ANTI-BOY

When Hoshito was five years old, he was playing swords with his friends in the shrine near his house. He wore a furoshiki hood and mask to look like Kurama Tenngu, a masked samurai hero. He wielded his sword the moment Yoichi attempted to slash him. He moved a step backward and cocked his sword over his head and said sneeringly with a dramatic tone, “You are a competent swordsman, but not an expert.” The hood had come loose. He held his sword with his right hand and tried to adjust the hood with his left hand. That instant Mitsuo slashed him from shoulder to hip from behind. Hoshito groaned histrionically, “You, dirty coward!” and fell onto the ground.

   The yellow ginkgo leaves were shining brightly reflecting the setting red sun. It was the fall of 1946.

   Yoichi’s mother came to the shrine and shouted, “Come back home, Yoichi. Supper is ready.” Yoichi threw away the stick on the ground and went home saying, “See you tomorrow.”

  Mitsuo’s mother also came to call him back. The other boys said, “I’ll go home,” or “Me, too,” and all the boys went home leaving Hoshito alone in the spacious shrine ground.

   Left alone, Hoshito took the furoshiki hood off from his head and jammed it into his shorts pocket. Then he walked in the shrine cutting the air diagonally on his either side alternatively with his stick sword as if he were trying to distract himself from his loneliness. Two crows were flying above him toward the setting sun cawing.

   Hoshito’s mother died of subarachnoid bleeding when he was two years old. His father, Jyunji, remarried Takako when he was four. She had a snub nose and her lips were as fat as bicycle tires. Takako got rid of all Hoshito’s mother’s belongings: her chest of drawers, mirror stand, kimono, obi-belts, footwear, hair sticks made of turtle shell. She threw away even her photographs and notebooks. So, Hoshito had no way to figure out what his mother looked like or what her handwriting was like.

   He was passing through a tunnel made of about 30 red torii shrine gates which stood in succession. He walked hitting each torii gate pillar with a stick in his hand making a rattling noise.

   Suddenly a gust of wind blew; the sunset was covered with dark clouds and looked threatening. Hoshito rushed and almost reached the end of the tunnel. He had only a few torii gates to pass through, when he stumbled on a tree root and fell on his buttocks.

“Ouch” he said and looked at his dirty kneecap. It was bleeding. He wiped the dirt and put saliva on the cut. The dirt and blood mingled. When he stood up, he happened to see the torii pillar on his right hand. It was inscribed in black ink with the contributor’s name, Mitsuo Mochizuki. “Mochizuki is the same as my family name,” he thought.

   Then, thunder cracked and the lightning flashed. The thirty torii gates blazed white. Sharp thunder rumbled again as if it would split the earth into pieces. Hoshito crouched down with his eyes shut covering his ears with his hands. The wind whirled taking innumerable gingko leaves high up in the dark sky. Relentless lightning brightened the gingko trees, the shrine, and the graveled ground. Hoshito was motionless.

   Ten seconds….twenty seconds….

   Gradually the thunder abated. Hoshito opened his eyes and looked around. It was foggy. He looked through the fog to find about 30 torii gates standing in front of him. He wondered, “I was almost at the end of the tunnel before the thunder, but why are there still many torii gates in front of me? Have I been blown backward by the wind?” He stood up and looked at the torii gate pillar just beside him. It had the name, Mitsuo Mochizuki. “This is the place where I stood when the thunder clapped,” he wondered and looked forward again carefully.

   He saw a boy standing about three meters away from him in the foggy tunnel. He was just like Hoshito. He looked about the same age as Hoshito, wearing the same light blue sweater and the same brown shorts, with close-cropped hair. His kneecap was slightly bleeding. A stick of the same shape and length with Hoshito’s lay just beside him. Everything about the boy was the same as Hoshito.

   This was an illusion. There shouldn’t be a giant mirror in the tunnel, he thought and as an experiment he raised his right hand. Then the boy raised his “right” hand (on the observer’s right) just like in a mirror. Hoshito was startled. He tilted his body to the right. Then the boy tilted his body to the “right,” too. This must be the Shrine Fox trick, he thought, and jumped twice. Then the boy jumped at the same time and landed at the same time with Hoshito. He was scared, but boldly advanced three steps. Then the boy also advanced three steps.

  Hoshito thought if he advanced some more, he would collide with the boy. He was a hero swordsman, Kurama Tengu. He shouldn’t be afraid. He advanced further. When the distance narrowed down to 50 centimeters between the two boys, Hoshito adventurously extended his hand to touch the boy. The boy also extended his hand. As soon as the distance between the two hands was about five centimeters, thunder struck the shrine again. Hoshito shut his eyes petrified. Thunder roared and lightening flashed. It became foggy.

   Ten seconds….twenty seconds….

   Gradually the thunder abated. Hoshito opened his eyes and found that the boy had disappeared.

   The roof of the shrine was shining, reflecting the setting sun as if nothing had happened. The gingko leaves were waving in the breeze. The bell of a temple tolled in the distance.

   Hoshito did not want to go back home. His new mother, Takako, had had a baby a year after she married his father, Jyunji. Hoshito thought that she had changed after she gave birth to his brother.

   When Hoshito got home, Takako rebuked him in a gravelly voice, “What time do you think it is now? How many times have I told you that you must come back after the sunset?”

   At supper Hoshito talked about the strange incident he had experienced in the shrine.

   “Dad, I saw a strange boy in the shrine.”

   “A strange boy?”

   “Yes. Do I have a twin brother?”

   “No. You don’t, but what are you talking about?”

   “I saw a boy just like me in the shrine.”

   “What nonsense! Have you gone mad?” Takako snorted.

   “But I SAW him. He was wearing the same clothes as me.”

   “It’s your imagination, isn’t it?” Jyunji ignored Hoshito.

   “I know what I saw,” Hoshito protested.

   Hoshito felt disappointed to hear his father. Dad had been kind enough to listen to him more attentively before he remarried. Hoshito bit his lower lip slightly.

   Since that day, the strange boy never appeared again. After Hoshito entered elementary school, he continued to play with Yoichi and Mitsuo in the shrine. After his friends went home in the evening, Hoshito walked through the torii tunnel to the pillar which was inscribed with “Mituo Mochizuki.” He thought he might meet the boy again, but he never appeared again.

   When Hoshito was a first grader, he asked Yoichi, “Have you ever seen a boy who looks like you?”

   “What do you mean? Are you talking about my twin?”

   “No, not your twin, but he looks just like you.”

   “Like me? And not my twin? A ghost?” Yoichi responded like Hoshito was a stupid.

   “Not a ghost. I saw him. I saw a boy who looked exactly like me.”

   “Impossible.”

   “I know, but I . . . .”

      Hoshito asked the same question of Mitsuo, but he replied, “You must have dreamed it.”

