---

Masako was in the same class as Bunichi Morimoto again. They’d been in the same classes all the way through primary school, but had been placed in different ones the previous year, when they started secondary school. Bunichi had grown quite a lot in that past year, and now Masako only came up to his shoulders, so sometimes felt a little awkward standing next to him. But they were good friends who always spent their breaks working on their homework together. Their classmates teased them about this, but they didn’t let it bother them.

One day, towards the end of summer, Masako was packing her books into her bag when Bunichi came up to her and asked, “Are you going to volleyball practice today?”

“No, I’m going home. I have way too much homework.”

“We can go home together then, if you like,” said Bunichi. “But won’t your team-mates be upset that you skipped practice?”

“They won’t mind. I’m too short to get much time on the court anyway, so I think it’s okay to slack off a little from time to time.”

And with that, the two of them walked out of the school gates side by side and onto the street, to where the sycamore leaves were already turning yellow and a cool breeze danced around them.

“Bunichi?” said Masako in the tone she reserved for asking favours. “Do you think you could help me with today’s math homework?”

“Yeah, sure. Why don’t you come over to my house?”

“No way!” cried out Masako, surprising even herself.
It simply wasn’t like her to react that way.

“There’s no need to shout. I mean, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“I’m sorry,” said Masako, feeling bad. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“You’re a strange one sometimes, Masako.”

As they carried on walking, Masako wondered why she’d shouted like that. Was it that she really didn’t want to go to Bunichi’s house? There wasn’t any reason for her to feel that way after all. So instead she searched her mind for an explanation and started to think of Bunichi’s young and pretty mother, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

“I just... didn’t want to disturb your mother,” offered Masako.

“Oh, is that what you were worried about? That’s so not like you!” said Bunichi, laughing. There wasn’t much you could do to dampen Bunichi’s spirits, and that was one of the things Masako liked about him.

“All right then,” said Masako, “I guess I could stop by just for a little bit.”

“Great!”

When they arrived, Bunichi’s mother seemed a little surprised to see Masako.

“Why, Masako, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I haven’t seen you since your primary-school graduation ceremony!”

“Yes, it has been a while,” said Masako, doing her best to sound older than she was.

“You’re so tanned, and you haven’t grown one bit!”

“Hey! I’m kind of self-conscious about my height, you know!” said Masako in a sulky tone.

Bunichi’s mother laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that Bunichi has grown so much this past year, so it’s a little funny to see you haven’t changed at all.”

“Come on, let’s go up to my room,” said Bunichi impatiently.

As Masako followed Bunichi to his room, his mother called out from behind them. “And try not to faint this time, Masako!”

“Faint?” said Masako, turning around. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember? Last time you went into Bunichi’s room, something startled you and you fainted.”

That’s right, thought Masako. She had seen something terrifying in Bunichi’s room. But what was it that had scared her so much that she’d fainted?

“You know, I really don’t remember what it was that startled me so badly.”

“Maybe it was so scary that you erased it from your memory,” said Bunichi’s mother, laughing. “That’s not so unusual, you know.”

When Masako heard that, it made her not want to go into Bunichi’s room.

“Bunichi?” she said. “That scary thing... is it still there?”

“Yeah, sure it is. Come up and see,” he replied with a smirk on his face.

“No way!”

“Okay, then you wait here. I’ll go ahead and put it away.”

“Do you remember what it was?” Masako turned to Bunichi’s mother, who was now pouring tea for them.

“Well,” said Bunichi’s mother, looking a little unsure. “I didn’t really pay so much attention to what it was that scared you. My main concern was that you had fainted. I do recall that it was actually something quite silly, though.”

“Masako!” called out Bunichi. “You can come in now.”

“Are you sure you’ve put it away?” asked Masako as she anxiously approached the door.

“Yeah, it’s fine. You can come in now.”

Slowly and cautiously, Masako stepped into Bunichi’s room. And as soon as she did, out jumped Bunichi from behind the door with a mask on his face! It was a “Prajna” mask from one of the stories Bunichi liked, with hollow eyes, a gaping bright-red mouth and an expression so fierce it could only belong to a creature from another world.

---

THE PRAJNA MASK

Masako let out a scream, pushed Bunichi out of her way and ran right past his mother and out of the front door – without even stopping to put on her shoes. She felt as if her heart might jump out of her mouth at any moment, and she didn’t stop until she was a good ten metres away from the house, where she squatted down on the pavement and tried to catch her breath. Now she remembered all too well. That was the same stupid mask that had terrified her the last time! And how nasty was it of Bunichi to scare her like that! Perhaps he thought it was funny. Well, it most certainly was not! He should know how frightened she was of that mask!

“That’s it,” said Mariko to herself as her eyes became red, more from anger than fear. “I don’t need his help with my homework any more. I’m never going to hang out with him ever again.”

Mariko stood up and looked around. The street was completely empty, except for a single black cat that was sitting next to the mailbox. She wished she could just go home. But first she needed her shoes, so reluctantly she went back to Bunichi’s house, and as she entered she heard Bunichi being scolded by his mother.

“What were you thinking!? Masako is a girl! That was way out of line, young man!”

“But...” Bunichi stammered. “I didn’t think it would scare her so much. I mean, she’s not a kid any more. If anything, I thought I would get a laugh out of her...”

Bunichi sounded genuinely confused and concerned.

“Stop making excuses and go look for her. Now!” his mother shouted.

“It’s okay, I’m right here,” said Masako, feeling a little sorry for him.

Both Bunichi and his mother hurried towards her, apologizing profusely as they came, and Masako started to feel a little embarrassed for making such a big deal over a small thing. As an apology, Bunichi offered to break his piggy bank and use the proceeds to take her to a movie on Sunday. Masako was happy and ready to accept his apology, but she thought she’d better stay in a sulk for just a little while longer. After all, if she went back to her usual mood too quickly, then Bunichi might tease her about the whole thing.

Several days had passed since the incident with the Prajna mask at Bunichi’s house, but Masako couldn’t stop thinking about it. The mask was certainly scary, no question about it. But it was just a mask after all. So Masako couldn’t quite understand why she’d reacted in such an extreme manner. What’s so scary about a stupid mask? she thought to herself. Surely there must be a reason. Or could it be that I’m just more easily scared than others?

As she mulled these thoughts over in her head, Masako remembered that Bunichi was afraid of something too. Spiders. Masako, on the other hand, had no problem with them. I guess... she pondered, different people are just scared of different things. But still, there was something about the incident with the mask that continued to bother her.

