There was nothing I could do but sit quietly and listen. It's strange, but for some reason I had the feeling that this young woman was quite a lot older than me. And it was eerie how all the things she was saying hit me so hard, how her words pierced straight through to my heart. She was entirely serious, but she didn't sound like she was angry at me. How can I explain it? She was motormouthing, and she sounded a little desperate, and at the same time a bit irritated.

“But . . . why?” I muttered.

“I doubt that we'll meet again after this. We probably only ran into each other now because you've come so near to where I am,” she said. “And I'm not just suggesting that you get a job, you know. That's not the point. You see, your spirit and your psyche are both so drained, you're terribly exhausted. It's not just you, there are lots and lots of people like you. But I have this feeling that I'm the reason you're so exhausted, that you're . . . it really does seem that way. I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry. You know who I am, don't you?”

She was still staring straight into my eyes when she asked this question. Her tone made it sound as if she were casting a spell.

“Why, you're . . .”

I'd actually said this. My voice sounded peculiarly loud—I opened my eyes with a start. There was no one there in front of me, nothing but the cold mist that shrouded the park, blurring the section of the world that I could see as it drifted and eddied.

Had it been a dream?

I stood up shakily and walked from the park, still not quite sure what was what. For a moment I actually considered going to the train station, but then I've never been one of these meek fools who goes along with whatever people say—actually, I tend to be rather contrary. Even supposing it had been a dream, the simple fact that I'd had such a dream was extremely irritating; and so in the end, I just went back to my apartment and went to bed.

I didn't care anymore.

*    *    *

Things were awful when I woke up.

I was starving, my entire body ached, my throat was parched—I felt like I'd turned into a mummy. My mind was clear, which was what you'd expect, but my body felt so heavy and drained that I couldn't even make myself get out of bed. On top of everything, it was raining.

The clock said it was noon, but even so the room was sunk in darkness, flooded with the thick rush of the falling rain. I didn't feel like putting on any music, so I just kept lying there listening to the rain, and before too long I found myself thinking of Shiori in that silent room of hers. Shiori unable to fall asleep anywhere that was soft and comfortable, swinging in that hammock, asleep.