Chapters (43)
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Prologue
- PART I
- 1 The Ear Prostitute
- 2 Through the Darkened Glass
- 3 That Coffee-Scented Summer
- 4 Onion and Water
- 5 The Woman Who Fell in Love with a Voice
- 6 The Polite Giant
- 7 Yellow Butterflies
- 8 The Proposition
- 9 Atonement and Forgiveness
- 10 One of Those Days
- 11 The Katsuragi Hotel
- PART II
- 12 Under the Bright Lights
- 13 Nameless Season
- 14 Phone Calls
- 15 The Rolling Acorn
- 16 She Must Have Been a Cat in Her Previous Life
- 17 In That Tiny Red Phone Booth
- 18 It’s Not So Bad to Live in Tokyo
- 19 There Is No Smoke Without Fire
- 20 Smoked Beef Brisket
- 21 Something Like Christmas
- 22 The Persistent Ones
- 23 The Cat’s Paradise
- 24 White Curtains, Tiny Roses
- 25 Hunting the Giant
- 26 Mizuki Harada
- 27 The Water and the Sea
- 28 Like A Mild Tokyo Earthquake
- 29 Water Women
- 30 Welcome to Singapore
- 31 I Hope You’re Happy
- 32 An Empty Tin of Mints
- PART III
- 33 Tracing Water
- 34 What You Didn’t Know
- 35 Sleeping Lotus
- 36 Sink or Swim
- Epilogue
Shoji settled himself on the porch, leaning against one of the wooden pillars. He closed his eyes. The clear notes blended with the whisper of the wind caressing the leaves. He felt himself becoming absorbed into her alluring world.
When Shoji opened his eyes, he saw the cloudless sky. So calm, so peaceful. He lifted his right arm and squinted, staring at the sunrays that came between his fingers. The summer holidays were the best time of the year. Too bad he had to return to school next week.
The music was still playing when Shoji noticed a stray red balloon. It flew higher and higher, disappearing into the blue.