Thinking back to her first year of secondary school, Masako remembered a time when she’d had to draw a Prajna mask for art class. When she’d first seen the mask, she’d felt a shiver go down her spine, but she’d soon got used to it. So it seemed it was only scary to her now when it suddenly appeared in front of her. Perhaps it wouldn’t be scary any more if she were to look at it for long enough. It also occurred to her, for the first time, that maybe the reason she didn’t like art class was the fact that the walls of the art room were decorated with Prajna masks. She’d loved art class in primary school, after all. But in secondary school, she hadn’t even bothered to join the art club. Instead, she’d decided to join the volleyball club, even though she wasn’t any good at it. Perhaps there was something more to her feelings about the Prajna mask. Could it be that she’d had some terrible experience with a Prajna mask some time ago? An experience she could no longer remember?

---

THE WOMAN WITH SCISSORS

When it came to being easily scared, nobody was more easily scared than Masako’s younger brother, Yoshio. He was almost five years old, but still he kept wetting his bed because he couldn’t go to the toilet on his own at night – no matter how many times his parents told him off for it. Masako felt sorry for him, not only because he was always being told off by their parents, but also because his classmates had started to tease him and call him “bed-wetter”. If only there was something she could do to help him stop wetting the bed! Several months earlier she had even asked Yoshio about it.

“Hey, Yoshio,” she’d said. “Why is it you’re so scared of going to the toilet?”

“Because it’s so far from where I sleep,” Yoshio had replied.

Yoshio did have a point. After all, they lived in a relatively large house, and the hallway leading to the bathroom was really quite long.

“And it’s dark,” Yoshio had added. “And there’s something there too.”

“What do you mean ‘something’? Do you mean a ghost?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“What then?”

“Something scary.”

“Is it a person?”

“Yeah.”

“A spirit of some kind?”

“No, not a spirit. It’s a woman.”

“Why would a woman scare you?”

“Because her hair is all messy and her face is pale and scary.”

“It must be a spirit of some kind then.”

“It’s not.”

“Well how do you know it’s not a spirit?”

“I don’t know how I know! I just know that it isn’t.”

“And this woman is in the hallway?”

“No, she’s inside the bathroom. When I open the bathroom door, she’s always standing there with a pair of scissors in her hand.”

Yoshio looked genuinely terrified as he explained this to Masako.

“Why does she have a pair of scissors on her?”

“I don’t know.”

Now Masako was starting to feel a bit scared, too. She imagined this woman with crazy hair and a pale face, with the eyes of a fox and with a pair of scissors in her hand. Surely there was no way Yoshio could have imagined all that by himself. Somebody else must have told him to try and scare him.

“Who told you such a scary story?” Masako asked.

“Nobody,” said Yoshio, shaking his head.

“So you made it up yourself?”

“I’m not making it up! She’s really there!” Yoshio shouted, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Masako wondered if her mother or father might have told Yoshio such a story. First, she checked with her mother, but she knew nothing about it. Then, when Masako’s father came home from work, she asked him too.

“Why would I tell him such a silly story?” said her father, visibly upset.

That night, Masako woke up in the middle of the night with an idea. She got out of bed and went over to Yoshio.

“Wake up, Yoshio!” she whispered. “It’s time to go to the bathroom. If you don’t go now, you’ll wet the bed again. Come on! I’ll go with you!”

“No way,” said Yoshio, his eyes peeping out from under the covers, “I’m scared.”

“But there’s no need to be,” said Masako, reassuringly. “I’m telling you, there’s nobody in there.”

“Oh yes there will be,” said Yoshio. “She’ll be there.”

If you don’t go, you’ll wet the bed again. Come on, we have to go.”

The two of them got up and started walking down the long hallway towards the toilet. Masako was sure she could see Yoshio trembling.

“Yoshio, you really are a coward aren’t you? Stop shaking!” said Masako, laughing. But, inside, Masako was a little scared as well. What if there really was someone in the bathroom? What if there was someone wearing a Prajna mask? If there was, she would surely scream!

As they carried on down the hallway with its squeaky floorboards underfoot, Yoshio held Masako’s hand tight. His palm was now sweating and his body was trembling. When they finally reached the bathroom door, Yoshio squatted down on the floor and said, “I can’t do it. I’m scared!”

“It’s all right.” Masako reassured him, but her voice was quivering slightly too. So without saying another word, she gripped Yoshio’s hand tightly and slowly opened the bathroom door.

“You see?” said Masako. “There’s no one here.”

“That’s because you’re here,” said Yoshio. “If I was alone, then she’d be here.”

Masako wondered what she could do. How could she possibly convince her little brother that the woman in the bathroom didn’t exist? She couldn’t even convince herself that the stupid Prajna mask wasn’t scary! Perhaps she needed to find out the reason behind both of their fears. Perhaps then they would be able to overcome them.

The following Sunday, on the way home from the movies, Masako decided to ask Bunichi for advice.

“Okay,” said Bunichi, laughing, “so we’ve got a brother and sister and both of them are cowards.”

Noticing that he was the only one laughing, Bunichi cleared his throat and spoke in a more serious voice.

“Actually,” he continued, “my uncle is a psychologist, and he once told me that when people find out the cause of their fear, then that fear usually goes away. So maybe that’s the key to Yoshio stopping his bed-wetting.”

Encouraged by Bunichi’s words, Masako decided to get to work on doing something about her little brother’s fears as well as her own. Maybe then the other boys her brother’s age would stop teasing him and let him join in with their games. Then he wouldn’t always have to play indoor games with the girls nearby, such as Atsuko, who lived across the street, or Hisako, who lived two houses down the road. Masako’s mother would be happy too. She was quite a tough woman, and was a little embarrassed about her little crybaby son.

Later that day, Masako and her mother were sitting in the living room – with Masako reading a book and her mother busy with her craftwork – when all of a sudden Yoshio came running in with tears trickling down his cheeks.

“Oh Yoshio!” said their mother. “Have you been bullied again?”

“I was playing with Hisako and Atsuko, and Hiro called me a sissy!” said Yoshio between sobs.

Hiro was a first-grader and the biggest bully in their neighbourhood. But their mother was sick of hearing this kind of thing and was in no mood to cheer her son up.

“Oh come on now, Yoshio! I hope you didn’t just come running home without saying anything back to him!”

Yoshio stopped rubbing his eyes and dropped his hands to his sides.

“I did say something! I said I’m not a sissy!”

“And?”

“And then he kicked my book.” And with that, little Yoshio started to sob again.

