INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(72, 1, '2009-01-06 09:56:25', '2009-01-06 00:56:25', '', 'Confession', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '71-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:56:25', '2009-01-06 00:56:25', '', 71, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/71-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(73, 1, '2009-01-26 00:00:05', '2009-01-25 15:00:05', 'The injustice of Shiraishi’s accusation stung Akiko, bothering her all through the night and even the next morning. She’d gone to talk about something that was probably quite important for the priest, after all. If the kami was appearing, the priest should want to know, surely. And not accuse the person bringing the news of being a con artist. Akiko replayed the conversation dozens of times, every time coming up with better responses, and leaving Shiraishi utterly convinced that she was in the wrong.\r\n\r\nShe was half way through constructing another one in the office when Satomi came to her desk.\r\n\r\n“Akiko, can I have a quick word?â€ Akiko looked up, a little startled.\r\n\r\n“What? Oh, yes, certainly.â€ Satomi left the desk, and Akiko realised that she wanted to have the conversation outside the office.\r\n\r\nThe break area was almost deserted, and it was easy to find a corner where they couldn’t be overheard. Satomi looked a bit uncomfortable, and Akiko wondered what it could be about. The shrine? Had Satomi seen the kami or something?\r\n\r\n“Akiko, you’ve been a bit distracted at work recently.â€ Satomi pronounced  it as a question, but it was really a statement.\r\n\r\n“Er, yes, I suppose I have.â€\r\n\r\n“I wouldn’t normally say this, but, well, other people have started commenting.â€ Akiko felt her face heating up, but didn’t know what to say. “An off day now and then is to be expected, but you’ve been like this for several days. Is it anything serious?â€\r\n\r\nFor a moment, Akiko had no idea how to answer that question. She wasn’t going to have anything more to do with the shrine, so even if it were the kami he should start leaving her alone. And the hallucinations would surely stop, if that’s what they were. But if she were going mad… Then mentioning it wouldn’t help her situation at all. Better to say nothing.\r\n\r\n“No, not really. Just…â€ What? <em>Keep lies simple,</em> she remembered. <em>And something that she won’t follow up.</em> “Just something with Naoyuki.â€ <em>Yes, that’s good. She can’t politely pry into that.</em>\r\n\r\n“Oh, I see.â€ Akiko caught a flash of a smile on Satomi’s face, before her co-worker suppressed it. “Well, I guess we’ve all been there. Look, it’s not really a problem yet; if you pick up your work again everyone will have forgotten in a few days, I’m sure.â€ <em>That</em> didn’t quite ring true.\r\n\r\n“So why go to the trouble of having a little talk about it?â€ Akiko was sure Satomi flushed a little at the question, but she really was very good at keeping her expression under control.\r\n\r\n“Because I overheard Mr Kanayama mention it to Tanaka. If they’ve started talking about it, you want to nip the idea in the bud, before you get a reputation. If people think of you as the slacker, you’ll be the one to lose your job.â€\r\n\r\n“That’s…â€ <em>probably true,</em> Akiko thought. “Very kind of you.â€ Satomi shrugged.\r\n\r\n“You actually <em>need</em> the job, I think, unlike Megumi and me. Anyway, I hope it’s no problem.â€ She smiled again, and headed back to the office.\r\n\r\n<em>That really was very kind,</em> thought Akiko, <em>so why do I feel so patronised?</em>', 'Friendly Warning', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'friendly-warning', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:58:15', '2009-01-06 00:58:15', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=73', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(74, 1, '2009-01-06 09:58:06', '2009-01-06 00:58:06', 'The injustice of Shiraishi’s accusation stung Akiko, bothering her all through the night and even the next morning. She’d gone to talk about something that was probably quite important for the priest, after all. If the kami was appearing, the priest should want to know, surely. And not accuse the person bringing the news of being a con artist. Akiko replayed the conversation dozens of times, every time coming up with better responses, and leaving Shiraishi utterly convinced that she was in the wrong.\n\nShe was half way through constructing another one in the office when Satomi came to her desk.\n\n“Akiko, can I have a quick word?â€ Akiko looked up, a little startled.\n\n“What? Oh, yes, certainly.â€ Satomi left the desk, and Akiko realised that she wanted to have the conversation outside the office.\n\nThe break area was almost deserted, and it was easy to find a corner where they couldn’t be overheard. Satomi looked a bit uncomfortable, and Akiko wondered what it could be about. The shrine? Had Satomi seen the kami or something?\n\n“Akiko, you’ve been a bit distracted at work recently.â€ Satomi pronounced  it as a question, but it was really a statement.\n\n“Er, yes, I suppose I have.â€\n\n“I wouldn’t normally say this, but, well, other people have started commenting.â€ Akiko felt her face heating up, but didn’t know what to say. “An off day now and then is to be expected, but you’ve been like this for several days. Is it anything serious?â€\n\nFor a moment, Akiko had no idea how to answer that question. She wasn’t going to have anything more to do with the shrine, so even if it were the kami he should start leaving her alone. And the hallucinations would surely stop, if that’s what they were. But if she were going mad… Then mentioning it wouldn’t help her situation at all. Better to say nothing.\n\n“No, not really. Just…â€ What? <em>Keep lies simple,</em> she remembered. <em>And something that she won’t follow up.</em> “Just something with Naoyuki.â€ <em>Yes, that’s good. She can’t politely pry into that.</em>\n\n“Oh, I see.â€ Akiko caught a flash of a smile on Satomi’s face, before her co-worker suppressed it. “Well, I guess we’ve all been there. Look, it’s not really a problem yet; if you pick up your work again everyone will have forgotten in a few days, I’m sure.â€ <em>That</em> didn’t quite ring true.\n\n“So why go to the trouble of having a little talk about it?â€ Akiko was sure Satomi flushed a little at the question, but she really was very good at keeping her expression under control.\n\n“Because I overheard Mr Kanayama mention it to Tanaka. If they’ve started talking about it, you want to nip the idea in the bud, before you get a reputation. If people think of you as the slacker, you’ll be the one to lose your job.â€\n\n“That’s…â€ <em>probably true,</em> Akiko thought. “Very kind of you.â€ Satomi shrugged.\n\n“You actually <em>need</em> the job, I think, unlike Megumi and me. Anyway, I hope it’s no problem.â€ She smiled again, and headed back to the office.\n\n<em>That really was very kind,</em> thought Akiko, <em>so why do I feel so patronised?</em>', 'Lectur', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '73-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:58:06', '2009-01-06 00:58:06', '', 73, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/73-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(75, 1, '2009-01-27 00:00:21', '2009-01-26 15:00:21', 'Akiko tried to get back into the swing of things through the rest of the afternoon, but found that things had built up while she’d been distracted, and it took her the whole time to get everything straightened out. It was almost six before she felt she could leave the office, and there was a text message from Naoyuki on her phone.\r\n\r\n“I’ve got out of the drinks tonight. Dinner?â€ Akiko checked the time it had been sent; only a few minutes earlier. Relieved, she texted back a positive response, and then left to meet him.\r\n\r\nAs regular customers of the restaurant they were greeted warmly and shown to their usual table, in a fairly private corner at the back. Naoyuki looked very cheerful.\r\n\r\n“Oh, I wish I knew which idiot had decided that drinking yourself into insensibility was an essential part of office work in Japan.â€ He paused.\r\n\r\n“Mmmm.â€ Akiko knew that he wasn’t really complaining, just leading up to what he really wanted to say.\r\n\r\n“Still, when they’ve just decided to promote you, it’s hard to begrudge them their little pleasures.â€ He was grinning all over his face now.\r\n\r\n“A promotion? Really? Congratulations!â€ Akiko was really excited. “What to?â€\r\n\r\n“Well, deputy section head, so only one step, and not until next month. Actually, it’s not official yet; the section head has just recommended it to the department head.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh.â€ Akiko felt the stirrings of worry; what if it didn’t happen?\r\n\r\n“Oh, no, it’s really rare for the department head to overrule the section heads on appointing their own deputies. Not something to worry about, really. I told you the business trip went well.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, you did. And you were right, as usual. Congratulations!â€\r\n\r\n“Thanks. Well, have you been back to that shrine?â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€ Akiko was shocked that Naoyuki had remembered their conversation.\r\n\r\n“Well, I’m going to be a deputy section head soon. I’m already dating an older woman; I don’t want people to think she’s old-fashioned, as well.â€ He was smiling as he said it, but Akiko could tell that he was serious.\r\n\r\n“No, I’ve not been back.â€ <em>How could he find out? It was only once more.</em> “And I’ve got no plans to go back again. Well, barring truly torrential rain.â€ <em>And that’s true,</em> she thought. <em>I’m finished with people who think I’m a con artist.</em>\r\n\r\n“Probably best to stay away from it even if the rain does fall, you know. There are some strange people hanging around shrines. They put salt in the doorway, and have those little shrines in their houses. It’s really not the right image for this day and age. All superstition, you know.â€\r\n\r\n“I only visited. I didn’t say I believed it.â€ Akiko was surprised at how earnest Naoyuki seemed.\r\n\r\n“Well, true.â€ He suddenly smiled, seeming to relax. “That’s right. Why would you believe in the kami or any of that rubbish?â€\r\n\r\nThe image of a giant, shining snake flashed through Akiko’s mind, but she just nodded and smiled.\r\n\r\n“Well, then,â€ Naoyuki continued, looking more relaxed, and with a sly look, “once we’ve eaten, why don’t we go back to my place and <em>celebrate</em> some more?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko knew she had turned bright pink.', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'reconciliation', '', '', '2009-01-28 06:52:15', '2009-01-27 21:52:15', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=75', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(76, 1, '2009-01-06 09:58:53', '2009-01-06 00:58:53', '', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '75-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:58:53', '2009-01-06 00:58:53', '', 75, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/75-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(77, 1, '2009-01-28 00:00:10', '2009-01-27 15:00:10', 'The sun was warm on her back through the light dress, and her hat cast a welcome shadow over her eyes. The bright red and blue check of the ground cloth stood out against the verdant grass as she spread the picnic things over it. She sighed a little as she did so, because everything was from a convenience store, all wrapped in packaging, nothing handmade. But she didn’t have time to make things. Naoyuki smiled at her, the torii gleaming white behind him in contrast to his smart, navy working suit, and reached for a can of beer.\r\n\r\n“Well, let’s get started.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh yes, me too.â€ Megumi took another can, sitting there in her sailor suit school uniform, and Akiko had a vague feeling that there was something wrong with that. She thought about having a beer herself, but then she saw Tamao’s iridescent bulk gliding past behind Naoyuki, and decided to have a bottle of green tea instead.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki pulled the tab from the can, and tossed it over his shoulder. It caught the sunlight, tumbling and sparkling as it fell.\r\n\r\nIt touched the ground, and Tamao was seized by a spasm, part of his body kicking into the air. Akiko could see a gash opened in the skin, and the red of blood mixed with the colours of his skin.\r\n\r\nA cloud passed across the sun as Megumi opened her beer, laughing, and dropped the tab beside her. This time, Tamao only quivered, but Akiko could see another bleeding wound open. She twisted the cap off her bottle, and dropped it to the ground.\r\n\r\nTamao’s tail lashed, and the new wound was just behind his head. Akiko laughed at Naoyuki’s joke and raised the bottle to her lips as clouds gathered overhead, casting a chill on the scene.\r\n\r\nMegumi grabbed a rice ball, throwing the wrapper to one side, and Tamao reared up, blood flowing from just behind his head as the clouds darkened. Naoyuki cast the lid of his beef on rice behind him, and Tamao flopped onto the ground like a wounded fish, the scarlet blood leaking underneath him as the grass around them started to turn a sere brown.\r\n\r\nStill smiling, Akiko reached for some sandwiches, dropping the plastic package and pushing it off the ground sheet. Tamao turned to look at her, one eye hidden by the blood pouring from the wound above it, and behind him the leaves dropped from the trees, turning from green to brown in moments as the black clouds boiled above them.