<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">Akiko couldn’t sit still, and she thought Shiraishi was fighting to remain calm.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Maybe three metres radius around each tree,â€ she said, frowning. “Not even close to enough.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“But not nothing,â€ the priest pointed out.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“No. But you felt another earthquake, right?â€ Shiraishi nodded; Akiko and Kazumi had felt nothing in the kami forest. “Every time we purify somewhere through the aramitama, there is an earthquake. It might be the kami as much as the kegare. In any case, we <em>can’t</em> do the whole city piece by piece. If we do, there will be too many earthquakes; the disaster will happen.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Akiko, you don’t know that,â€ the priest chided her.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“You don’t know different!â€ Akiko realised she was shouting again, but she didn’t care. “We have to do something <em>now!â€</em></p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“The aramitama needs to be stronger, then. It needs to be strong enough for the harae to cover the whole city,â€ Shiraishi said. Akiko took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I think so.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“So we do need another festival.â€ The priest glanced at Kazumi, who nodded.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“We can’t do one in a day.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“We have to. We have to start calling the ujiko now, and get as many of them here as we can.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“But…â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Akiko! We have to do something!â€ Shiraishi stood up so quickly that her chair fell over, shouting loudly enough to almost drown out the crash it made as it hit the floor. “Do you have any better ideas?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">Akiko opened her mouth to shout back, and then shut it. No, she didn’t have any better ideas.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“OK. Let’s call them.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">Shiraishi nodded, and pulled the list of ujiko out of a drawer.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I’ll take the first two pages. Akiko, you have the next two, Kazumi, the last two. Try to be persuasive.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">It wasn’t as easy as Akiko had hoped. A lot of people were in work, and quite a few of the others did not buy the only explanations that they could offer. Indeed, after the first couple of calls, Kazumi looked at Akiko, her face stricken.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“What do I <em>say?</em> I can’t say that kegare is about to destroy Kawasaki. They’ll never believe that.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Say… Say we’ve just discovered a festival that’s essential to the shrine and has been neglected, and has to be performed today.â€ She smiled. “That’s even true.â€ Her face fell again. “I just hope it works.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">She opened her cell phone again, and dialled the next number on the list.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Hello, Mrs Tanaka. I’m just calling because…â€ She paused. The story didn’t sound so convincing now that she was about to say it to somebody. “We’ve been researching the shrine, and we’ve discovered a festival that we really ought to perform.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“I see. That sounds interesting.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Yes. Well, the thing is, it really has to be performed today.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Today?â€ She sounded surprised, which was, Akiko reflected, completely reasonable.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“We were wondering whether you would be able to attend.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Well, we weren’t planning on going to the shrine…â€ Akiko heard another voice at the other end. “Just a moment,â€ Mrs Tanaka said, and then, Akiko guessed, put her hand over the mouthpiece; there was a muffled conversation.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Sorry about that. You say you are holding the festival today?â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Yes, this afternoon.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“All right, we’ll be there.â€ She didn’t sound wildly enthusiastic, and Akiko’s mouth quirked into an almost smile.</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Thank you. And please thank your mother.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“Yes… Oh, yes, of course. See you later.â€</p>
<p style="margin: 8.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 28.0px; font: 13.0px Optima;">“That’s two,â€ Akiko announced to the room.</p>