Shiraishi seemed rather better, if a bit hung over, the next morning. Akiko made breakfast, and the priest ate some. She made no comment on the previous day, beyond thanking Akiko for opening and closing the shrine, and said nothing while she ate, nor when they had finished. After sitting in silence for some time, while Akiko wondered whether she should say anything, Shiraishi stood up.

“Ms Tanahata, please deal with any callers.â€ She took a bottle of sake out of a cupboard, then another. Then she paused, put one back, locked the cupboard and put the key on the counter. “Keep this safe,â€ she said, tapping it, and then left the room, carrying the bottle and a glass. Akiko stood up and pocketed the key, then cleared up.

Once the breakfast things were cleared away, Akiko had nothing to do, and found herself sitting on the veranda outside her room, staring out across the pond. The air was heavy and still, tense, as if waiting for a great storm, and unwholesome colours, oily, writhed on the surface of the pond. Akiko kept telling herself that she ought to find out what they were, but she couldn’t convince herself to move. What was the point?

The doorbell roused her, and she went to see who it was.

She had not been expecting Akira, but there he was, dressed formally in black, bowing deeply as she opened the door.

“Ms Tanahata. Is Revd Shiraishi at home?â€

“Ah, she said she didn’t want to be disturbed.â€ Akira nodded, his face concerned.

“Is she all right? It must have been a great shock for her.â€ Akiko nodded, surprised.

“She’s… coping, I think. Are you all right?â€ As soon as she’d asked it, she worried that she had made a mistake, but Akira didn’t seem to be bothered.

“Oh yes. It’s Sunday; I can’t do anything about the business until tomorrow, so there’s no problem with me coming to check on you. And mother wanted me to get out of the house for a while; I think she wants some time alone.â€ He smiled, then, but even Akiko could see that it wasn’t wholly natural.

“That…â€ She stopped herself. She didn’t know Akira well enough to tell him how he should be reacting. She brushed her hair back, to give herself something to do, and then looked beyond Akira, out into the shrine.

She could see where he had stepped, crossing the grass to reach the house. The grass in his footprints was dead, sere and brown, and the ground beneath it shimmered, covered with crawling insects. Akiko shuddered, and looked back at Akira. He was looking at her in apparent concern.

“Are you all right, Ms Tanahata?â€

“Me?â€ To cover her confusion, Akiko looked past him again. This time, the grass was unmarked, green and wet from the rain. “I… Yes, I’m fine.â€

“Well, take care. There seems to be a nasty fever going around; I know a couple of people who went down with it yesterday.â€

<em>A fever?</em> Akiko almost wanted to shout and Akira, to shake him, to tell him that his father was dead, why was he babbling about a fever? But she didn’t. She just nodded.

“We will.â€

“Good. Well, I suppose I had better be going home.â€ With a bow, he took his leave. Akiko stood looking after him for some time.