Tell me about this piece:Waking up in the morning is always interesting. It reminds me of when I'm playing hide-and-seek--I'm hidden crouching in the pitch-dark closet and suddenly someone throws open the sliding door, sunlight pouring in as they shout, "Found you!"--that dazzling glare followed by an awkward pause, and then, my heart pounding as I adjust the front of my shirt and emerge from the closet, I'm slightly self-conscious and then suddenly irritated and annoyed--it feels similar, but no, not quite like that, somehow even more unbearable. Sort of like opening a box, only to find another box inside, so you open that smaller box and again there's another box inside, and you open it, and one after another there are smaller boxes inside each other, so you keep opening them, seven or eight of them, until finally what's left is a tiny box the size of a small die, so you gently pry it open to find... nothing, it's empty--more like that feeling. Anyway, it's a lie when they say your eyes just blink awake. Bleary and cloudy, then as the starch gradually settles to the bottom and the skim rises to the top, at last my eyes wearily open. Mornings seem forced to me. So much sadness rises up, I can't bear it. I hate it, I really do. I'm an awful sight in the morning. My legs feel so exhausted that, already, I don't want to do a thing. I wonder if it's because I don't sleep well. It's a lie when they say you feel healthy in the morning. Mornings are gray. Always the same. Absolutely empty. Lying in bed each morning, I'm always so pessimistic. It's awful, really. All kinds of terrible regrets converge at once in my mind, and my heart stops up as I writhe in agony. Mornings are torture. "Father," I tried calling out softly. Feeling strangely embarrassed and happy, I got up and hastily folded up my bedding. As I hoisted it, I was startled to hear myself exclaim, Alley-oop! I have never thought that I was the kind of girl who would utter such an unrefined expression as "Alleyoop." It seems like the kind of thing an old lady would shout--"Alley-oop!" It's disgusting. Why would I have said such a thing? It's as if there were an old lady somewhere inside of me, and it makes me sick. I'll have to be careful from now on. I became deeply depressed then, like the time I was repelled by a stranger's uncouth gait only to realize I was walking in exactly the same manner. I never have any confidence in the mornings. I sat in front of the dressing mirror in my nightclothes. Peering at myself in the mirror without glasses or contacts, my face looked sort of blurry and moist. Glasses were the thing I hated most about my face, but there are certain good things about glasses that other people might not understand. I liked to take my glasses off and look out into the distance. Everything goes hazy, as in a dream, or like a zoetrope--it's wonderful. I can't see anything that's dirty. Only big things--vivid intense colors and light are all that enters my vision. I also liked to take my glasses off and look at people. You can't do the same with contacts. The faces around me, all of them, seem kind and pretty and smiling. What's more, when glasses are off, you don't ever think about arguing with anyone at all, nor do I feel the need to make snide remarks. All I do is just blankly stare in silence. During those moments, thinking that I must look like a nice young miss to everyone else, I don't worry about the gawking, I just want to bask in their attention, and I feel really and truly mellow. But actually glasses are the worst. Any sense of your face disappears when you put them on. Glasses obstruct whatever emotions that might appear on your face--passion, grace, fury, weakness, innocence, sorrow. And it's curious how it becomes impossible to try to communicate with your eyes. Glasses are like a ghost. The reason I hate glasses so much is because I think the beauty of your eyes is the best thing about people. Even if they can't see your nose or if your mouth is hidden, I think that all you need are eyes--the kind of eyes that will inspire others, when they are looking into them, to live more beautifully. My eyes are just big saucers, nothing more to them. When I look closely at them in the mirror, it's disappointing. Even my mother says I have unremarkable eyes. You might say that there is no light in them. They're like lumps of charcoal--it's that unfortunate. See what I mean? It's dreadful. When I see them in the mirror--every time--I think to myself, I wish I had nice eyes that sparkled softly. Eyes like a deep blue lake, or eyes that look as if they reflect the big sky that you might look up at while lying in a lush green meadow, with clouds floating by every so often. You might even see the shadow of birds in them. I hope I meet lots of people with lovely eyes. Today the weather is nice, I reminded myself, and my mood seemed to lighten a bit. In fact, I felt happy. As I went out to the balcony I noticed strawberry flowers. The reality of Sabine's death felt strange to me. A close friend of mine. That she had died--passed away--seemed impossible to understand. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I missed my family, or people I used to be friends with, or people I hadn't seen in a long time. I cannot stand mornings because it seems I am always bleakly reminded of long-gone times, and people I used to know, and their presences feel eerily close, like the scent of pickled radish that you just can't get rid of. Sitting down on the balcony, I gazed at the eye-drenching green of the leaves and had a pathetic urge to sit directly on the ground. I felt like trying to cry. I held my breath for a good while, in order to make my eyes bloodshot, and I thought I might be able to squeeze out a tear, but it was no good. Maybe I've turned into an impassive girl. I gave up and started cleaning the apartment. While I cleaned, I happened to be humming a song from the movie, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". I felt like I ought to look around. How amusing that I, who normally was wild about Eastern songs, would unconsciously break out into a song from "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." If I go on humming songs as I'm cleaning, there'll