   Since then he stopped asking the question of his friends lest he should be treated as a fool.

   After graduating from elementary school, he went to a local junior high school. He commuted to school walking along the road near the shrine. Once in a while he walked through the tunnel. What was the boy? Was he an illusion? Did an illusion raise his hand just like me? Did it jump together with me?

   The junior high school classes were not interesting at all for Hoshito. Takako always criticized Hoshito for his bad grades.

   “Why are your grades so poor? You should follow the example of Hideki,” Takako praised his brother. Hoshito was frustrated. Would his real mother say such a disappointing thing? He faintly said to himself, “Mom….” He was not able to remember anything about his mother: her face, voice, smell, and feeling. He wished he had her picture, even only one single picture.

   His grades in senior high school were bad. One day he was in physics class. The teacher’s hair looked like Einstein’s. It grew long in all directions as if it were an exploding bomb. He wore black-framed round glasses and a white lab coat. His name was Furuta, but his nickname Old Fox prevailed among the students. Hoshito thought his class was tricky. When Old Fox was confronted with a difficult question, he seemed to throw up a smokescreen by giving seemingly correct answers. Hoshito thought that not all of his lectures were scientifically based. Hoshito thought Old Fox were trying to attract the students’ interest in his class by saying extravagant things such as: a boy and a girl are pulled by each other by an unseen force; everybody would be able to go to space by using an elevator in the future; and theoretically speaking time travel into the past was impossible but into the future it was possible. In one of his classes, Fox said that the Bermuda triangle was the entrance into another dimension and that the other entrance should be on the other side of the earth. Hoshito did not believe what Fox said, but he looked for the other entrance by consulting the world globe in the school library just for the fun of it. It seemed like the entrance was located in Japan, or more precisely speaking, in the central part of Japan, where Hoshito lived.

   That day Hoshito was taking Fox’s class absent-mindedly. He wanted it to end soon. Mr. Fox was yelling the words “antiparticles” repeatedly.

   “Therefore, every chemical substance is made of atoms, which are made of particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. Interestingly enough, there exist counterpart particles that have the same mass as protons, neutrons, and electrons, but have a negative charge. They are called antiprotons or positron, antineutrons, and antielectrons. Therefore, antiatoms, which I have often mentioned before, are substances consisting of positrons, antineutrons, and antielectrons. Well, do you have any questions so far?”

   “Yes, I have a question,” Yukawa, who sat beside Hoshito, raised his hand. “You say there exist antiatoms. Then, does it mean that there also exist antimolecules?”

   “A good question. You are right. For that matter, there exist antiprotein and antiameba. And, ultimately speaking, antihumans could exist.”

   Hoshito was staggered to hear the word, antihumans, and raised his hand despite himself.

   “OK. Hoshito,” Mr. Furuta said.

   “What kind of thing is this antihuman?”

   “Well, it is an exact counterpart of a human being. In the antihuman world, everything is reversed. Our right side is their left side, so is our left side. Time flows backward. Incidentally, my students, I would like to introduce an interesting theory about the birth of the universe. According to this theory, when the universe was made by the big bang, a counterpart universe was also made at the same time caused by negative force. In that counterpart world, time flows in reverse. Unlike this universe which is expanding, the antiuniverse is deflating.”  

Hoshito did not fully understand what Fox was talking about. He was afraid that Fox was making some tricky lecture. However, when Fox mentioned “anti-human,” Hoshito instantaneously remembered the strange boy he met in the shrine years ago.

Hoshito continued to ask questions.

“If there is an anti-universe, does it mean there is an anti-earth? Then, is there an anti-boy exactly like me?”

“Yes, you are right. Theoretically speaking, there exists your anti-boy, your duplicate.”

   Hoshito was overwhelmed by Mr. Furuta’s answer. His classmates were surprised to see Hoshito, who never asked questions, asking questions earnestly.

   “Mr. Furuta, can I, can I meet my anti-boy?”

   “No, it’s impossible because the anti-universe exists in a different dimension. However, some scientists claim that there are warp holes on earth that lead to different dimensions. You know, such as the one at the Bermuda triangle zone.”

   A vivid image of the strange boy in the shrine revived before Hoshito’s eyes.

   “Mr. Furuta, to tell you the truth, I have…, I have met my anti-human.”

   That moment, all the students were taken back. The next moment, they roared into laughter.

   Mr. Furuta was different. His eyes sparkled and said, “Really? When? Where?”

   “At Takakura Shrine. When I was five or so.”  

   The next Sunday, Hoshito took Mr. Furuta to the shrine. It was an affiliated shrine of Atsuta Shrine, and was famous for its power to help child-raising mothers. Walking along an approach to the shrine, Mr. Furuta said, “Hoshito, do you remember that I predicted that there might be a warp hole at the other side of the earth from the Bermuda triangle zone? It’s here. I’m amazed. So, a tremendous thunder must have roared immediately before you saw the boy, I guess.”

“Yes, it was ear-splitting.”

“I thought so. When the right conditions were met, the anti-boy, or I should say, the negatively charged Hoshito was positively charged by the thunder, and appeared before you. It means that the anti-universe momentarily broke into this universe.”

“I see,” Hoshito said, although he did not follow Mr. Furuta at all. “But, Mr. Furuta, doesn’t the anti-universe exist billions of billions of light-years away from this universe?”

“Not at all. The anti-universe seems to exist at the farthest place from this universe, but it exists at the nearest from our universe.”

“What do you mean?” Hoshito asked, confused.

“Well, let me give you a metaphorical example. This is called Möbius strip. Take a paper strip and give it a half-twist, and join the ends of the strip together to form a loop. Now, if you were to stand on the strip and start walking along its length, where would be the farthest from the starting point? Well, it would be the point on the other side of the starting point. But if you make a hole at the starting point, the point on the other side is the nearest. Therefore, the farthest is the nearest. The hole is the warp hole. Do you understand?”

   Listening to Mr. Furuta, Hoshito thought he was bewitched by a fox, but on second thought, he concluded Mr. Furuta was telling the truth. He had said that there would be a warp hole at the other side of the Bermuda triangle, and just as he had predicted, he was standing at the very spot where he had met his anti-boy.

   When they came to the Torii inscribed with the name, Mitsuo Mochizuki, Mr. Furuta took out a terrestrial electromagnetic wave sensor out of his bag, and switched on it.

“Oh, it’s abnormally high,” he said looking at the indicator.

“So, there is a warp hole here,” Hoshito said.

“I can’t say for sure, but this is a most likely spot. If conditions are met, you could go to the anti-universe.”

“Conditions? What conditions?”

“Oh, there are many. When solar storms generate a great level of radiation that affects the earth's magnetic field, or when positive electrical charge is replaced with negative charge due to tremendous thunderbolts, or when the planetary alignment takes place, I mean, when the planets form a straight line from the sun outward disturbing the magnetic field.”