\r\n\r\nAkiko put her beer down and stepped off the mat to pee, squatting beside it. As her urine hit the ground, the remaining grass was washed away, the surface turning to mud writhing with blind white maggots. As she pulled up her pants and sat back on the sheet it started to rain, the maggots swarming up onto Tamao’s body to attack the wounds.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki offered her another bottle of sake.\r\n\r\nAnd Akiko saw the devastation around them, the kami being devoured alive, the foul yellow rain pounding into the grey mud, and she laughed.', 'Picnic at the Shrine', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'picnic-at-the-shrine', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:00:21', '2009-01-06 01:00:21', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=77', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(78, 1, '2009-01-06 10:00:12', '2009-01-06 01:00:12', 'The sun was warm on her back through the light dress, and her hat cast a welcome shadow over her eyes. The bright red and blue check of the ground cloth stood out against the verdant grass as she spread the picnic things over it. She sighed a little as she did so, because everything was from a convenience store, all wrapped in packaging, nothing handmade. But she didn’t have time to make things. Naoyuki smiled at her, the torii gleaming white behind him in contrast to his smart, navy working suit, and reached for a can of beer.\n\n“Well, let’s get started.â€\n\n“Oh yes, me too.â€ Megumi took another can, sitting there in her sailor suit school uniform, and Akiko had a vague feeling that there was something wrong with that. She thought about having a beer herself, but then she saw Tamao’s iridescent bulk gliding past behind Naoyuki, and decided to have a bottle of green tea instead.\n\nNaoyuki pulled the tab from the can, and tossed it over his shoulder. It caught the sunlight, tumbling and sparkling as it fell.\n\nIt touched the ground, and Tamao was seized by a spasm, part of his body kicking into the air. Akiko could see a gash opened in the skin, and the red of blood mixed with the colours of his skin.\n\nA cloud passed across the sun as Megumi opened her beer, laughing, and dropped the tab beside her. This time, Tamao only quivered, but Akiko could see another bleeding wound open. She twisted the cap off her bottle, and dropped it to the ground.\n\nTamao’s tail lashed, and the new wound was just behind his head. Akiko laughed at Naoyuki’s joke and raised the bottle to her lips as clouds gathered overhead, casting a chill on the scene.\n\nMegumi grabbed a rice ball, throwing the wrapper to one side, and Tamao reared up, blood flowing from just behind his head as the clouds darkened. Naoyuki cast the lid of his beef on rice behind him, and Tamao flopped onto the ground like a wounded fish, the scarlet blood leaking underneath him as the grass around them started to turn a sere brown.\n\nStill smiling, Akiko reached for some sandwiches, dropping the plastic package and pushing it off the ground sheet. Tamao turned to look at her, one eye hidden by the blood pouring from the wound above it, and behind him the leaves dropped from the trees, turning from green to brown in moments as the black clouds boiled above them.\n\nAkiko put her beer down and stepped off the mat to pee, squatting beside it. As her urine hit the ground, the remaining grass was washed away, the surface turning to mud writhing with blind white maggots. As she pulled up her pants and sat back on the sheet it started to rain, the maggots swarming up onto Tamao’s body to attack the wounds.\n\nNaoyuki offered her another bottle of sake.\n\nAnd Akiko saw the devastation around them, the kami being devoured alive, the foul yellow rain pounding into the grey mud, and she laughed.', 'Picnic at the Shrine', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '77-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:00:12', '2009-01-06 01:00:12', '', 77, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/77-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(79, 1, '2009-01-29 00:00:29', '2009-01-28 15:00:29', 'The memory of the dream remained vivid after Akiko woke up, even when she had got out of bed. In the toilet, she remembered squatting in the shrine, right in front of Naoyuki and Megumi, and was horribly embarrassed even as she lectured herself that it was just a dream, and a particularly weird one at that.\r\n\r\nThe sound of the rain on the window reminded her of the polluted rain at the end of the dream, which they had ignored.\r\n\r\nShe opened the rice cooker, and for a moment the grains of rice were the maggots that had attacked the giant snake; she could almost see them writhing, and had to close the lid again for a moment to recover her composure. <em>Bizarre dream, nothing more,</em> she told herself.\r\n\r\n“What’s the matter?â€ Naoyuki’s voice came from over by the door, and she looked over. “Not that I disapprove, of course.â€ He smiled at her, sliding into a leer, and she suddenly realised that she was only wearing her pants. How on earth could she have forgotten to pull a robe on? “Will you be eating breakfast like that?â€ Akiko could tell Naoyuki liked the idea, and a part of her wanted to, even if the embarrassed part of her was trying to shout it down. Then the cold part made her shiver, and she shook her head, dashing for the bedroom.\r\n\r\n“On reflection, no. Maybe in summer.â€\r\n\r\n“I’ll look forward to summer, then!â€ Naoyuki patted her behind as she ran past, and then grabbed her for a kiss as she was trying to get the gown on. “Do you have to do it up? It’ll still keep you warm.â€\r\n\r\n“It’ll get in the food. Now let me get breakfast.â€ Naoyuki slipped his hands inside the robe, running them over her skin and then pushing down on her pants.\r\n\r\n“You can close the robe if you take these off.â€\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki! You’ll be late for work!â€ Akiko twisted away, pulling the robe shut and hurrying into the kitchen to cover her embarrassment.\r\n\r\n“True, alas. I’d better shower.â€\r\n\r\nNaoyuki disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Akiko to set the table. Laying out the breakfast things reminded her of the dream, of putting the picnic food onto the ground sheet, before the whole area was devastated by their litter.\r\n\r\nShaking her head, she realised that she had become distracted again. <em>This is no good,</em> she told herself.<em> I have to concentrate, at least when I get to work. Why am I dreaming silly environmental allegories anyway? It’s not like it has anything to do with my situation.</em>\r\n\r\nStill, the dream kept coming back to her, all three of them laughing and joking amid the devastation, completely oblivious to it even though she could remember every detail with perfect clarity. There seemed to be some significance to the dream, something that Akiko couldn’t quite place.\r\n\r\nShe suddenly realised that she was standing stock still in the centre of the room, thinking about a dream with that stupid snake in. She had to stop herself thinking about it.\r\n\r\nWhen Naoyuki came in to eat, already smartly dressed in his suit, Akiko’s pants were neatly folded in front of his plate, and she was sitting quietly in her robe, blushing bright pink, and staring at the table.\r\n\r\nHe didn’t bother asking why she seemed a little distracted.', 'Distracted Morning', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'distracted-morning', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:00:59', '2009-01-06 01:00:59', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=79', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(80, 1, '2009-01-06 10:00:43', '2009-01-06 01:00:43', '', 'Distracted Morning', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '79-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:00:43', '2009-01-06 01:00:43', '', 79, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/79-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(81, 1, '2009-01-30 00:00:20', '2009-01-29 15:00:20', 'Akiko had thought it was funny when Naoyuki ostentatiously slipped her pants into a pocket of his bag. She thought it was less funny when she went to get dressed and found that he had taken her clean pair as well; fortunately, she just had time to make an emergency detour to a convenience store on the way to the station, and by the time she was on the train she was starting to see the funny side of that, too.\r\n\r\n<em>I’ll be thinking of you working hard today,</em> said his text message.\r\n\r\n<em>Convenience stores are really useful,</em> she texted back. Naoyuki’s reply was a single picture: a sad face. Akiko had to laugh, and for a moment wanted to tell her co-workers about it. But, on second thoughts, definitely not.\r\n\r\nThe good cheer buoyed her up as she arrived in work, despite the continuing rain, and Satomi gave her a warm smile in response to her bright greeting. Things were going well, too. She felt the benefits of the sorting out she had done the previous day immediately, and there were three stacks of completed photocopying on Tanaka’s desk before he even arrived. When she next passed his desk, he looked up.\r\n\r\n“Tanahata? Thanks for the copying.â€ She smiled, and bowed a little in acknowledgement. “Could you get me a coffee?â€\r\n\r\n“Certainly.â€ She made a detour to flick the switch on the machine on her way to the filing cabinets, and the coffee was ready to pour by the time she’d put the files away and got back. Tanaka only grunted a brief acknowledgement, but Akiko knew she was putting the whispers behind her.\r\n\r\nMegumi invited her for lunch, but she made her excuses; there was still a backlog of jobs to be cleared, and working through lunch was the best way to get through it. She had bought rice balls at the convenience store, and she got a can of coffee from the vending machine.\r\n\r\n“Working through lunch, Tanahata?â€ Mr Kanayama came over to her desk, and Akiko quickly pushed the shopping bag underneath it, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the two pairs of pants, in an opened package, still inside it.\r\n\r\n“I want to get a few things cleared, sir. They built up a bit.â€ He smiled.\r\n\r\n“That’s the sort of attitude we like to see. You know, you should join us for drinks sometimes.â€ Akiko’s response was a mixture of pleasure and panic. On the one hand, Mr Kanayama personally inviting her along was a first, and a good sign. On the other, she really didn’t like going, but it would be hard to turn him down.\r\n\r\n“Thank you.â€ She tried to keep her answer non-commital, but Mr Kanayama didn’t seem to mind.\r\n\r\n“Well, I’m going for lunch. If you could copy the papers on my desk, the ones in the green folder, before I got back, that would be helpful. Six sets.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, sir.â€ Akiko sprang up as soon as he left, and hurried over to get the file. Not too many sheets; good. She should be able to stay on top of things.', 'Work Harder', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'work-harder', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:01:57', '2009-01-06 01:01:57', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=81', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(82, 1, '2009-01-06 10:01:47', '2009-01-06 01:01:47', 'Akiko had thought it was funny when Naoyuki ostentatiously slipped her pants into a pocket of his bag. She thought it was less funny when she went to get dressed and found that he had taken her clean pair as well; fortunately, she just had time to make an emergency detour to a convenience store on the way to the station, and by the time she was on the train she was starting to see the funny side of that, too.\n\n<em>I’ll be thinking of you working hard today,</em> said his text message.\n\n<em>Convenience stores are really useful,</em> she texted back. Naoyuki’s reply was a single picture: a sad face. Akiko had to laugh, and for a moment wanted to tell her co-workers about it. But, on second thoughts, definitely not.\n\nThe good cheer buoyed her up as she arrived in work, despite the continuing rain, and Satomi gave her a warm smile in response to her bright greeting. Things were going well, too. She felt the benefits of the sorting out she had done the previous day immediately, and there were three stacks of completed photocopying on Tanaka’s desk before he even arrived. When she next passed his desk, he looked up.\n\n“Tanahata? Thanks for the copying.â€ She smiled, and bowed a little in acknowledgement. “Could you get me a coffee?â€\n\n“Certainly.â€ She made a detour to flick the switch on the machine on her way to the filing cabinets, and the coffee was ready to pour by the time she’d put the files away and got back. Tanaka only grunted a brief acknowledgement, but Akiko knew she was putting the whispers behind her.\n\nMegumi invited her for lunch, but she made her excuses; there was still a backlog of jobs to be cleared, and working through lunch was the best way to get through it. She had bought rice balls at the convenience store, and she got a can of coffee from the vending machine.\n\n“Working through lunch, Tanahata?â€ Mr Kanayama came over to her desk, and Akiko quickly pushed the shopping bag underneath it, hoping that he wouldn’t notice the two pairs of pants, in an opened package, still inside it.\n\n“I want to get a few things cleared, sir. They built up a bit.â€ He smiled.\n\n“That’s the sort of attitude we like to see. You know, you should join us for drinks sometimes.