be no hope left for me. At this rate, I fear what crude things I might utter in my sleep. Still, there was something odd about it, and I rested the broom in my hand. I changed into the underclothes I had finished sewing yesterday. I had embroidered little white roses on the bodice. You couldn't see this embroidery when I put on the rest of my clothes. No one knew it was there. How brilliant. My brother, who was very busy with work, had gone out early this morning. Ever since I was little, my brother had devoted himself to other people, so I was used to it by now, but it really was amazing how he was constantly in motion. He impressed me. While the miso soup was warming up, I sat in the doorway of the kitchen and stared idly at the copse of trees out front. At that moment, I had the odd sensation that I had been staring like this for a very long time, and would be staring from now on, just like this, sitting here in the doorway to the kitchen, in the same pose, thinking the same thing, looking at the trees out front. It felt as if the past, the present, and the future had collapsed into one single instant. Such things happen to me from time to time. I'd be sitting there, talking to someone. My gaze would wander to a corner of the table and affix itself there, unmoving. Only my mouth would move. At times like these, a strange hallucination always occurs. I would feel absolutely certain that, at some point before, under these very conditions, I've had the same conversation while, in fact, staring at the corner of the table and that what was happening now would continue to go on indefinitely, in exactly the same manner. Whenever I walk along a path, no matter how remote it is, I always feel that I have undoubtedly been on the same path before. Whenever I walk along and pluck soybean leaves at the path's edge, I always think that I have surely been on this same path and plucked these leaves before. And I believe that, from then on, over and over again, I will walk along this path, and pull soybean leaves from the exact same spots. Again, these kinds of things happen to me. Sometimes, I'd be soaking in the bath and suddenly glimpse my hand. Then, I would become convinced that however many years from now, while soaking in the bath, I will be transported to this moment when a random glance at my hand turned into a stare, and I will remember how it made me feel. These thoughts always make me rather gloomy. And once when I was putting rice into a serving bowl, I was struck by--well, it would be an exaggeration to call it inspiration but I felt something charging within my body--zipping through me like, how shall I say, I would almost call it a philosophical glimpse--and I gave myself over to it, then my head and my chest became transparent all the way through as a sense of my own existence floated down and settled over me and, silently, without making a sound, as pliant as tokoroten before you make them into noodles, I felt at the mercy of these waves, a light and beautiful feeling that I would be able to live on this way. Now, this wasn't a philosophical commotion. But it was frightening, rather, this premonition of living like a kleptomaniac cat, stealthily and quietly, and couldn't lead to any good. To go on like that for any length of time, it seems, you would end up like you're possessed. Like Jesus Christ. But the idea of a female Jesus Christ seems appalling. Ultimately though--since I'm just idle most of the time, and I really don't have any troubles to worry about--I wonder if I am just desensitized to the hundreds if not thousands of things I see and hear everyday, and in my bewilderment, those things end up assailing me like floating ghosts, one after another. I sat down to eat breakfast by myself in the dining room. I had cucumbers for the first time this year. Summer seems to come from cucumber's greenness. The green of a cucumber has a sadness like an empty heart, an aching, ticklish sadness. When I'm eating alone in the dining room, I get this wild urge to travel. I want to get on a train. I opened the newspaper. There was a photo of that actor Leonardo DiCaprio. I wondered if he was a good guy. I decided I didn't like his face. Something about his forehead. My favorite things in the newspaper are the advertisements for books. It must cost a few cents for each letter on each line, so whoever writes them are all trying their best. Each character, each phrase must generate the most possible impact, so these wonderfully wrought sentences groan with pain. Such expensive words must be pretty rare in the world. There's something I like about this. It's thrilling. I finished eating, locked up the apartment, and headed for school. All right, there's no rain, I thought to myself, but anyway I wanted to walk along with the nice umbrella that my neighbor gave to me yesterday. She used that parasol long ago, when she first got married. I felt quite proud of finding that interesting umbrella. When I carried that one, it made me feel like strolling through the streets of Paris. I thought that a dreamy antique parasol like that would go into style when a war ends. It would look great with a bonnet-style hat. Wearing a long pink-hemmed dress with a wide open collar, with black lace gloves and a beautiful violet tucked into that large, wide-brimmed hat. And when everything was lush and green I'd go to lunch in a Parisian restaurant. Resting my cheek lightly in my hand, I'd wistfully gaze at the passersby outside and then, someone would gently tap me on the shoulder. Suddenly there would be music, the rose waltz. Oh, how amusing. In reality, it was just an odd, tattered umbrella with a spindly handle. I really am miserable and pathetic. Like the little match girl. I decided to just do a little weeding and be off. On my way, as I passed the gate to our apartment, I plucked some of the weeds out front as a bit of volunteer service. Maybe something good will happen today. Even though the weeds were all the same, it seemed like certain of them begged to be pulled while others would be quietly left behind. The likable weeds and the not likable weeds looked exactly the same but were somehow clearly divided into those that seemed innocuous and those