jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine. Adjusting her dress, Yukari went round the front of the car and got into the passenger seat.
'I'll be seeing you.'
Aso directed a cheery smile at Kensuke alone, whereupon he drove off.
As soon as the car was out of sight, Kensuke began to scan the road for the card that Yukari had tried to give him. He soon found it among some shrubs in the garden. He read what was on the card in the light of a street lamp. Under the name of a religious organization that he'd never heard of, Kensuke read the name Yukari Nakazawa followed by an address and telephone number. It was not clear whether the address and telephone number were those of the religious group or those of Yukari. Kensuke put the card in his pocket and returned to his apartment. All through the night, he somehow couldn't still a feeling of excitement.
3
That proved to be Kensuke's sole encounter with Yukari Nakazawa. Yet, she became a phantom that was to dwell in Kensuke's heart. It was all Aso's fault. If Aso had never said it, Kensuke would have been spared the incredibly persistent image.
It was the end of August, almost two months after the day he'd first met Yukari. Aso called at the same time of day as he had then, but came alone this time - Kensuke made a point of confirming this before Aso could get past the doorway.
'Did you come alone?'
Aso nodded with a grave air. 'Can I come in?' he asked meekly.
Kensuke got the impression that Aso had come because there was something pressing he wanted to talk about. Now that he thought about it, perhaps Aso had also come to talk about the same thing his last visit. Kensuke's thoughts turned to that evening two months ago, and, in hindsight, it seemed likely that Yukari's appearance had caused Aso to suddenly turn surly not because he had been seen with a woman who fell somewhat short of his standard of feminine beauty, but because her presence prevented him from saying what he had on his mind.
But this night, as it turned out, Aso hadn't come to say anything in particular, speaking instead as fancy dictated, reminiscing with Kensuke about their childhood days.
After an hour of this, Aso suddenly announced, 'I'm off,' and got up to leave.
'You can't be in that much of a rush. Stay a little longer,' urged Kensuke.
Aso responded with a smile of derision, directed at himself. There's no end to memories like that, eh? You're the only one I can talk to about those days. Great times. The good old days.'
As he spoke, the look in Aso's eyes became distant, whereupon they plunged into another brief spell of reminiscing. That summer they spent together in Karuizawa… There was, of course, that time when they'd gotten lost in the mountains while walking along the unused tracks of the Kusatsu-Karuizawa line (it had linked the two towns until 1960), that time they'd resigned themselves to never returning to civilization alive. It was an experience they'd already rehashed numerous times since. They'd wandered off the track in the growing dusk, and there'd been nothing to do but spend the night outdoors. Kensuke, overcome with anxiety, could only moan and groan; Aso tried to give him courage by assuring him that if they just waited for morning and looked for the tracks, they'd be all right. It had been a night spent in fearful trembling. But looking back on the experience now, it had also been a night packed with excitement and rich in unspoken significance. Their friendship had deepened due to precisely that shared experience.
Aso's tone was different that evening. It was the first time Kensuke ever saw him wallowing so stubbornly, so sentimentally, in childhood memories. Possibly noticing the growing confusion on Kensuke's face, Aso suddenly snapped back to his usual self, brought an end to the reminiscing, and signalled his departure with an uplifted hand.
'I must be off.'
It was only down in the car park, about to see him off, that Kensuke got round to
'I'll be seeing you.'
Aso directed a cheery smile at Kensuke alone, whereupon he drove off.
As soon as the car was out of sight, Kensuke began to scan the road for the card that Yukari had tried to give him. He soon found it among some shrubs in the garden. He read what was on the card in the light of a street lamp. Under the name of a religious organization that he'd never heard of, Kensuke read the name Yukari Nakazawa followed by an address and telephone number. It was not clear whether the address and telephone number were those of the religious group or those of Yukari. Kensuke put the card in his pocket and returned to his apartment. All through the night, he somehow couldn't still a feeling of excitement.
3
That proved to be Kensuke's sole encounter with Yukari Nakazawa. Yet, she became a phantom that was to dwell in Kensuke's heart. It was all Aso's fault. If Aso had never said it, Kensuke would have been spared the incredibly persistent image.
It was the end of August, almost two months after the day he'd first met Yukari. Aso called at the same time of day as he had then, but came alone this time - Kensuke made a point of confirming this before Aso could get past the doorway.
'Did you come alone?'
Aso nodded with a grave air. 'Can I come in?' he asked meekly.
Kensuke got the impression that Aso had come because there was something pressing he wanted to talk about. Now that he thought about it, perhaps Aso had also come to talk about the same thing his last visit. Kensuke's thoughts turned to that evening two months ago, and, in hindsight, it seemed likely that Yukari's appearance had caused Aso to suddenly turn surly not because he had been seen with a woman who fell somewhat short of his standard of feminine beauty, but because her presence prevented him from saying what he had on his mind.
But this night, as it turned out, Aso hadn't come to say anything in particular, speaking instead as fancy dictated, reminiscing with Kensuke about their childhood days.
After an hour of this, Aso suddenly announced, 'I'm off,' and got up to leave.
'You can't be in that much of a rush. Stay a little longer,' urged Kensuke.
Aso responded with a smile of derision, directed at himself. There's no end to memories like that, eh? You're the only one I can talk to about those days. Great times. The good old days.'
As he spoke, the look in Aso's eyes became distant, whereupon they plunged into another brief spell of reminiscing. That summer they spent together in Karuizawa… There was, of course, that time when they'd gotten lost in the mountains while walking along the unused tracks of the Kusatsu-Karuizawa line (it had linked the two towns until 1960), that time they'd resigned themselves to never returning to civilization alive. It was an experience they'd already rehashed numerous times since. They'd wandered off the track in the growing dusk, and there'd been nothing to do but spend the night outdoors. Kensuke, overcome with anxiety, could only moan and groan; Aso tried to give him courage by assuring him that if they just waited for morning and looked for the tracks, they'd be all right. It had been a night spent in fearful trembling. But looking back on the experience now, it had also been a night packed with excitement and rich in unspoken significance. Their friendship had deepened due to precisely that shared experience.
Aso's tone was different that evening. It was the first time Kensuke ever saw him wallowing so stubbornly, so sentimentally, in childhood memories. Possibly noticing the growing confusion on Kensuke's face, Aso suddenly snapped back to his usual self, brought an end to the reminiscing, and signalled his departure with an uplifted hand.
'I must be off.'
It was only down in the car park, about to see him off, that Kensuke got round to
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