â€ Akiko’s response was a mixture of pleasure and panic. On the one hand, Mr Kanayama personally inviting her along was a first, and a good sign. On the other, she really didn’t like going, but it would be hard to turn him down.\n\n“Thank you.â€ She tried to keep her answer non-commital, but Mr Kanayama didn’t seem to mind.\n\n“Well, I’m going for lunch. If you could copy the papers on my desk, the ones in the green folder, before I got back, that would be helpful. Six sets.â€\n\n“Yes, sir.â€ Akiko sprang up as soon as he left, and hurried over to get the file. Not too many sheets; good. She should be able to stay on top of things.', 'Work Harder', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '81-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:01:47', '2009-01-06 01:01:47', '', 81, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/81-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(83, 1, '2009-01-31 00:00:03', '2009-01-30 15:00:03', 'The rain still hadn’t stopped when she left the office. There were flood warnings on her cell phone, and the trains were all stopping at every station, having completely abandoned the timetable.\r\n\r\nOnce off her train, she put her umbrella up, hoping that it would do something to keep the rain off. There was some wind, but it wasn’t too bad, and her head, at least, stayed dry.\r\n\r\nShe hadn’t gone far before, turning the corner, she found the road blocked, under several centimetres of water. Some cars were trying, carefully, to get through, but it was obvious that it would come well over the tops of her shoes. Akiko didn’t fancy walking home with wet feet, but the only alternative route avoiding the low-lying area would take her right past Tamao Shrine, and she really didn’t want to go that way.\r\n\r\n<em>You’re being silly,</em> she told herself. <em>It’s just a set of odd coincidences. You can walk right past the shrine and go home.</em>\r\n\r\nFinally, she was convinced, and set off, climbing the hill. The wind and rain seemed to get stronger as she climbed, which, she realised, they might well be doing.\r\n\r\nThe leaves of the shrine forest seemed to shine in the gloom, their wet surfaces catching every bit of light and scattering it back out to her. Under the trees, everything was dark, which gave her an excellent excuse not to look as she hurried forward.\r\n\r\nShe reached the peak of the road, at the bottom of the steps, and stopped, looking at the road ahead in disbelief. Water flowing from both sides was rushing through the cutting as it descended, turning it into a river. It looked even deeper than the water she had come this way to avoid, and it was certainly flowing faster.\r\n\r\nAkiko glanced at the steps, leading up and away from the flood, and for a moment she thought about taking shelter in the shrine. Then she remembered what Naoyuki had said, and firmly shook her head. The road ahead was impassable, so she would have to go back and round, but she could get home by another route.\r\n\r\nAs she turned to retrace her steps, she was buffeted by a strong gust of wind. It caught her umbrella, flipping it inside out and snapping several of the spokes, and pulled her hand backward. She staggered, and her left foot came down in the cold water of the flooded road. Its surface was slippery underfoot, and as the wind pulled the umbrella from her hand, carrying it off into the darkness, she lost her balance, falling over backwards into the water.\r\n\r\nIt soaked her to the skin instantly, and when she tried to stand, she lost her balance again in the flowing stream, falling forward this time, scraping her face on the tarmac. The rain continued to pound on her back, as she carefully struggled to her feet and retrieved her shoes. As her clothes clung, chill, to her body, she got the feeling that the shrine was watching her.\r\n\r\nShe turned her back and started wading downhill through the flood.', 'Going Home', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'going-home', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:02:37', '2009-01-06 01:02:37', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=83', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(84, 1, '2009-01-06 10:02:30', '2009-01-06 01:02:30', '', 'Going Home', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '83-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:02:30', '2009-01-06 01:02:30', '', 83, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/83-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(85, 1, '2009-02-01 00:00:44', '2009-01-31 15:00:44', 'Akiko slipped three more times before she got home, but she was already so wet and cold that it made no noticeable difference. As soon as she got in, she turned on the heater, started the bath filling, and took her things out of her bag, lining them up on the table, under the heater, to dry off. Everything, even her cell phone, still seemed to be working, which was a plus; the bag had kept most of the water out. She reflected that the Vuitton bags really <em>were</em> good quality; it had probably saved her as much as it cost.\r\n\r\nAs she finished, she realised that she was dripping onto the floor, and hurried into the changing area outside the bath. Hot water was filling the tub as she started to peel her sodden clothes off. They were literally sticking to her skin, and it took her a long time to get her blouse off. Even her underwear was so wet it was see-through, making her glad that her work uniform was dark-coloured.\r\n\r\nShe wiped some of the cold water from her body with a towel, and realised just how chilled she was. Pulling the door shut behind her, she stepped into the bath, leaving the water running to finish filling it up.\r\n\r\nThe warmth of the water slowly seeped into her body, and her shivering stopped. Leaning back in the tub, she started to relax. She hadn’t realised just how tense she was until that moment, but her stomach was a knot and her jaw was clenched shut. Gently massaging her face, she closed her eyes, deliberately remembering the good aspects of the day; work really had gone well. She wasn’t going to let the bad weather on the way home spoil everything.\r\n\r\nThe water level rose, steadily enveloping her in soothing heat. She let herself drift, listening to the sound of rain in the background… She suddenly realised that the water was overflowing, and sat up to turn the taps off before lying back once more, luxuriating in the warmth.\r\n\r\nSomething cold splashed onto her face, and slid down her cheek. She brushed it away, wondering why there was so much condensation building up. Then there was another one, and a third. Akiko opened her eyes.\r\n\r\nShe should have been looking at the plastic, pale yellow ceiling of her unit bath, but it was almost lost to sight behind black clouds, which boiled and raced across and around the room, seeming to dodge in and out between each other with no concern for wind direction. Rain was falling from the clouds, the drops falling into the bath, leaving expanding circles in the water, and splashing on the floor of the shower area beside it.\r\n\r\nAkiko closed her eyes and opened them again, but the clouds were still there, and they even seemed to be thickening. The rain started to fall faster, chill on her exposed head, and Akiko’s calm disappeared, as her stomach churned.\r\n\r\nStill not entirely believing what she was seeing, she stood up and reached above her head. Her hand vanished into the clouds, and she felt the cool, smooth surface of the plastic beyond. The clouds themselves, however, were cold and damp against the skin of her hand, and the falling drops of rain were chill on her body. She swept her hands through the clouds, trying to get rid of them, but they just swirled around her, mocking any attempt to grasp them.\r\n\r\nThe rain suddenly intensified, becoming as heavy as a cold shower. Akiko gasped as the chill penetrated her body, and for a moment lost her breath. The surface of the bath water was churned up by the number of falling raindrops, and a layer of water was building up on the floor beside it. Akiko stepped out of the bath, wincing as she put her foot down in cold water, and pushed on the door.\r\n\r\nIt didn’t open.\r\n\r\nShe pushed again, but it still didn’t move. Rattling it made a noise, but gave no sign that it might be about to open. The water on the floor was around her ankles now, and she was shivering as the rain streamed down her body. She reached to check the lock on the door, but it was open, as always. Desperately, she grabbed the handle again, shaking the door with all her strength. The cold water rose up her calves towards her knees, but the door would still not shift.\r\n\r\nRealising that the water ought to be flowing away, she turned round, looking for the drain. She had to crouch down, into the chill water, to reach it, but as her fingers found it she could feel the tug of the current around them as the water flowed away, rushing down and out. Water flowed into her eyes, and she brushed it away. There was no blockage, then. The flow was just faster than the drain could handle.\r\n\r\nWhen she stood up, the water was almost to her knees, higher now than the rim of the bath, and she felt her tension turning to fear, to panic. She turned back to the door, banging on it, rattling it, and calling for help, but there was no apparent response. The water had passed her knees, and was rising up her thighs, when she gave up, and looked around the room for something, anything, she could use to break the door open.\r\n\r\nDirectly behind her, a serpentine head broke out of the water, which flowed off it in sparkling rivers and droplets. The bright red, green, and purple shone in the dim light, and the gold and silver seemed to flow themselves as they reflected the chaotic surface of the water. The shining eyes were fixed on her, and Akiko screamed, backing away, until she came up against the edge of the bath. She was moving too quickly, and the floor was too slippery; she lost her balance and tumbled over backwards, plunging into the water, banging against the sides of the bath as she fell into the warm water.\r\n\r\nWhen she surfaced, the room was back to normal, with the water all in the bath, and a single drop of condensation fell from the ceiling to splash on the floor in front of her.', 'Warming Bath', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'warming-bath', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:05:03', '2009-01-06 01:05:03', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=85', 0, 'post', '', 3);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(86, 1, '2009-01-06 10:04:30', '2009-01-06 01:04:30', 'Akiko slipped three more times before she got home, but she was already so wet and cold that it made no noticeable difference. As soon as she got in, she turned on the heater, started the bath filling, and took her things out of her bag, lining them up on the table, under the heater, to dry off. Everything, even her cell phone, still seemed to be working, which was a plus; the bag had kept most of the water out. She reflected that the Vuitton bags really <em>were</em> good quality; it had probably saved her as much as it cost.\n\nAs she finished, she realised that she was dripping onto the floor, and hurried into the changing area outside the bath. Hot water was filling the tub as she started to peel her sodden clothes off. They were literally sticking to her skin, and it took her a long time to get her blouse off. Even her underwear was so wet it was see-through, making her glad that her work uniform was dark-coloured.\n\nShe wiped some of the cold water from her body with a towel, and realised just how chilled she was. Pulling the door shut behind her, she stepped into the bath, leaving the water running to finish filling it up.\n\nThe warmth of the water slowly seeped into her body, and her shivering stopped. Leaning back in the tub, she started to relax. She hadn’t realised just how tense she was until that moment, but her stomach was a knot and her jaw was clenched shut. Gently massaging her face, she closed her eyes, deliberately remembering the good aspects of the day; work really had gone well. She wasn’t going to let the bad weather on the way home spoil everything.\n\nThe water level rose, steadily enveloping her in soothing heat. She let herself drift, listening to the sound of rain in the background… She suddenly realised that the water was overflowing, and sat up to turn the taps off before lying back once more, luxuriating in the warmth.\n\nSomething cold splashed onto her face, and slid down her cheek. She brushed it away, wondering why there was so much condensation building up. Then there was another one, and a third. Akiko opened her eyes.\n\nShe should have been looking at the plastic, pale yellow ceiling of her unit bath, but it was almost lost to sight behind black clouds, which boiled and raced across and around the room, seeming to dodge in and out between each other with no concern for wind direction. Rain was falling from the clouds, the drops falling into the bath, leaving expanding circles in the water, and splashing on the floor of the shower area beside it.\n\nAkiko closed her eyes and opened them again, but the clouds were still there, and they even seemed to be thickening. The rain started to fall faster, chill on her exposed head, and Akiko’s calm disappeared, as her stomach churned.\n\nStill not entirely believing what she was seeing, she stood up and reached above her head. Her hand vanished into the clouds, and she felt the cool, smooth surface of the plastic beyond. The clouds themselves, however, were cold and damp against the skin of her hand, and the falling drops of rain were chill on her body. She swept her hands through the clouds, trying to get rid of them, but they just swirled around her, mocking any attempt to grasp them.