that seemed horrible. It didn't stand to reason. What a girl likes and what she hates seems rather arbitrary to me. After ten minutes of volunteer weeding, I hurried to my friend's house. Whenever I go by the city road, it makes me feel like painting a picture. Along the way, I walked the path through downtown's alleys. This was a shortcut that I had discovered all on my own. Walking on the path in the alleyways, I happened to look down and saw some broken bottles of liquor here and there. Seeing this new residue, I could tell that people were here last night as well. Like always, there had been many people and others that came and stayed here downtown at midnight. A while later, I came through here and saw blood splattered everywhere. I emerged from the path through the alleys and, close by the bus stop, found myself on the road with four or five laborers. As usual, these guys spat out some nasty and unmentionable phrases in my direction. I hesitated, unsure of what to do. I wanted to pass them, but to do so, I'd have to thread my way amongst them in order to slip by them. That was scary. On the other hand, if I just stood there without saying anything, and waited a good while to let the laborers get far enough ahead of me, that would take much more guts. It would be rude, and they might get angry. My body grew hot, I felt like I was about to cry. I was ashamed to be on the verge of tears, so I turned and laughed in the direction of the guys. Then, slowly, I started walking after them. That might have been the end of it but, even after I was on the bus, my chagrin had not dissipated. I wished I would hurry up and grow stronger and purer so that such a trifling matter would no longer afflict me. There was an empty seat right by the train door, so I set my things down on it and smoothed the pleats on my skirt a little, but just as I was about to sit down, a man wearing glasses moved my stuff and sat down himself. When I said, "Uh, that was my seat," the man forced a smile and then, unconcerned, began reading his newspaper. When I thought about it, though, which of us was the brazen one? Probably me. Grudgingly, I put my school bag on the floor and sat in another seat. I started to study a philosophical book, like I always do, but as I riffled through the pages with one hand, I had a strange thought. Given my lack of experience, if books were taken away from me, I would be utterly devastated. That's how much I depend on what's written in books. I'll read one book and be completely wild about it--I'll trust it, I'll assimilate it, I'll sympathize with it, I'll try to make it a part of my life. Then, I'll read another book and, instantly, I'll switch over to that one. The sly ability to steal someone else's experience and recreate it as if it were my own is the only real talent I possess. Really, though, my guile is so bogus as to be offensive. If I were to experience failure upon failure day after day-- nothing but total embarrassment--then perhaps I'd develop some semblance of dignity as a result. But no, I would somehow illogically twist even such failures, gloss over them smoothly, so that it would seem like they had a perfectly good theory behind them. And I would have no qualms about putting on a desperate show to do so. (I'm sure I've even read these same words before in some book.) Really, I don't know which is the true me. What will I do when there aren't any more books to read, or when I can't find another role model to imitate? Probably just wither away, helpless and sniveling profusely. Anyhow, these aimless thoughts I have every day don't do me much good. The unpleasant warmth I still felt in my body was unbearable. I felt I had to do something, somehow, but would I be able to fully grasp what that was? My self-criticisms seem basically pointless to me. I would start to judge, and when I'd get to my negative or weak traits, I'd immediately begin to indulge or wallow in self-pity, and then decide it's no good, why not just leave well enough alone, so I've given up on criticism. It would be best if I just didn't think of anything at all. In this very book, there was the headline, "Young Women's Shortcomings," with things various people had written. As I read it, I got the feeling that they were talking about me and I started to feel self conscious. So the authors, some of them--well, the ones I normally thought were stupid, not surprisingly, said things that sounded pretty stupid, and when I looked at their photos, the ones who looked cool had cool things to say--they were so funny that at times I wanted to laugh out loud as I read. The religious ones were quick to bring up faith, the educators were all about moral obligation, and the politicians trotted out Chinese poetry. The writers were smug, using fancy words. They sounded stuck up. But what all of them were writing about were merely certainties. Impersonal things, things lacking depth. They were far removed from anything like real hopes or ambitions. Basically, uninspired things. They were criticisms, yes, but not actually things that had any positive bearing on my life. There was no introspection. No real self-awareness, self-regard, or self-respect. It may require courage to say what they said, but were they really able to take responsibility for the consequences? They may adapt their lifestyle to their environment, and may be capable of processing this but there's no true attachment to the self or to that particular lifestyle. There's no real sense of humility. A scarcity of creativity. Only mimicry. Any sense of innate "love" was simply lacking. They may have put on airs but they had no dignity. Instead, all they did was write. It was really quite startling as I read. There was no denying it. Yet everything in the article seemed like these people had just tried to write it down--it seemed different than the way they usually felt, optimistic somehow. They used lots of phrases like "the true meaning of" or "essentially," but they didn't really grapple with the meaning of "true" love or "real" self-awareness. These people probably knew all about it. But if that were so, they might have been more specific--just a few words, something simple like, go to the left or go to the