Strange Weather in Tokyo

by Hiromi Kawakami

After a moment’s hesitation, I became paralyzed by the sheer number of choices.

‘It doesn’t matter to me whether these chicks are male or female.’ ‘I see.’ ‘I thought one chick would be lonely on its own.’ ‘Really?’ ‘Really.’

It seemed strange to be surrounded by so many living things. When I was in Tokyo, I couldn’t help but feel that I was always alone,or occasionally in the company of Sensei.

But of course, if I really paid attention, there were plenty of other living things surrounding me in the city as well. It was never just the two of us, Sensei and me. Even when we were at the bar, I tended to only take notice of Sensei. But Satoru was always there, along with the usual crowd of familiar faces. And I never really acknowledged that any of them were alive in any way. I never gave any thought to the fact that they were leading the same kind of complicated life as I was.