“That’s awful!” said Masako, standing up. “I’m going to go have a word with Hiro!”

“No, Masako,” said their mother. “You stay here.”

---

A SCOLDING FROM MUM

“You’re a boy, Yoshio!” said his mother. “You need to start acting like one. You can’t keep crying and running home like this. You know they pick on you because you’re always playing with girls. Why don’t you join in with the boys and play their games?”

Masako watched as her mother started to rant. Once she started, there was no telling how long she would go on for, and Yoshio had already started to sob again.

“Boys need to have the courage to fight back!” their mother continued. “If you want to keep on playing with girls all the time, I’m going to have to snip off your weenie!”

“Oh!” gasped Masako.

“What’s the matter?” said her mother, slightly annoyed at having her lecture interrupted.

“I know why Yoshio is afraid of going to the bathroom, and why he always wets his bed! It’s because of what you say when you tell him off for playing with the girls!”

“What?” said their mother, looking first to Masako, then to Yoshio.

“The scary woman Yoshio sees in the bathroom at night – it’s you, Mum! And the reason she’s always holding scissors is because, well you know, the scissors are for...”

Masako watched her mother’s face change as she slowly put the pieces together.

“Oh, so what you’re saying is that the scissors are for cutting off Yoshio’s weenie?”

Yoshio, who had since stopped sobbing, looked up at his mother, while Masako and her mother looked back at him. For a moment there was silence, then both Masako and her mother burst out laughing at Yoshio’s quizzical expression.

“You know what that means, don’t you Yoshio?” said Masako, pulling herself together. “It means you just made that woman up in your mind because of what Mum said to you. Do you see? That means there’s not really a woman there at all, so there’s no need for you to be scared any more!”

“Oh, I see,” said Yoshio, though it wasn’t clear if he really understood or not.

Yoshio’s mother didn’t say anything, but she seemed to be feeling bad about the careless choice of words that had scared her son so much. And though Yoshio didn’t entirely understand what had just happened, he did at least understand that there was no woman in the bathroom to be afraid of. So from that day on, he was always able to go to the toilet all by himself, even in the middle of the night, and he never wet his bed again. As for Masako, she was surprised at how well she’d been able to help Yoshio overcome his fear. Now she felt even more determined to conquer her own.

---

A FEAR OF HEIGHTS

When Masako sat down and thought about it, the Prajna mask wasn’t the only thing she was afraid of. She was also pretty scared of heights. To be fair, quite a lot of people are scared of heights. But in Masako’s case, the fear was a bit more extreme. Even if she had a really firm grip on the handrail, she could never bring herself to look down whenever she was standing somewhere high up. She’d certainly tried on many occasions to have a look at the ground far below. But somehow she was scared that if she did, then she might suddenly feel a strange and sudden urge to climb over the rail and step off. And just the thought of that made her want to scream. There were also many cases where she was too afraid to even grab hold of the handrail. After all, what if the part she was holding on to suddenly were to break off and send her plummeting face down to the ground below?

I can’t always act like a child, she thought to herself. I have to overcome this silly fear as soon as possible. What I need to do is to find somewhere really high up, somewhere that doesn’t even have handrails. Then I need to force myself to climb up! But what if I suddenly get dizzy up there? I might fall! Maybe I should ask Bunichi to come with me. Just to be safe.

A couple of days later, on the way home from school, Masako told Bunichi about her idea.

“You’re scared of a lot of things, aren’t you Masako?”
he replied, unhelpfully.

“So what if I am? I can’t help it, can I?” she said. “But at least I can try to do something about it. Or would you prefer I try to do something about your fear, huh? I could drop a few spiders down the back of your shirt and see how you like that!”

Bunichi turned pale at the bare mention of the word “spider”.

“No no, please, anything but that,” he pleaded. “I can’t stand spiders. Just thinking about them makes me sick!”

“See! Even you are afraid of things. So how about it? Will you climb somewhere really high with me?”

“Yeah, I’ll go. So long as you promise me you won’t ever do what you just said. You know, with the... spiders.”

“Okay, I’ll let you off.”

“But where do you have in mind? Do you even know of anywhere high that doesn’t have any handrails?”

Masako actually did know just the place.

“The clock tower, of course!”

“What?! That’s so dangerous,” said Bunichi, clearly taken aback. The clock tower was located on the roof of their school. It was an old tower, with the hands on the clock permanently stuck at 9:15, and it was about three storeys high!

“But that place is off limits!” Bunichi said with a worried look on his face. “Because it’s so dangerous!”

When Masako and Bunichi reached the stairs that led to the machine room at the back of the clock tower, they noticed how very narrow they were. And not only were they narrow, but there were no handrails along the stairs and no walls on either side! Perhaps it had been designed that way to make it easy to build, but it certainly wasn’t designed for being very safe.

“Are you going to go up there?” asked Bunichi.

“Of course. Why, are you scared?”

“Of course I’m not scared! I just don’t want us to be caught and get into trouble, that’s all.”

“Don’t worry. The place is only off-limits because they’re worried about boys like you going up there and being stupid and reckless,” said Masako, determined to convince Bunichi. “But we’re just going to go up there and then come right back down.”

“But off-limits is off-limits!”

“And rules are there to be broken,” said Masako, bringing the conversation to an end. It didn’t matter to her that her argument made no sense at all.

---

THE CLOCK TOWER

When they reached the roof, the autumn breeze blew a chill through their clothes, and they stood for a moment together, gazing up at the tower.

“Can you climb up that high?” asked Bunichi.

“No problem,” said Masako with false confidence, as she did her best to stop her legs from shaking. Then off she went inside the tower with an air of cheerfulness that was just as false.

“Hey, hold on,” called out Bunichi behind her. “It’s dangerous, let’s go together.”

As they climbed the dusty steps, Masako took in the view. She could see the low green hills on the outskirts of town, all the different shades of foliage under the autumn sky and the long white strip of road that snaked its way into town – past the church, the fire station and the watchtower – and then wound its way to the front door of the school.

“Oh!” Masako let out a gasp as she suddenly felt dizzy and needed to rest on the stairs.

“You shouldn’t look down,” said Bunichi, grabbing her shoulders. “What should we do, Masako?” he asked her. “Should we go back down?”

But they had already got quite far up. In fact, there was only one floor left until they reached the machine room. Masako decided it would be a shame to turn back, so she shook her head and said, “No, let’s keep going!”

“But you can’t even stand up!”

“Well then, please can you take my hand?”