right--if they could use their authority to show the way, it would be tremendously appreciated. Since we had already lost course on how to express love, if someone, instead of telling us not to do this or that, were to instruct us convincingly about what we ought to do, all of us would gladly pay heed. Doesn't anyone have any self-confidence? I doubted that the people who had published their opinions here always felt the same way, in every situation. They scolded us for not having any real hopes or real ambitions, but if we were to pursue our true ideals, would these people watch and guide us along the way? We have a vague notion of the best place we should go, or the beautiful places we should like to see, or the kinds of places that would make us grow as a person. We yearn for a good life. We have real hopes and ambitions. We feel impatient for an unshakable faith that we can rely on. But it would require considerable effort to express such things in our typical life as a girl. Then there's also the way that our mothers and fathers think, and our brothers and sisters too. (I may say that they're too old-fashioned and stuffy, but really I don't feel any contempt for my mentors in life, or my elders, or married people. On the contrary, they must know about a million times more than I do.) I mean, the members of our family are part of every aspect of our life. We have acquaintances too. And friends. Then there's also the "world" that constantly sweeps us along with great force. When we see and hear and think about all of this, we hardly have any time to fuss about being true to our own character. The smartest thing would just be to go quietly along the same way with all the other regular people, without calling attention to ourself. Extending discipline for the minority to everyone else at the same time seems particularly cruel. As I grow older, I have begun to understand more and more how ethics taught in school and public mores are two different things. Those who insist on keeping ethics in school look like fools. People think they're eccentric. They'll never succeed, they'll always be penniless. I wonder if there are people who don't lie. If there are, they must always be losers. Among my relatives, there is one person who behaves with propriety, who has a strong faith and pursues his ideals, who really lives in a true sense, although everyone else in the family speaks poorly of him. They treat him like an idiot. Me, I can't bring myself to go against my brother and everyone else for the sake of my ideals, while knowing all along that I would be beaten down, defeated. It scares me. The truth is that I secretly love what seems to be my own individuality, and I hope I always will, but fully embodying it is another matter. I always want everyone to think I am a good girl. Whenever I am around a lot of people, it is amazing how obsequious I can be. I fib and chatter away, saying things I don't want to or mean in any way. I feel like it is to my advantage to do so. I hate it. I hope for a revolution in ethics and morals. Then, my obsequiousness and this need to plod through life according to others' expectations would simply dissolve. When I'm sitting down, my mind fills with fickle and apathetic thoughts. Fascinatingly so. I have to be careful. My thoughts were really rather strange this morning. For some reason, the face of the gardener who had come to tend the park two or three days ago kept flickering in my mind. You couldn't mistake him for anything else other than a gardener, but something about his face seemed quite unusual to me. To put it dramatically, he looked like an intellectual or a visionary. His skin just had a dusky firmness to it. He had nice eyes, and an imposing brow. He definitely had a pug nose, but it matched his dark complexion and made him appear strong-willed. The shape of his lips was also quite nice. His ears were a little dirty. When you looked at his hands, of course, he reverted to being a gardener, but with his fedora worn low on his head and shading his face, it seemed a shame that he should end up a gardener. I asked my brother three or four times, I wondered if he had always been a gardener, until finally he scolded me. The bag that my things were in today was the one that my brother gave me on the very first day that gardener came to the park. My brother was tidying everything in the wardrobe, so that's when he found this bag and gave it to me. It's very beautiful and feminine. My first instinct was to lean down and touch it. If someone would simply take a look at my pretty furoshiki, I would be willing to go home with him and marry into his family. Whenever I run up against what's called "instinct," I feel like I want to cry. As I begin to realize from various experiences in my life just how enormous our instincts are and how powerless we are against the force that drives us, sometimes I think I might lose my mind. I become distracted, wondering what I should to do. There is no way to resist or accept the force; it simply feels as if some huge thing has blanketed me whole, from the top of my head, so that it can now drag me around freely. There is a certain satisfaction in being dragged around, as well as a separate sad feeling as I watch it happen. Why is it that we cannot be happy with ourself or love only ourself throughout our life? It is pathetic to watch whatever emotions or sense of reason I have acquired up to that point be devoured by instinct. Whenever I let the slightest thing make me forget myself, I can't help but be disappointed. The clear confirmation that that self--me, that is--is also ruled by instinct makes me think I could cry. But even more pathetic is that--to my surprise--the truth could be found in aspects of myself that I don't like. We were already at school. When I stepped off onto the sidewalk, somehow I felt completely unfazed. I tried quickly to recall what had just happened, but I couldn't for the life of me. Anxiously I tried to think of what came next, but there was nothing. My mind was empty. There are times, like this, when something is quite affecting--when you think I would feel awkward or ashamed, but as soon as it passed, it would be like nothing had happened. The present