   Mr. Furuta gave several conditions so spontaneously that Hoshito reasured that the teacher had not been throwing up a smokescreen before the students. He believed what Mr. Furuta said.

   “Then, if the conditions are fulfilled, can I go to the anti-universe?”

   “Sure. If you study the nature of anti-particles and negative electrical charge fully, you are most probably capable of entering another dimension. If you are interested, I recommend you to study it.”

   Since that day, Hoshito’s attitude during Mr. Furuta’s class changed dramatically. He began to read books on universe, electrical charge, atoms, and particles. He often asked questions of Mr. Furuta. He had given up going to university, but thanks to his hard work, he entered the department of science, Kyoto University, two years later.    

After graduating from the university, he went on to the graduate school of science and studied anti-particles in the elementary particles research laboratory in Kyoto University. Then after finishing his PhD, he studied terrestrial electromagnetic wave and cosmic electromagnetic system in Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting researcher.

Hoshito married at the age of 31, became an assistant professor at the age of 42, and professor at 53. After retiring from Kyoto University at 65, he continued his study and experiments as an emeritus professor at Nagoya University, but years passed without any concrete progress from his studies. His father passed away from heart failure at the age of 67 and his step mother, Takako, died when she was 77.

   In July 2012 when Hoshito was 78 years old, he flew to Geneva, Switzerland, as a research associate for the European Organization for Nuclear Research to attend the experiment to discover Higgs or God particles inside the Large Hadron Collider. He was overwhelmed by the discovery, but that was only the starting line for his life’s work.

   When he was 80, his son who lived in a condominium in Tokyo suggested to him that he should live with his family, but he declined because he did not want to leave his home city of Nagoya, where he was born and bred. He was thinking only of meeting his anti-boy, or now his anti-old man in Takakura Shrine. He had almost given up meeting him. Although he had mastered astrophysics, cosmophysics, planetary electromagnetics, particle physics, space-time geometry, atmospheric electricity, and other fields of physics, he had not yet detected even an anti-H2O molecule.

   Hoshito was alone on his 82^nd birthday, but he was not so feeble to have to ask his son to support him. After taking breakfast, he went out for a walk to Takakura Shrine routinely. He had given up meeting his anti-human. As he was walking in the Torii tunnel, he wondered what had made him work so hard. Why had he wanted to meet his anti-human so much?

Then, he realized that he had long desired to meet his mother. Mr. Furuta had said that time flew backward in the anti-universe. So, if he met his anti-human in the anti-universe, he would see him grow younger and younger until he would meet his mother.

When he was five years old, he envied Yoichi and Mituo when their mothers came to call them back home for supper. On the morning of the enrollment ceremony for elementary school, he was chided by his stepmother, Takako, “Why can’t you walk faster, you, blockhead.” Whenever he was playing in a park or walking along a street, he saw children accompanied by their mothers. Such scenes hurt his heart. His elementary school teacher had said, “When you tell a lie, your heart gets a black stain. The more you tell lies, the darker your heart becomes.” Hoshito thought his heart had gotten tainted with dark blue stains which, in his mind, were the signs of sorrow and loneliness.

   When his heart was saturated with such stains, loneliness showed on his face. However cheerful he looked or however loudly he was laughing, his eyes betrayed his motherless sorrow. Takako looked kind to Hoshito before her husband, but behind his back she took only Hideki under her wing. Hoshito saw her give candy and money to Hideki, saying in a small voice, “This is only for you. Don’t tell your brother.” Even after he grew up to be a high school boy, he craved for his mother who would embrace him warmly. Even after he became a man, and married, and became 40 or 50 years old, his loneliness lingered in his heart. If you carefully looked at his face, you would notice a slight blue mark under his eyes. His face reflected his motherless heartache.

  It was a fine May day. Hoshito walked to Takakura Shrine for a walk. He threw money into an offertory box in front of the shrine, clapped his hands twice, and bowed. He walked to the torii tunnel. The green leaves were shining. As he was walking in the tunnel, he thought his anti-boy was 82 years old, too.

   A gust of wind blew. A dozen of birds flew away from the trees in all directions chirping noisily. Black clouds invaded the sky, threatening to rain. Hoshito hurriedly passed through the tunnel for fear of the rain. His legs did not move smoothly because of his age. When he reached the torii inscribed with Mitsuo Mochizuki, ear-splitting lightning struck. Hoshito crouched down and put his hands over his ears. Fog hung thick and low.

   Ten seconds….twenty seconds….

   When the thunder faded, Hoshito opened his eyes. The fog had cleared and the black clouds had disappeared, revealing a clear blue sky; dozens of birds flew to the trees from all directions chirping noisily and a gust of wind stopped blowing; he walked backward in a haste with tottering steps in the torii tunnel under a threatening dark sky; he saw green leaves shining under a fine May sky; he bowed and clapped his hands twice; a coin jumped from the offering box into his hands.

   Why had the coins jumped out of the box, Hoshito wondered. Why had he bowed twice even though he had bowed a short time ago? Just then, Hoshito realized that he had entered the anti-universe. Time was flowing backward. He was looking at himself like a dying man’s spirit was looking at his body.

   He was watching a rewinding movie. His past events were unreeling before him. He became younger and younger. Now he was eighty years old. He saw his wife’s funeral. Six men in mourning dress were dragging a coffin from a hearse; carried it back to a funeral hall and put it in the center; a man opened its lid, and a dozen of sobbing people in black were taking flowers out of the coffin.

   Ten years flew backward, then another ten years. Now he was 70 years old, reading a physics book at home; now he was 60, giving a retirement commemorative lecture on “The Symmetric Balance of Particles and Anti-particles”; then he became a professor and then an assistant professor. Another ten years flew back and he saw the scene of the first date with his would-be-wife in a restaurant. He was wiping the spilt coffee on the table; he took a napkin; coffee spread on the table and spilt out from the cup; it tumbled and his hand knocked it down; he put it on the table and was sipping coffee talking with her.

   Now he was watching Mr. Furuta’s class. His classmates burst into laughter and Hoshito said, “Boyantimymethavei.” Yukawa, putting down his hand, said Questionahavei.” Mr. Furuta said, “?farsoquestionsanyhaveyoudo.”

   Now the scene was showing a five-year-old Hoshito facing his anti-boy clad in the same clothes as Hoshito’s, when the fog cleared and then thunder rumbled. Both of them drew back their hands, walked backward a few steps, and jumped twice.

The scene changed into the torii tunnel, where Hoshito was walking backward hitting the torii pillars with a stick. Yoichi left the shrine with his mother, and said, “Tomorrowyousee.” Now Hoshito was sword fighting with Yoichi and Mitsuo. His furoshiki hood covering his head loosened and then it tightened.

