Chapter 37 8 special channel of the wind

The next three days were spent in inaction.None of that happened.The Sheep Man didn't show up either.I cooked, ate, read, drank whiskey after dark and slept.Get up at six o'clock in the morning, go to the grassland to run a half-moon and a half circle, then take a shower and shave. The air of the grassland in the morning rapidly increased the coldness.The brightly red birch leaves are thinning day by day; the first wind of winter blows through the dead branches from the terrace to the southeast.During jogging, as long as you stand still in the middle of the grassland, you can clearly hear the sound of the wind.They seem to be announcing that they can no longer go back to the past.The short autumn is gone.

Due to lack of exercise and quitting smoking, I gained two kilos in the first three days, and lost another kilo because of jogging.Not being able to smoke is a bit of a pain, but there are no cigarettes sold within a radius of 30 kilometers, so there is no other way but to be patient.Every time I think about smoking, I think about her and her ears.Losing my cigarettes seemed so insignificant compared to what I had lost in the past.And actually it is. I used my free time to try to cook various meals.Even cook steaks in the oven.Thaw frozen salmon to soften and slice into a marinade.Because there are not enough fresh vegetables, I went to the grassland to find edible weeds, and cut dried bonito to make soup.Try making simple kimchi with cabbage.They also prepared several side dishes for the sheep man to go with the wine.But the sheep man did not appear.

I spent most of the afternoon overlooking the grassland.When you look at the grassland for a long time, you will be attacked by an illusion that someone is about to appear suddenly in the birch forest and walk across the grassland.That is mostly a sheep man, sometimes a mouse, or a girlfriend.There was also the sheep with the star on it. However, no one showed up.Only the wind blows across the prairie.It seemed as if this grassland was a special channel for the wind.As if Feng was hurrying on a very important mission, he ran across the grassland without looking back. The first snow began to fall on the seventh day after I came to this mesa.It was a very strange day. There had been no wind since the morning, and the sky was heavy with leaden clouds.I came back from a jog, showered, and was drinking coffee and listening to records when it started snowing.It was hard snow that was twisted in shape.Every time it hits the glass window there is a clicking sound.A little wind started to blow, and the snow flakes drew a slanted line of about 30 degrees, falling to the ground at a very fast speed.When the snow was sparse, the diagonal line looked like the pattern of department store wrapping paper, but soon after the snow fell heavily, it was all white outside, and the mountains and woods could not be seen.That is not the kind of small and delicate snow that occasionally falls in Tokyo, but the snow of the real northern country.The snow that will cover everything and freeze to the core of the earth.

Staring at Xue all the time, his eyes immediately ached.I drew the shades and read by the diesel fire.After the record was over and the self-revolving stylus turned back, the surrounding area was eerily quiet.It's almost like the silence after all living things are dead.I put the book down, and for no particular reason, I just tried to walk the whole house in order.Walk from the living room to the kitchen, check the storage room, bathroom, toilet and basement, and open the doors of the rooms on the second floor to have a look.No one is there.Only silence permeates every corner of the room like oil.Due to the size of the room, the loudness of the silence is slightly different.

I am alone. I have never felt so lonely in my life since I was born.Only these two days began to strongly want to smoke, but needless to say, there are no cigarettes. So I drank whiskey without ice instead.If I go through the winter like this, I will probably become alcoholic.Thankfully there wasn't such a large amount of alcohol in the house that it would turn into alcohol poisoning.There are only three bottles of whiskey, one bottle of brandy, and twelve cases of canned beer.Probably the mouse thought of this as well as I did. Is my partner still drinking?Have you reorganized the company and restored it to a small translation agency as expected?He's supposed to do that, and he can get by without me.In any case, we are also facing such a period.It took us six years to get back to where we started.

After noon the snow stopped.The same abrupt stop as at the beginning.The thick clouds were broken everywhere like clay, and the sunlight coming in from those places turned into powerful beams of light and moved everywhere in the grassland, which was quite spectacular. When I went outside, the hard snow scattered on the ground like small sugar desserts.Each of them seems to be holding on to itself tightly, refusing to be melted.By the time the clock struck three, however, most of the snow had melted.The ground was wet, and the sun near dusk enveloped the grassland with gentle light, and the birds began to sing as if they were liberated.