moment is interesting to me. Now, now, now-- even while you try to pin down an instant, it flies off into the distance, and a new "now" arrives. What's it anyway? I thought to myself as I plodded up the stairs to the bridge. Ridiculous. Maybe I am a little too happy. My teacher was beautiful this morning. She looked lovely in blue, and she wore a striking crimson carnation on her breast. But I would like this teacher a whole lot more if she weren't so "composed." She's a bit too poised--there's something unnatural about her. It must be exhausting to be her. And she seems somewhat obscure--there are many things I don't know about her character. Like, she seems gloomy but she's trying too hard to be cheerful. Nevertheless, she is an attractive woman. It seems a shame for her just to be a schoolteacher. Her class isn't as popular as it used to be but I--and I alone --still find her as charming as ever. She's like a young miss who lives in an old castle on the shore of a mountain lake. Ugh, I've praised her too much. I wonder why her lectures are always so stiff. Is she a fool? It makes me sad. She went on and on, explaining to us about patriotism, but wasn't that pretty obvious? I mean, everyone loves the place where they were born. I felt bored. Resting my chin on my desk, I gazed idly out the window. The clouds were beautiful, maybe because it was so windy. There were four roses blooming in a corner of the yard. One was yellow, two were white, and one was pink. I sat there agape, looking at the flowers, and thought to myself, There are really good things about human beings. I mean, it's humans who discovered the beauty of flowers, and humans who admire them. In the afternoon we all went out into the schoolyard. For some reason, my teacher always puts me on the spot. Like today, he kept asking me things. But it was very tiring to stand there, facing him. The conversation was a bit too persistent and boring, maybe because he was paying me so much attention. The only thing he asked me about was me. I found it troublesome and annoying to answer him. He seems like an ambiguous person. He has an odd laugh, and he's shy, even though he's a teacher. His utter diffidence makes me want to throw up. I suppose he is a nice enough person, but his gestures are too much. By gestures, I should say that I myself use quite a lot of them. What's more, I employ them slyly to my advantage. I can be so pretentious that it's hard to deal with sometimes. "I overcompensate, so that I become a monstrous little liar ruled by the conventions of poise," I might say, but then, this too is just another pose, so it's hopeless. As I stood there talking to my teacher, I prayed intently, "Let me be natural, let me be genuine." I thought I would even give up reading books. I would scorn the pointless, haughty posturing, scorn its abstracted way of living. There I go again--pondering the purposelessness of my day-to-day life, wishing I had more ambition, and lamenting all the contradictions in myself--when I know it's just sentimental nonsense. All I'm doing is indulging myself, trying to console myself. It's a terrible thing to say, but I guess it ends up making my teacher look pretty stupid. He doesn't even know about the embroidered roses on my underclothes. Standing there, trying to keep still, I had a sudden and intense desire for money. All I needed was one dollar. The book I really wanted to read was Madame Curie. Then, unexpectedly, I wished for my Mother to have a long life. For some reason, I felt kind of glum. As I sat on the bus, impure thoughts flooded my mind once again. It's as if that unbearable raw stench that clings to you after playing with goldfish has spread all over your body, and you wash and wash but you can't get rid of it. Day after day, it's like this, until you realize that the odor has begun to emanate from your own body as well. I wish I could die like this, as a girl. Suddenly, I think I want to be sick. If I contracted a serious enough illness, and I were to sweat so profusely that I wasted away, perhaps then I would be cleansed and pure. In this lifetime, is it really impossible to escape? I am beginning to understand the significance of a steadfast religion. I felt a little better after I got off the bus. Maybe I should not take public transportation. I can't stand how unpleasantly warm the air is. After school, my friend Vera and I snuck over to Hollywood and got our hair done using her father's money. I was disappointed when I saw the finished product, since it wasn't what I had asked for. No matter how you looked at it, I didn't look cute at all. I felt wretched. Totally dejected. I had slipped over here just to have my hair done, and now to feel like such a scruffy hen made me deeply contrite. I felt scornful of myself for having come here. Vera, on the other hand, was gleeful. "I wonder if I should get engaged like this," she suggested brusquely, apparently under the illusion that before long her own marriage was sure to be arranged. She went on, "What color flower should I wear with this hairstyle?" And then, "When I wear a dress, which style is best?" she asked in all seriousness. When I asked her sweetly, "Who is your husband going to be?" she answered straightforwardly, "Every man to his trade, or so they say." A little surprised, I asked, "What does that mean?" I was even more surprised when she replied, "It's best for a rich daughter to become a rich bride. I'll never have to worry about where my next meal comes from." Vera seems to lack any trace of a personality and, as a result, her femininity is at full tilt. I only know her because we're neighbors, and I don't consider us particularly close, but Vera tells everyone that I am her best friend. She's a lovely girl. She sends me messages every other day and is generally very nice to me, which I appreciate, but today she was a little too jolly. I said goodbye to Vera and started home. Walking along with my feet on the ground, I felt better about myself. I really am a bit of a scatterbrain. I'm happy-go-lucky. I wanted to sing out softly, Let's go home, let's go home, what do you see on your way home? Look at the onion field, let's go home, they're crying 'go home' so let's go home. It