I was awakened by knocks on the window of my car door, against which I had until now rested my head. And when I finally opened my eyes, I was sitting in the driver's seat, in my own car. It was already morning, and the daylight made my eyes squint. But once I got used to the sunlight, I could finally see where I was.
My car was stopped at a small rest area, right on the edge of a traffic lane.
Several pickup trucks were already on the small mountain road, some already loaded with wood, others just with tools in the back. Small compact cars like mine were also passing by. Probably people having to go to work outside, or on the contrary, inside the national park of Chichibutamakai.
New knocks on my window brought me out of my contemplation of the surroundings, and turning my head to the right, I saw the dark blue and white of a police uniform.
The policeman bent down to my level, and I could see the face of a man as young as me. He motioned for me to roll down my window, which I did.
"Good morning, sir! Is everything all right?" he asked.
Why was he asking me that?
"Yes, I'm fine," I replied, nodding my head. "Is there a problem, officer?"
"Have you been sleeping here?" He asked.
I answered again, nodding my head.
That's what I thought had happened. I must have been sleepy, and had parked on the side so I could get some sleep. Except that I had ended up sleeping all night, until the next day.
The young policeman smiled, and then added:
"We got a call that a vehicle had been stopped for hours on the side of the road, with the driver not moving." He explained. "The caller must have thought you were in trouble."
I didn't exactly remember parking my car or turning off the ignition. But that was probably because I was too tired to remember.
"I see. I'm sorry someone bothered you about that." I replied without a hint of guilt on my face.
Maybe I hadn't killed anyone yesterday. Maybe I hadn't crossed paths with a dead woman who had come back to life.
Maybe it was all a dream after all.
"Don't worry, as long as you're okay, that's what matters!" exclaimed the policeman. "Just watch out for wildlife while driving. Someone hit a wild boar near here again."
"I see... Thanks for the warning." I replied.
He then lifted his cap a little, and smiled one last time.
"Have a safe trip sir!"
He then walked around my car to his own patrol car, parked with the blinkers on right behind me.
Yes, it was probably a dream. Or maybe I had run over a boar, and the lack of rest had made me see things that weren't there.
I rubbed my eyes a little, removing the last traces of sleep, then looked for my phone. It was no longer where I had left it on the passenger seat, but had fallen under the seats; which required extra effort to reach it.
And just as I finally had it in my hand, it started ringing.
I looked at the screen for a moment, and saw that it was already almost 9:00 am. And the person calling me was none other than my editorial manager.
"Ah, you finally answer Nijima-kun!" exclaimed the male voice. "I couldn't reach you since last night!"
"Sorry Chiba-san, I fell asleep," I said again without being sorry at all.
"Fell asleep?!" Chiba Takuya exclaimed.
There was a silence. Maybe he was talking to someone, or maybe he was thinking.
And finally, I heard him sigh heavily into the receiver.
"Well... What's important is that you're okay. We thought you got into an accident," he said, quite exhausted. Then, regaining his composure, he ordered: "But if you saw the time, hurry up and get me Osagawa Sensei's manuscript!"
"I'm on my way now," I replied while already pulling the phone away from my ear.
"Ah, Nijim-!"
I had hung up the phone before my supervisor had even finished speaking. It was much more efficient to leave right away, instead of wasting time talking on the phone with someone who wasn't there. It already took two hours to drive from Tokyo, and I had to add to that the remaining travel time that I had not done the day before.
Chiba Takuya, on the other hand, stared at the phone in his hand, the ringing indicating that the caller had hung up echoing in his office.
"What a little jerk, he hung up on me again!" He grumbled.
A woman with long brown hair styled in a single braid, glasses with thin blue frames, and dressed in a gray suit, took the opportunity to place a large envelope on his desk.
"You know how it is, sir." She said. "He doesn't think for a moment about how others might feel."
Chief Chiba, an apple green travel pillow around his neck and a dark blue sleep mask pulled up over his forehead, sat back heavily in his padded chair; having hung up the phone he had been holding in his hand until now.
"He could still make the effort to respect his superiors!" He said, clicking his tongue on his teeth.
"But it's also because he acts like that that he's done a good job so far," added the bespectacled woman.
"Doing a good job doesn't nullify him being a jerk!" Chiba replied.
The woman just smiled silently. Chief Chiba was in a bad mood, so she preferred to avoid aggravating the situation by saying something inappropriate.
Meanwhile, I had no idea that my superior would be so upset by my sudden action.
I got out of my vehicle, and lingered to observe a large sign next to which my car was parked. It was a huge map of Kosuge, on which one could see all the roads, the temples, and also the hiking trails. I was able to locate myself, and understood that I had almost arrived at my destination the day before.
I got back into my car, and took a notebook from my backpack on the back seat. Inside the notebook, I had stuck a note written by Mr. Chiba about the way to Master Osagawa's house.
When I thought about it, it was that damn note that made me take my eyes off the road. But I consoled myself by saying that I hadn't run over anyone that night.
