The Seventh Man.docx
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The Seventh Man.docx
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TheSeventhMan
TheSeventhMan
byHarukiMurakami
TranslatedbyChristopherAllison
"ItwasaSeptemberafternoonduringmytenthyearwhenthatwavenearlybroughtmetomyend,"theSeventhManbeganinaquietvoice.
Hewasthelastpersontospeakthatnight. Thehourhandontheclockhadalreadypastten. Thesoundofthewindblowingtothewestoutsideintheblackdarknesscouldbeheardbyeveryonesittingtheretogetherinacircleintheroom. Leavesrustledinthegarden,thepanesofthewindowrattledslightly,andthewindroseupinashrillwhistlebeforeblowingawayintothenight.
"Thatwasaspecialtypeofwave,acolossus,thelikeofwhichI'veneveragainseen,"themancontinued.
"Thatwaveonlymissedfinishingmeoffbyhair'sbreadth. Butinsteaditdrankupthemostessentialpartofme,andtransportedittoanotherworld. IttooksuchalongtimebeforeIwasfinallycompletelyrecovered. Somuchprecioustime."
TheSeventhManlookedtobeinhismid-fifties. Tallandgaunt,hehadaprofusionofwhiskersaroundhismouth,andtherewasasmallbutdeepwoundbyhisrighteye,thatappearedtohavebeenmadebyaknifestroke. Hishairwasshort,andhadbristlytouchesofwhitehereandthere. Hisfaceseemedtobeartheexpressionofamanwhosuddenlydoesn'tknowquitewhattosay,exceptthatheseemedtohavewornthisexpressionconsistentlyforalongtime,andtherewassomethingquitefamiliaraboutit. Heworeacheerlessblueshirtunderagreytweedjacket. Heoccasionallytookthecollarofhisshirtintohishand. Nooneknewhisname. Therewasprobablynobodywhoknewanythingabouthim.
TheSeventhMancoughedquietly. Allotherwordsdroppedawayintosilence. Withoutsayinganything,everyonewaitedforhimtogoon.
"Inmycase,itwasawave. Ofcourse,Ican'tsayanythingabouthowitiswithotherpeople. Butinmycaseitjusthappenedtobeawave. Ihadnoadvancewarning. Suddenlyitwasjustthereinfrontofmeoneday:
thatfatalforcepresentingitselfintheshapeofanenormouswave.
"IgrewupinSPrefecture,inthistownbythesea. ItwassuchanowheretownthatevenifItoldyouthename,itprobablywouldn'tmakeanimpressiononyou. Myfatherwasengagedasamedicalpractitionerthere,andatfirstIhadarelativelyuntroubledchildhood. IhadoneveryclosefriendforaslongasIcouldremember. HisnamewasK. Helivedinthehousenextdoortoours,andwasayearbehindmeinschool. Wewalkedtoschooltogethereveryday,andwhenwereturnedhomeintheafternoonthetwoofusalwaysplayedtogether. Wemightaswellhavebeenbrothers. Thoughwewerefriendsforaverylongtime,neveroncedidanykindoftroublearisebetweenus. Iactuallyhadarealbrother,butbecausehewassixyearsolderthanmewedidn'thavemuchincommon,andtospeakfrankly,therewasn'tmuchlovelostbetweenus. ItwasbecauseofthisthatIfeltmorefraternalloveformyfriendthanIdidformyrealbrother.
"Kwaspaleandslight,andhadthedelicatefeaturesofagirl. Healsohadaspeechimpediment,andcouldn'ttalkwell. Whenstrangersmethimforthefirsttime,Iimaginetheygottheimpressionthathewasretarded. Andsincehewasn'tverystrong,Ifrequentlyfoundmyselfactingashisprotectorbothatschoolandafterschoolwhenwewereplaying. AnybodycanseerightawaythatI'maprettybigguy,andfairlyathletic. ThethingthatIlikedmostaboutbeingwithKwashiskindnessandthebeautyofhissoul. Therewasabsolutelynothingwrongwithhismind,buthisimpedimentledhimtohaveacademicproblems,andgoingtoclasswastroublesomeforhim. Hewasexceptionallygiftedatdrawingpictures,though,andwheneverhetookupapencilorhispaints,hecreatedsuchexquisitepicturesexudingsuchvitalitythatevenhisteacherwasblownaway. Hefrequentlywonprizesincompetitionsandreceivedcommendations. Ifhehadgrownupunpreturbed,Ithinkthatheprobablywouldhavemadeanameforhimselfasanartist. Hewasparticularlyfondofpaintinglandscapes,andwenttotheshoreincessantlytodrawthesea. Ispentcountlessdayssittingnexttohim,watchinghisnimblehandguidethepenciloverthepaper. Thewayhecouldbringsuchlife-likeshapesandcolorsoutofthepurewhiteofthepaperinaninstantimpressedmedeeply,andwastrulyamazing. WhenIthinkaboutitnow,itwasreallynothingshortofgenius.
"OneyearinSeptember,theregionwhereIlivedwasbesetbyafiercetyphoon. Accordingtothereportontheradio,thiswasgoingtobethebiggesttyphoontheareahadseenintenyears. Schoolwasquicklydismissed,andalltheshopsintownwereclosedandshutteredtight. Myfatherandbrothergotoutthetoolboxandbeganputtingupstormdoorsaroundthehouse,whilemymotherbusiedherselfinthekitchenpreparingonigiriasemergencyrations. Bottlesandcanteens
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