Death Sentences (25 page)

"Another World" was a sort of imaginary sketch. Although the ambiguity of the word dobaded posed a certain obstacle, the overall vision was clear enough. That's what made it a pleasure to read.

But "Mirror" was different.

Sakakibara couldn't make out anything amid the verbal chaos of the second half.

(Nothing we can do about that ..

Sakakibara decided to stop agonizing over it and began marking his edits in red.

It was a work that had from the outset been chosen not for its inherent qualities but for its topicality. And it was the general lot of poetry to lose impact in translation. It would just have to be presented as an experiment from the era of surrealism.

Sakakibara called Kuwamura and handed over the edited manuscript.

It looked like Languages of Surrealism, the fourth volume of Unexplored Materials, would also make it into print within the year.

Nearly all the manuscripts had been assembled.

"So, what do you think about this one?" Kuwamura asked while leafing through the pages.

"I don't see anything amiss. He did a great job. It was a good idea to ask Fujisawa. And no matter what, he always gets things done on time."

"He is really reliable. Unless there is some kind of emergency, he never fails to get things in."

Having recommended Fujisawa, Kuwamura felt reassured and beamed as if his own work had been praised.

And then-

Twenty days passed.

Checking through the list of materials for Languages of Surrealism, Sakakibara noticed that the pages for "The Gold of Time" were missing.

He checked with Kuwamura, who said that the manuscript hadn't come in.

He made a call. No one answered.

Although he was somewhat concerned, he was busy with other matters, and a week slipped by.

Still, the manuscript had not arrived. And they hadn't heard anything from Fujisawa.

"What's the matter with him?"

Sakakibara was now getting impatient.

It was already July. The volume was 8o percent complete.

It was pretty much only "The Gold of Time" that remained.

They kept calling Fujisawa two or three times a day.

One afternoon past five someone finally picked up on the other end.

yes?"

"Yes, this is Sakakibara at Kirin Publishers. Is Mr. Fujisawa there?"

" .e...s...it...is...I.

His words of his reply were oddly stretched out.

Making every effort to restrain his anger, Sakakibara repeated his question.

"Is this Fujisawa? Fujisawa Satoru?"

"This is Sakakibara of Kirin Publishers-"

"That translation we asked you to do, we haven't received it yet."

Clearly, there was something wrong.

"Fujisawa, are you still in bed?"

". . . no ... I've been up ... for awhile ..."

In that case maybe he'd been drinking? Anyhow-

"So, about that translation, when can we expect it?"

Sakakibara's tone was clipped, which didn't do much to conceal his anger.

"... the manuscript ... ah ... not yet ... not yet ... I haven't sent it ..."

"You haven't sent it? We're in a bind here. It's very close to the deadline. If you'd prefer, we can pick it up-"

not yet ... complete ..."

Sakakibara bit his lip.

"We have to have those pages. The other pieces are all in place. The only thing we need now is your translation of `The Gold of Time."'

"... the gold ... of time ... light, its shadow, and its shadow ... in the depth of the depths ... of light ..."

It was unmistakable. He was whispering the first lines of "The Gold of Time."

Feeling somewhat dizzy, Sakakibara sharply cut in.

"That's right. That's `The Gold of Time,' and when will you get it to us? And it would be a great help if you could let us know about how many pages-"

Obviously, there was something wrong with him.

"Fujisawa, have you been drinking?"

"... no ... not drinking at all ..."

"Well, then, what's going on? Can you be straight with me, and let me know when we'll get your pages?"

"... yes ... any time ... it's finished..."

"What! But you just said that it wasn't-"

"... yes ... I just haven't written it down yet ..."

"You haven't written it?"

"... but ... if I write it . . . that's the end ... it's all .. .

"May I send someone over tonight?"

Sakakibara's voice was taut with stress.

Fujisawa lived in the mountains near Machida. Even if he sent someone, it would be an overnight trip. Still, things had come to a point where it was necessary to take hold of the situation.

