along, strapped to my tripod on the journey over the mountain.
a€?Do come in. I dona€™t mind in the least.a€?
She steps boldly in, with no hint of hesitation. A wel -formed neck emerges above the kimono col ar, vivid against its somber hue. This contrast first strikes my eye as she seats herself before me.
a€?Is that a Western book? It must be about something very difficult.a€?
a€?Oh, hardly.a€?
a€?Wel , whata€™s it about, then?a€?
a€?Yes, wel , actual y, I dona€™t real y understand it myself.a€?
She laughs. a€?Thata€™s why youa€™re studying, is it?a€?
a€?Ia€™m not studying. Al Ia€™ve done is open it in front of me on the desk and start dipping into it.a€?
a€?Is it interesting to read like that?a€?
a€?Yes, it is.a€?
a€?Why?a€?
a€?Because with novels and suchlike, this is the most entertaining way to read.a€?
a€?Youa€™re rather strange, arena€™t you?a€?
a€?Yes, I suppose I am a little.a€?
a€?Whata€™s wrong with reading from the beginning?a€?
a€?If you say you have to start at the beginning, that means you have to read to the end.a€?
a€?What a funny reason! Why shouldna€™t you read to the end?a€?
a€?Oh, therea€™s nothing wrong with it, of course. I do it too, if I want to know about the story.a€?
a€?What do you read if it isna€™t the story? Is there anything else to read?a€?
There speaks a woman, I think to myself. I decide to test her a little.
a€?Do you like novels?a€?
a€?Me?a€? she says abruptly. Then she adds rather evasively, a€?Yes, wel . . .a€? Not very much, it seems.
a€?Youa€™re not clear whether you like them or not, then?a€?
a€?Whether I read a novel or not is neither here nor there to me.a€ She gives the distinct impression that she takes no account of their existence.
a€?In that case, why should it matter whether you read it from the beginning, or from the end, or just dip into it in a desultory way? I dona€™t see why you should consider my way of reading so strange.a€?
a€?But you and I are different.a€?
a€?In what way?a€? I ask, gazing into her eyes. This is the moment for the test, I think, but her gaze doesna €™t so much as falter.
She gives a quick laugh. a€?Dona€™t you understand?a€?
a€?But you must have read quite a lot when you were young,a€? I say, abandoning my single line of attack and attempting a rearguard action.
a€?I like to believe Ia€™m stil young, you know. Real y, you are pathetic.a€ My arrow has gone wide again. Therea€™s no relaxing in this game.
Final y pul ing myself together, I manage to retort, a€?It shows youa€™re already past your youth, to be able to say that in front of a man.a€?
a€?Wel , youa€™re far from young yourself, to be able to make that remark. Is it stil so fascinating, for a man of your age, al this talk of being head over heels and heels over head, and having pimples, and such adolescent stuff?a€?
a€?It is, yes, and it always wil be.a€?
a€?My, my! So thata€™s how you come to be an artist, then.a€?
a€?Absolutely. Ita€™s because Ia€™m an artist that I dona€™t need to read a novel from cover to cover. On the other hand, wherever I choose to dip in is interesting for me. Talking to you is interesting too. In fact, ita€™s so interesting that Ia€™d like to talk to you every day while Ia€™m staying here. Come to think of it, I wouldna€™t mind fal ing in love with you. That would make it even more interesting. But we wouldna€™t need to marry, no matter how in love with you I was. A world where fal ing in love requires marrying is a world where novels require reading from beginning to end.a€?
a€?That means that an artist is someone who fal s in love unemotional y.a€?
a€?No, ita€™s not
a€?Yes, that does look like an interesting thing to do. Wel then, tel me a little about the place youa€™re reading now. Ia€™d like to know what intriguing things emerge.a€?
a€?Ita€™s not something one should talk about. Same with a paintinga€”the worth of the thing disappears completely if you talk about it, doesna€™t it?a€?