I reread the instructions that had been left for me:
'Go to Kosuge village, then past the post office and the small police station, continue on Prefectural Road 508. You should pass a small shrine on your right with a billboard. Then after a while, there will be a light blue iron building on your left. The Osagawa mansion is just across the street, with a large yard. If you see a camping site, you've gone too far.'
It looked pretty simple to follow...
I started my car again, and after letting two more vans pass, I got on the road. I had already forgotten almost everything about my strange dream.
Soon, I left the completely wooded area and found myself in a hilly area located between the feet of several mountains. The road seemed to follow closely the river that ran through the center, and soon there were more and more houses on either side.
It was really a rural area, with many old houses; all wooden for the most part. There weren't many people outside, except for one or two people cleaning up mud that had gathered in front of their door. That was all that remained from the previous day's huge downpour: mud, and large puddles now reflecting the blue sky.
No sooner had I passed the small police station, than an oncoming car forced me to squeeze as much left as possible. My compact car slid between the guardrail and the other car, hitting some low tree branches and causing raindrops to fall on my windshield.
I had to drive for one or two more minutes before I could see the small shrine on the side of the road, as Mr. Chiba had told me. The road was getting narrower and narrower, and I really hoped that no one would come in the opposite direction again. Crossing each other could be a real challenge, in this area where there was not even a sidewalk in front of the houses.
And soon, I finally saw on my left an old store with exterior walls covered by blue metallic plates.
Stopping in front of it, I saw that on the other side of the road, there was indeed a two-stories old house. A huge entrance led to a gravel yard where a compact sedan, completely black and shining in the sun, was already parked along a small hedge of pink and white hydrangeas.
I parked next to the seemingly new car, and after retrieving my bag, went outside to ring the main doorbell of the building.
The doorbell buzzed inside, and as I waited for the door to be opened, I lost myself in watching the colorful laundry drying on a string in the nearby garden. It almost seemed as if it hadn't rained yesterday, as the sun was shining so brightly today. Only a few shy clouds remained in the blue sky, gliding over the mountain tops.
A man on a bicycle passed by the street without pedaling, using the slight slope to ride effortlessly to the bottom of the village. I also saw a few sparrows squabbling noisily, perched on an electric wire stretched between two adjacent houses.
Then I finally heard the door behind me open, and turning around, I found myself face to face with a very tall, thin man.
He had a broad forehead and eyes staring at me curiously.
If I had dark circles under my eyes, this guy had slightly sunken eye sockets. Maybe it was the age that had marked his face. Or maybe he wasn't drinking enough water.
However, the mere fact that he was wearing a sleeveless sweater despite the sunny weather confirmed that I was looking at Master Osagawa.
"Can I help you, young man?" He asked with a soft yet rocky voice.
He also had slightly sunken cheeks, but was nevertheless impeccably clean-shaven.
I then introduced myself, while bowing slightly forward.
"I am Nijima from Tokuma Publishing House. I'm here to pick up your manuscript." I said without any detour.
"Oh, I see. You're the young man Chiba-kun sent me, right?" He asked while raising his thin eyebrows in surprise.
I nodded.
Then he invited me to come in, which I didn't like because I was in a hurry. And pointed to the living room.
As I sat down on an armchair with geometrically patterned cushions that might be fashionable at the moment, I heard him busying himself in the kitchen.
Even though the house itself was old, the furniture and decoration were quite new; like something out of a chic and contemporary home shopping magazine.
Then, Osagawa Sensei came into the living room with a small tray, on which there were two cups and a white plastic teapot.
"You had a pleasant drive, I hope?" He asked with a gentle smile.
At least, that's what he must have been trying to show. Because to me, it looked more like a fake smile, forced for convenience.
"I've been driving slowly with the bad weather," I replied, as I continued to look at him.
He proceeded to set a cup down in front of me, and I could see that it was very black coffee, without sugar or milk.
"It's true that the weather can surprise us quickly here," he said while trying to be sympathetic.
But it was still a fake smile. Even for someone wanting to have the same attitude as him, and be sympathetic to others.
It was really weird. Did he have to force himself to smile so much in front of me?
Maybe he had a low opinion of me. After all, I always had big dark circles under my eyes. And I had arrived at his house early in the morning, very late, and with a completely wrinkled suit. Not the most presentable appearance.
And obviously, the author in front of me had a mind as sharp as the detectives whose adventures he wrote. For he understood that I was not there to make conversation, and that he would not get any more words from me.
"I'll get you this week's manuscript, and also next week's," he said. "I took the liberty of writing it in advance, in case the internet isn't back up in time."
It was at least something positive to come out of this waste of time. I was going to walk away with not one, but two manuscripts.
He left the room and I heard him walking up the wooden stairs to the second floor, the steps creaking under his feet.
My phone vibrated again in my pocket. It must have been Mr. Chiba getting impatient. But this time it wasn't a call, but a text message, judging from the short vibration.
Curious. Mr. Chiba usually preferred to yell at me in person, vocally. And not by writing it.
I took my phone out of my pocket and unlocked the screen.
A text message. From an unknown number.
I had hardly ever received messages or calls from unknown numbers, all the time I had this number. So this made me curious, and I opened the message to see the contents.
'I know what you did last night.'