\n\nThe rain suddenly intensified, becoming as heavy as a cold shower. Akiko gasped as the chill penetrated her body, and for a moment lost her breath. The surface of the bath water was churned up by the number of falling raindrops, and a layer of water was building up on the floor beside it. Akiko stepped out of the bath, wincing as she put her foot down in cold water, and pushed on the door.\n\nIt didn’t open.\n\nShe pushed again, but it still didn’t move. Rattling it made a noise, but gave no sign that it might be about to open. The water on the floor was around her ankles now, and she was shivering as the rain streamed down her body. She reached to check the lock on the door, but it was open, as always. Desperately, she grabbed the handle again, shaking the door with all her strength. The cold water rose up her calves towards her knees, but the door would still not shift.\n\nRealising that the water ought to be flowing away, she turned round, looking for the drain. She had to crouch down, into the chill water, to reach it, but as her fingers found it she could feel the tug of the current around them as the water flowed away, rushing down and out. Water flowed into her eyes, and she brushed it away. There was no blockage, then. The flow was just faster than the drain could handle.\n\nWhen she stood up, the water was almost to her knees, higher now than the rim of the bath, and she felt her tension turning to fear, to panic. She turned back to the door, banging on it, rattling it, and calling for help, but there was no apparent response. The water had passed her knees, and was rising up her thighs, when she gave up, and looked around the room for something, anything, she could use to break the door open.\n\nDirectly behind her, a serpentine head broke out of the water, which flowed off it in sparkling rivers and droplets. The bright red, green, and purple shone in the dim light, and the gold and silver seemed to flow themselves as they reflected the chaotic surface of the water. The shining eyes were fixed on her, and Akiko screamed, backing away, until she came up against the edge of the bath. She was moving too quickly, and the floor was too slippery; she lost her balance and tumbled over backwards, plunging into the water, banging against the sides of the bath as she fell into the warm water.\n\nWhen she surfaced, the room was back to normal, with the water all in the bath, and a single drop of condensation fell from the ceiling to splash on the floor in front of her.', 'Warming Bath', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '85-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:04:30', '2009-01-06 01:04:30', '', 85, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/85-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(87, 1, '2009-01-06 10:06:06', '2009-01-06 01:06:06', 'Akiko slipped three more times before she got home, but she was already so wet and cold that it made no noticeable difference. As soon as she got in, she turned on the heater, started the bath filling, and took her things out of her bag, lining them up on the table, under the heater, to dry off. Everything, even her cell phone, still seemed to be working, which was a plus; the bag had kept most of the water out. She reflected that the Vuitton bags really <em>were</em> good quality; it had probably saved her as much as it cost.\n\nAs she finished, she realised that she was dripping onto the floor, and hurried into the changing area outside the bath. Hot water was filling the tub as she started to peel her sodden clothes off. They were literally sticking to her skin, and it took her a long time to get her blouse off. Even her underwear was so wet it was see-through, making her glad that her work uniform was dark-coloured.\n\nShe wiped some of the cold water from her body with a towel, and realised just how chilled she was. Pulling the door shut behind her, she stepped into the bath, leaving the water running to finish filling it up.\n\nThe warmth of the water slowly seeped into her body, and her shivering stopped. Leaning back in the tub, she started to relax. She hadn’t realised just how tense she was until that moment, but her stomach was a knot and her jaw was clenched shut. Gently massaging her face, she closed her eyes, deliberately remembering the good aspects of the day; work really had gone well. She wasn’t going to let the bad weather on the way home spoil everything.\n\nThe water level rose, steadily enveloping her in soothing heat. She let herself drift, listening to the sound of rain in the background… She suddenly realised that the water was overflowing, and sat up to turn the taps off before lying back once more, luxuriating in the warmth.\n\nSomething cold splashed onto her face, and slid down her cheek. She brushed it away, wondering why there was so much condensation building up. Then there was another one, and a third. Akiko opened her eyes.\n\nShe should have been looking at the plastic, pale yellow ceiling of her unit bath, but it was almost lost to sight behind black clouds, which boiled and raced across and around the room, seeming to dodge in and out between each other with no concern for wind direction. Rain was falling from the clouds, the drops falling into the bath, leaving expanding circles in the water, and splashing on the floor of the shower area beside it.\n\nAkiko closed her eyes and opened them again, but the clouds were still there, and they even seemed to be thickening. The rain started to fall faster, chill on her exposed head, and Akiko’s calm disappeared, as her stomach churned.\n\nStill not entirely believing what she was seeing, she stood up and reached above her head. Her hand vanished into the clouds, and she felt the cool, smooth surface of the plastic beyond. The clouds themselves, however, were cold and damp against the skin of her hand, and the falling drops of rain were chill on her body. She swept her hands through the clouds, trying to get rid of them, but they just swirled around her, mocking any attempt to grasp them.\n\nThe rain suddenly intensified, becoming as heavy as a cold shower. Akiko gasped as the chill penetrated her body, and for a moment lost her breath. The surface of the bath water was churned up by the number of falling raindrops, and a layer of water was building up on the floor beside it. Akiko stepped out of the bath, wincing as she put her foot down in cold water, and pushed on the door.\n\nIt didn’t open.\n\nShe pushed again, but it still didn’t move. Rattling it made a noise, but gave no sign that it might be about to open. The water on the floor was around her ankles now, and she was shivering as the rain streamed down her body. She reached to check the lock on the door, but it was open, as always. Desperately, she grabbed the handle again, shaking the door with all her strength. The cold water rose up her calves towards her knees, but the door would still not shift.\n\nRealising that the water ought to be flowing away, she turned round, looking for the drain. She had to crouch down, into the chill water, to reach it, but as her fingers found it she could feel the tug of the current around them as the water flowed away, rushing down and out. Water flowed into her eyes, and she brushed it away. There was no blockage, then. The flow was just faster than the drain could handle.\n\nWhen she stood up, the water was almost to her knees, higher now than the rim of the bath, and she felt her tension turning to fear, to panic. She turned back to the door, banging on it, rattling it, and calling for help, but there was no apparent response. The water had passed her knees, and was rising up her thighs, when she gave up, and looked around the room for something, anything, she could use to break the door open.\n\nDirectly behind her, a serpentine head broke out of the water, which flowed off it in sparkling rivers and droplets. The bright red, green, and purple shone in the dim light, and the gold and silver seemed to flow themselves as they reflected the chaotic surface of the water. The shining eyes were fixed on her, and Akiko screamed, backing away, until she came up against the edge of the bath. She was moving too quickly, and the floor was too slippery; she lost her balance and tumbled over backwards, plunging into the water, banging against the sides of the bath as she fell into the warm water.\n\nWhen she surfaced, the room was back to normal, with the water all in the bath, and a single drop of condensation fell from the ceiling to splash on the floor in front of her.', 'Warming Bath', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '85-autosave', '', '', '2009-01-06 10:06:06', '2009-01-06 01:06:06', '', 85, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/85-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(88, 1, '2009-02-02 00:00:43', '2009-02-01 15:00:43', 'Akiko got out of the bath quickly, and pulled on the door. It opened as easily as ever, and the air outside was cool on her wet skin. She grabbed a towel from the rack and began drying herself. She could feel her heart racing, and breath was coming in gasps, almost panting. Slowly, she forced herself to calm down. She had just fallen asleep in the bath, and dreamed the whole thing. It was just a strange dream, and nothing to really worry about.\r\n\r\nThe small flat’s bathroom was across the entrance hall from the kitchen, and the only other room, with a tatami-matted floor, served all other purposes. It was six mats in size, so not too small, but Akiko did not want to bring any of her friends, and certainly not Naoyuki, here. Still wrapped in the towel, she pushed the table to one side and laid out the futon, shaking her pyjamas out of the middle.\r\n\r\nIn her pyjamas and curled up in her bed, things seemed a lot safer. Her heart rate was back to normal, and the strange dream she’d had in the bath was just that. Outside, it was still raining heavily, the wind driving it against the window, but she was safe inside, and warm.\r\n\r\nWith a crash, the window blew open, and the howling wind rushed into the room, bringing the rain with it. Akiko sprang out of bed, and pushed the window shut again, against the force of the storm. She made sure the catch was properly fixed before returning to bed.\r\n\r\nAs she was drifting off, she saw movement across the room, colours and metals shifting, two lights in the darkness, pointing in her direction.\r\n\r\nThe bang of the window blowing open again jerked her awake. There was no snake in the room, but there was a lot of rain, and she got up to close the window once more. This time she looked carefully at the catch as she closed it, but she couldn’t see any problem; she made doubly sure that it was closed properly before returning to bed.\r\n\r\nShe had almost drifted off when a small sound pulled her back towards consciousness. She opened her eyes, to a wall of colour mere centimetres from her face. She could see individual scales, glittering in the light that filtered in from the street. Slowly, she turned to look upwards, at the great ophidian head hanging above her, its tongue flashing in the darkness.\r\n\r\nThe crash of the window slamming into its frame and the howl of the wind brought her awake again. Staggering upright, she pushed the window shut, closed the latch, and then found some string to tie the latch down. The wind and rain had yet to die down at all, and even through the closed window they were loud. She decided that it was the sound of the rain that was making her dream of the snake.\r\n\r\nShe lay down again, hoping for some undisturbed sleep.', 'Storm in the Night', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'storm-in-the-night', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:31:57', '2009-01-06 03:31:57', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=88', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(89, 1, '2009-01-06 12:31:45', '2009-01-06 03:31:45', 'Akiko got out of the bath quickly, and pulled on the door. It opened as easily as ever, and the air outside was cool on her wet skin. She grabbed a towel from the rack and began drying herself. She could feel her heart racing, and breath was coming in gasps, almost panting. Slowly, she forced herself to calm down. She had just fallen asleep in the bath, and dreamed the whole thing. It was just a strange dream, and nothing to really worry about.\n\nThe small flat’s bathroom was across the entrance hall from the kitchen, and the only other room, with a tatami-matted floor, served all other purposes. It was six mats in size, so not too small, but Akiko did not want to bring any of her friends, and certainly not Naoyuki, here. Still wrapped in the towel, she pushed the table to one side and laid out the futon, shaking her pyjamas out of the middle.\n\nIn her pyjamas and curled up in her bed, things seemed a lot safer. Her heart rate was back to normal, and the strange dream she’d had in the bath was just that. Outside, it was still raining heavily, the wind driving it against the window, but she was safe inside, and warm.\n\nWith a crash, the window blew open, and the howling wind rushed into the room, bringing the rain with it. Akiko sprang out of bed, and pushed the window shut again, against the force of the storm. She made sure the catch was properly fixed before returning to bed.\n\nAs she was drifting off, she saw movement across the room, colours and metals shifting, two lights in the darkness, pointing in her direction.\n\nThe bang of the window blowing open again jerked her awake. There was no snake in the room, but there was a lot of rain, and she got up to close the window once more. This time she looked carefully at the catch as she closed it, but she couldn’t see any problem; she made doubly sure that it was closed properly before returning to bed.