annoyed me that I could act like such a carefree child, and it made me want to lash out at the weeds, who knew nothing but to grow taller. I wanted to try to be a good girl. The city road that I take home everyday has become so familiar to me that I no longer notice how quiet it is. There's nothing but buildings, roads, the scent of drugs--that's all. I thought today I will try to pretend that I am from somewhere else, someone who has never been to this city before. I'll be, hmm... the daughter of a farmer with a shop near Venice, who's never set foot outside of the country. So then, what did this city look like? This was a brilliant idea. A sad, pathetic idea. I put on a serious expression and made a point of looking around. As I walked down the park road lined with small trees, I gazed up at the branches with their green leaves. As I crossed over the earthen bridge, I stopped and peered down at my reflection in the water. Then I looked out at the fields, squinting my eyes with an air of enchantment, sighing as I thought, Isn't this nice? I took another break in the woods. It was dark in the woods so I hastily straightened up and hurried through with a slight shrug of my shoulders. I was surprised by how bright it was when I came out of the woods, and while I was engrossed in trying to see everything afresh as I walked along the park road, I was somehow overcome with a terrible sadness. At last I lopped down in a meadow by the side of the road. Sitting atop the grass, the exhilaration that I had felt up until that very instant disappeared with a thud and was replaced with a gripping earnestness. Calmly, I gave some thought to how I'd been lately. What is wrong with me these days? Why was I so anxious? I was always apprehensive about something. Just the other day, someone even mentioned to me, "Hey, you're getting to be so mundane." It's probably true. There definitely is something wrong with me. I have become petty. I am no good at all. I am pathetic. Out of the blue I want to cry out at the top of my lungs. As if a loud holler was going to cover my gutlessness. I have to do something more. Maybe I am in love. I lay back on the green meadow. "Father," I tried calling out. Father. Father, the sunset afterglow is beautiful. And the evening haze is pink. See how the rays from the setting sun melt and blur into the haze, which is why it takes on such a soft pink glow. The pink haze drifts and sways amongst the grove of trees, trailing above the road and caressing the meadow, before gently enveloping my body. It infuses every last strand of my hair with its soft pink light and then lightly embraces me. But this sky is even more beautiful. For the first time in my life, I want to bow my head to the heavens. I believe in God. The color of this sky, what would you call it? Rose? Flame? Iridescent? The color of angel's wings? Or a huge temple? No, it is none of these things. It is much more sublime. "I want to love everyone," I thought, almost tearfully. If you stare at the sky, it changes little by little. Gradually it turns bluish. Then, with nothing more than a sigh, I felt the urge to be naked. I had never seen anything as beautiful as the translucent leaves and grass. Gently, I reached out to touch the grass. I want to live beautifully. When I arrived at the apartment, my brother was already there with his friends. Not surprisingly, he was laughing cheerily at something and taking a swing from a can of beer. When it was just the two of us, no matter how hard he laughed, my brother never made a sound. On the contrary, when he had friends over his face didn't smile at all, instead laughter rang out. I greeted them, quickly went to the bedroom and took off my clothing, feeling a sense of relief. I touched the roses on my underclothes, and when a burst of laughter rose from the parlor as I sat down in front of the dressing mirror, I suddenly felt angry for some reason. Everything was fine when it was just the two of us, my brother and me, but whenever anyone else was around, he seemed strangely distant--cold and formal--and those were the times when I felt the saddest. Peering at my face in the mirror, I looked surprisingly lively. My face was like that of a stranger. An animated face, liberated from my own sadness and pain and seemingly disconnected from such feelings. Although I wasn't wearing any rouge, my cheeks were rosy, and my lips glowed prettily. My eyes looked so nice. They were so pale and clear. I wondered if staring at the beautiful evening sky for so long had made my eyes look like this. Lucky me. I went to the kitchen and found a large fish on the counter. I didn't know what kind of fish it was but something about its fine scales made me think it came from the northern sea. I put the fish on a plate and washed my hands again, and I caught a scent of summer in Okinawa. It reminded me of the time I went to visit Seiichi in Okinawa during summer vacation. Perhaps because his home was near the shore, you could always catch the scent of fish. I could clearly picture him, alone in that big empty kitchen at evening time, his hands deftly preparing fish for dinner. I remembered how, for some reason, I had wanted to see him again. I stood in a corner of that dim kitchen with a feeling of intense loneliness and, stunned, kept my gaze fixed on his fingertips as they worked. I yearned for everything long gone. It was so curious, the way I felt about people. With anyone else, if we were far apart, they would eventually grow fainter in my mind until I forgot about them, but with family, their memory seemed only to grow fonder and all I remembered were the beautiful things about them. The oleaster berries had barely started to turn red. They would probably be ready to eat in another two weeks. It was funny last year. One evening I had come out by myself to pick and eat the berries, and a cat had watched me silently until I felt bad for him and gave him a berry. He ate it right up, so I gave him two more, which he gobbled too. Rather amused, I shook the tree, and as the berries trickled down, the cat eagerly devoured them. Silly cat. I had never seen a cat who ate oleander berries before. I reached out, picking more berries and eating them myself. The