1 Seiichi was sitting alone on a park bench, staring vacantly up at the sky when a girl came over and stood in front of him. She was about ten years old-about the same age as Seiichi's only daughter, Nagi...or maybe a year younger. She wore dark clothes, and had well groomed long black hair parted down the middle. She was quite pretty. Seiichi was forty three, but she stood there staring at him, unabashedly. Seiichi looked back at her. He had been working hard on his manuscript and was absolutely exhausted -- over the last three days he had not even taken the time to shave. Or change clothes. He must have looked highly suspicious. Talking to a child might well get him in trouble, so he just stared back at her in silence. He figured she'd get spooked and run away eventually. “…………” But the girl just kept staring back at him. Seiichi let his chin sink to his chest, looking up at her.