Bunichi hesitantly reached out to take her hand and helped her to her feet, then slowly they continued their ascent. As they went, there were several landings between flights of stairs, each with an overhang and a concrete divider about forty centimetres high, and when they reached the last one, there were only twenty steps left to the machine room. But right at that moment, Bunichi – who had been walking ahead of Masako – let out a piercing scream, let go of Masako’s hand and started waving his arms around frantically.

“It’s a spi... A spi... spider’s web!” he blurted out pointing to a huge cobweb in the corner of the landing.

“Be careful!” yelled Masako.

But Bunichi was too busy grappling with the spider’s web to even notice how close his feet were getting to the concrete divider. He lost his footing, tripped over the divider, and his body went sailing over the overhang.

“Help,” cried Bunichi.

“Oh no!” screamed Masako, forgetting her fear and scrambling to the edge, where Bunichi’s fingers were clinging on. “Hang on tight, Bunichi!”

Bravely, Masako grabbed hold of both of Bunichi’s hands and tried to pull him up with all her strength. She knew that, if he were to lose his grip, then both of them would end up falling several flights to the ground.

If he falls, thought Masako, it will be just awful. I brought him here, so it would be all my fault. And I’ll die as well!

Fortunately, Bunichi managed to swing one of his legs onto the overhang, so Masako was able to grab him by the belt and pull him in.

For several moments they sat on the narrow overhang in silence, looking at each other, listening to their hearts pounding away and waiting for their breathing to return to normal. Both of them were thinking about what might have happened, and both of them felt a chill run down their spine.

It’s weird, thought Masako, but I feel that something like this happened once before.

---

THE SCARY BRIDGE

“You know what?” Masako said to Bunichi several days later. “I’m not at all scared of heights any more.”

“Well, my psychologist uncle told me that people can sometimes have fears that come from guilt. So maybe your sense of guilt was replaced by the wonderful fact that you saved my life!”

“A sense of guilt, huh?” Masako wondered out loud.

Masako thought about what Bunichi had said. Could she have done something bad when she was much younger? Something she was too young to remember? Or could it be that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but something bad had happened and left her with a sense of guilt that had remained until that day? Perhaps it was some sort of secret from long ago. Something related to a Prajna mask and high places perhaps? But where could such a place be? And what could have happened? No matter how hard Masako tried to remember, nothing came to mind. Even though she had felt that something similar had happened before when Bunichi almost fell from the clock tower.

Several weeks later, just after the end of the autumn festival, Masako and Bunichi took a walk along the river that ran by the side of the town. The red spider lilies that had bloomed so beautifully in summer were nothing more than a memory now, and the two of them made their way down to the edge of the river to skim stones, before making their way over to the foot of a long bridge.

“Masako?” said Bunichi. “You know, it’s still early. Shall we walk across the bridge and down into the suburbs?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Masako. But then she noticed that the rails on both sides of the bridge were very low. “Actually, I think it might be time to head back,” she added, feeling that indescribable fear coming back.

“Why?”

“Just because.”

“Do you have other plans?”

“No, not particularly.”

“Then why not?” said Bunichi, suddenly noticing the anxious look on her face. “You’re not going to start telling me that you’re scared of crossing the bridge, are you?”

Bunichi had hit the nail on the head – so Masako didn’t even bother to reply. Instead, she glanced at the long white bridge, with its telegraph poles dotted along it at intervals of several metres and the low, wooden rails in between. Masako was now getting quite scared. Something like this has happened before! She thought to herself. And something bad is now about to happen.

“I don’t want to cross the bridge,” Masako suddenly said.

“You really are a strange one,” said Bunichi as he took a few steps onto the bridge and peered over the handrail into the waters below.

“I guess it is a little high up,” he added. “But then, I thought you’d already overcome your fear of heights.”

“I just don’t like this bridge!”

“Suit yourself.”

Bunichi peered over the edge again and listened carefully. There was nobody around except for the two of them, and all he could hear was the rushing of the water and the occasional croak from a frog.

“I’ve got it!” said Bunichi. “It’s not heights you’re afraid of it. It’s the rails and handrails in high places that scare you! You were able to climb up that clock tower because there were no rails! Don’t you see – that made it easier for you!”

“But why would I be scared of rails?”

“I don’t know. But there are plenty of people who have random phobias.”

Masako wasn’t sure if Bunichi was making fun of her, so she started to pout a little.

“Well, I can’t help what I find scary, can I! I just feel as if something might come jumping out from behind one of those telegraph poles.”

“What, like someone wearing a Prajna mask?”
smirked Bunichi.

“Stop it!” yelled Masako, surprising Bunichi.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look, I’m scared! I’m really scared!”

Masako covered her face with both hands and sank down onto the ground. She suddenly felt like she might be able to remember something that happened a long time ago. But at the same time, she was too scared to remember it.

“Are you not feeling well?” asked Bunichi, looking genuinely worried.

Masako said nothing, but gave a small nod.

“Okay then,” said Bunichi. “Let’s go home.”

---

THE HEAD IN THE HALLWAY

Masako felt as if she could remember whatever it was that had happened if she really put her mind to it. But she was afraid the memory might be too painful for her to bear. So several frustrating days went by. It was actually during that period that Yoshio started to wet his bed again.

“What is it this time?” asked Masako. “The woman with the scissors isn’t there any more, right?”

“No, she isn’t...” replied Yoshio. “It’s just that...” Yoshio’s voice trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling.

Later on, long after they’d gone to bed, Masako awoke in the middle of the night and tried again to help Yoshio overcome his fear.

“Come on, Yoshio,” she said, shaking him awake, “let’s take you to the bathroom.”

“But...” Yoshio mumbled, sleepily.

“Come on, hurry up, or you’re going to wet the bed again.”

“But I don’t want to go yet.”

“But you have to go. Oh... I see. You’re scared again, aren’t you? You’re back to being a big scaredy-cat!”

“No, that’s not why.”

“Well then, go!”

Yoshio pulled back the covers and got out of bed. Then he walked out into the hallway slowly. As for Masako, she was feeling quite satisfied with herself, so she rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. But before she could fall back to sleep, Yoshio came back into the room with his face as pale as a sheet. Then he sat down next to Masako and began to cry.

“What’s the matter?” asked Masako, surprised.

“At the corner of the hallway, there’s a man’s head on the floor,” sobbed Yoshio.

“What?” said Masako, sitting upright. “That’s impossible. You must have just dreamt it!”

“No, it’s really there... covered in blood, and rolling around on the floor.”