\n\nShe had almost drifted off when a small sound pulled her back towards consciousness. She opened her eyes, to a wall of colour mere centimetres from her face. She could see individual scales, glittering in the light that filtered in from the street. Slowly, she turned to look upwards, at the great ophidian head hanging above her, its tongue flashing in the darkness.\n\nThe crash of the window slamming into its frame and the howl of the wind brought her awake again. Staggering upright, she pushed the window shut, closed the latch, and then found some string to tie the latch down. The wind and rain had yet to die down at all, and even through the closed window they were loud. She decided that it was the sound of the rain that was making her dream of the snake.\n\nShe lay down again, hoping for some undisturbed sleep.', 'Storm in the Night', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '88-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:31:45', '2009-01-06 03:31:45', '', 88, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/88-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(90, 1, '2009-02-03 00:00:04', '2009-02-02 15:00:04', 'Akiko yawned as she looked at her monitor. The storm had raged all night, and that window had kept coming open, no matter how she tried to seal it shut. She had kept dreaming of the snake, as well, and she didn’t feel that the sleep she had got had been very restful. Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one with such a problem.\r\n\r\n“Dreadful storm last night.â€ Satomi looked sleepy, and stifled a yawn as she sat down. “It kept waking me up.â€\r\n\r\nMegumi looked up from her desk.\r\n\r\n“I couldn’t hear it while I was in bed. Lucky me. But it was terrible, wasn’t it?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko nodded her agreement, and, when she failed to stifle the yawn, quickly covered her mouth with her hand.\r\n\r\n“You look even worse than I feel,â€ Satomi observed. Akiko nodded again.\r\n\r\n“One of my windows kept coming open in the wind, so I had to keep getting up to close it. I feel like I hardly slept.â€ Satomi pulled a face.\r\n\r\n“You want to get the landlord to look at that.â€ Akiko knew she was right, but her landlord was not renowned for fixing problems quickly. In addition, when she had looked in the morning, she couldn’t for the life of her find anything actually wrong with the catch. The window just should not have been coming open.\r\n\r\n“Well, I guess I need to get on.â€ Akiko tried to focus on the screen as she said that, but the dull ache behind her eyes got worse, and she pressed her fingers to her temples in an attempt to ease it. Resting her head in her hands, she looked at the words on the screen, as meaning seemed to drain away from them, turning them into abstract patterns. She felt her head nodding forward, and quickly sat upright, reaching for the mouse.\r\n\r\nA few minutes later, she had to support her head again, as she tried to work out what she was supposed to do with the numbers at the bottom of the report. It was a simple matter of copying them to other places, but her mind was moving too slowly, and she just couldn’t sort out which was supposed to go where.\r\n\r\nHer head nodded forward, and she jerked it up, glancing at her coffee cup. Empty. She thought about going to refill it, but she really didn’t have the energy. Her eyes lost their focus as her head fell forward again.\r\n\r\nThe monitor went dark, as the energy saver kicked in, and the reflection of the office sprang into prominence. Tamao’s iridescent form rose up behind her, the fiery gems of his eyes boring into hers through the monitor. Akiko just stared at it. There was no giant snake in the office, she told herself. People would panic. I’m just falling asleep at my desk.\r\n\r\nThe surge of panic at that thought jolted her, and she lifted her head. The monitor screen was still blank, but the reflection was of nothing stranger than her colleagues going about their business behind her. Shaking her head in an attempt to get properly awake, she moved the mouse, bringing the figures back, and started work on copying them around.', 'Tired in Work', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'tired-in-work', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:32:40', '2009-01-06 03:32:40', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=90', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(91, 1, '2009-01-06 12:32:35', '2009-01-06 03:32:35', 'Akiko yawned as she looked at her monitor. The storm had raged all night, and that window had kept coming open, no matter how she tried to seal it shut. She had kept dreaming of the snake, as well, and she didn’t feel that the sleep she had got had been very restful. Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one with such a problem.\n\n“Dreadful storm last night.â€ Satomi looked sleepy, and stifled a yawn as she sat down. “It kept waking me up.â€\n\nMegumi looked up from her desk.\n\n“I couldn’t hear it while I was in bed. Lucky me. But it was terrible, wasn’t it?â€\n\nAkiko nodded her agreement, and, when she failed to stifle the yawn, quickly covered her mouth with her hand.\n\n“You look even worse than I feel,â€ Satomi observed. Akiko nodded again.\n\n“One of my windows kept coming open in the wind, so I had to keep getting up to close it. I feel like I hardly slept.â€ Satomi pulled a face.\n\n“You want to get the landlord to look at that.â€ Akiko knew she was right, but her landlord was not renowned for fixing problems quickly. In addition, when she had looked in the morning, she couldn’t for the life of her find anything actually wrong with the catch. The window just should not have been coming open.\n\n“Well, I guess I need to get on.â€ Akiko tried to focus on the screen as she said that, but the dull ache behind her eyes got worse, and she pressed her fingers to her temples in an attempt to ease it. Resting her head in her hands, she looked at the words on the screen, as meaning seemed to drain away from them, turning them into abstract patterns. She felt her head nodding forward, and quickly sat upright, reaching for the mouse.\n\nA few minutes later, she had to support her head again, as she tried to work out what she was supposed to do with the numbers at the bottom of the report. It was a simple matter of copying them to other places, but her mind was moving too slowly, and she just couldn’t sort out which was supposed to go where.\n\nHer head nodded forward, and she jerked it up, glancing at her coffee cup. Empty. She thought about going to refill it, but she really didn’t have the energy. Her eyes lost their focus as her head fell forward again.\n\nThe monitor went dark, as the energy saver kicked in, and the reflection of the office sprang into prominence. Tamao’s iridescent form rose up behind her, the fiery gems of his eyes boring into hers through the monitor. Akiko just stared at it. There was no giant snake in the office, she told herself. People would panic. I’m just falling asleep at my desk.\n\nThe surge of panic at that thought jolted her, and she lifted her head. The monitor screen was still blank, but the reflection was of nothing stranger than her colleagues going about their business behind her. Shaking her head in an attempt to get properly awake, she moved the mouse, bringing the figures back, and started work on copying them around.', 'Tired in Work', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '90-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:32:35', '2009-01-06 03:32:35', '', 90, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/90-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(92, 1, '2009-02-04 00:00:46', '2009-02-03 15:00:46', '“Storm keep you awake?â€ Naoyuki sounded sympathetic, and certainly looked like he should understand. Akiko just nodded, and sat down heavily in her chair. She ordered a coffee with her food; the caffeine seemed to be the only thing keeping her awake.\r\n\r\n“Akiko? Hello?â€ Naoyuki waved his hand in front of her face.\r\n\r\n“Oh, sorry. I really didn’t sleep last night. What about you?â€\r\n\r\n“The storm woke me up occasionally, but it wasn’t that bad.â€\r\n\r\n“Your window didn’t keep blowing open, then.â€ Akiko wasn’t about to mention the dreams.\r\n\r\n“No, it didn’t. Anyway, there’s no nomikai tonight; do you want to come round?â€ Akiko ordered her food to play for time. Naoyuki didn’t like it when she turned his invitations down, and she did enjoy spending the night with him, but she really wasn’t sure she could stay awake. She suspected that Naoyuki would be very unhappy if she fell asleep <em>in flagrante.</em> “Well?â€\r\n\r\n“I’m really sleepy, sorry. I think I’ll just go home and get a very early night.â€\r\n\r\n“I could come to you.â€ For a moment, Akiko panicked.\r\n\r\n“Really, I’m just going to be asleep. No fun.â€ Naoyuki looked very disappointed as he nodded.\r\n\r\n“It’s a shame; there are so many evening things I can’t get out of that it’s a pity to lose a free evening.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, it is.â€ Akiko desperately tried to stifle a yawn, and then settled for trying to keep it under control. “But I really don’t think today is viable.â€ Naoyuki smiled slightly.\r\n\r\n“No, maybe not. Try not to fall asleep in the pasta.â€\r\n\r\n“You think you’re joking.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko looked around the restaurant as they ate; she wasn’t able to form coherent responses to Naoyuki’s comments, and he’d given up trying. The decor was Western style, with elaborately carved frames around the mirrors on the walls. Looking over Naoyuki’s shoulder, she could see her own face, and she was shocked at just how tired she looked. <em>I look ill,</em> she thought,<em> and old.</em>\r\n\r\nShe quickly looked away from that mirror, not needing any reminders that her life was flowing away. The one next to it was at the wrong angle to reflect her, and for a moment she couldn’t work out what it was reflecting.\r\n\r\nThen she recognised the shrine building at Tamao Shrine, the green copper roof slick and shining with rain as a storm beat silently on it. The trees waved beyond it, leaves dark green against a black sky, and the whole scene was lit by a flash of lightning, harsh shadows falling across the ground, the rippling surfaces of the puddles frozen by the light.\r\n\r\nAkiko’s mouth was dry, and the handles of the knife and fork dug into her hands as she gripped them tightly. Her stomach lurched, and then lurched again as lightning flashed once more in the mirror. The shrine building drew closer, or maybe she moved closer to it, and the trees seemed to leak out of the mirror’s frame.\r\n\r\n“Akiko? Are you all right?â€ Naoyuki’s voice broke the spell, and she dragged her head round to look at him.\r\n\r\n“I’m fine. Sorry. Just sleepy.â€\r\n\r\nWhen she glanced back, the mirror was reflecting the restaurant, as it should.', 'Lunch Date', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lunch-date', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:33:19', '2009-01-06 03:33:19', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=92', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(93, 1, '2009-01-06 12:33:14', '2009-01-06 03:33:14', '“Storm keep you awake?â€ Naoyuki sounded sympathetic, and certainly looked like he should understand. Akiko just nodded, and sat down heavily in her chair. She ordered a coffee with her food; the caffeine seemed to be the only thing keeping her awake.\n\n“Akiko? Hello?â€ Naoyuki waved his hand in front of her face.\n\n“Oh, sorry. I really didn’t sleep last night. What about you?â€\n\n“The storm woke me up occasionally, but it wasn’t that bad.â€\n\n“Your window didn’t keep blowing open, then.â€ Akiko wasn’t about to mention the dreams.\n\n“No, it didn’t. Anyway, there’s no nomikai tonight; do you want to come round?â€ Akiko ordered her food to play for time. Naoyuki didn’t like it when she turned his invitations down, and she did enjoy spending the night with him, but she really wasn’t sure she could stay awake. She suspected that Naoyuki would be very unhappy if she fell asleep <em>in flagrante.</em> “Well?â€\n\n“I’m really sleepy, sorry. I think I’ll just go home and get a very early night.â€\n\n“I could come to you.â€ For a moment, Akiko panicked.\n\n“Really, I’m just going to be asleep. No fun.â€ Naoyuki looked very disappointed as he nodded.\n\n“It’s a shame; there are so many evening things I can’t get out of that it’s a pity to lose a free evening.â€\n\n“Yes, it is.â€ Akiko desperately tried to stifle a yawn, and then settled for trying to keep it under control. “But I really don’t think today is viable.â€ Naoyuki smiled slightly.\n\n“No, maybe not. Try not to fall asleep in the pasta.â€\n\n“You think you’re joking.â€\n\nAkiko looked around the restaurant as they ate; she wasn’t able to form coherent responses to Naoyuki’s comments, and he’d given up trying. The decor was Western style, with elaborately carved frames around the mirrors on the walls. Looking over Naoyuki’s shoulder, she could see her own face, and she was shocked at just how tired she looked. <em>I look ill,</em> she thought,<em> and old.</em>\n\nShe quickly looked away from that mirror, not needing any reminders that her life was flowing away. The one next to it was at the wrong angle to reflect her, and for a moment she couldn’t work out what it was reflecting.