◇ After dinner, I borrowed a copy of "The Way to Bake" and Conrad's novels from the mouse room, and sat down on the sofa in the living room to read.About a third of the time I read, I came across a ten-centimeter-square newspaper clipping that a mouse had stuck inside instead of a bookmark.Although I don't know the date, I can tell from the color that it is a relatively new newspaper.The content of the clipped report is local intelligence.A hotel in Sapporo is holding a symposium on an aging society, and a long-distance marathon relay is being held near Asahikawa.There are also lectures on the crisis in the Middle East.There wasn't a single thing in it that would interest a mouse or me.On the back is a classified ad.I yawned and closed the book, and went to the kitchen to boil the leftover coffee and drink it.

It had been a long time since I read a newspaper, and for the first time I found myself excluded from the flow of the world for a whole week.There was neither radio nor television, nor newspapers nor magazines.Now, at this very moment, Tokyo may have been destroyed by nuclear rockets, or the plague may be covering the lower world.Perhaps the Martians have taken over Australia.Even so, I have no way of knowing.You can hear it just by going to the garage and turning on the Land Cruiser radio, but you don't really want to hear it.If you can live without knowing, there is no need to know, not to mention that I already have a seed that needs to be worried.

But something inside me is stuck.It's like the feeling when something is clearly passing by in front of your eyes, but you don't notice it because you are thinking about something.Because this leaves an unconscious memory of what passed on the omentum.I put the coffee cup on the sink, go back to the living room, and pick up the newspaper clipping again.What I was looking for was indeed on the back. Mouse, please contact Hurry up! ! Dolphin Hotel 406 I put the paper back in the book and bury myself in the couch. The mouse knew I was looking for him.How did he find that notice?Did you find it by accident while going down the mountain?Or looking for something and reading newspapers for weeks at a time?

Even so, he didn't contact me. (Perhaps I had already left the Dolphin Hotel when he saw that post. Or the phone was dead when he tried to contact me.) No, not right.It's not that the mouse can't contact me, but that he doesn't want to.He should have been able to deduce from my being at the Dolphin that I would find myself here one day, would wait here if he wanted to see me, or at least leave a note. Which means the mouse doesn't want to meet me for some reason.However, he did not reject me.If he doesn't want to keep me here, there should be many ways to shut me out.Because this is his home.