Overwhelmed with fear, Yoshio threw himself into Masako’s arms, trembling. Masako tried to be brave, but she was so scared by Yoshio’s story that she had to make an effort to stop her teeth from chattering.

---

FATHER’S SECRET

“But it really can’t be true,” said Masako, trying to convince herself as well as Yoshio. “A man’s head in the hallway. I mean, it just can’t be true.”

But Yoshio seemed genuinely terrified. He wasn’t playing.

For a moment, Masako considered going to the bathroom with Yoshio again. But what would she do if there really was a man’s head on the floor? She even considered waking her parents, who were asleep in the next room, and asking them to come along as well. But if she did that, then Yoshio would know she was scared as well, and she didn’t want that. She needed to be strong for his sake, so she could set a good example – no matter how scared she really was inside.

“I’ll show you how ridiculous it is,” she said, hopping out of bed.

“You’re not really going, are you?” said Yoshio with his eyes wide-open. “You’re not really going to go to the bathroom?”

“Yes I am.”

With that, Masako took hold of Yoshio’s wrists and tried to make him stand. But Yoshio wouldn’t move. In fact, he was so scared that his body was frozen still, so he couldn’t get out of bed even if he’d wanted to.

What a wimp, thought Masako, I can’t believe he’s a boy!

After reassuring Yoshio that everything would be fine, Masako stepped out into the hallway with Yoshio in tow. There was no light out there, and in the dark, for just a second, she felt as if there might actually be something there. But she’d never been scared to go to the bathroom before, so she was determined not to be frightened this time either.

“Things look scary only because you think they’re scary,” she whispered to Yoshio.

Together, they peered around the corner of the hallway and along to the bathroom.

“See!” said Masako. “There’s nothing there.”

Yoshio blinked his eyes and grabbed hold of his sister’s body, then took a good long look along the hallway.

“That’s so strange,” he said. “I swear it was there earlier.”

Masako wondered why on earth Yoshio might have imagined a man’s head lying in the hallway. Surely there had to be a reason. But she knew there’d be no point in asking Yoshio, who most likely didn’t know the answer himself.

It’s amazing how the human mind works, Masako thought to herself, it’s just baffling!

When the next morning came, Masako left the house together with her father, just like she did every day. The train station was on her way to school, so she could walk and chat with him every morning. Masako really enjoyed those chats, and she felt particularly close to her father. So she figured it would be all right to tell him about what had happened the night before. She thought he might even know how to help Yoshio overcome his fears. But unfortunately, her father knew more about engineering than he did about heads on hallway floors, so he was unable to suggest anything.

When they reached the station, Masako said goodbye to her father and carried on walking over the level crossing. For no particular reason, she turned to look back at the station, and when she did she got a bit of a surprise – she could see her father standing on the platform just like every other morning, but this time he was on the wrong platform waiting for a train going in the opposite direction. Masako wondered if he’d been deep in thought and gone there accidentally, but that seemed unlikely.

What’s going on? thought Masako. Maybe he just needs to stop by somewhere before work. But then, if that was the case, surely he would have left the house earlier than normal.

Masako couldn’t help but wonder whether she’d just seen something she wasn’t supposed to, so she quickly turned around before her father could see her looking. And when she got to school, the thought still bothered her. All day long she kept wondering why her father wasn’t going to work and why he was hiding something. In fact, she wondered so much, it was almost impossible to concentrate on her classes.

“Hey Masako!” said Bunichi a little later on. “Are you all right? You don’t look well.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” said Masako, but Bunichi wasn’t convinced.

---

VOICES IN THE NIGHT

All day long, Masako had wondered whether she should tell her mother about the incident at the station. And by the time she arrived home, she’d decided it was the right thing to do. Funnily enough, though, her mother didn’t seem in the least bit surprised.

“Well Masako, there’s something I didn’t tell you about before, because I didn’t want you to worry,” she said with a frown on her face.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s not such a big deal as it might sound, but your father quit his job.”

“He did? Why?”

“Well, his company didn’t have as much work to do as they had before, so they needed to let some of the workers go.”

“Let them go? But that means he didn’t quit, right? He was fired!”

“I guess so. But there’s really nothing to worry about. Your father is lucky. He’s a skilled engineer. So he’ll have no trouble at all finding a new job. In fact, he’s already received an offer from another company.”

“Oh, I see.”

Masako couldn’t help but think it might have been better for her parents to tell her what was going on.

I’m an adult, too, she thought to herself, so I’m old enough to be told things as important as that. She felt especially frustrated with her father, and wished he would stop seeing her as just a child. So she decided to confront him about this on the way to the station the next day.

“So, dad, have you already decided on your next job?”
she said, out of the blue.

Her father’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, so you know about that?” he said, then laughed out loud. “I guess you must have overheard me when I came home the other night, did you? I came home a little drunk and was probably talking louder than I should have, and complaining about how the company was going to ‘give me the chop’. I probably woke you up.”

Suddenly, Masako understood where Yoshio’s night vision might have come from.

“Did you say ‘give me the chop’?” she asked in a voice that was also a little too loud.

“I did,” answered her father. “But there’s no need to shout!”

“But I figured it out! The head Yoshio saw – it was yours!”

Poor little Yoshio must have overheard his father’s voice in his sleep and conjured up the image of a bloody severed head. Masako couldn’t help but giggle at how silly the whole episode had been, and so she told her father all about it.

“But this time might be a bit more difficult than last time,” she continued. “We need to tell Yoshio that you were fired. Then we need to tell him that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Masako’s father smiled and patted her on the shoulders with his large, warm hands.

“Oh Masako,” he said with a proud look on his face. “You’re such a clever girl. A born psychologist!”

---

THE NIGHTMARE TAKES SHAPE

Masako found herself standing alone on the bridge. The low wooden rails were old, and some were rotting or even broken. She could see the telegraph poles on one side at regular ten-metre intervals, and she slowly made her way down the middle of the bridge with the hairs on her neck standing on end. She was so very afraid. But she needed to cross the bridge to do the shopping for her mother. If only she could walk across with her eyes closed. But if she did, she might walk into one of those rotting rails and plunge down into the icy waters below. So instead she kept her eyes wide-open and fixed her gaze on the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Why is everything so scary? she thought to herself. What is it that’s frightening me?

But no matter how hard she thought about it, Masako couldn’t figure it out. Then, suddenly, she froze on the spot. There was something hiding behind one of those telegraph poles! Something that just moved!

“Who is it? Who’s there?” asked Masako, her voice trembling.

