proved that her 
answers were honest and their shortness was not meant as a put-down. Another bonus 
was that no one was likely to be able to grasp her precise meaning. That was the main 
thing that Tengo was hoping for—that she should give an impression of sincerity even 
as she mystified her listeners. 
“Your favorite novel is …?” 
“
The Tale of the Heike
.” 
Tengo was astounded. To think that a thirteenth-century samurai war chronicle 
should be her favorite “novel”! What a great answer! 
“What do you like about 
The Tale of the Heike
?” 
“Everything.” 
“How about another favorite?” 
“
Tales of Times Now Past
.” 
“But that’s even older! Don’t you read any new literature?” 
Fuka-Eri gave it a moment of thought before saying, “ ‘Sansho the Bailiff.’ ” 
Wonderful! Ogai Mori must have written that one around 1915. This was what she 
thought of as “new literature.” 
“Do you have any hobbies?” 
“Listening to music.” 
“What kind of music?” 
“I like Bach.” 
“Anything in particular?” 
“BWV 846 to 893.” 
Tengo mulled that one over. “
The Well-Tempered Clavier
, Books I and II.” 
“Yes.” 
“Why did you answer with the BWV numbers?” 
“They’re easier to remember.” 
The Well-Tempered Clavier
was truly heavenly music for mathematicians. It was 
composed of prelude and fugue pairs in major and minor keys using all twelve tones 
of the scale, twenty-four pieces per book, forty-eight pieces in all, comprising a 
perfect cycle. 
“How about other works?” Tengo asked. 
“BWV 244.” 

---

185
Tengo could not immediately recall which work of Bach’s had a BWV number of 
244. 
Fuka-Eri began to sing. 
Buß’ und Reu’ 
Buß’ und Reu’ 
Knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei 
Buß’ und Reu’ 
Buß’ und Reu’ 
Knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei 
Knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei 
Buß’ und Reu’ Buß’ und Reu’ 
Knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei 
Buß’ und Reu’ 
Knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei 
Daß die Tropfen meiner Zähren 
Angenehme Spezerei 
Treuer Jesu, dir gebären. 
Tengo was momentarily dumbstruck. Her singing was not exactly on key, but her 
German pronunciation was amazingly clear and precise. 
“ ‘St. Matthew Passion,’ ” Tengo said. “You know it by heart.” 
“No I don’t,” the girl said. 
Tengo wanted to say something, but the words would not come to him. All he 
could do was look down at his notes and move on to the next question. 
“Do you have a boyfriend?” 
Fuka-Eri shook her head. 
“Why not?” 
“I don’t want to get pregnant.” 
“It’s possible to have a boyfriend without getting pregnant.” 
Fuka-Eri said nothing but instead blinked several times. 
“Why don’t you want to get pregnant?” 
Fuka-Eri kept her mouth clamped shut. Tengo felt sorry for having asked such a 
stupid question. 
“Okay, let’s stop,” Tengo said, returning the list to his briefcase. “We don’t really 
know what they’re going to ask, and you’ll be fine answering them any way you like. 
You can do it.” 
“That’s good,” Fuka-Eri said with apparent relief. 
“I’m sure you think it’s a waste of time to prepare these answers.” 
Fuka-Eri gave a little shrug. 
“I agree with you. I’m not doing this because I want to. Mr. Komatsu asked me to 
do it.” 
Fuka-Eri nodded. 
“But,” Tengo said, “