The Housekeeper and the Professor

by Yōko Ogawa

The Professor would certainly have explained it to me if I’d asked, but I felt that I would have a much deeper understanding if I struggled with it alone for a while. This

Try imagining one little bird sitting on a branch, singing in a clear, high voice. He has a pretty little beak and colorful feathers. You stare at him, enchanted; but as soon as you breathe, he flies away, leaving only the bare branch, and a few dried leaves fluttering in the breeze.” The Professor pointed out at the dark garden, as if the bird had really just flown away. The shadows seemed deeper and longer in the rain. “Yes, 1 – 1 = 0. A lovely equation, don’t you think?”

The Professor was delighted to be celebrating an eleven-year-old’s birthday. He treated this simple party as though it were an important rite, and I thought of how precious the day of Root’s birth was to me, too.