Now he was two years old. He was sitting in his mother’s lap. He saw his mother for the first time in his life. He cried, “Mom!” Her sloe-eyes and eyelids without a fold; her neat nose and lips; and her soft round cheeks. She resembled a beautiful woman in the Edo era ukiyoe woodprint. She was smiling at a one-year-old Hoshito. While he was looking at her, he felt warm, happy, and shy. His motherless sorrow and loneliness had dissolved. He wanted to jump to her bosom and be hugged by her. He heard her saying, “Hoshitomouthyouropen.” He heard her voice for the first time, but he thought he had heard it before.

When his mouth was about to shut, she slowly pulled a spoon with some food in it from his mouth. How tenderly, he thought.

   He became six months old. Now she was changing his diaper; now he was suckling from her breast; at last he saw the moment he was born with a sharp cry. That instant, Hoshito died.  

His body lay beside the torii pillar inscribed “Mitsuo Mochizuki.” The dark blue sorrow mark under his eye had completely disappeared. He looked content, peaceful, and fully secure.

 

                                 The end

 

 

A FRUSTRATED VIOLINIST

At last his shinkansen train arrived at
Nagoya Station. Takashi Kinoshita picked up his violin case and bag and stepped
down onto the platform. He had not told anyone that he would return to Nagoya
that day, because he did not like to be surrounded by his fans, newspapermen,
and TV reporters. He had had more than enough of camera flashes in New York,
London, and Paris. His performance had been labeled “God’s fiddling.”
　　While Takashi was walking on the platform, he wore his hat low over his mustached
face so that no one would identify him. He returned to Japan after a 20 year
absence. He had left Nagoya for New York at the age of 17. He had won the first
prize in the Tokyo International Violin Competition and received a grant to
study the violin in New York. Since that time he had not returned to Japan.
He took a subway to visit his former music professor
at Chubu University of Arts. He thought some passengers would notice him. He
hated too much commotion around him but deep in his mind he wanted some people
to notice him. To hear them say, “Look, isn’t that Mr. Kinoshita, the famous violinist?” and pretend that he was not hearing them gave him satisfaction. However, the passengers were texting, reading books, talking with their friends, or taking a nap.
　　A little bit irritated at their indifference, he coughed intentionally. Nobody
paid attention to him. He thought, “People in Nagoya are all blind. Here I am, a
world famous violinist, and no one notices me. What country bumpkins!”
　　Soon he reached the Chubu University of Art. He
walked slowly towards the Music Department. Several students were walking
towards him, some with violin cases in their arms. “Surely, they will notice
me,” he said to himself and purposefully walked slowly with an erect posture. As
he was passing them, he looked at them hard. He even locked his eyes on one of
them, but they did not identify him.
　　Disappointed, he walked onto the Music Department campus. No one noticed him. He could not believe that he was walking on the music department campus.
　　He entered the university building, and walked along the corridor to the professor’s room, when he passed the music hall. At the entrance there were pamphlets which read that Ms. Kanako Yamada’s violin performance was to be held in 30 minutes. He knew the violinist. He had taught her violin when she visited him in New York two years before. He opened the door. Suddenly he remembered how he played the violin there just before leaving for New York. He almost heard the applause and
saw the bouquet of flowers given to him on that day. In the hall there were
hundreds of students waiting for the performance.
　　“I am her teacher, and yet nobody has paid attention to me. I will surprise them,” he thought. Before he noticed, he was standing at the wing of the stage. Nobody was there. The curtain was not drawn yet. Breathing deeply, he walked to the
center of the stage in front of the curtain expecting the audience’s surprised
voices and looks.But none of the student gasped nor looked surprised. Some were talking with their neighbors, some looking at the program pamphlets, and others using smartphones. He became angry. He thought, “Once I begin to play the violin, they will stop talking and listen to my beautiful music. Just you wait.” He began to play one of the most difficult violin pieces, “Carmen Fantasy” composed by Sarasate. No one noticed his performance. Combating tress and irritation he continued to play the violin. After playing for one minute, he stopped. He got angry, felt slighted, and went out of the hall.
　　“What cabbageheads! I’ll have to scold the dean of the Music Department. What is he teaching them?” he thought. It was incomprehensible for him that none of the
students paid attention to a great violinist like him.
He walked in long strides towards the main entrance of the Music Department building. When he approached the entrance, he saw a statue. The statue was playing the violin. “Who is this?” he wondered, and looked at the name plate. It read:

MR. TAKASHI KINOSHITA
THE GREATEST VIOLINIST JAPAN HAS EVER PRODUCED
February 20, 1970 – January 4, 2007

TO MARRY A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN

Takao, a stout 28-year-old company worker, was taking a subway train around seven o’clock in the evening that day. He was so exhausted after the day’s hard work that he soon fell asleep as soon as he sat on the seat.
　　About seven minutes later when he awoke, he saw a beautiful woman around 23 years old sitting on the seat opposite from his. “She must be an actress or a fashion model,” he thought. He could not help appreciating her beauty by looking at her stealthily from time to time. As she was absorbed in reading a book, she did not notice him. Her long eyelashes, well proportioned red lips, waving hair, and her slender body in a green sweater—everything about her was irresistible.
　　When the train stopped at the next station, several passengers got on and a middle aged man stood just in front of him obstructing his sight as if the man knew what Takao had been indulging in. Takao wanted to shout, “You are blocking my view!” Instead, he leaned his body to the left to secure the vision.
　　The train reached Kanayama Station, where he had to get off the train. He reluctantly stood up, when she also did the same. He watched her walk hurriedly toward the ticket gate. When she reached it and took out a commuter pass from her purse, she dropped a small notebook. Not noticing it, she went through the gate. When Takao passed through it, he bent down and picked up the notebook. He ran to catch up with her and cried, “Hey, Miss, you’ve dropped something.” She did not stop but walked hurriedly to the Meitetsu Line station. He tried to catch her but gave up, because he thought he would miss his train.
　　When Takao got on the train, he opened her notebook out of curiosity. It was just an ordinary notebook full of schedules. At the end of the notebook was written her name (Kaori Hanai) and telephone number.
　　When Takao returned home and switched the light on, he called her up remembering her face which was firmly embedded in his memory. While the beep was ringing, he was excited. “I can talk to a super-beautiful girl,” he thought. After a few beeps, he heard her voice.
　　“Hello,” Kaori said.
　　“Hello,” he said. “I think you dropped your notebook? I happened to pick it up.
　　There was a moment of silence.
　　“Are you still there?” he said.
　　“Yes, yes,” she said a little surprised. “Thank you. I am very grateful to you. I thought I would not be able to get it back. Could you return it to me? It’s important.”
　　“Of course. Is it all right with you that we meet at Kanayama Station tomorrow?”
　　“Yes, what time shall we make it?”
　　“How about seven in the evening? I’ll be standing in front of the Japan Railway ticket machine.”
　　“That’ll be fine. How can I identify you?”
　　“Oh, my name is Yamada. I am 28 years old and will be carrying a black bag.”
　　“Fine, I’ll be there at seven. Mr. Yamada,” she said.
　　That night Takeo could not sleep. He would be meeting with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She would say, “How can I thank you?” he would say, “No, no, you don’t have to thank me.” She would say, “But, could I treat you to dinner?” “No, don’t,” he would say. She would insist. So, he would have dinner with her. She would become fond of him, and, and . . . .
　　Ten minutes before seven, Takeo was standing in front of the ticket machine. She might appear at any moment. He searched for her among the busy people.
　　At seven o’clock she did not appear.
　　At seven fifteen, she did not appear. He thought she had some urgent business. He decided to wait for her for another fifteen minutes, when a man’s voice called him from behind, “Mr. Yamada, I presume.” Takao turned around and saw a handsome man around 30 years old. He felt like his head had been struck by an iron bar.
　　“Yes, I am. I’m Yamada. Are you . . . .?”
　　“My name is Hanai. I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but Kaori has an urgent business and asked me to meet you.”
　　“Oh, I see.” Takao said totally disappointed not unable to see her. “So she is married to this man,” he thought.
　　The man said, “So, could you return the notebook?
　　“Yes, of course,” Takao said and returned it.
　　“Thank you. This is a token of our thanks. Please accept it,” he said trying to hand in an envelope, apparently containing some money.
　　Takao refused to accept it in spite of his insistence.
　　Soon they parted ways. The man walked briskly into the crowd, and Takao plodded wearily. He thought he had no chance at all to marry her. He did not know that the man was her brother.

