“Please see if you can change your mind . . . Director!”
“I’m telling you. I can’t do it! Don’t you get it? It’s impossible! I don’t understand you. Usually, there you are, quiet as a mouse, and now, the first time you open your mouth, it’s to pester me for a loan? What’s the matter with you? Do you have no shame? Someone at your stage in life. Don’t you think you should be a little more restrained in the requests you make of others? Ah, here’s a thought: Have you tried asking your family, or relatives, for a loan? Remind me, where are you from? Where does your family live?”
“Director.”
“I can’t do it. I told you.”
“I know you stole Reina Igarashi’s panties. But I won’t tell anyone.”
“Wh-what?”
“I promise. I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”
“. . .”
After quite a long silence, the director muttered, “Well, I’ll think about it.” His voice was very subdued.
“Thank you! I appreciate your kindness!”
Meanwhile, in the kitchenette, two women were preparing the tea tray, and an excited conversation on another topic was taking place. Really? Oh, my goodness, you must be thrilled! Congratulations! Supervisor Tsukada’s happy cries reached our ears from the room down the corridor. What could the excitement be about? I wondered. When I inquired, I was told that the director was going to become a father all over again. The director’s wife was expecting, and the baby was due next year.
Today i spent the whole day exactly as I wanted.
In the morning I hung my washing out on the line, I did a little dusting, I watched television while I had my breakfast, and then, after a brief nap, I headed out to the shopping district.
Once there, I went to the pharmacy, the sake shop, and then the bakery. On my way back to my apartment, I decided to drop by the park, and sat down on one of the three benches on the south side, the one farthest from the entrance.
This is the Woman in the Purple Skirt’s Exclusively Reserved Seat.
I’ve got to keep a good lookout. I don’t want just anyone to sit here.
Which is why I have decided I should have this seat. I am well aware of the exhortation written on the notice board: “Don’t hog the bench. Share and share alike.” So far, though, no one has complained. If, by some chance, some special person—perhaps even the rightful owner—were to give me a tap on the shoulder and say, “Hey, that’s my seat!” then . . . I would be only too happy to concede it.
After placing my shopping bag right beside me, I take out the little paper bag with the cream bun. I can feel a glimmer of warmth coming from the bread. Gently, I tear the bun in two, and lay one half on my lap. Just as I am about to take a bite from the other half, I feel—what perfect timing—a light tap on my shoulder.
I look up to see a child cackling with laughter and running away.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Natsuko Imamura is one of Japan's most exciting writers. Nominated three times for the Akutagawa Prize, the most prestigious literary award in Japan, she won it in 2019, for The Woman in the Purple Skirt. A self-professed fan of Yoko Ogawa's, she has been called "a second Sayaka Murata" (the author of Convenience Store Woman) for her use of acerbic humor and satire. Born in Hiroshima, she now lives in Osaka, with her husband and their daughter. Like the main character in The Woman in the Purple Skirt, she has worked in a hotel as a housekeeper.
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