\n\nThen she recognised the shrine building at Tamao Shrine, the green copper roof slick and shining with rain as a storm beat silently on it. The trees waved beyond it, leaves dark green against a black sky, and the whole scene was lit by a flash of lightning, harsh shadows falling across the ground, the rippling surfaces of the puddles frozen by the light.\n\nAkiko’s mouth was dry, and the handles of the knife and fork dug into her hands as she gripped them tightly. Her stomach lurched, and then lurched again as lightning flashed once more in the mirror. The shrine building drew closer, or maybe she moved closer to it, and the trees seemed to leak out of the mirror’s frame.\n\n“Akiko? Are you all right?â€ Naoyuki’s voice broke the spell, and she dragged her head round to look at him.\n\n“I’m fine. Sorry. Just sleepy.â€\n\nWhen she glanced back, the mirror was reflecting the restaurant, as it should.', 'Lunch Date', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '92-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:33:14', '2009-01-06 03:33:14', '', 92, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/92-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(94, 1, '2009-02-05 00:00:25', '2009-02-04 15:00:25', 'Several cups of coffee had done nothing to wake Akiko up, but at least the frequent trips to the toilet had stopped her falling properly asleep. Neither helped with work, however, so she was trying to get through at least an hour without coffee. As the screen swam in front of her eyes, she wasn’t at all sure she would make it.\r\n\r\nShe shook herself awake, and shifted to get comfortable on the tatami, catching her sleeve out of the way with her left hand as she picked up the brush with her right. Before she could dip it in the ink, however, she noticed a flaw in the paper, a speck of greenish black in the white. She brushed at it, but it seemed to be part of the paper, sticky, grasping at her fingertips as they passed over it. The mark was larger already, now covering half the paper and growing rapidly, the stench of decay rising from it as the lacquer writing desk also began to crumble. Akiko stood up and stepped back, her sleeves becoming heavier as they turned black, the smell filling her nostrils, the rot crossing the floor and devouring her tabi, cold, slimy, and alive underfoot, writhing and trying to push through her toes.\r\n\r\nShe turned and ran deeper into the shrine, as the groans of the timbers behind her became tortured screams, rotten bases no longer able to support the weight of a roof itself turning to decay, even the copper splitting and falling as scales with the sound of a thousand crashing cars.\r\n\r\nTamao was sleeping on his dais, his scales still shining as she reached him. She tore away the rotten remnants of her kimono and gathered him up in her arms, his skin against hers, cool metal and warm gemstone sliding along her arms and round her stomach as the kami coiled around her, his head resting between her breasts. Even in sleep, the lightning of his tongue played around his mouth, jolting her body and making her gasp for breath.\r\n\r\nThe decay was rushing to meet her, spreading from the fallen fragments of her clothes, and she stumbled with every step as the floor sagged and cracked under her weight, or flowed away from her, or seized her feet and tried to pull her down. Dragging her feet forward, she moved to where she thought the exit should be, but the shrine was changing as it collapsed.\r\n\r\nAnd then she felt something cool and slimy on her side, and looked down to see tarnish covering the gold and silver of Tamao’s skin as the gemstones cracked and clouded, grey mud oozing out from around them as the lightning tongue turned a sickly green, its touch provoking nausea and making Akiko stagger. She could feel her fingers sinking into the kami’s flesh, as…\r\n\r\n“Akiko! Wake up!â€ The urgent hiss was accompanied by a poke in the ribs, and Akiko brought her head up with a start. Satomi was next to her, looking at the screen. “Pretend you’re showing me something.â€ Still half asleep, Akiko pointed at the screen, and Satomi nodded. Akiko surreptitiously glanced around the room, but no-one seemed to have noticed.\r\n\r\nHer hands were shaking, possibly due to all the coffee she had been drinking, but she decided to have another cup anyway.', 'Change and Decay', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'change-and-decay', '', '', '2009-02-09 18:34:26', '2009-02-09 09:34:26', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=94', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(95, 1, '2009-01-06 12:34:00', '2009-01-06 03:34:00', 'Several cups of coffee had done nothing to wake Akiko up, but at least the frequent trips to the toilet had stopped her falling properly asleep. Neither helped with work, however, so she was trying to get through at least an hour without coffee. As the screen swam in front of her eyes, she wasn’t at all sure she would make it.\n\nShe shook herself awake, and shifted to get comfortable on the tatami, catching her sleeve out of the way with her left hand as she picked up the brush with her right. Before she could dip it in the ink, however, she noticed a flaw in the paper, a speck of greenish black in the white. She brushed at it, but it seemed to be part of the paper, sticky, grasping at her fingertips as they passed over it. The mark was larger already, now covering half the paper and growing rapidly, the stench of decay rising from it as the lacquer writing desk also began to crumble. Akiko stood up and stepped back, her sleeves becoming heavier as they turned black, the smell filling her nostrils, the rot crossing the floor and devouring her tabi, cold, slimy, and alive underfoot, writhing and trying to push through her toes.\n\nShe turned and ran deeper into the shrine, as the groans of the timbers behind her became tortured screams, rotten bases no longer able to support the weight of a roof itself turning to decay, even the copper splitting and falling as scales with the sound of a thousand crashing cars.\n\nTamao was sleeping on his dais, his scales still shining as she reached him. She tore away the rotten remnants of her kimono and gathered him up in her arms, his skin against hers, cool metal and warm gemstone sliding along her arms and round her stomach as the kami coiled around her, his head resting between her breasts. Even in sleep, the lightning of his tongue played around his mouth, jolting her body and making her gasp for breath.\n\nThe decay was rushing to meet her, spreading from the fallen fragments of her clothes, and she stumbled with every step as the floor sagged and cracked under her weight, or flowed away from her, or seized her feet and tried to pull her down. Dragging her feet forward, she moved to where she though the exit should be, but the shrine was changing as it collapsed.\n\nAnd then she felt something cool and slimy on her side, and looked down to see tarnish covering the gold and silver of Tamao’s skin as the gemstones cracked and clouded, grey mud oozing out from around them as the lightning tongue turned a sickly green, its touch provoking nausea and making Akiko stagger. She could feel her fingers sinking into the kami’s flesh, as…\n\n“Akiko! Wake up!â€ The urgent hiss was accompanied by a poke in the ribs, and Akiko brought her head up with a start. Satomi was next to her, looking at the screen. “Pretend you’re showing me something.â€ Still half asleep, Akiko pointed at the screen, and Satomi nodded. Akiko surreptitiously glanced around the room, but no-one seemed to have noticed.\n\nHer hands were shaking, possibly due to all the coffee she had been drinking, but she decided to have another cup anyway.', 'Change and Decay', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '94-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:34:00', '2009-01-06 03:34:00', '', 94, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/94-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(96, 1, '2009-02-06 00:00:11', '2009-02-05 15:00:11', 'Akiko was entirely on autopilot as she went home, to the point that she had been standing still for over a minute before she realised she had stopped, and long seconds passed before she could work out why she wasn’t walking anymore.\r\n\r\nThe road ahead of her was completely closed, with workmen all over it testing the drains and digging up sections of the surface. She briefly wondered which politician or bureaucrat had been inconvenienced by the water, before her attention moved on to the question of how she was going to get home.\r\n\r\nShe knew perfectly well what the best route was: past Tamao Shrine. However, she also knew that she didn’t want to go that way.\r\n\r\n<em>It’s just a shrine. I’m just having odd dreams. The weather is even quite good today.</em>\r\n\r\nOnly the last point carried any conviction; a handful of clouds chased each other across the sky, but the wind wasn’t strong and there was no sign of coming rain. Akiko watched the workmen for a bit longer, and then gathered her courage, breathing deeply to calm herself.\r\n\r\n<em>It’s not real. I’m just having strange dreams. Passing the shrine will be perfectly safe. I don’t have to go in. I won’t be attacked. I won’t fall in a flood.</em>\r\n\r\nChoosing to believe herself, Akiko turned and made her way up the hill, her pace slowing as she climbed. At the corner where the shrine would come into view she paused, her stomach churning. She realised that she was shaking, but she blamed that on the amount of caffeine she’d drunk during the day.\r\n\r\nShe darted forward, running round the corner and along the road that followed the edge of the shrine precincts. The green of the trees was particularly vivid after the rain, and the leaves rustled in the breeze, a calming noise like running water.\r\n\r\nAs she came up to the torii there was a deep noise from within, and her stomach lurched as her heart beat faster. She didn’t stop, keeping running and picking up her pace as the beats of the drum also got faster.\r\n\r\nAnd then she was past the shrine and running down the hill on the other side. Gasping for breath she slowed down, suddenly aware that she might lose her footing and fall. She risked glancing back over her shoulder, but the trees rising into the sky presented no threat. A small flock of birds burst into the sky from them, sweeping through the air over the shrine twice, three times in a rush of wings, and then settling back into the green of the leaves.\r\n\r\nAkiko got home without incident, but the first thing she did after taking her shoes off was to look for her map of Kawasaki and check possible routes home from the office, routes that could not take her past the shrine, no matter which roads were blocked. The available options were all longer, of course, but if she stayed on the train for another two stops there was a road that wasn’t too long, with her flat squarely between the station and the shrine.\r\n\r\nShe put the map out ready to take to work with her the following day.', 'Closed Road', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'closed-road', '', '', '2009-02-09 18:35:36', '2009-02-09 09:35:36', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=96', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(97, 1, '2009-01-06 12:34:32', '2009-01-06 03:34:32', '', 'Closed Road', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '96-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:34:32', '2009-01-06 03:34:32', '', 96, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/96-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(98, 1, '2009-02-07 00:00:46', '2009-02-06 15:00:46', 'The sky was clear the following night, but the wind was picking up as Akiko boarded the train. She didn’t care. She had slept with no dreams to speak of, and, despite being very tired she had got through the day without seeing any giant snakes. And now she was going to go home without going anywhere near the shrine.\r\n\r\nThe train drew into her usual station, and Akiko stayed there, holding on to the ring and peering out of the window. The chime sounded and the doors closed, but the train didn’t move. As the time stretched out, Akiko felt her nerves in her stomach. Why wasn’t the train moving?\r\n\r\n“Your attention please.â€ The public address system sprang into life. “There appears to be a fault with the train. We will be opening the doors again, and we will make further announcements as we have more information. We apologise for inconveniencing you this evening.â€ Ripples of muttered conversation passed through the train, and Akiko realised that her fingernails were digging painfully into her palm. As time passed, some people got off the train, but Akiko refused to move.\r\n\r\n“Our deepest apologies, but this train is no longer in service. We would like to ask everyone to get off. At this point, we do not know when services out of Tokyo will resume on this line.â€\r\n\r\nEven then, Akiko was the last off the train, not wanting to admit what had happened. The station announcement said that trains would be run from three stations up the line, and that a bus service would be provided, but even as people began to flow off the platform Akiko found herself accepting her fate. The bus would break down. The roads would be blocked. At least if she just went, it wouldn’t cause trouble for everyone else.\r\n\r\nShe walked out of the station, and started walking towards the shrine. The wind was still strong, and seemed to be getting even stronger, blowing from behind her as if helping her along.\r\n\r\nBy the time she reached the shrine, the leaves on the trees were surging like waves at sea, and some had been torn off to dance on the wind, circling round her as she reached the base of the steps.