Then, at that very moment, something in a white cloth leapt out from behind the telegraph pole and gave a terrifying cry before landing right in front of Masako, where it studied her carefully through its fierce-looking Prajna mask.

For a moment, Masako stood rooted to the spot, too scared to even scream. Then she decided to run for her life. But her legs wouldn’t move the way she wanted them to. Her knees were trembling, and each step was unsteady. Then one of her feet got caught in something, and she tumbled head first onto the railing – smashing right through it and over the edge into darkness. The sound of gushing water came closer and closer, and somewhere a voice called out.

“Etsuko!”

Who on earth is Etsuko, she thought to herself as she fell. Is it someone I should know?

Then the icy waters engulfed her and dragged her body deeper and deeper.

Masako woke up with a start. Her chest was pounding and she was gasping for air.

A dream! she thought. It was only a dream!

But what an awful nightmare it had been. Her pyjamas were soaked with sweat, but fortunately Yoshio was still fast asleep beside her. Quietly, she got out of bed, changed into a new pair of pyjamas and crawled back under the covers. But, as much as she tried, she couldn’t get back to sleep.

Ha! Now I remember, she thought to herself. Etsuko was a friend back from when we lived in the countryside. She was a cute girl. I must have been six and Etsuko five when we last saw each other. I wonder what she’s doing now?

The next morning, Masako woke up earlier than usual. She decided to take the longer route to school and invited Bunichi to walk with her. As they walked side by side, Masako recounted her nightmare from the previous night. She thought Bunichi might be able to tell her something about her dream, since he seemed to have learnt so much about such things from his psychologist uncle.

“I think something must have happened back when you lived in the countryside,” said Bunichi after giving it some thought.

“I think so too,” nodded Masako.

“And what about that girl, Etsuko? Do you think she still lives there?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Is this place far?”

“No, you can get there and back in a day.”

“Masako, you should go there this weekend,” said Bunichi, stopping in his tracks. “I really think you’ll find some answers if you do. You’ll find out whatever it is that’s troubling you so much.”

Masako looked Bunichi straight in the eyes and said, “Will you come with me?”

“Of course I will.”

“Thanks,” said Masako, dropping her gaze. She was so happy to be returning to the place she’d loved after so many years away. And to go there with Bunichi was even better. But at the same time, she was a little worried about whatever horrible secrets she might find there.

Over the next few days, Masako wrestled with her mixed feelings. Then, when Sunday came, the weather was perfect, with not a single cloud in the sky. Bunichi came to pick her up early in the morning, and he seemed pleasantly surprised to see her wearing a very colourful dress.

“Wow!” said Bunichi. “You actually look like a proper girl with that on!”

“How rude!” pouted Masako. “What do you normally think of me as?”

“A girl, of course.”

“Well,” replied Masako, “you’ve also dressed up more than usual, haven’t you.”

Bunichi looked down at his new dark-green sweater as his cheeks turned bright-red in embarrassment.

Together they walked along until they reached the train station, where they took the local line downtown. Then they changed to another train, from where they watched the city fade away through the windows to be replaced by beautiful countryside scenes, with the leaves of trees changing to a palette of different colours and the rice fields glowing the brilliant gold of the harvest season.

“Do your grandparents still live in the countryside?” asked Bunichi, turning to Masako.

“No, we don’t have family there any more. Apparently some people we don’t know are living in the house we used to live in. But there are a lot of people we knew in the neighbourhood, so I’m sure they will all remember me.”

“So you were born there?”

“Yeah, I lived there until I was six. After that my dad got his job, and we moved out into town.”

A full four hours later, they arrived at their destination, where they took a quick lunch at a small restaurant along the shopping avenue near the station, then slowly started on their one-kilometre walk to the village where Masako was born. Behind them, the sun shone across the low mountains and hills nearby, and the air was clear and refreshing. On either side of the road there were fields of radishes and turnips, but there was not a soul in sight – perhaps because it was lunchtime.

“After we cross that river,” said Masako, “there’s not much further to go.”

Masako felt conflicting emotions rising within her. She was excited to be back, but felt uneasy about what might lie ahead.

As they climbed the slope of the riverbank, Masako was surprised to see how wide and deep the river was. There was a long bridge that ran across it, and she remembered the bridge being there. But she hadn’t seen it in such a long time, and now that she was looking at it again, she noticed its low wooden rails on both sides, which were rotten and broken in various places. She looked at the telegraph poles dotted along the bridge at ten-metre intervals, and past the bridge she could make out the shape of the snow-capped mountain range beyond.

This is it! she thought. This is the bridge that appeared in my nightmare!

Masako’s feelings of nostalgia turned to fear, and her legs refused to carry her any farther forward.

Bunichi stopped as well and looked at Masako with cool, thoughtful eyes.

“It’s this bridge, isn’t it?” he said. “The one you saw in your dream.”

“Yes,” was all Masako managed to say.

“Come on, let’s go!” said Bunichi. “Let’s cross the bridge.”

Masako wished she could say no. But if she were to turn back now, then she’d miss out on the chance to shed light on the darkness inside her. Then she thought back on how she’d urged her little brother to face his fears and walk along the hallway, and she started to feel a little embarrassed.

“Okay, I’ll go,” she said, reaching out reluctantly to Bunichi, who grabbed her hand firmly and began walking just a little ahead of her.

“Be careful not to touch the rails!” said Masako with a tremble in her voice.

“Don’t worry,” said Bunichi, “we’ll just walk down the middle of the bridge.”

Together they carried on for several more careful steps, with Bunichi leading the way and Masako keeping her eyes fixed firmly on her feet. Then Bunichi turned around and stopped.

“Masako, that’s not going to work,” he said with a frown. “You have to look around more and try to remember as much as you can.”

“But I can’t!” said Masako, covering her face with her hands. “I have this bad feeling that what happened in my dream will happen here! The poles will come tumbling down! Oh and there’s someone standing behind that pole! See, something is going to jump out!”

It was then that they heard a voice nearby – a girl’s voice.

“Masako! You’re Masako, aren’t you?”

---

A FACE FROM CHILDHOOD

Masako dropped her hands from her face in surprise and looked towards the girl who was calling her name. The voice belonged to a girl much taller than Masako. She wore pigtails and a school uniform, and she was standing about five metres away, staring right at them.

“Etsuko! You’re Etsuko, aren’t you?” Masako blurted out, her feelings of nostalgia resurfacing.

