I don't really remember what we'd been talking about, but I know that my brother said to me, “See, the problem with you is that you aren't bothered enough by what you might call the dirt of life.”

As I recall, I'd been stating rather insistently that when I was an adult I was either going to be a businesswoman or else marry into some fabulously wealthy family, one or the other, that was absolutely definite, and if they wanted to know why, the reason was that our aunt Reiko—who'd married a businessman from a fabulously wealthy family—had looked simply gorgeous in her black dress, and because her genuine pearl necklace had been so splendid, and I was sure that if I could spend that kind of money on myself I'd look just as elegant as her.

My brother continued.

“Listen kiddo, by the time you grow up you'll have collected a whole lot of this ‘dirt of life’ stuff, right, you won't know where it's coming from but it'll pile up, and clothes and pearls won't look as beautiful to you as they do now—that's for sure. The problem is that dirt, see? You can't ever settle down in one place, you've got to live like you're always, always staring way off into the distance.”

“Then how come you spend all your time at home?” I asked.

“You really do a great job of making things difficult, seeing as you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about the body. Besides, you and I are still just kids, that's why we're still at home. Soon we'll be able to travel as far as we want to.” Yoshihiro grinned.

And then Mari spoke, sounding dreamy. “Yeah, but I sure would love to marry someone rich . . .”

“God, the two of you just don't listen, do you?” My brother smiled peevishly.

“I mean I sort of understand what you're saying,” Mari continued, “but I still think I'd rather just marry into some rich family. After all, I don't really like to travel around too much, and I've got lots of friends I don't want to leave.”

Mari was three years older than me, and she already looked quite grown up. She could express what she was thinking very clearly, and she never hesitated at all when she spoke. “I just want to fall passionately in love with someone.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” my brother said.

“Well, it's not likely that I'll end up leading a life that different from the one I'm leading now, is it? So there's nothing for me to do but fall passionately in love. Besides, I just love the idea of having everything fall to pieces. In the end you give in and slink off to get married to someone more appropriate. After all, these passionate love affairs always end badly,” Mari said.

“I know what you mean,” I said.

“You're a very strange young woman,” my brother said.