Kafka on the Shore (49 page)

"That I'm bringing about her death?"

"I'm not blaming you for this, mind you," he says. "It's actually for the best."

"Why?"

He doesn't answer this. You're supposed to find the answer to that, his silence tells me. Or maybe he's saying, It's too obvious to even think about.

I lean back in my seat, shut my eyes, and let my body go limp. "Oshima?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know what to do anymore. I don't even know what direction I'm facing in. What's right, what's wrong—whether I should keep on going ahead or turn around. I'm totally lost."

Oshima keeps silent, no answer forthcoming.

"You've got to help me. What am I supposed to do?" I ask him.

"You don't have to do anything," he says simply.

"Nothing?"

He nods. "Which is why I'm taking you to the mountains."

"But what should I do once I get there?"

"Just listen to the wind," he says. "That's what I always do."

I mull this over.

He gently lays a hand over mine. "There are a lot of things that aren't your fault. Or mine, either. Not the fault of prophecies, or curses, or DNA, or absurdity. Not the fault of Structuralism or the Third Industrial Revolution. We all die and disappear, but that's because the mechanism of the world itself is built on destruction and loss. Our lives are just shadows of that guiding principle. Say the wind blows. It can be a strong, violent wind or a gentle breeze. But eventually every kind of wind dies out and disappears. Wind doesn't have form. It's just a movement of air. You should listen carefully, and then you'll understand the metaphor."

I squeeze his hand back. It's soft and warm. His smooth, sexless, delicately graceful hand. "So you think it's better for me to be away from Miss Saeki for the time being?"

"I do, Kafka. It's the best thing right now. We should let her be by herself. She's bright, and tough. She's managed to put up with a terrible kind of loneliness for a long time, a lot of painful memories. She can make whatever decisions she needs to make alone."

"So I'm just a kid who's getting in the way."

"That's not what I mean," Oshima says softly. "That's not it at all. You did what you had to do. What made sense to you, and to her. Leave the rest up to her. This might sound cold, but there's nothing you can do for her now. You need to get into the mountains and do your own thing. For you, the time is right."

"Do my own thing?"

"Just keep your ears open, Kafka," Oshima replied. "Just listen. Imagine you're a clam."

When he got back to the inn, Hoshino found Nakata—no surprise—still fast asleep. The sack he'd put next to him with bread and orange juice was untouched. The old man hadn't shifted an inch, probably hadn't woken up once the whole time. Hoshino counted up the hours. Nakata had gone to sleep at two the previous afternoon, which meant he'd been asleep for thirty solid hours. What day is it, anyway? Hoshino wondered. He was completely losing track of time. He took his memo book out of his bag and checked.

Let's see, he told himself, we arrived in Tokushima on a Saturday on the bus from Kobe, then Nakata slept till Monday. On Monday we left Tokushima for Takamatsu, Thursday was all that ruckus with the stone and thunder, and that afternoon he went to sleep. So skip ahead one night and that would make today... Friday. It's like the old guy came to Shikoku to attend some Sleep Festival or something.

Like the night before, Hoshino took a bath, watched TV for a while, then climbed into his futon. Nakata was still breathing peacefully, sound asleep. Whatever, Hoshino thought. Just go with the flow. Let him sleep as much as he wants. No need to worry about that. And he himself fell asleep, at ten-thirty.

At five the next morning the cell phone in his bag went off, jolting him awake.

Nakata was still out like a light.

Hoshino reached for the phone. "Hello."

"Mr. Hoshino!" A man's voice.

"Colonel Sanders?" Hoshino said, recognizing the voice.

"The very one. How's it hanging, sport?"

"Fine, I guess.... But how'd you get this number? I didn't give it to you, and the phone's been turned off all this time so those clowns from work won't bother me. So how could you call me? You're kind of freaking me out here."

"It's like I told you, I'm neither a god nor a Buddha, not a human being. I'm something else again—a concept. So making your phone ring is a cinch. Piece of cake. Whether it's turned on or not makes not one jot of difference, my friend. Don't let every little thing get to you, okay? I could've run over and been right there beside you when you woke up, but I figured that'd be a bit of a shock."

"You bet it would."

"Which explains the phone call. I'm a well-mannered person, after all."