"... yes ... no ... I

None of it made any sense.

"If I come out your way, could you find me a hotel somewhere or someplace for a layover?"

"... yes ... uh huh ... I'll do it ... I understand ... right away."

Fujisawa hung up abruptly.

Sakakibara considered calling back but felt too angry for that.

The following day Sakakibara made the journey to Machida with Fujisawa's address to guide him.

After about an hour's walk up a steep slope, he found Fujisawa's house on the corner in a new residential area.

No matter how much he rang the bell or pounded on the door, no one answered. He went to take a look around back, but the door and windows were shuttered tight.

But he spied a trickle of light between the cracks.

"Fujisawa! It's Sakakibara!"

He pounded on the shutters.

There was nothing more that he could do.

He dragged himself all the way back to the office. The sun had already set.

There was no time to find another translator at this stage of the game. It looked like one of them was going to have to do it. Resolving to take up the matter with Kuwamura tomorrow, Sakakibara returned home.

After their marriage, Keiko had resigned from Kirin, working out of the home, doing freelance translation and teaching French.

It wasn't entirely out of the question to ask her. But he wished to avoid that if at all possible.

That night he got drunk before climbing into bed.

The following day, close to noon, head pounding with a hangover as he went into work-

And the manuscript from Fujisawa had arrived.

It was "The Gold of Time." It was sixty-four pages on typing paper. There were almost no corrections or erasures. Apparently, he had produced a clean copy in one go.

He hadn't been lying when he said, "I'll do it."

Because the manuscript was so neatly done, Sakakibara could readily determine how many pages it would be in print. There was no time for any further checking. He decided to leave corrections for the galleys and had Kojima take it to the printers as it was.

It occurred to him, as he was breathing a sigh of relief, to call Fujisawa. But no one answered.

Maybe he was now angry about how Sakakibara treated him. Or maybe he was curled up in bed, exhausted.

Well, whatever-nothing he could do about it.

A call came in from the Hakuden Agency. The color proofs for the Undiscovered Century exhibition brochures were ready.

Sakakibara left things to Kuwamura and took Miyagami with him to the Hakuden Agency production facilities located in Yotsuya.

Work on the proofs took till midnight.

He called Fujisawa again the following day.

And again the next day-

The weekend arrived.

Saturday morning and afternoon he called repeatedly, but still no one answered.

Maybe he had gone somewhere on vacation?

The following week a thick pile of galleys came in from the printer.

The initial proof for "The Gold of Time" was there as well.

Kuwamura assumed responsibility for it.

Because he ran out of time at work, however, he took it home with him for a look-through.

Sakakibara had a bad feeling about it. But he swept the thought from his mind.

He should forget about it. He had to stop letting Kasadera's ghost creep into his thoughts all the time.

The following day Sakakibara came into work earlier than usual.

Kuwamura hadn't come in yet.

Wakabayashi Kyoko, their accounts manager, brought an expense report for manuscript work to Sakakibara for approval.

Kirin Publishers usually made payments by direct deposit.

Unable to get through to Fujisawa Satoru, however, she had been unable to confirm his bank and account number. She had decided to send him cash by registered mail.

What on earth had happened to Fujisawa-?

He tried calling a publisher in Kanda that specialized in foreign literature, for whom Fujisawa often worked.

His editor came to the phone and explained that they too were trying to determine his whereabouts. Apparently, they were facing some difficulties because he had completed only half of his translation of a novel.

They each agreed to contact the other right away if they learned where he was.

Sakakibara tried calling a couple of other places but gleaned nothing new about him.

About noon Kuwamura finally showed up.

His eyes were swollen with fatigue. He said he'd worked through the night on the galleys. That explained his lack of energy.

Kojima gathered all the corrected galleys and took them to the printer.

That afternoon a call came from Sano, the secretary at Seito department stores. Tsujimi wanted to know if Sakakibara was available for lunch the following Monday to bring him up to date on things.

