What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

“Seitaro, don’t you worry sometimes you might get old without ever getting your novels published?” His eyeballs roll to the corners, like he’s digging through the files in his brain. Then he speaks. “It’s not like I’m not worried, but Haruki Murakami debuted at thirty. Knowing that kept me going all through my twenties.” “Uh-huh.” “But when it started looking like I couldn’t count on that, I panicked and looked around for another role model. Jiro Asada made his debut at forty.” “Great. So you got a ten-year reprieve.” Seitaro laughs. “If I miss that deadline there are probably others. There’s no age limit on a writing debut. I figure everybody has their own personal timing that works best for them.”