"I appreciate it," Hoshino said. "So anyway, what're we supposed to do with the stone? Nakata and I managed to flip it over so that entrance thing opened up. Lightning was flashing like crazy outside, and the stone weighed a ton. Oh, that's right—I haven't told you about Nakata yet. He's the guy I'm traveling with."

"I know all about Mr. Nakata," Colonel Sanders said. "No need to explain."

"You know about him?" Hoshino said. "Okay.... Anyhow, Nakata went into hibernation after that, and the stone's still here. Don't you think we should get it back to the shrine? We might be cursed for taking it without permission."

"You never give up, do you? How many times did I tell you there's no curse?" Colonel Sanders said disgustedly. "Keep the stone there for the time being. You opened it up, and eventually you'll have to close it again. Then you can take it back. But it's not time for that yet. Get it? We okay here?"

"Yeah, I get it," Hoshino said. "Things that are open have to be shut. Things you have, you gotta return the way they were. All right already! Anyhow, I've decided not to think about things so much. I'll go along with whatever you want, no matter how crazy it sounds. I had a kind of revelation last night. Taking crazy things seriously is—a serious waste of time."

"A very wise conclusion. There's that saying, 'Pointless thinking is worse than no thinking at all.'"

"I like that."

"Very suggestive, don't you think?"

"Have you heard the saying 'Sheepish butlers' surgical bottle battles'?"

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a tongue-twister. I made it up."

"Your point being?"

"No point, really. I just felt like saying it."

"Can the stupid comments, all right? I don't have much patience with inanity. You'll drive me nuts if you keep it up."

"Sorry," Hoshino said. "But why'd you call me, anyway? You must have had a reason to call so early."

"That's right. It completely slipped my mind," Colonel Sanders said. "Here's the thing—I want you to leave that inn right this minute. No time to eat breakfast. Just wake up Mr. Nakata, grab the stone, and get out. Get a cab, but don't have the inn call one for you. Go out to the main street and flag one down. Then give the driver this address. Do you have something to write with?"

"Yep, just a sec," Hoshino replied, grabbing a pen and his notebook from his bag.

"Broom and dustpan, check."

"Enough with the stupid jokes already!" Colonel Sanders yelled into the phone.

"I'm serious here. Not a minute to lose."

"Okay, okay. Go ahead."

Colonel Sanders recited the address and Hoshino wrote it down, repeating it to make sure he got it right: "Apartment 308, Takamatsu Park Heights 16-15, 3-chome. Is that it?"

"That's fine," Colonel Sanders replied. "You'll find the key under a black umbrella stand at the front door. Unlock the door and go inside. You can stay there as long as you like. There's a stock of food and things, so you won't have to go out for the time being."

"That's your place?"

"It is indeed. I don't own it, though. It's rented. So make yourself at home. I got the place for you two."

"Colonel?"

"Yeah?"

"You told me you're not a god, or a Buddha, or a human being, correct?"

"Correct."

"So I'm assuming you're not of this world."

"You got it."

"Then how could you rent an apartment? You're not human, so you don't have all the papers and stuff you need, right? A family register, local registration, proof of income, official stamp and seal and all that. If you don't have those, nobody's gonna rent you a place. Did you cheat or something? Like change a leaf by magic into an official stamp? Enough underhanded stuff's gone on already, I don't want to get mixed up in any more."

"You just don't get it, do you?" Colonel Sanders said, clicking his tongue. "You are one major dimwit. Is your brain made out of jello, you spineless twit? A leaf? What do you think I am, one of those magical raccoons? I'm a concept, get it? Con-cept! Concepts and raccoons aren't exactly the same, now are they? What a dumb thing to say.... Do you really think I went over to the real estate agent's, filled out all the forms, bargained with them to lower the rent? Ridiculous! I have a secretary take care of temporal things. My secretary gets all the necessary documents and things together. What do you expect?"

"Ah—so you have a secretary!"

"Damn right I do! Who do you think I am, anyway? You're way out of line. I'm a busy man, so why shouldn't I have a secretary?"

"All right, all right—don't blow a gasket. I was just pulling your leg. Anyway, why do we have to leave so fast? Can't we at least have a bite before we go? I'm starved, and Mr. Nakata's out like a light. I couldn't wake him up no matter how hard I try."

