"It's too late," I tell her.

"Why?"

"Because I decided it is."

"Because you decided it is," says the boy named Crow.

You don't want to be at the mercy of things outside you anymore, or thrown into confusion by things you can't control. You've already murdered your father and violated your mother-and now here you are inside your sister. If there's a curse in all this, you mean to grab it by the horns and fulfill the program that's been laid out for you. Lift the burden from your shoulders and live-not caught up in someone else's schemes, but as you. That's what you want.

She covers her face with her hands and cries a little. You feel sorry for her, but there's no way you're going to leave her body. Your cock swells up inside her, gets even harder, like it's set down roots.

"I understand," she says. "I won't say any more. But I want you to remember something: You're raping me. I like you, but this isn't how I want it to be. We might never see each other again, no matter how much we want to meet later on. Are you okay with that?"

You don't respond. Your mind's switched off. You draw her close to you and start to move your hips. Carefully, cautiously, in the end violently. You try to remember the shapes of the trees to help you get back, but they all look the same and are soon swallowed up in the anonymous sea. Sakura closes her eyes and gives herself up to the motion. She doesn't say a word or resist. Her face is expressionless, turned away from you. But you feel the pleasure rising up in her like an extension of yourself. Now you understand it. The entwined trees stand like a dark wall blocking your view. The bird no longer sends its message. And you come.

I come.

And I wake up. I'm in bed, alone. It's the middle of the night. The darkness is as deep as it can be, all clocks lost within. I get out of bed, strip off my underpants, go over to the kitchen, and rinse the semen off them. Gooey, white, and heavy, like some illegitimate child born of the darkness. I gulp down glass after glass of water, but nothing slakes my thirst. I feel so alone I can't stand it. In the darkness, in the middle of the night, surrounded by a deep forest, I couldn't be more alone. There are no seasons here, no light. I walk back to the bed, sit down, and breathe a huge sigh. The darkness wraps itself around me.

The thing inside you has revealed itself. The shell is gone, completely shattered, nowhere to be seen, and it's there, a dark shadow, resting. Your hands are sticky with something-human blood, by the look of it. You hold them out in front of you, but there's not enough light to see. It's far too dark. Both inside, and out.

Next to the sign that read Komura Memorial Library was an information placard informing them that the library's hours were eleven to five, except for Monday, when it was closed, that admission was free, and that tours were conducted every Tuesday at two p. m. Hoshino read all this aloud for Nakata.

"Today's Monday, so it's closed," Hoshino said. He glanced at his watch. "Not that it matters much, since it's way past their closing time anyway. Same difference."

"Mr. Hoshino?"

"Yeah?"

"This place doesn't look at all like the library we went to before," Nakata said.

"That was a large public library and this one's private. So the scale's different."

"When you say a private library, what does that mean?"

"It means some man of property who likes books puts up a building and makes all the books he's collected available to the public. This guy must have really been something. You can tell from the gate he had to be pretty impressive."

"What is a man of property?"

"A rich person."

"What's the difference between the two?"

Hoshino tilted his head in thought. "I don't know. Seems to me a man of property's more cultured than just a regular rich guy."

"Cultured?"

"Anybody who has money is rich. You or me, as long as we had money, we'd be rich. But becoming a man of property isn't so easy. It takes time."

"It's difficult to become one?"

"Yeah, it is. Not that we need to worry about it. I don't see either of us becoming rich, let alone cultured."

"Mr. Hoshino?"

"Yeah?"

"Since they're closed on Monday, if we come here tomorrow morning at eleven they should be open, right?" Nakata asked.

"I suppose so. Tomorrow's Tuesday."

"Will Nakata be able to go inside the library?"

"The sign says it's open to everybody. Of course you can."

"Even if I can't read?"

"No problem," Hoshino said. "They don't quiz people at the entrance about whether they can read or not."

"I want to go inside, then."

"We'll come back tomorrow, first thing, and go in together," Hoshino said. "I got a question for you first, though. This is the place you were looking for, right? And the thing you're looking for's inside?"

Nakata removed his cap and rubbed his close-cropped hair vigorously. "Yes. I think it's here."

"So we can give up our search?"

"That's right. The search is over."

"Thank God," Hoshino said. "I was starting to wonder if we'd really be driving around till fall."

The two of them drove back to Colonel Sanders's apartment, slept soundly, and set off at eleven the next morning for the library. It was only a twenty-minute walk from the apartment, so they decided to stroll over. Hoshino had already returned the rental car.

The gate of the library was open wide when they arrived. It looked like it was going to be a hot, humid day, and someone had splashed water on the pavement to keep the dust down. Past the gate was a neat, well-kept garden.

"Mr. Nakata?" Hoshino said in front of the gate.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"What do we do after we go inside the library? I'm always afraid you're all of a sudden gonna come up with some off-the-wall idea, so I'd like to know about it ahead of time. I have to prepare myself."

Nakata gave it some thought. "Nakata has no idea what to do once we get in. This is a library, though, so I thought we might start by reading books. I'll find a photo collection or book of paintings, and you can pick whatever you'd like to read."

"Gotcha. Starting off by reading-that makes sense."

"Then after a while we can think about what to do next."

"Okay," Hoshino said. "We'll think about what comes later-later. Sounds like a plan."

They walked through the beautiful garden and into the antique-looking entrance. There was a reception area right inside, with a handsome, slim young man seated behind the counter. He had on a white button-down shirt and small glasses. Long, fine hair hung over his forehead. Someone you might expect to see in a black-and-white Truffaut film, Hoshino thought.

The young man looked up at them and beamed.

"Good morning," Hoshino said cheerfully.

"Good morning," the young man replied. "Welcome to the library."

"We'd, uh-like to read some books."

"Of course," Oshima nodded. "Feel free to read whatever you like. We're open to the public. The stacks are completely open, so take any books you'd like to read. You can look books up in our card catalog or online. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be more than happy to help."

"That's very kind of you."

"Is there a particular field or book you're looking for?"

Hoshino shook his head. "Not really. Actually we're more interested in the library itself than books. We happened to pass by and thought the place looked interesting. It's a beautiful building."

Oshima gave a graceful smile and picked up a neatly sharpened pencil. "A lot of people just stop by like that."

"Glad to hear it," Hoshino said.

"If you have the time, you might consider the short tour of the place that takes place at two. We have one every Tuesday, as long as there are people who'd like to join in. The head of the library explains the background of the library. And today just happens to be Tuesday."