Sakakibara agreed.

All the preparations for the Undiscovered Century exhibition were largely complete on the Kirin side.

Everything was on schedule. He felt proud to be giving that kind of report.

At this stage the principal task would be coordinating with the Hakuden Agency to follow through on the finishing touches to assure the overall quality of the exhibition.

After the fifth volume of Undiscovered Materials, it would then be about time to begin the initial preparations for the following year's publications.

Come September, the Undiscovered Century exhibition would finally open. It wasn't limited to Tokyo. It was scheduled to make the rounds of the country, showing in ten locations. Several employees from Kirin Publishers would be required to accompany it.

They thus needed to accomplish as much as possible before then.

At about three, he told Kuwamura, who was nodding off at his desk, to go home early.

Just past five he called Fujisawa again, just to make sure. Still no one answered.

5

On Friday of that week-

Late in the afternoon they received the second round of galleys for "The Gold of Time."

Sakakibara quickly looked through them, and everything looked right; there were no obvious errors.

He called Kuwamura to have him do a more detailed check.

Kuwamura's reaction was rather strange.

As if angry about something, he snatched the galleys from Sakakibara's hands in a rage and then, without a word, stormed out of the office.

(What's wrong with him-?)

While he was still looking toward the door where Kuwamura had disappeared, Wakabayashi Kyoko appeared.

"Excuse me, but this was returned for some reason-"

It was the money that she had sent registered mail to Fujisawa Satoru.

Since he had translated well over a hundred pages, it was quite a chunk of cash. The envelope was thick with bills.

"Let me think. . ."

Upon reflection, he took the envelope himself.

"I will keep it for now. I'll take it to him myself later."

That day-

Kuwamura never returned to the office.

A party to celebrate the completion of the second volume of Undiscovered Materials had already been planned. They had reserved a table at a nearly restaurant. There was no way to cancel it now.

They went without Kuwamura. Maybe that was why the party seemed to lack enthusiasm and broke up early. The younger staff members said they were going to a disco with Wakabayashi Kyoko.

Sakakibara left them and headed home.

The following morning-

Sakakibara woke at an early hour. It was a beautiful day, an early summer Saturday. When he opened the windows, a pleasant breeze swept into the room.

"Keiko! Hey, Keiko, let's go out somewhere!"

He dragged her out of bed and had her get ready for a bike ride.

After a light breakfast of coffee and toast, they both got on the motorcycle.

Their immediate destination was Machida.

From Shinjuku they took the Koshu highway all the way to Shitaishihara, where they veered left onto the Tsugawa highway.

As the hour advanced, the day grew gradually hotter. But with the rush of wind on the motorcycle, they barely felt the heat. Their helmets were another matter. They could both feel the sweat dripping from their hair.

The Tsugawa highway ended at a T-intersection where they took a right, through Ookura and toward Kanai ... and then went up a long, winding road.

They arrived at Fujisawa Satoru's house just before noon.

Sakakibara had Keiko wait by the bike while he climbed the narrow stone steps up to the entrance.

He pressed the buzzer not expecting an answer, yet to his surprise someone was at home, and he heard a key turning in the lock on the inside. But it wasn't Fujisawa.

It was a young woman. She had very straight, shoulderlength hair. Without makeup, freckles showed on her face.

Her outfit was simple, just jeans and a T-shirt.

She looked beautiful nonetheless.

"Yes?"

She looked at Sakakibara with a puzzled expression.

"Um, this is me here. This is Fujisawa Satoru's residence, isn't it?"

He took a business card from his wallet and handed it to her.

She looked down at the card, frowning, and then shook her head slightly.

"Satoru isn't here. I kept calling and ... I was worried and came out to check on him."

"Are you his sister?"

"No ... no, I'm not."

She blushed as she replied.

It wasn't hard to figure out. After all, she had an extra set of keys to his house.

"So, he isn't in ... do you think he went on a trip or something?"