cat was eating them off the ground. It was funny. I went into the kitchen a little jauntily and then, while I was washing the rice, sadness washed back over me. I missed the house where we used to live in New York City. I missed it with searing pain. My brother had been young there. When I would come home from school, my brother would be chatting amusingly all the time. I'd be given a snack, and he'd dote on me for a little while, then I'd pick a quarrel with him and be scolded, without fail, and I'd rush off outside to ride my bike as far away as I could. In the evening I'd return and we'd have a pleasant dinner. I really did enjoy it. There had been no need to reflect upon myself or be anxious about my impurity--all I had to do was be coddled. What a tremendous privilege I had enjoyed. And I hadn't even cared. There had been nothing to worry about, or to be sad or bitter about. My brother has been a splendid and wonderful brother. He was kind, I had constantly hung about him. But then, gradually as I grew up, first I began to disgust myself, and before I knew it that privilege of mine had disappeared and, stripped bare, I was absolutely awful. I hadn't the least desire to play up to anyone, I was always brooding over something, and I faced constant hardship. My brother and I were always left all alone. My brother must have been terribly lonely too. Such impertinent thoughts, even when I was alone, made my face grow hot, and I smoothed my hair with a wet hand. Swishing the rice as I washed it, my brother seemed very dear and pitiable to me--I ought to cherish him with all of my heart. I would take this silly wave out of my hair immediately and grow my hair much longer. My brother has never cared for short hair on me, so if I grow it out and then show him how it looks done up properly, I bet he'll be pleased. But to do something like that out of sympathy for my brother seems absurd. Horrible, really. When I think about it, my irritability these days is definitely related to my brother. I want to be a good daughter whose feelings are in perfect sync with my brother's, and just because of that, I go to these absurd lengths to please him. The best thing would be if my brother could just intuit how I felt, without my saying anything, and he could rest easy. No matter how selfish I am, I will never do anything to make myself a laughingstock--even in my pain and loneliness I will still protect what is important. Since I love my brother and this apartment so very dearly, he should have absolute confidence in me, and just be carefree and relaxed. I will make sure to do a good job. I will keep my nose to the grindstone. It would be my greatest pleasure--it's the way I should be living anyway. But nevertheless, my brother still treated me like a child, without the slightest faith in me. My brother loved it when I said childish things. He acted so thrilled the other day when I made a show of pulling out an old koto, plunking it away on it. "Oh, is it raining?" he feigned, teasing me, and he probably thought I was actually being serious about some silly koto. I felt so wretched I wanted to cry. Brother, I'm an adult now. I know all about the world now. Don't worry, you can talk to me about anything. If you were to confide everything to me, things like our household budget, telling me exactly how it is, then I certainly wouldn't pester you to buy me shoes. I'll be a steady and frugal daughter. Really and truly. In spite of all that. "Oh, In Spite of All That"... wasn't that the name of a song. At some point I realized I was standing there like an idiot, both hands idly thrust into the cooking pot, my thoughts ranging from one thing to another. Oh, I almost forgot. I had better offer my brother's friends something for supper. What should I do with that big fish? In the meantime, I should cut it into three pieces and marinate them in miso paste. That will make it taste great. With cooking, you just have to trust your intuition. There was a bit of cucumber left, so I put that out and doused it with sanbaizu sauce. Then-- my specialty--egg omelet. Then one more dish. Yes, that's it. I'll cook "rococo." This is something that I have invented. Various and sundry items found in the kitchen are mingled on each plate--maguro and omelet, parsley, cabbage, spinach--beautifully and skillfully arranged, economical and trouble-free, if perhaps not the least bit delicious. But it presents a surprisingly lively and gorgeous table, and manages to appear as a quite sumptuous meal. There was the green grass of the parsley beneath the omelet, then beside it the coral reef of the pink maguro poked its head out, and the golden cabbage leaves were spread out on the plate like petals on a tree peony or like a fan of feathers, with the lush spinach a pasture or a lake, perhaps. Serve two or three plates like this, and guests will be unexpectedly reminded of King Louis. Of course that won't happen, but anyway, since I can't offer much in the way of cooking, the least I can do is try to fool guests with something beautiful that bedazzles them with its outward appearance. With cooking, it's all about the way it looks. That's usually enough to fool anyone. But cooking rococo requires a particular artistic inclination. You must have an uncommonly keen sense of color. Or at least my level of delicacy. When I looked up the word "rococo" in the dictionary the other day and saw that it was defined as a decorative style that was elaborate yet devoid of substance, I had to laugh. It was an apt description. Heaven forbid if beauty were to have substance. Genuine beauty is always meaningless, without virtue. It goes without saying. Which is why I love rococo. As always happens, while I was busy preparing the meal and adding things here and there, I was overcome with an extreme emptiness. I felt depressed, and dead tired. I lapsed into overload from all my effort. Nothing mattered anymore. In the end, who cares?! I told myself desperately and, no longer concerned with taste or appearance, I flung things about in a messy clatter. Looking decidedly displeased, I brought the meal to the guests. Today's visitors were particularly depressing, Bjorn, Dominique, and another man whom I didn't