STORED IN YOUR HEART

If you replace your hand with a pickpocket’s,

you can’t help pickpocketing.

Five months after a heart transplant operation at Oregon Health & Science University, Jim Anderson, a high school biology teacher from Portland, Oregon, flew to Japan during the summer vacation in 2010. He specialized in the study of avian species. His pastime was bird watching. For the past 25 years after graduating from the University of Washington, he had traveled to many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Malaysia just to watch birds.

After arriving in Niigata Airport, he took a train for Myoko-kogen Station at the foot of Mt. Myoko. The 2454-meter-high mountain was famous for its rich variety of birds with more than 1000 types. In fact, Niigata Prefecture had the largest variety of birds in Japan. He expected to watch such birds as house martins (Japanese: iwatsubame), gray wagtails(kisekirei), shrikes (mozu), and Japanese bush warblurs (uguisu), all of which he had never seen in other countries.

When Anderson got off the train at Myoko-kogen Station, he met Kenji Obata, a 46-year-old biology professor at Niigata University. Obata was also interested in watching birds and had met Anderson in Columbia, the country with the largest variety of birds in the world, in 2009. Obata had climbed Mt. Myoko dozens of times and knew every nook and cranny of the mountain.

They stayed at Akakura Kanko Hotel near a ropeway station. The next day they rode the gondola to get to the starting point for the climb at around nine o’clock in the morning.

An hour and a half later they reached Otani Mountain Hut. Obata said, “Do you hear the sweet chirping of that bird? That’s Japanese uguisu.”

Anderson stopped. Everything around him became quiet. He heard the uguisu in the ozone-filled clean air. He looked at the direction of the chirping and found the tiny light green bird.

“Look, there it is!” he whispered.

He took out a camera from his backpack and took a picture.

“Great!” he exclaimed.

The weather forecast had anticipated cloudy skies in the afternoon. They had planned to climb to the top of the mountain enjoying the birds on their way and come down to the hotel around three o’clock.

While they were eating lunch at Tengudo, Obata said, “Early morning is the best for bird watching. Just a week ago, around five o’clock in the morning, guess what, I found a new house martin species. I am planning to report about it in the Japan Ornithological Congress in October.”

“Oh, that’s great. Please send me a copy.”

“Of course.”

They reached the top of the mountain around 1: 30. They enjoyed the scenery looking at Mt. Kurohime and Mt. Hiuchi whose tops were above the clouds.

At two o’clock they began to descend and reached a rocky area called Kusari-ba at 2000 meters. They climbed down it by grabbing a chain rope step by step. When they successfully came down Kusari-ba and were walking down the steep narrow road, rocks from landslide suddenly rolled down from above and hit Obata, who was walking ahead of Anderson. His right leg was broken and bleeding. Some more rocks again fell blocking the road to the hotel.

Anderson immediately walked to Obata and said, “Do you have something to tie your leg with?”

“Yes. I have a cloth rope in my backpack,” Obata said in a calm voice. “Please take it out and tie my thigh tightly.”

Anderson opened the backpack and tied his thigh tightly. They both knew it was impossible for Anderson to carry him down the mountain. Obata suggested that Anderson should go down the mountain alone and ask for rescue.

“Jim, the road has been blocked,” Obata said. “I will draw a detour map. Just follow the detour and you will reach Tengu-do in an hour. You don’t have to hurry. I can stand the pain. The bleeding has stopped.”

He drew a map showing the detour and their location.

“OK. I’ll get help as quick as I can,” Anderson said assuredly and left him.

First he had to walk along the ascending road to a fork point for twenty minutes. When he reached the fork, the sky suddenly became dark and it began to rain. The road became muddy and slippery. The thunder rolled and the wind began to blow. Anderson was drenched to the skin. He stumbled and fell five or six times.

Ten minutes later, he came to another fork. He took out the map and opened it. Alas, the paper was wet and the drawing had become obscured because of the rain. He tried to discern it desperately, but he could not. He remembered what Obata said, “When you come to another fork, take the left one.”

“I’m sure he told me to take the LEFT one,” he said to himself, and he wen left, but it was wrong.

In five minutes he lost his way. He tried to return to the fork, but could not. It was raining hard. The merciless lightning did not light his way. Now he was walking in tall bushes. He was exhausted and worried. He felt like he was walking in circles.

It was a quarter to four. He thought he had to rescue Obata before sunset. He remembered his high school teacher’s words: “When you are lost in the mountains, don’t descend, but ascend.” Desperately he began to climb the mountain.

He was crawling on his hands and knees along a steep stream. They were bleeding. Suddenly he remembered the beautiful green parrot he saw in a New Zealand forest.

Around four o’clock the rain stopped. The clouds disappeared. He came across an open space, where he took a rest. He saw the mountains and valleys in the mist.

Suddenly someone inside him said to him, “I know this place. Look at the hill on your left. That’s Okachi Hill. There should be a gentle sloping road leading to the hill around here. Yes, I remember. Walk for a few minutes to your left, and you will find the way to the hill.”