\r\n\r\nAnd the wind changed direction so suddenly that Akiko staggered, lurching towards the steps as the gale started blowing straight into the shrine. She grabbed the central railing to steady herself, and looked up the steps at the torii.\r\n\r\n<em>I’m not going in,</em> she thought, and turned away to the path home.\r\n\r\nAs soon as she started walking the wind shifted again, blowing directly into her face. It was hard to keep her eyes open, and when she did the wind blew grit into them, forcing her to blink and look down. Step by step, she pushed her way forward against the wind, slowly descending the hill.\r\n\r\nAbruptly, the air was still, and Akiko stumbled forward, nearly falling. She looked behind her, but the shrine was out of sight already. She stood still for a moment, but then found herself running home, heart pounding.', 'Stormy Return', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'stormy-return', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:35:14', '2009-01-06 03:35:14', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=98', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(99, 1, '2009-01-06 12:35:09', '2009-01-06 03:35:09', '', 'Stormy Return', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '98-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:35:09', '2009-01-06 03:35:09', '', 98, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/98-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(100, 1, '2009-02-08 00:00:20', '2009-02-07 15:00:20', 'The sun shone from a clear blue sky, its rays warm on Akiko’s back as she walked along the road. The cherry trees in the corner park were in full bloom, and the ground was covered with blue sheets, which in turn were filled with groups of people, many in kimono, enjoying the season. A few waved to Akiko as she passed, and she smiled and waved back, but she couldn’t stop.\r\n\r\nA gentle breeze kept her cool as she began to climb the hill, and her sense of happiness kept bubbling up within her, making her smile. The people who passed her all smiled back, which merely added to her sense of well-being. The road passed through a tunnel of maple trees, their red leaves forming a ceiling above and a carpet below, and they rustled quietly under Akiko’s feet as she continued on her way.\r\n\r\nThe camellias at the base of the steps into the shrine were in full bloom, a deep, rich red against the dark green of the leaves, and the dark stone of the torii stood out starkly against the clear sky. Akiko climbed the steps, bowing as she passed under the torii and entered the shrine precincts proper. The water was cool on her hands and sweet in her mouth as she purified herself, but despite the sun she shivered slightly as she crossed the grounds, keeping to the worn stone path.\r\n\r\nThe green roof of the shrine seemed to glow in the sunlight, the weather-darkened wood of the structure somehow welcoming, peaceful. Akiko found herself smiling as she climbed the steps and grasped the bell rope, shaking it to wake the kami. The bell sounded above her…\r\n\r\n…And darkness fell over the shrine, the air turning cold, her feet freezing in a moment. She could see nothing, although she could feel the rough wood of the shrine’s veranda under her bare feet, and feel the cold wind blowing her night dress against her body. As her eyes adjusted, the shrine came into view in the dim light that filtered in from the street. The sliding doors at the front of the shrine building were shut, the donation box locked inside. Akiko shivered again, and turned to look around the empty precincts.\r\n\r\n<em>I’m dreaming the shrine again,</em> she thought. <em>At least there’s no snake this time.</em> She shivered again, and wrapped her arms around her as she walked along the veranda, peering into the darkness and waiting for something to happen. She remembered her other dreams, of great trees or fires or rot and decay, and marvelled a little at how mundane everything seemed. As far as she could see in the darkness, everything was just as it was at the real shrine; she could even make out Shiraishi’s house, something that normally seemed to be absent from the dreams. Her feet were going numb, and she stamped them, flapping her arms to warm up. Going back to the front of the shrine, she tapped on the doors.\r\n\r\n“Hey, Tamao!â€ she called. “Are you going to come out?â€ There was no response, but the wind blew again, getting up inside her night dress and chilling her body. She shivered again, her teeth chattering, and thought about the warm walk to the shrine, with the unseasonable flowers. In fact, she thought, she hadn’t seen anything strange since the shrine went dark.\r\n\r\nA car went past on the road outside, and Akiko decided to finish her prayer, bowing and clapping. She stood, and waited to see if that would provoke a reaction. It didn’t; the quiet of the night was broken only by a distant siren. She sat down on the steps to rub her cold feet, brushing the dirt off them.\r\n\r\n<em>I’m not dreaming.</em>\r\n\r\nThe realisation hit her with the force of a physical blow, and for a moment she thought she was actually going to be sick as panic rose within her.\r\n\r\n<em>I’m actually in the shrine, in the middle of the night, in my night dress.</em>\r\n\r\nFor long moments, she couldn’t move, frozen into place as she tried to come to terms with what had happened. She had sleepwalked all the way to the shrine. In next to nothing. No wonder she was cold.\r\n\r\nThat brought the shivering back to Akiko’s attention, and she sprang to her feet. She had to get home, quickly, before she got hypothermia or something. The wooden steps of the shrine were cool and smooth underfoot, but the stone path was abrasive and cold, so she stepped off it to run on the bare earth as far as the entrance. The steps were very cold, and slightly slippery, and as she descended she felt the first drops of rain.\r\n\r\nBy the time she reached the bottom it was raining heavily, plastering her hair to her head and sticking her night dress to her skin. She glanced down, and her underwear was clearly visible through the light material. Grimacing, Akiko looked along the street, hoping it would be clear.\r\n\r\nIt was, and she darted out, running along the road, splashing through puddles, until she reached a corner. Pressing herself against the wall, she peered round, catching sight of someone walking further down the road. She pulled her head back, breathing heavily, and hoped that she hadn’t been spotted. She waited as long as she dared, but the cold rain soaking through made it hard to endure, and when she looked back the road was clear.\r\n\r\nRunning from corner to corner, she made it home without being seen, even as the rain got heavier and heavier. Her wet night dress clutched at her legs, apparently intent on tripping her up and leaving her sprawled in a puddle, but she managed to keep her balance all the way, and when she climbed to her flat she was only wet from the rain.\r\n\r\nThe door stood open, as she had clearly left it, and she pushed it closed as she got inside. The shivering intensified, and, staggering into the bathroom, she turned the shower on full, running it over her as soon as it was warm, not bothering to take any of her clothes off.\r\n\r\nAs she warmed up, she began to sob, and sank to the floor, putting the shower in its holder to flow over her, her tears washed away in the warm stream.', 'Shrine in Darkness', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'shrine-in-darkness', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:35:56', '2009-01-06 03:35:56', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=100', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(101, 1, '2009-01-06 12:35:49', '2009-01-06 03:35:49', '', 'Shrine in Darkness', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '100-revision', '', '', '2009-01-06 12:35:49', '2009-01-06 03:35:49', '', 100, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/100-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(102, 1, '2009-02-09 00:00:58', '2009-02-08 15:00:58', '“Tonight?â€ Naoyuki sounded surprised, and a bit sceptical.\r\n\r\n“It’s Saturday; surely you don’t have a nomikai.â€\r\n\r\n“No, but…â€ He actually sounded like he might turn her down. Akiko forced herself to loosen her grip on her phone.\r\n\r\n“Come on. We can have dinner, go to a club, and then go back to your place. I’ll make it fun for you.â€\r\n\r\n“A club? How long is it since you went to a club?â€\r\n\r\n“Too long!â€ Akiko tried to sound carefree, but wasn’t sure she was managing it. <em>There is no snake in the shrine. I only sleepwalked once. It’s not a problem.</em> “I’ll even pay.â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€ Now Naoyuki really sounded surprised. “No, I’ll pay, of course. Oh, all right. Let’s meet in Shibuya at eight.â€\r\n\r\n“Seven.â€ Eight o’clock was too far away; Akiko needed distracting before that.\r\n\r\n“Eager, aren’t you. OK, seven. See you then. And you don’t need to wear underwear.â€ He hung up before she could get a response in, and she had heard the laugh in his voice. He never gave up, a bit like Tamao. Shaking her head to banish the thought, Akiko got up and went over to her rack of clothes, looking for something to wear. Something stylish, but sexy. Definitely sexy. She deliberately remembered times in bed with Naoyuki, and the good parts were very good. She was smiling to herself as she went through her underwear, looking at the lacy things, many of which Naoyuki had bought for her. <em>Considering he never wants me to wear any, he buys me enough,</em> she thought, laughing to herself. A thought came to her and, blushing furiously, she turned to look at her other clothes.\r\n\r\nOnce she had laid her selection out on the futon, she went into the bathroom to fix her makeup. Standing in front of the mirror, she found herself searching the image for a snake. There was nothing there, but still she found that she couldn’t get her mind off the idea. She forced herself to focus on her face, applying the make-up carefully. The magazines were propped up around the sink, and she kept looking at them to check that she was doing it right. Every time she looked back up at the mirror, she expected to see the snake in the background, but there was nothing but the washing machine and her dirty laundry. She completed her preparations uninterrupted.\r\n\r\nShe put her clothes on carefully, checking their fit. The leather miniskirt was tight enough not to fly around, which was important, and the feel of it against her skin made her blush. The black camisole top and small jacket went well with it, and when she stretched her hands above her head the top rode up, exposing her navel. She smiled at the mirror. Naoyuki would definitely approve. A glance out of the window confirmed that the weather was getting worse, and Akiko frowned. It was still warm, but it looked like rain, and she’d hoped to avoid carrying an umbrella. Still, there was nothing to be done. She picked up her folding umbrella, and slipped her boots on in the hallway. She looked at her watch. Half past five.\r\n\r\nShe was going to be early.', 'War Paint', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'war-paint', '', '', '2009-02-16 17:54:00', '2009-02-16 08:54:00', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=102', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(103, 1, '2009-01-08 11:21:23', '2009-01-08 02:21:23', '', 'War Paint', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '102-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:21:23', '2009-01-08 02:21:23', '', 102, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/102-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(104, 1, '2009-02-10 00:00:57', '2009-02-09 15:00:57', 'She was early, and Akiko felt as though she’d been waiting for hours before Naoyuki showed up. The looks she’d got while standing around made her acutely conscious of what she was wearing, but at least they tended to confirm that the clothes made the impression she had been aiming at.\r\n\r\nWhen Naoyuki appeared, exactly on time, as always, he made a show of looking her over.\r\n\r\n“Wow. I should accept your invitations more often.â€ Akiko smiled back, relieved.\r\n\r\n“You like?â€ She did a little pirouette for him, and when she was back facing him, she saw that he was nodding vigourously. She couldn’t help laughing, and Naoyuki smiled back, broadly.\r\n\r\n“So, which restaurant?â€\r\n\r\n“That eel place.â€\r\n\r\n“The one in Bunkamura? OK.â€ They walked as far as they could through the underground passageway, but when they mounted the steps to the street they could see that the storm had started. The rain was heavy, with quite a wind, and Akiko frowned as she looked at it. Naoyuki didn’t seem much happier as he got his umbrella out.\r\n\r\n“A taxi to Bunkamura would be <em>really</em> excessive,â€ he commented as he got ready to step out, and Akiko had to agree. “Can you run in those heels?â€ Akiko sighed.\r\n\r\n“Not very fast. I’ll try.â€\r\n\r\nThey raised their umbrellas against the rain, and stepped out into the street. The sheer number of people meant that running quickly wasn’t an option, so Akiko had no trouble keeping up with Naoyuki, but the umbrella wasn’t completely effective, and she could feel enough rain on her legs to be very glad when they reached the shopping centre.\r\n\r\nBy chance, they had the elevator to the restaurant floor to themselves. Akiko shifted even closer to Naoyuki, and felt herself blushing as she reached up to whisper in his ear.\r\n\r\n“I’m not wearing any underwear.â€\r\n\r\nNaoyuki’s head whipped round to look at her, his eyes wide as he tried to peer down her top.\r\n\r\n“Really?