I stepped away from the door and sat back down on the couch. My head had cleared. I stamped my feet on the wooden floor and slid my hands across the sandpapery beige wall. Everything felt extremely real. Like the deserted waiting room of a train station way out in the country, the room had a certain unnatural feeling about it, a certain oppressive air.

And then it happened. All of a sudden the door crashed open and Haru came bounding into the room.

I was so surprised I couldn't speak.

For just a moment, over the top of Haru's shoulders, I caught a glimpse of a tremendous expanse of heavy ash-colored gray, and heard a wild moaning, like the noise of some kind of storm. That scenery was any number of times more frightening for me than the fact that Haru had actually come.

“It's been a while,” Haru said.

She gave me a small smile, tightening her lips.

You had the feeling that smile would be sucked up by the room and by the frightening grayness outside almost before you knew it. It seemed like a terribly lonely smile.

“It's great that we're able to meet like this,” I said.

The words came out as smooth as oil.

“I'm glad I figured out that you wanted to see me. Because to tell the truth, I liked you a lot, Haru, you know? The days we spent together had this special feeling of tension—it was a lot of fun. And that's only because it was you. You mean a lot to me. And just being with you taught me so much. There were all these things that I wanted to talk to you about, but we never had the chance. I really regret that.”

I couldn't say that this was all the truth. It was like a confession. It was like shouting love at a boat as it glides off into the distance.

But Haru—thin as ever, still dressed in black—nodded.

“Me too,” she said. Then, “But take a look at this!”

She stood up. And as she did, a bit of her long hair brushed lightly across my hand. It was an amazingly swishy, ticklish feeling.

I focused on the sensation to make sure it was real.

It was then that she yanked the door open.

I stiffened, readying myself.

Even if she invites you to leave, you can't step outside.

Haru giggled, gently brushing aside my ungenerous impulses. “Boy, are you suspicious! It's okay, I'm just showing you. Here, watch this, I'll put my head out. Okay?”

Haru thrust her head back into that ash-gray world. And the instant she did so her hair began to flap and tangle with awesome energy, but without making any sound at all. She kept her head thrust back as she spoke.

“You remember that day when there was a huge storm like this and you and I were in his house alone? It felt just like it does here. You know, I made my way through this storm with my eyes shut, that's how I got here. I did that because I wanted to see you. I mean, I wouldn't have come for that man we were both so crazy about, you know, seriously. Because it's rough getting here, it really is rough.”