Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami Read Free Book Online

red-headed woman dance around in her snakeskin high heels. At the end, she went into a ballerina’s pirouette with one leg extended, as the aging musicians fumbled with their sheet music. When she finally came to rest, the silver-suited emcee reappeared blowing soap bubbles at the singer.
    “Now, let’s see if we can’t prevail on Miss Kanae to treat us to a spectacle from her first career!” he said, as big red and green balls were brought on stage. Rapidly changing her high heels for crepe-soled shoes, Miss Kanae obligingly hopped up on one of the balls.
    “Right you are! Miss Kanae was a circus star! But she tells me that her real specialty wasn’t acrobatics but riding an elephant or a lion through a sea of fire!” Before he could finish, Miss Kanae had jumped down from the ball and taken the microphone.
    “Yes, dear, but my
real
forte was hypnotism, you know.”
    “Hypnotism! Isn’t that
amazing
! I don’t suppose you’d still be able…”
    “I’ve probably forgotten how…”
    “How about it, ladies and gentlemen? Who’d like to be hypnotized by Miss Kanae?” Several hands shot up. “This
is
a brave crowd—I don’t think I’d be willing—they say it’s a bit dangerous, isn’t it? Well, then, who’ll it be?…”
    “I know how we’ll pick him,” said the singer. “Four years back I had a record; not a very good one, I’m afraid—it never sold much—but is there anyone out there who remembers the title of my record?” The crowd fell silent and the emcee looked a bit embarrassed, but just as he was about to give them a hint, a small voice spoke up.
    “What was that? Louder, please.”
    “
Petals of Sorrow
.”
    “That’s right. Thank you for remembering,” said the redhead, gesturing in the direction of the owner of the voice. It was Hashi.
    As she prepared to hypnotize Hashi, Miss Kanae asked that the audience refrain from making any noise to allow her to focus her powers. Hashi, seated tensely on the stage, gave a cautious wave at Kazuyo and Kiku. The emcee asked if he had ever been under psychiatric care, to which Hashi answered “No.” A large black box was brought out on stage, Hashi and the woman went inside, and when they emerged ten minutes later, Hashi’s eyes were shut tight. A murmur went through the audience, and the woman put her finger to her lips.
    “Your name and age?”
    “Hashio Kuwayama, thirteen.”
    “Hashio, tell me, where are we now?”
    “Hawaii.”
    “Where in Hawaii?”
    “Near… no, on the sea.”
    “And how is it here in Hawaii?”
    “Hot!”
    The crowd, bundled against the cold, burst out laughing. Hashi, however, was actually sweating and began to take off his coat.
    “What are you doing here in Hawaii, Hashio?”
    “Taking a nap.”
    “You’ve finished your nap, haven’t you?”
    “Yes. I’m fishing.”
    “By yourself?”
    “Kiku’s here too.”
    “And who’s Kiku?”
    “He’s my brother, or my friend, really.”
    “And besides Kiku?”
    “Mr. Kuwayama.”
    “Mr. Kuwayama?”
    “I mean, my father…”
    Kazuyo had begun to look uneasy, and Kiku, thinking he should put a stop to the whole thing, was trying to make his way toward the stage. Hashi was beginning to look pale and anxious, scratching absently at his throat from time to time.
    “Well, Hashio, that’s about enough. What do you think? Hawaii’s too hot anyway. How about going home? Shall we go home?”
    “Where? Home where?”
    “Hmm… Good question. This time, Hashio, why don’t you go back to when you were a little boy; in fact, all the way back to when you were a tiny baby. That’s it, the clock is running backward, back to the time when you weren’t even a year old, to when you were a baby… Well, how does it feel?”
    “Hot.”
    “What? No, you’re home from Hawaii now. Where are you?”
    “It’s hot… so hot it’s killing me.”
    “Hashio, you’ve left Hawaii! You’re a newborn baby.”
    “Stop it!” yelled Kiku at that point, but just as