Etsuko had grown into a pretty girl with smooth skin. She was much taller now, but she still had the same big eyes and full cheeks she’d had as a young child. Masako was sure she’d recognize her anywhere and that Etsuko would recognize Masako anywhere too. Masako wanted to run up and give her a hug. But instead, she hesitated. It had been such a very long time since they’d last seen each other, and Masako felt a little shy. But it was okay, because Etsuko seemed to be feeling the same way as well. So, slowly, the two of them walked towards each other.

“You’ve grown so much,” said Masako.

“I know. I’m like a telegraph pole, aren’t I!”

Together they laughed and, inside, Masako felt quite relieved. She hasn’t changed one bit! she thought to herself.

Masako and Etsuko grabbed each other’s hands in delight, and Bunichi gave a small but purposeful cough, prompting Masako to introduce him.

“This is my classmate. Bunichi Morimoto. And this is Etsuko Kitajima. You remember I told you about her?”

Bunichi took an awkward step forward and stiffly introduced himself.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Masako,” said Bunichi in his best adult-like voice, forcing Masako to stifle a giggle.

Etsuko blushed a little and bowed her head.

“How many years has it been?” asked Masako.

“Let me see...” said Etsuko, walking over to the wooden railing. “It must be seven... no, eight years now! I often thought about you. We were such good friends, but you never came back to see us.”

“I’m sorry. I often thought of you as well. You were even in my dream.”

Masako tried to take a step towards Etsuko, but stopped in her tracks. The railing behind Etsuko was rotten and weak, and she was afraid it might break off.

“But now we’ve finally been reunited!” said Etsuko, walking over to Masako and taking her hands in hers. “I was so worried that you were still upset about that incident.”

Masako was startled to hear Etsuko’s words, and she quickly glanced back to Bunichi.

“What do you mean, ‘that incident’?” asked Bunichi as he stepped towards Etsuko with a serious look on his face.

Masako’s pulse was racing. What was this mysterious incident? Was it the cause of Masako’s troubled emotions? Did Etsuko hold the key to unlock Masako’s nightmares?

“What’s the matter?” said Bunichi. “You both look so serious... You’re scaring me.”

Without thinking, Masako placed both hands firmly on Etsuko’s shoulders. Etsuko grimaced in pain.

“Please, tell me! What happened? What do you mean by ‘the incident’?”

“You’re hurting me!” cried Etsuko. “Let me go!”

But Masako was far too caught up in her need for answers. In fact, she was shaking Etsuko by the shoulders without even realizing it. Fortunately, Bunichi stepped in and took Masako’s hands in his.

“Ow, that hurt,” said Etsuko, rubbing her shoulders and throwing a glare in Masako’s direction. “You didn’t come here to see me, did you? What did you come here for? Don’t tell me you don’t remember what happened.”

“Look,” said Bunichi. “I don’t know what happened between you two. But Masako is struggling because she can’t remember what the incident was.”

“Are you serious?” asked Etsuko, looking beyond Bunichi’s shoulders to where Masako was standing, about to burst into tears. “You really have forgotten?”

Masako nodded sadly.

“I’m disappointed,” said Etsuko with a downcast look on her face, then she turned her back to them and walked over to the rail again.

All three of them stood for a while in silence, listening to the sounds of frogs and wondering what to do next. Then, finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, Bunichi decided to speak out.

“Listen, Etsuko,” he said. “Masako is feeling bad about something. But she doesn’t know what it is or why. Please can you try to understand?”

“And I’m sorry for becoming hysterical like that too,” added Masako.

“Etsuko?” continued Bunichi. “Whatever it was that happened between you two, did it happen here on this bridge?”

“Did somebody fall perhaps?” asked Masako, timidly.

Etsuko whipped her head around and shot Masako a nasty glare.

“Did somebody fall, you ask?” she shouted, pointing at Masako. “You threw me off the bridge!”

---

A BRIDGE ACROSS MEMORIES

Masako couldn’t believe her ears. She shook her head again and again, wishing it would all go away and, without realizing, she took a step backward, then another, then another.

“No way! That can’t be true!” she said to herself. “There’s no way I would ever do such a thing.”

“Masako,” said Bunichi in a worried voice.

Then, suddenly, Masako let out a long and lingering scream – splitting the silence around them. In a flash, she remembered. She remembered everything, and the shock of it all sent her running.

“Hey, where are you going?” called out Bunichi behind her. “Watch out!”

Masako was running and stumbling, with her hands wiping the tears that ran from her eyes. But fortunately, by the time she had reached the end of the bridge, Bunichi caught up with her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he said. “That’s so dangerous. You weren’t looking where you were going! What if you’d run into one of those rails?”

“I didn’t mean to!” cried Masako as Bunichi put his arms around her. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

It had all happened eight years ago, when Masako was only seven years old. It was autumn, but it had been a humid day, with the distant mountain range turning grey under cloudy skies and rain threatening to fall at any moment. No one else was there, and there wasn’t a sound, except for the cries of the frogs by the water below. Masako was on her way home, having finished the shopping her mother had asked her to do at the other end of the bridge, and she was walking deliberately down the middle – as her mother had always told her to – away from the dangerous rails along the sides. That was when it happened.

“Do you remember?” asked Bunichi, kindly, and Masako gave a sheepish nod.

Etsuko, who had been running behind Bunichi, caught up.

“Masako! I’m sorry! I had no idea you were suffering so much! I mean, it happened eight years ago!”

“But I remember! Etsuko, I remember now!”

“But it was my fault!” said Etsuko, gripping Masako’s hand. “That day, I’d taken the Prajna mask hanging on my father’s wall without asking. I thought I could wear it and surprise someone. That’s why I was hiding behind the pole on that bridge. But it wasn’t like I was planning to play a prank on you. I was just waiting for the first person to cross the bridge. It could’ve been anyone. I didn’t even know it was you until I came out from behind the pole. Please believe me!”

Masako played the incident again in her mind: Etsuko jumping out in front of her with the Prajna mask on and her hair flailing wildly in the autumn breeze. She remembered how she’d screamed in sheer terror, and how she’d pushed Etsuko in the chest with all her strength. She recalled the sound of Etsuko’s back hitting the rail behind her and the crack of the wood giving way behind her. How Etsuko had seemed to hang in mid-air for just a moment before plunging with a scream into the waters below.

---

EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED

“Luckily, I fainted while I was falling,” said Etsuko, “so I didn’t actually swallow much water.”

Masako tried hard to listen, but Etsuko’s voice seemed as if it were coming from far away.