"Listen up. This is no joke. The police are scouring the town for you. First thing this morning, they've been making the rounds of hotels and inns, questioning everyone. They've already got a description of both of you. So once they start nosing around it's only a matter of time. The two of you stand out, let's face it. There's not a moment to lose."

"The cops?" Hoshino shouted. "Gimme a break! We haven't done anything wrong. Sure, I ripped off a few motorcycles back in high school. Just joyriding—it wasn't like I was gonna sell them or anything. I always took them back. Never done anything illegal since. Taking that stone from the shrine is about the worst thing I've done. And you told me to."

"This has nothing to do with the stone," Colonel Sanders said flatly. "You're a real dunce sometimes. Forget the stone. The police don't know anything about it, and wouldn't give a damn if they did. They're not going to be up at the crack of dawn beating down doors over some stone. We're talking about something much more serious."

"What do you mean?"

"The police are after Mr. Nakata because of it."

"I don't get it. He's the last person you'd ever imagine committing a crime. What kind of crime? And how could he be involved?"

"No time to go into that now. You have to get him out of there. Everything depends on you. Are we clear here?"

"I don't get it," Hoshino repeated, shaking his head. "It just doesn't make any sense. So they're gonna tag me as an accomplice?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll question you. Time's a-wasting. Don't bother your head over it now, just do as I say."

"Listen, you gotta understand one thing about me. I hate cops. They're worse than the yakuza—worse than the SDF. They're awful, the things they do. They strut around and love nothing better than tormenting the weak. I had plenty of run-ins with cops when I was in high school, even after I started driving trucks, so the last thing I need is to get into a fight with them. There's no way you can win, plus you can't shake 'em off afterward. You know what I mean? God, how'd I get mixed up in all this? You see, what I—"

The phone went dead.

"Jeez," Hoshino said. He sighed deeply and tossed the cell phone into his bag, then tried to wake Nakata up.

"Hey, Mr. Nakata. Gramps. Fire! Flood! Earthquake! Revolution! Godzilla's on the loose! Get up, already!"

It was some time before Nakata woke up. "I finished the beveling," he said. "The rest I used as kindling. No, cats don't take baths. I'm the one who took the bath."

Obviously in his own little world.

Hoshino shook the old man's shoulder, pinched his nose, tugged at his ears, and finally roused him to the land of the living.

"Is that you, Mr. Hoshino?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me," Hoshino replied. "Sorry to wake you up."

"No problem. Nakata was going to get up soon anyway. Don't worry about it. I finished with the kindling."

"Good. But something's come up—something not so good—and we have to get out of here right now."

"Is it about Johnnie Walker?"

"That I don't know. I've got my sources, and they told me we better make ourselves scarce. The cops are after us."

"Is that right?"

"That's what he said. But what happened with you and this Johnnie Walker guy?"

"Didn't Nakata already tell you?"

"No, you didn't."

"I feel like I did, though."

"No, you never told me the most important part."

"Well, what happened was—Nakata killed him."

"You gotta be kidding!"

"No, I'm not."

"Jeez Louise," Hoshino muttered.

Hoshino threw his belongings into his bag and wrapped the stone back up in its cloth. It was the same weight as it had been originally. Not light, but at least he could carry it. Nakata put his things in his canvas bag. Hoshino went to the front desk and told them something had come up suddenly and they had to check out. Since he'd paid in advance, it didn't take long. Nakata was still a bit unsteady on his feet but could walk.

"How long did I sleep?" he asked.

"Let me see," Hoshino said, doing the math. "About forty hours, give or take."

"I feel like I slept well."

"No wonder. If you don't feel refreshed after that kind of record-breaking sleep, then sleep's kind of pointless, isn't it. Hey, you hungry?"

"Yes, I am. Very hungry."

"Can you hold off a while? First we have to get out of here, as soon as we can. Then we'll eat."

"That's all right. I can wait."

Hoshino helped him out onto the main street and flagged down a cab. He told the driver the address, and the driver nodded and sped off. The cab left the city, drove down a main thoroughfare, and entered a suburb. The neighborhood was upscale and quiet, quite a contrast from the noisy area near the station where they'd been staying. The ride took about twenty-five minutes.