After the Quake

HARUKI MURAKAMI

When he opens the door, there's Frog.

When the man gets home,

there's Frog, a huge man-sized frog, who says,

"A large earthquake will strike again. This time in Tokyo."

"Help me stop it,

to save Tokyo from destruction."

To do so,

Frog must battle the worm filled with hate under the ground.

So,

he wants the man to help him.

Will the two

be able to defeat Worm?

All we can do

is wait for the story to unfold.

Good morning.

The number of people dead or missing has reached nearly 2,800.

This morning, full-scale rescue operations have begun…

Is that smoke still coming out?

Over a day has passed, right?

The epicenter was around Kobe City and Nishinomiya City.

Many were killed or injured when coastal apartments collapsed,

and over 8,000 damaged buildings trapped people underneath.

One thousand eight hundred and three people.

There are people still trapped underneath a building…

Still hard to believe.

The number of areas within Kobe City and Ashiya City that is in need

of rescue work has gone up to 816. The Self-Defense Force has been rescuing…

You didn't eat yesterday?

I'll take that.

I had a dream earlier.

I haven't had one since we got married.

It was the first bad dream in a while.

What was it about?

I can't remember.

We're above Nagata Ward in Kobe.

The sky is getting lighter. Fires are blazing down below.

Smoke from the fires is reaching this altitude nonstop.

1,681 DEAD, 1,017 MISSING

The following are the newly confirmed names of the deceased.

Hideki Takami.

Michio Tokaji.

Shino Ueno.

Kentaro Ninomiya.

Takeshi Morimoto.

Shinya Adachi.

Tomiko Adachi.

Next, Suma Ward, Kobe City.

Su-gwang Choi.

Nishinomiya City.

Sho Takai.

Takamitsu Kato.

Yuri Nakakita.

Ashiya City.

Miyo Mori.

Next, Higashinada Ward.

Haruka Kato.

Seiko Chujo.

Wataru Mori.

Jun Kudo.

Nada Ward.

Kengo Hashimoto.

Motohiro Kisoi.

I'm home.

Mimei?

"I don't intend to ever come back.

To be blunt,

there is nothing inside you that you can give me.

You're sweet and kind,

but to me,

it felt like I was living with a chunk of air.

But that's not just your fault.

I'm sure there are many women who will love you more.

If any of my things are left, please throw them away."

Hello. I'm Kamisu, Mimei's uncle.

Come in.

I'm sorry. I never knew Mimei had an uncle.

No problem.

By the way, about that letter she wrote…

I read it.

All right.

Then…

Please fill this out.

DIVORCE NOTICE

The two witnesses have been filled in.

MIMEI KOMURA

All you need to do is sign your name.

-As for property division-- -Wait.

This is all so sudden.

Let me talk to her directly.

Since I'm the one who came, I'm sure you can take a hint.

Come on.

"Consider it as having had a bad dream."

That's what she said.

What was the reason? I don't understand.

You might be the only one who doesn't understand.

What?

What was written in that letter says it all.

The only truth…

is this.

Sign it.

MIMEI

I heard you're taking a long leave of absence.

Yeah.

You feel like going somewhere.

Why do you think so?

It's pretty obvious.

Have you ever been to Hokkaido?

No, I haven't.

Would you be willing to go?

Why?

Actually…

there's a small package I want delivered to Kushiro.

It's something personal, and I don't want it treated roughly.

A small package?

This.

Meet my sister at Kushiro Airport

and give that to her.

Then she'll take care of your trip.

Oh, and…

wait with that box in hand just outside the airport's gate,

and my sister will know it's you.

All right.

-There she is! -Thanks for waiting.

Long time no see.

GREAT HANSHIN EARTHQUAKE FRAMEWORK OF RECONSTRUCTION HQ

5,244 DEAD

Hey.

Mr. Komura. Sorry. Did I make you wait?

Oh, uh…

I'm Keiko Sasaki. My brother works with you.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.

No, it's my fault for being late.

And this is my friend Shimao.

Nice to meet you.

Shall we go?

I heard your wife passed away. It must be hard for you.

Huh?

No, she didn't die.

But that's what my brother said.

We just got a divorce. She's doing fine as far as I know.

Really?

Why would I lie?

There's no way I could have misheard something that important.

I'm sorry for saying something so rude.

No.

It doesn't matter which it was anyway. They're pretty much the same.

I'm truly sorry.

It's all right. Don't worry about it.

Oh yeah. Here.

Let me give you the package first.

Um…

If you don't mind, could you hold on to it for now?

Huh?

I forget easily.

If I lose it somewhere, my brother will get mad at me.

-But… -That's true.

You really are forgetful, Keiko.

I'll give it to you later, then.

RESTAURANT MARSH UTOPIA

Is ramen OK with you?

Huh?

Oh, yeah.

Kushiro is so cold, isn't it?

It's common to see people fall asleep drunk

and end up freezing to death on the street.

Yeah.

Is that so common?

So, please be careful.

What?

What's your wife's name?

Huh?

It feels awkward to keep calling her your wife.

Well…

Her name's Mimei.

Mimei?

What's the kanji for that?

"Mi", as in "not yet", and "mei", as in "name".

Her name means "doesn't have a name yet".

Are you serious?

Her father was a bit strange.

He intended to name her properly when he came up with a real name.

"He just couldn't make up his mind," Mimei used to say, laughing.

Interesting dad.

Isn't it like being put on hold forever?

Here you go.

Even though I'm here, it doesn't feel like I've come very far at all.

Strange, isn't it?

Did you want to go far away?

Yes.

I did.

But…

you can't escape yourself, no matter how far you go.

Same as your shadow.

Hey, could I ask you a bit more about Mimei?

Go ahead.

When did she leave?

Five days after the earthquake. So, about two weeks ago.

Did it have anything to do with the quake?