Confused, Anderson followed the voice. In five minutes, he came across a narrow road. The voice said, “Good. Walk down along this road, and you will reach the top of the hill.”

Anderson thought his brain had been replaced by a professional mountain climber’s.

After several descents and ascents, he finally reached the top of Okachi Hill. When he looked down from the top, he saw Otani Mountain Hut.

“The road down to the hut is on your right,” the voice said. Twenty minutes later he reached the hut and asked for help.

Half a year later back in Portland, Anderson happened to read a newspaper article about a second generation Japanese-American who was killed in a traffic accident in Washington State on March 15, 2010. He had graduated from Niigata University. He belonged to the mountain climbing club at the university.

　　Anderson remembered that he had his heart-transplant on the same day and that the surgeon had said that his new heart was brought from Washington State. 　

SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF NAGOYA CASTLE

SUDDEN DISAPBPEARANCE OF NAGOYA CASTLE

Prelude

Two golden shachihoko adorn the roof of Nagoya Castle donjon. Shachihoko is a monster with a tiger’s head and a carp’s body. It is said that shachihoko protects the castle from fire by pouring water from its mouth. The creature originated from an Indian mythological crocodile-like animal called Makara, which carried the Goddess of Ganga on both water and in the air.
The 333-year-old shachihoko were burned down when Nagoya Castle was destroyed by the U.S. firebombs on May 14, 1945. The castle was reconstructed in 1959. Today two second-generation shachihoko decorate it.

1

The male shachihoko named Kimpay dreamt on the night of November 12, 2012. He met the first-generation shachihoko in the dream. The whole body was badly charred with its tail half blown off.
“Listen to me,” the shachihoko said.
“I will,” Kimpay responded looking at the two bright big eyes. He felt a familiarity with the monster.
“I am your predecessor, the first-generation shachihoko.”
“Oh, God,” Kimpay was so surprised that it took some time for him to collect himself. “What do you want with me, my predecessor?”
“My son, I have come to convey my wish to you. I feel sorry that I failed to protect the castle during the war.”
“But you had protected it since the Edo era for more than 300 years.”
“Yes. I have protected it for 333 years. I remember the day when they put me and my wife on the donjon’s roof in 1612, just 400 years ago. It was our glorious day,but alas,” the first-generation shachihoko
stopped speaking, apparently overwhelmed by remorse. “I failed to protect the castle.”
“But you are not responsible. The bombs destroyed it. You shouldn’t regret it.”
“How foolish you are! I could have prevented the castle from burning.”
“I don’t believe it. How could you?”
“Don’t you　know anything about our superpower?”
“Superpower?
What power?”
“Darn it!
You are endowed with the power of extinguishing fire and flying.”
“Oh,　really? How wonderful! Then why did you fail to put out the fire?”
“A good　question. At that time when the war situation was deteriorating, foolish men　from Nagoya City decided to dismount me and my wife to keep us in a safe place,　but when we were lowered down to the second floor level on the morning of May　14, 1945, B29 bombers dropped bombs on the castle. Each of us was confined in a　box, wrapped in thick cloth and bound by ropes. Now my son, how can you use the　superpower in such a condition? When I smelled and heard the fire, I tried to　pour water, but it was too late.”
“That’s too　bad. Probably they didn’t believe in your power.”
“Exactly. I could have protected the castle, but my efforts were in vain. So, my son, you understand what I ask of you now.”
“To protect Nagoya Castle from fire.”
“Good. Do not forget.”
Saying so, the shachihoko disappeared.

2

　　Billions of kilometers away from the earth, just beyond the orbit of
Neptune, there exists the Kuiper Belt, a disc-shaped region consisting of over　70,000 icy objects. It is the home of comets.
It so happened that a dark object a kilometer in diameter, let’s call it
Comet X, was pushed out of the Kuiper Belt when it collided with neighboring　objects, and began to approach the sun. In the course of 400-year trave, it　passed the orbits of Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. When it passed Jupiter, it　entered the sun’s warm region and suddenly began to evaporate making a　million-kilometer-long pale tail.　No space telescopes, nor x-ray telescopes, nor human technology detected
the tiny comet, much less predicted its exact course. Reduced to an object of　half a kilometer in diameter, Comet X now passed the Mars.

3

When Kimpay woke from the dream, he told his spouse-shachihoko, Kanemi,　about the dream.
“So, our duty is to protect the castle from fire and work for the benefit
of Nagoya people,” Kimpay said.
“I see. But our castle is built of concrete and iron, so it won’t burn
down easily,” Kanemi said.
“I know. So, both of us are not necessary to protect the castle. You stay
here. I will fly around the city and see if there are any problems among the　people,” Kimpay said.
“Please take me with you. The castle won’t catch fire. I am tired of
staying on the castle.”
“No, you stay here. There are Edo era’s paintings, picture scrolls,
furnishing goods, swords, and other precious materials. You should stop any　fire and protect them.”
“If you say so,” Kanemi reluctantly obeyed him. “But, Kimpay-san, I don’t
know how to pour water from my mouth. Where is the water in the first place?”
“Our predecessor told us to drink the sea water. He said we could drink
limitless water in a large gulp. I will stay here while you fly to the Ise Bay
and drink water. Oh, and to fly, move your four fins like wings. They will
work, he said.”
Soon Kanemi　successfully flew to the Ise Bay, filled herself with water, and returned to　the castle.
“Now I am　ready. Please inspect Nagoya City and do your best for the people’s benefit.”　Kanemi said.
“OK, then.But before I leave, I have to tell this to our dear Castle.”
“I have　heard both of you,” Castle said in a bass voice. “Don’t worry about me. I will　take care of myself. Be careful and do your best, Kimpay.”
So, without　worrying about the castle and Kanemi, Kimpay moved his fins and flew to the　east of Nagoya.