I have been holding these two propositions, watching the long hands of the clock slowly circle the dial for a week.After the needle circled around for a week, I still couldn't get close to the core of those two propositions. The sheep man must know something.That's for sure.The same person who can keenly spot that I've come here, has no reason not to know the rats that have lived here for almost half a year. The more I think about it, the more I feel that the sheep man's behavior reflects the mouse's will.The sheep man drove my girlfriend down the mountain, leaving me alone.His appearance must be a precursor to something.There is indeed something going on around me.Clean up the side first, something is going to happen. I turned off the lights and walked up to the second floor, lying on the bed and looking at the moon, snow and grassland.The cold starlight can be seen through the gaps in the clouds.I opened the window and sniffed the night air.Mixed with the sound of leaves rubbing against each other, one could hear something calling in the distance.It was a strange cry that could not be distinguished from the voice of a bird or that of a beast. Thus passed the seventh day on the mountain. ◇ After waking up, I went to the grassland for a run, took a shower and had breakfast.Morning as usual.The sky is the same overcast and misty as yesterday, but the temperature has risen slightly.It doesn't look like it will snow. I put on a thin mountaineering suit over jeans and a sweater, and put on light sneakers to cross the prairie.Then enter the woods to the east from the area where the sheep man disappeared, and try to walk in the forest.There is no road like a road, and there are no traces of people. Occasionally, birch trees fall to the ground.The ground was flat, but there were some trenches about a meter wide like dry rivers or remnants of trenches.The trench zigzags through the woods for several kilometers.Sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, with a fist-deep pile of dead leaves underneath.Walk along the trench and finally come to a road that stands like a horse's back.On both sides of the road are dry valleys with gentle slopes.The round bird with the color of dead leaves makes a sound of Kasha Kasha, cutting across the road and disappearing into the dense grass on the slope.The gypsophila was so red that it was scattered everywhere in the woods like a burning fire. When I walked for about an hour or so, I lost my sense of direction.In this way, it is very difficult to find a sheep man.I walked along the dry valley until I heard the sound of water, found the river, and followed the current downstream.If my memory is correct, you should be able to touch the waterfall, and there should be a path near the waterfall that we walked on when we came. After walking for about ten minutes, I heard the sound of the waterfall.The stream bounced off the rocks as soon as it hit it, changed direction, and here and there formed puddles as cold as ice.There was no sign of fish, and a few dead leaves were slowly drawing circles on the water surface of the puddle.I jumped from rock to rock, walked down waterfalls, climbed slippery slopes, and walked the roads I remembered seeing. The Sheep Man is sitting by the bridge looking at me.On the sheep man's shoulder was a large canvas bag stuffed with firewood. You run around and meet bears.He said.There seems to be a bear in this area.I found footprints after it snowed yesterday.If you must go, you must tie a bell around your waist like I did. The Sheep Man jingled a bell fastened to the waist of his coat with a safety pin. I'm looking for you.I said after taking a breath. I know.Sheep man said.I can see you looking. So why don't you call me? I thought you wanted to find it yourself, so I kept silent. The sheep man took out a cigarette from his arm pocket, smoking it deliciously.I sat down next to the sheep man. do you live here Um.Sheep man said.But I hope you don't tell anyone.Because no one knows. But my friends know you, right? silence. I have something very important. silence. If you are friends with my friend, then I am also friends with you, right? Yes.The sheep man said carefully.It must be so. If you were my friend, you wouldn't lie to me.Is it right? Um.The sheep man seemed to be having a hard time speaking. Can you tell me as a friend. The sheep man licked his dry lips with his tongue.I can't speak.I'm so sorry I can't speak.It would be bad to say it. Who told you to shut up? The sheep man was as silent as a shell.The wind rumbled among the dead trees. No one is listening.I whispered. The sheep man stared into my eyes.You don't know anything about this land? have no idea. Listen, this is no ordinary place.You'd better keep that in mind. But didn't you say last time that this is a good piece of land? For me it is.Sheep man said.Because for me, this is the only place to live.If I get kicked out of here, I have nowhere to go. The sheep man was silent.I felt that it was impossible to elicit any further words from him.I look at the canvas bag stuffed with firewood. Do you just use these to keep warm in winter? The sheep man nodded silently. But no smoke was seen. I haven't fired yet.It won't order until the snow accumulates.But even if I light the fire after the snow, you can't see the smoke.There is that kind of ignition method. The goat man smiled mischievously after saying this. When will it start to snow? The sheep man looked at the sky, then at my face.The snow this year is earlier than usual.About ten days or so. Will the road freeze in another ten days? I guess so.No one can get up, and no one can get down.It's a good season. have you lived here all this time right.Sheep man said.Has been living for a long time. Then what do you eat? Butterbur, ferns, nuts, small birds, and small fish and small crabs can also be caught. Is not It Cold? It's very cold in winter. If there is anything that is not enough, I thought I could share some with you. Thanks.But nothing is missing right now. The sheep