“Then I floated a little way downriver and came to rest on the bank,” continued Etsuko, putting her hand gently on Masako’s shoulder, “and that’s where somebody found me. Luckily, it was someone I knew, so they carried me straight back home. Unfortunately, I ended up getting pneumonia, so I was bedridden for quite a long time. But by the time I’d finally recovered, you were already gone. Your family had already moved into town.”

“I felt so alone,” sniffed Masako, with her eyes still staring blankly into the distance. “After I pushed you into the river, I ran back home crying. And after that I came down with a fever. All the time I was in bed I kept having horrible dreams. I was delirious and talking in my sleep. And when I was finally able to get up...”

Masako’s voice trailed off and she hung her head.

“And then you didn’t remember what happened, right?” said Bunichi, stepping in to help his friend explain. “You’d forgotten everything!”

“That’s right,” Masako nodded.

“When you threw Etsuko off the bridge, you thought you killed her,” Bunichi continued. “The feeling of guilt was so strong that you couldn’t handle it, so unconsciously you erased everything from your memory.”

Bunichi was exactly right. Masako must have been so worried about Etsuko that she’d come down with a fever and felt so bad about what had happened that she’d erased it from her memory. But somehow, she’d always remained afraid of Prajna masks. Or was she? Perhaps it wasn’t that she was afraid of Prajna masks at all. Perhaps she was simply afraid that the mask might make her remember the terrible incident. Maybe that was why she was scared of heights too. And maybe that was why saving Bunichi from falling hadn’t been enough to cure that fear of heights – but it had served to remind her that something like that had happened before and that there was somebody else who needed saving.

Now everything was clear to Masako – everything that had happened that day. It was as if the mists had risen from her mind and set her emotions free to settle down again. Masako took a breath, then she looked up and smiled at Bunichi and Etsuko.

“I’m all right now. Again, I’m so sorry for making you worry.”

Bunichi and Etsuko both looked relieved.

“Etsuko, I did a horrible thing to you, didn’t I?” said Masako, taking Etsuko’s hand and blushing with embarrassment.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Thanks, Bunichi-san,” continued Masako with unusual politeness. “It’s all thanks to you.”

“You’re so silly, Masako,” said Bunichi, turning bright red again.

“Hey, why don’t you guys come over to my house?” said Etsuko suddenly, brightening the mood. “We have lots of fruit!”

Masako remembered how every autumn Etsuko’s house was filled with pears and grapes sent from friends of her family who worked in an orchard, and together the three of them headed towards her house – walking in a single line down the middle of the bridge, with Etsuko’s pigtails swaying in the cool mountain breeze.

---

YOSHIO STANDS UP

About a week after her visit to the countryside, Masako was walking home from school when she came across Hisako, Atsuko and Yoshio squatting down on the ground and playing a game together.

“Here we go,” said Masako to herself, “playing with the girls again.”

But Masako didn’t really mind. In fact, seeing them all playing together and having fun made her feel warm and happy inside.

I wonder what it is they’re playing? she thought to herself. And with that, she decided to hide behind a nearby wall and listen in on them.

“You must be tired after a long day,” said Atsuko in a surprisingly grown-up voice.

“Yes, I’m exhausted,” replied Yoshio, imitating his father’s usual comment on returning home every night, and nearly making Masako laugh out loud.

“Did you do your homework?” asked Atsuko.

“Yes, I did,” replied Hisako.

So Yoshio is playing the father, thought Masako. Atsuko is playing the mother and Hisako is playing the child.

Suddenly, Yoshio called out in a loud voice.

“I was fired from my job today. But I don’t mind one bit. Another company insists that I join them. So I don’t care that they asked me to leave.”

Yoshio made it sound as if it was fun to be fired, and Masako buried her face in her bag to stifle her giggles. When she finally felt as if she could breathe without giggling, she lifted her face from her bag and listened in carefully again. But it had suddenly fallen very quiet. So Masako decided to sneak a peek over the wall to see what was going on.

When she lifted her eyes above the top of the wall, Masako saw that the three children had fallen silent. They weren’t playing their game any more, and she could see another boy walking towards them. Oh no! thought Masako. It’s Hiro! The number-one bully in the neighbourhood!

“So the sissy is playing with the girls again, eh?” said Hiro in a mocking voice. “What a wimp!”

Hisako opened her picture book and started to read it, hoping Hiro might go away. But Atsuko and Yoshio kept their eyes fixed on him as he came closer.

“If you keep playing with girls, you’ll turn into one, you sissy!” called out Hiro, teasing Yoshio again.

“I’m not a sissy!” shouted Yoshio, getting quickly to his feet.

Masako wanted to step out from where she was hiding and give Hiro a piece of her mind. But she decided to wait for a moment first to see what Yoshio would do. From behind the wall, she watched Hiro as he came closer and closer to Hisako and her picture book, and she wondered whether he might take it away from her, or kick it, or do something else stupid. But before he could do anything, Yoshio launched himself at Hiro with tremendous force, sending him crashing over backwards on the ground.

“Be careful!” called out Masako, giving herself away and rushing over to where the two boys had landed.

Hiro was shocked to see her come out of nowhere and quickly got to his feet.

“You sissy!” he shouted one more time, then he ran off back home.

“Masako!” said Yoshio, brushing the dust off his clothes and running to his big sister, who got on her knees and swept him up in her arms.

“Are you okay?” asked Masako, amazed to see her little brother put up a fight. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m fine!” said Yoshio in a surprisingly cheerful voice, then he gave her a little smile.

“Hee-hee,” he giggled. “I just got in a fight!”

Masako hugged her little brother as hard as she could.

“Oh Yoshio,” she said in a voice overflowing with kindness. “You’re not supposed to fight! But I’m glad you did. My brave and tough little Yoshio!”

Born in Osaka, Yasutaka Tsutsui is particularly well known for his science fiction. Winner of various awards, including the Izumi Kyoka Prize, Kawabata Prize and Yomiuri Literary Prize, he has been decorated as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

---

Also by Yasutaka Tsutsui:

Salmonella Men on Planet Porno

ISBN 978 184688 077 3
£7.99

Defying the commonly held perceptions of time and space, and escaping any easy classifications, this collection of stories centres on the folly of human desire.

Hell

ISBN 978 184688 046 9
£7.99

This vivid depiction of afterlife includes the traditional horrors, but subjects them to Tsutsui’s unique powers of enchantment.

Paprika

ISBN 978 184688 068 1
£9.99

Rich in humorous dialogue and ridiculous situations, yet with an underlying sense of menace, this literary sci-fi thriller has been described as the pinnacle of Tsutsui’s art.