4

　 When Kimpay was flying over the Higashiyama Zoo & Botanical
Gardens, he heard a child crying in the amusement park of the gardens.
Wondering why she was crying Kimpay flew down and landed about 10 meters away　from the girl.
She was still crying hard, “I want to ride the Ferris wheel. I want to
ride the Ferris wheel.”
Her mother was saying to her, “But the sign says ‘CLOSED FOR REPAIRS,’ so　it does not operate today. You must give up.”
But the little girl did not give up and kept crying. The mother was at a
loss.
Kimpay, determined to help them, immediately approached and said, “Little　girl, if you don’t mind, please ride on my back. You’ll enjoy the ride.”
Kimpay crouched before the girl so that she could get on him easily.
Looking at the tremendously big eyes and huge mouth, the girl was
terrified and suddenly began to cry harder, “I’m scared. I’m scared.”
Her mother got angry and said, “You are the golden shachihoko of Nagoya Castle, aren’t you? What are you doing here?
Don’t meddle in our affairs. It’s none of your business. Go away.”
So, Kimpay flew up into the sky disappointed.
He thought, “Since children will be scared to look at me, I should choose
adults to give helping hands to.”
Ten minutes later when Kimpay was flying over Aratama-bashi, a busy area in　Nagoya, he saw a middle-aged man and a young woman quarreling at a cross road.
The man was saying, “Why didn’t you stop? The signal was red. You must pay　for the damage to my car.”
“It was green, you fool. You must compensate me,” the woman shot back.
While they were arguing, several people gathered and watched them.
“It’s useless to talk to an idiot. Let’s go to the police,” the man said.
“Good idea. They’ll give the right judgment. You’ll be sorry,” she
retorted.
“You’ll be whining,” he said.
Kimpay thought, “This is a chance to help them. I’ll end the quarrel.”
He flew down towards the cross and landed before them.
“Let’s not fight. Kiss and be friends," Kimpay said.
Both of them were surprised at the monstrous intruder.
The woman said, “Why, you are the golden shachihoko. What are you doing here? None of your business. Get　lost.”
The man also said, “Get lost.”
Kimpay was again disappointed and rose up into the sky. He did not know what　to do for the benefit of the people. He thought he should call it a day and fly　back to the castle.
While he was circling above　Aratama-bashi to determine the direction for the castle, he saw a golden carp　being bullied by several dark carp in the Yamazaki River near Aratama-kobashi　Bridge.　He thought the golden carp was trying to escape from them, because she　seemed to be swimming in full speed in a zigzag course. One of the fast carp
caught up with her and dashed to her side. She turned on a dime when another　carp made a dash for her. That instant she jumped out of the river into the　air, and splashed down into the river. Now the dark carp surrounded her. She　had no chance to escape.
Kimpay thought he must protect the golden carp. “I have failed to help
human beings, but she’s not a human but fish. I am fish, too. So I’m sure I can　protect her.”
Kimpay dived down into the water between the dark carp and her.
He said to them, “Stop bullying her. She is my close relative. Look at
our golden color. I will never let you touch her.”
To Kimpay’s surprise, the golden carp complained that they were just
playing tag. She said she was it that time. All the carp said, “Don’t interrupt　us. Please go away. Big fish.”
Totally discouraged, Kimpay flew back to Nagoya Castle.
He thought, “It is beyond my power to help Nagoya people. Something is
wrong with them or with me.”

5

Comet X passed the orbit of Mars at the speed of 120,000 kilometers per
hour. The tail extended to a million kilometers because its surface had been evaporated by the sun’s heat. If the comet moved towards the sun at this speed, it would crash into it in 79 days. Comet X came within 1.5 hundred million kilometers of the sun. When it came into the earth’s orbit, it was pulled toward the earth.

6

When Kimpay returned to Nagoya Castle, he told Kanemi about his unsuccessful　experience.
“…in this way, they won’t accept
my kind offer. Something is wrong,” Kimpay said.
“I see, but haven’t you forced　your good will on them?” Kanemi said.
Listening to them, Castle joined　their conversation.
“Let me humbly say, Kimpay. I　think you did something beyond your power. It is impossible for us to solve　human skirmishes. What our predecessors told us is to protect Nagoya from fires　and natural disasters, not to meddle with human affairs. You should make the
most of your specialty. You have the power to pour as well as absorb unlimited　water. Why not use your specialty. You know, nobody will get angry if you have extinguished　a fire.”
Kimpay　understood what Castle said.
The next　day (December 11) around three o’clock in the afternoon, when Kimpay was flying　over Nakamura Ward, he saw black smoke rising. When he approached the smoke, he　saw a three-storied building burning. He heard fire engine sirens coming from a　distance. There was no time to lose, he thought. He hovered just above the　building and uttered, “Water!” and opened his mouth. A torrent of water gushed　out of it. In ten seconds the fire was extinguished. The onlookers were amazed　at Kimpay’s magical power.
“Did you　see that? That creature was the golden shachihoko
of Nagoya Castle,” one of the onlookers said.
“Yes, that was great!” another　said.
Kimpay　realized his power and understood what Castle said: use your specialty. He flew　back to Nagoya Castle in fine feather.

7

At eleven o’clock on the morning of December 12, 2012, John Kennedisky, an astronomer working for　the Mt. Lemmon Observatory in Arizona happened to discover Comet X. He made a　quick calculation and found that it was heading for the earth. He reported　about the comet to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The
director of the center, Isac Winestein, calculated its orbit based on the data　Kennedisky had sent to him. He was startled. It would hit the earth in 19 hours　and 57 minutes.
Winestein informed Thomas Franklin, chief of Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking Program run by the NASA of the comet. Franklin calculated the course again and confirmed that　it would collide against the earth. He immediately informed the NASA　administrator of the estimated time and place of the collision.
Time: at 7 seconds, 7 minutes, 7 o’clock
on the morning of December 12, 2012. A margin of error was 2 seconds
Place: at a latitude of 35 degrees, 10　minutes, 48 seconds, 67 north and a longitude 136 degrees, 54 minutes, 23　seconds, 63 east. That was at the intersection of Sakae 3-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya,　Aichi Prefecture, Japan. A margin of error was 2 kilometers.
The NASA　immediately informed the U.S. Defense Department, the Japanese government, and　astronomical observatories all over the world of the intimidating situation.
The　Japanese government received the information 19 hours and 28 minutes before the　collision. The government issued an emergency warning through the Internet,　television, and radio.
“This is an　emergency warning. A comet is going to hit Sakae, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture　in 19 hours. The shock heat will destroy all the areas within a radius of 10　kilometers from Sakae. The buildings within the radius of 15 kilometers will collapse　by the shock winds of 50 kilometers per hour. The residents within the radius　of 30 kilometers from Sakae must immediately evacuate from the area. Please do　not rush but act in a cool and collected manner. For the meantime, Japan
Railways Central, Meitetsu Lines, Kintetsu Lines, Aonami Lines, subways, and　buses will operate. Extra trains will also operate. I will repeat….”
The people　in the area were all panic-stricken. All the roads were congested with people　and vehicles. All the stations were crowded with fleeing people who were　crying, screaming, shouting, and quarreling.
“Where are　you, honey?”
“Mom! Mom!”
“A train is　coming at platform No. 4. Please do not push! Don’t push!”