man stood up suddenly and started walking towards the grassland.I also stood up and followed him. Why do you live in seclusion here? You will definitely laugh.Sheep man said. I don't think it's possible to laugh.I said.I can't figure out what the hell is so funny about it. Can't tell others? Will not tell others. Because I don't want to go to war. We walked in silence like that for a while.Walking side by side, the sheep man's head is shaking on my shoulder Which country are you at war with? have no idea.The sheep man coughed loudly.But I didn't want to go to war, so I became a sheep.You can't leave here when you're a sheep. Were you born in Judetaki Town? Um.But you can't tell anyone. I will not say.I said.Don't you like Machigami? Is it the town below? Um. dislike.Because there are many soldiers.The sheep man coughed again.where u from? from Tokyo. Ever hear about war? No. The sheep man seems to lose interest in me because of this.We didn't say anything until we reached the entrance of the grassland. Do you want to go inside the house?I tried to ask the sheep man. I also have to prepare for the winter.He said.Today is very busy, next time. I want to meet my friends.I said.I had a reason to see him anyway within the next week. The sheep man shook his head regretfully.Ears flapping and shaking.Sorry, as I said earlier, I can't help you with anything. You just need to help me pass the message. Um.Sheep man said. thank you very much.I said. So we separated. When going out for a walk, don't forget to hang a bell.Before leaving, the sheep man said. Then I went straight home, and the sheep man disappeared into the woods to the east just like last time.The silent green grassland sunk in the winter colors is between us. ◇ That afternoon, I baked bread.The book "How to Bake Bread" found in the mouse room is very detailed. It says on the cover that you can easily bake bread if you can read, but it is true.I did it as written in the book, and it was really easy to bake bread.The fragrant smell of bread wafts through the room, creating a warm atmosphere from here.Taste wise it's not bad for a beginner.There is enough flour and yeast in the kitchen to get by without worrying about bread if I have to live the winter here.Rice and macaroni are also plentiful. ◇ I eat bread, salad and ham and eggs in the evening, and canned peaches after dinner. The next morning I cooked rice and made steamed rice with canned salmon, kelp sprouts and mushrooms. Eat frozen cheesecake and drink strong milk tea at noon. Hazelnut ice cream at three o'clock with a little Cointreau flavored liqueur. Roast bone-in chicken in the oven in the evening and drink Campbell Soup. ◇ I continued to gain weight again. ◇ The afternoon of the ninth day.I was checking my bookcase and found an old book that I seemed to have read recently.From the dust on the book, only this one has become clean, and the back of the book protrudes slightly from the other books. I pulled it out, sat on the bench and tried to turn it over.It was a book published during the war called "The Genealogy of Asiaticism".The paper quality is very poor and every page has a musty smell.Also because it was published during the war, the content is biased towards one side and is very naive, so boring that every three pages you have to yawn, even so, there are still many taboo and missing words replaced by symbols.About two.There is no record of the February 6 incident. I flipped through it casually and didn't really read it carefully, but found a white note paper at the end.After looking at the yellowed paper all the time, the white note appeared like some kind of miracle.The right end of the page is the end-of-volume information.It published the names, biographies, and places of origin of the so-called Asiaticists, whether they were famous or not.When I saw the middle area in order from the beginning, the name of Mr. appeared.The sheep-possessed mister who brought me here.My hometown is Twelve Taki-cho, Hokkaido-gun. I put the book on my lap and stood there blankly for a moment.It takes a long time for the language in the head to settle down.It was as if something had punched me in the back of my head. I should have noticed.It should have been noticed from the beginning.When I first heard that my husband came from a poor farmer in Hokkaido, I should have checked first.No matter how cleverly the husband obliterates his past, there should be a way to investigate it.The secretary in black must be able to help investigate immediately. No, not right. I shake my head. There's no way he didn't investigate.He is not such a careless person.No matter how trivial it was, he should have checked out all possibilities.It was like he had checked all possibilities regarding my reaction and actions. He already knows everything. Beyond that can't be imagined.Even so, why did he go to such lengths to persuade me, or threaten me, to send me here?No matter what he does, he should be able to do it more neatly than me.And even if there is a reason why you must use me, you can tell me the place from the beginning. After the chaos died down, I started to get angry.Everything felt misshapen and wrong to me.The mouse must know something.And the man in black must know something.It was just me who was put in the center of things without knowing anything.Everything I think is wrong, all my actions are wrong.Of course, my life may always be like this.In that sense, perhaps I can't blame anyone either.But at least they shouldn't be using me like this.Because what they're using, what they're squeezing, what they're beating is the very last, really last drop of me left. I really want to drop everything and go down the mountain right now, but that's not going to work.It's too deep to drop everything.The easiest thing to do is to cry loudly, but you can't cry.I felt as if there had been some real reason for me to cry much earlier. I went to the kitchen and took out the whiskey bottle and glass and drank about five centimeters, thinking about nothing but whiskey.