know. Bjorn was probably already near 30 but he had the pale complexion of a handsome man, which disgusted me. Why did he have to smoke those Russian cigarettes? For some reason, filters on Russian cigarettes seem dirty to me. If you were going to smoke, then it had to be unfiltered. Smoking those throws a person's whole character into question. He looked up at the ceiling each time he exhaled smoke, saying, I see, I see, Is that right? He said he was teaching at a school now. Dominique was loud and big, and unrefined. At every boring comment, he convulsed with laughter, his face almost pressed against the floor. Was it really so funny? And was he under the impression that it was classy to prostrate himself while laughing so excessively? These people seemed like they were of the worst rank in today's world. The filthiest. Were they what they call petit bourgeois? Or some kind of minor bureaucrat? And the other man was a bit too saucy, there wasn't anything animated or genial about him. Despite my feelings, I forced myself to bow and smile and chat, asking how everyone was doing. Since I was the one lying outright and tricking them all, maybe they were more pure and innocent than I was. Everyone ate my rococo cooking and praised my skill, and even though I felt like crying--either out of loneliness or exasperation--I tried to put on a happy face. Finally I joined them in the meal but Dominique's persistent yet empty and ignorant flattery eventually stirred my bile. All right, no more fibbing. I looked at him sternly and said, "This meal isn't delicious at all. There's nothing to it, really, it was a last-ditch measure on my part." My intention had been to state the obvious, but they praised my use of "last-ditch measure," clapping their hands and laughing merrily. I thought about hurling my bowl with annoyance and shouting at the top of my lungs. Instead I sat there and forced myself to grin at them, until my brother said, "She's becoming more and more helpful." Though my brother was perfectly aware of our sorrowful state, he chose to smile and spout such nonsense in order to entertain his friends. I had never seen my brother be so obsequious towards anyone, let alone this lot. He was not the same person when he was in the presence of guests. It made me so miserable, I was speechless. Please go home, please go home. My brother was a fine man. Kind, and with a distinguished character. Please hurry up and go home. I dearly wanted to say this to his friends. Yet I was just as weak, so I cut some meat for them and passed the pickled vegetables to Bjorn. Once the meal was finished, I quickly retreated to the kitchen and started the washing-up. I could hardly wait to be alone. I didn't mean to be haughty, but I couldn't see any reason why I should ever be forced to make conversation with or sit and smile with my brother's friends, ever again. I hated it. I couldn't take it anymore. I had tried as best as I could. Hadn't my brother seemed happy to see my patient and affable attitude today? Wasn't that enough? I didn't know whether it was better to maintain a fierce distinction between yourself and your acquaintances in society in order to deal with and respond properly to things in a pleasant manner, or rather never to hide yourself, to remain true to yourself always, even if they say bad things about you. I envied those who were able to go through life simply in the midst of all the other weak, kind, and warm people like them. If it were possible to live my life without pain or hardship, then there would be no need to seek it out on my own. That would be best. While surely there's something to be said for suppressing your own feelings for the sake of others, if everyday from now on I was forced to nod and smile at people like them, I would probably go mad. I wouldn't make it in prison at all, the odd thought suddenly occurred to me. I couldn't work as a maid, much less be in prison. I couldn't be a wife, either. Well, being a wife is different. If it were duly resolved that I should devote my life to a particular person, then I could dedicate myself to the task, no matter how difficult, because I would have a purpose in life, I would have hope. Yes, I think I could even do a good job of it. It's not surprising. From morning to night, I'd make myself dizzy working like a busy bee. I'd do the laundry with vigor. Nothing upsets me more than a heap of dirty wash anyway. It makes me so restless you'd think I was manic or hysterical. I can't stop, no matter what. Then when the last article is washed and hung out to dry, finally I feel at peace. They were leaving. They must have had something to take care of, since my brother told me to accompany them as they left. He gave me his jacket to cover me up and sent me down the apartment's stairs with them. I saw them all off as far as the gate, and stood there alone in the dusk, in only my underclothes and my brother's jacket, staring at the road, and felt like trying to cry. I went back up the stairs. In our mailbox were two letters and the evening edition. One letter was addressed to my brother, a circular for a sale on summer items from a department store. The other letter was for me, from my cousin. He was being transferred to a foreign regiment. "Send my best to your grandfather", he wrote in his brief note. As an officer, you can't expect a particularly remarkable lifestyle, but I envy such a rigorously efficient and disciplined daily existence. It must be easier to relax when someone always tells you who you are and what to do. For instance, right now, if I wanted to do nothing, then I could just do nothing. My circumstances are such that I could be as bad as I wanted, but then again, if I felt like studying, I could study for as many hours on end as I liked. If someone were to give me a particular limit to abide by--to start here and use this much effort and finish there--you have no idea how much it would assuage my mind. I think I would rather appreciate a certain amount of constraint. I read in a book somewhere that soldiers in battle at the front had only one desire, to sleep soundly, and while on one hand I feel sorry for those soldiers, I am also terribly envious of them. To break free from this