8

At two o’clock on the afternoon of December 11 (17 hours and seven minutes before the collision), some twenty men from the Culture and Tourism Department of Nagoya City were carrying out and loading onto the trucks the precious art work such as the wall paintings of fusuma and the wooden ceiling paintings, armor, and hanging scrolls that were decorated in Nagoya Castle.
Kimpay and Kanemi felt something was wrong with people in Nagoya. Kanemi flew away from the castle to see the cause. She looked down at the ground and saw both the National Highway No. 22 and Ohotsu Street jam-packed. She flew down onto the ground near the City Hall Subway Station and asked a hurrying old woman what the matter was.
“Don’t surprise me, Golden shachihoko. Haven’t you heard the news?
A comet is going to hit Sakae soon,” she said.
“Oh, God! When will it hit?”
“At 7: 07:07 tomorrow morning, they say.”
Kanemi hurriedly returned to the castle and told the news to Kimpay and Castle.
Kimpay said, “Then it will be dangerous to stay here. We should also evacuate…, no. No, we will say here. This is the time for us to protect Nagoya and its people.”
Kanemi and Castle agreed with him.
Castle said earnestly, “You are right.
This is the time we will defend Nagoya. I wish I had wings so that I could fly　and attack the comet.”
Kanemi was moved by Castle’s words,　talked to Kimpay in a small voice, and said, “We will let you fly, Castle.”
“Really? Thank God! I will crash the comet into pieces.”
The three of them discussed how to attack the comet. They thought it would be nonsense to fly right then because they did not know the course of the comet, much less its location. Instead,they reached a conclusion to wait till the last moment to see its exact course and location.
　　The next day, at 4:07 on the morning of　December 12, Comet X was making a dash at the Japanese archipelago at 20　kilometers per second. It was burning hard and red.
At 6:50,　the sun rose. The blue roof tiles of five-storied Nagoya Castle reflected the　sunlight and shone in the morning glow. The shachihoko
couple had descended to the first floor the night before and had tightly fixed　themselves on the walls of the first floor. Kimpay was on the north side wall,　and Kanemi on the south side. Both of them had their heads downward and tails　upward. Just below the first floor was ishigaki
or a base mound.

9

At 33 seconds before Comet X hit Sakae, Nagoya, the lightning rod antenna on the roof of the castle caught the comet. Castle said, “Now!” and a tremendous amount of water gushed from the mouths of Kimpay and Kanemi against the base mound of the donjon. The clouds of spray rose 100 meters high.
At 31 seconds before the crash, the speed of the gushing water reached 8 kilometers per second. Then, believe it or not, the donjon floated one centimeter above the mound. The next moment, it flew towards the comet. Nobody saw the donjon’s brave flight.
At 25 seconds before the crash, the comet approached within 500 kilometers of the earth, and the donjon reached 100 kilometers above the earth. The distance between the two was 400 kilometers. The comet had a bluish yellow tail and the donjon had two white tails.
At 20 seconds, the distance shrank to 300 kilometers.
At 15 seconds, their distance was 150 kilometers. The two would collide with each other in 5 seconds.
4 seconds before the collision, their distance was 120 kilometers.
3 seconds, 90 kilometers.
2 seconds, 60 kilometers.
1 second, 30 kilometers.
The next moment, they collided with each other causing a tremendous explosion. The explosion energy was 1000 times aspowerful as an atomic bomb.
The donjon was broken into pieces. While they were falling towards the earth, they burnt and disappeared. Kimpay and Kanemi flew away at full speed from the donjon as directed by Castle. They suffered from the heat wave from the collision. The golden scales of their bodies melted and the copper cover appeared under the scales.
The comet broke into two. One burnt up; the other was intact and flew down towards the Ise Bay. Kimpay and Kanemi saw half of the comet fall into the bay. They rushed down to the bay. Their copper covers came off and from inside the cover the naked earthenware bodies appeared. When the fiery comet dropped into the sea, a crown-shaped water ring rose 1,000 meters high above the sea. The top of the ring stopped rising momentarily and crashed down onto the sea making a round deep hole in it. The surrounding waters of the hole immediately flowed into the center, crashed together, and made a 500-meter high water pillar. It crashed down again and made a great tsunami. It rushed to Nagoya Port, the Chubu International Airport, and Yokkaichi Port at the speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Even though Kimpay and Kanemi were completely exhausted, they rushed with gritted teeth and flew down onto the spot the comet had crashed. The tsunami would arrive at the shore in one minute.
As soon as Kimpay and Kanemi landed in the sea, they opened their mouths as wide as possible and began to drink the seawater.One full gulp, another full gulp, and another full gulp. They were determined, “This is the very moment to save Nagoya, keep the promise, and mourn for Castle. Tears mixed with seawater stood at the corners of their eyes. Both of them thought they would be glad to sacrifice their lives if they could save Nagoya. They were gazing at Nagoya Port in the far distance, constantly praying.
The tsunami heading for the Nagoya Port went over the breakwater easily and advanced towards the piers, where there were thousands of piled containers and automobiles for export.
Just five seconds before the tsunami reached the piers, it stopped and began to flow backward. They retreated from the Chubu International Airport and the Yokkaichi Port, too.
Three minutes later, all the tsunami was pulled back towards the center of the Ise Bay, collided together, and countervailed. Soon the boisterous sea changed into a gentle sea.
Seeing it, Kimpay and Kanemi put forth their final effort and flew towards the base mound of Nagoya Castle. When they reached it, they lay there more　dead than alive. They looked at each other’s earthenware face, which looked satisfied　with their accomplishment.
“You’ve done a good job, Kimpay,” Kanemi gasped out.
“You, too,” Kimpay said in a feeble voice.
Those were their last words. Their earthenware bodies collapsed gradually and turned into two mounds of soil.

10

　　Around seven o’clock on the morning of　December 12, the evacuees who had moved to Ogaki, about 50 kilometers west of　Nagoya, were looking at the eastern sky over Nagoya. When they saw a sharp　light run in the sky, they thought their houses had been destroyed. All of them　were discouraged, but when they heard the 10 o’clock morning news, they could　not believe it.
The news went:
“The　comet exploded and burn up in the atmosphere. No damage has been reported in　Nagoya City and the surrounding areas.”
At nine o’clock on the morning of the　next day, the Nagoya Castle gate was opened and many tourists visited it. They　walked along the moat, crossed the bridge, and when they reached the Honmaru donjon site, they were surprised　to see no castle.
“Look, there is no castle!”
“My! Only the base mound. What’s　happened?”
The news of the sudden disappearance of　the castle spread all over Japan instantaneously.
At four o’clock in the afternoon,　newspaper extras were delivered throughout Japan. The headline read, “Nagoya Castle　Donjon Crashes Comet. Shachihoko　Saves Nagoya.” The extra had several photographs taken by the Hubble Space　Telescope and a NASA satellite telescope. The serially taken photographs showed　how the castle approached and crashed against the comet, and how the tsunami　was advancing toward Nagoya Port.
One of photographs showed Kimpay and　Kanemi’s faces. They were drinking the seawater with their eyes wide open.

The End