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko’s face felt really hot now, and the heat was spreading down onto her chest. Now that she’d mentioned it, she was acutely aware that the material against her breasts was the camisole, and that the leather of her skirt touched her skin directly. She nodded in answer to Naoyuki’s question, and surreptitiously glanced at the reflective door of the elevator, confirming that nothing was actually visible.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki quickly reached out, and pulled the front of her camisole forward. Akiko let out an involuntary squeal, and batted his hand away, but was somewhat reassured to see that Naoyuki was blushing.\r\n\r\n“No… no panties either?â€ He was whispering, and the lift was almost there. Akiko shook her head, looking down, just as the door opened. She almost ran out, feeling both terribly embarrassed and embarrassingly excited.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki followed her with the most enormous grin plastered on his face, along with the remains of the blush, and rested a hand gently on her bottom as he bent down to gently kiss her cheek.\r\n\r\n“Are you sure you want to eat now? There are some hotels very close.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko giggled, and pushed him away.\r\n\r\n“Eel now.â€ She paused. “<em>That</em> later.â€', 'Elevator Confession', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'elevator-confession', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:22:41', '2009-01-08 02:22:41', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=104', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(105, 1, '2009-01-08 11:22:23', '2009-01-08 02:22:23', '', 'Elevator Confession', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '104-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:22:23', '2009-01-08 02:22:23', '', 104, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/104-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(106, 1, '2009-02-11 00:00:52', '2009-02-10 15:00:52', 'Akiko had sake with the eel, so she was already a bit tipsy when they left the restaurant to head to Roppongi and a night club. She confirmed that her face was bright red when they passed a mirror, and assumed that it was largely due to the alcohol, rather than to embarrassment at Naoyuki’s unflagging efforts to look up her skirt. She’d chosen well, however, and he had so far been disappointed. Not that he seemed particularly unhappy about it, however; he’d been unusually cheerful through dinner.\r\n\r\nThey dashed through the storm, which had got worse, arriving at the underground station just as the street was lit by a flash of lightning. The trains were quite crowded, giving Naoyuki all the excuse he needed to stand close to Akiko and try to subtly slide his hand up inside her skirt. She kept swatting it away, but she could tell she was grinning like an idiot, and anyway this skirt wouldn’t let him do that.\r\n\r\nAnother dash, quite a short one, brought them to the night club, and Naoyuki paid their cover charges without taking his eyes off Akiko. As soon as they were inside, he turned to her.\r\n\r\n“It’s warm in here. Let me take your jacket.â€ For a moment, Akiko thought she would refuse, but then she realised that it would be more fun with nothing over the camisole. She shrugged the jacket off and handed it to him.\r\n\r\n“Now buy me a drink.â€\r\n\r\n“Of course, your majesty.â€ Naoyuki grinned as he said it, and Akiko affected a haughty stare, striding out onto the dance floor.\r\n\r\nThe club was still fairly quiet, as it was early in the night, and Akiko was grateful, because she soon realised that it was a long time since she’d been to a club, and that she hadn’t kept up with the music or the dance styles. After a couple of minutes, she retreated to a table to drink with Naoyuki, watching the dancing women until she thought she could copy them well enough to not stand out.\r\n\r\nThen she stood up, glancing at Naoyuki, she hoped flirtatiously, and went out to dance.\r\n\r\nThe wall opposite the bar was one large mirror, and she used it to keep an eye on Naoyuki, as well as on her dance moves. She felt drunk enough to relax, but not too drunk to dance properly, and Naoyuki certainly seemed to have his eyes fixed on her. She spun round to look at him directly, and felt her nipples pressing against the thin material of the camisole. She spun back to the mirror to check whether they were visible.\r\n\r\nTamao was lying along the bar, his head at the inner end raised to stare at her. His eyes shone golden, and the purple, green and red gems of his skin caught the night club’s lights and scattered their many colours all across the room. The shards of light reflected off the mirror and ran across her camisole, almost as if they were deliberately drawing attention to her erect nipples.\r\n\r\nShe put her head down, and hurried back to the table.\r\n\r\n“We’re going to another club. Drink up now.â€ Naoyuki looked shocked, but he drained his glass and got up to follow her.', 'Dancing with the Kami', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'dancing-with-the-kami', '', '', '2009-02-11 07:22:48', '2009-02-10 22:22:48', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=106', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(107, 1, '2009-01-08 11:23:07', '2009-01-08 02:23:07', '', 'Dancing with the Kami', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '106-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:23:07', '2009-01-08 02:23:07', '', 106, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/106-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(108, 1, '2009-02-12 00:00:24', '2009-02-11 15:00:24', 'It wasn’t, Akiko decided, that she was that drunk. It was the rain making the road slippery, and the wind blowing her over. That was why she couldn’t walk in a straight line. There was another crash of thunder, and she giggled again, trying to run forward. Naoyuki hurried to keep up, holding on to her arm.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki was drunk, she decided. That was why he couldn’t keep the umbrella over her. She was soaking wet from the rain, but it was warm, so she didn’t care. When she looked down, she could see that her top was plastered to her skin, the shape of her nipples clearly visible in the fabric, but she noted with considerable satisfaction that the material had not gone transparent. <em>A good choice.</em> It occurred to her that people might be looking at her breasts, and she peered around suspiciously, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around. They were in a very quiet back street.\r\n\r\nThat gave her another idea.\r\n\r\n“Hey, Naoyuki. Let’s… you know… do it.â€ Naoyuki caught her up with the umbrella again.\r\n\r\n“Do what?â€\r\n\r\n“<em>You </em>know.â€ Really, he was being very dense. She reached for his trousers, and started trying to undo them. No underwear would make things a lot easier, she thought, but Naoyuki’s trousers were very fiddly, and why was he moving her hands away?\r\n\r\n“Come on, Akiko, time to go home.â€ She pouted.\r\n\r\n“I don’t want to go home. I want to have fun.â€ She danced away from him into the rain, and then slipped and fell over onto her bottom, her legs spread in front of her. As she laughed at her predicament, Naoyuki came to help her up.\r\n\r\n“You really can’t sit in that position, you know.â€\r\n\r\n“Did you see?â€ The idea was very funny, for some reason.\r\n\r\n“Of course. I don’t think anyone else did.â€ Akiko made a mock pout.\r\n\r\n“Oh. Pity.â€ Naoyuki put an arm around her waist, abandoning any attempt to keep the umbrella over her and practically carrying her.\r\n\r\n“It’s definitely time to get you home, Akiko. You’re far too drunk.â€\r\n\r\n“Am <em>not.</em> I’m just a bit tipsy. I can still dance. Watch.â€ She tried to pull away to dance again, but Naoyuki’s grip was too firm. She looked at him with pleading eyes, at his expression that seemed half way between a smile and a frown.\r\n\r\n“Are you cross with me, Naoyuki? Have I been bad?â€ It was her best attempt at a little girl voice, and it seemed to work. At any rate, the smile won.\r\n\r\n“You’ve been very bad. I’ll have to spank you when we get home.â€ Akiko squealed, and tried to run away,\r\n\r\n“Oh no, don’t spank me.â€ As she struggled, she fell over again, this time pulling Naoyuki down with her. He got her back to her feet, and they managed a few more steps down the street. Looking around, Akiko realised that it was familiar.\r\n\r\n“Hey! We’re just outside your flat!â€ Naoyuki nodded.\r\n\r\n“Finally. Come on, Akiko, Let’s get you inside and out of trouble.â€\r\n\r\n“Trouble is fun!â€\r\n\r\n“<em>Inside,</em> Akiko.â€', 'Getting Home', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'getting-home', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:24:07', '2009-01-08 02:24:07', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=108', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(109, 1, '2009-01-08 11:23:53', '2009-01-08 02:23:53', '', 'Getting Home', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '108-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:23:53', '2009-01-08 02:23:53', '', 108, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/108-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(110, 1, '2009-02-13 00:00:19', '2009-02-12 15:00:19', 'Akiko’s head was pounding in the morning light, and the inside of her mouth felt awful. For a few moments, she thought she would throw up, but the feeling passed.\r\n\r\n<em>Hangover,</em> she thought. <em>That’s something else I’ve not experienced in a long time.</em> As she collected her thoughts, she realised that she was completely naked, and lying on top of the futon. Blushing, she quickly pulled it over her and sat up on the bed.\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki?â€\r\n\r\n“In the living room,â€ came the reply. “You’re finally awake, then.â€\r\n\r\n“Mmm.â€ Akiko looked around for some clothes. She saw her skirt lying on the floor, and the camisole draped over a chair. No sign of the jacket in here, and, of course, no underwear. She suddenly realised that she was going to have to go home in her clubbing outfit. <em>I should have stashed a change of clothes here,</em> she thought.\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki?â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€\r\n\r\n“Have you got anything I can wear?â€\r\n\r\n“Do you need anything?â€ Akiko could feel herself going bright red at the thought of parading naked around Naoyuki’s flat.\r\n\r\n“Yes!â€\r\n\r\n“Oh.â€ Naoyuki sounded disappointed. “Well, there’s a shirt on the chair by the bed.â€\r\n\r\nIt was a white work shirt, and when Akiko put it on it came a short way down her thighs. She did it up, and looked in the mirror. It wasn’t too bad, but Naoyuki would get a show whenever she moved. Which was doubtless his intention. She could see that she was blushing again, but she resolved to ignore it. Naoyuki was her boyfriend. He’d seen her naked before. They’d bathed together. They’d had sex. It was silly to get embarrassed about appearing before him wearing nothing but his shirt. Yes, completely silly.\r\n\r\nEven though she was unconvinced, and still embarrassed, she went through to the living room, where she had a bigger shock. Naoyuki, properly dressed, was making breakfast.\r\n\r\n“How… What…?â€ He looked at her and grinned.\r\n\r\n“What do you think I do on the days you don’t stay over? Starve?â€ Actually, Akiko realised that she had assumed that he went to the convenience store. She really hadn’t thought he could cook. “I’ll make a promise. Every time you come round without any underwear, I’ll make breakfast.â€ Akiko felt herself blushing again, acutely aware of her state of undress, and she sat down, quickly pulling her chair close to the table.\r\n\r\nThe breakfast was actually quite good, and although Naoyuki kept trying to get her to undo the buttons on the shirt, Akiko held out. After they finished, Naoyuki cleared the plates away and Akiko stood up and stretched. As she finished, she realised that her boyfriend was staring at her groin, and, with a little scream, she dropped her arms. She’d forgotten how short the shirt was.\r\n\r\nAt that moment, she realised that she’d also forgotten about the snake in the shrine. No weird dreams. No worrying about mirrors, apart from one moment in that night club. And that could well have been the alcohol.\r\n\r\nMission accomplished, then.', 'At Naoyuki''s', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'at-naoyukis', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:24:41', '2009-01-08 02:24:41', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=110', 0, 'post', '', 3);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(111, 1, '2009-01-08 11:24:32', '2009-01-08 02:24:32', '', 'At Naoyuki''s', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '110-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:24:32', '2009-01-08 02:24:32', '', 110, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/110-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(112, 1, '2009-02-14 00:00:47', '2009-02-13 15:00:47', 'Sitting on the bus on the way home, Akiko was acutely conscious of what she was, and wasn’t, wearing. An outfit that had drawn attention in Shibuya on a Saturday night was very conspicuous on a Sunday afternoon in Kawasaki, and she berated herself once more for not preparing a more conservative outfit. She stared out of the window so that she wouldn’t have to look at the people she was sure were staring at her.\r\n\r\n“Ladies and gentlemen, due to road works we must make a diversion from the usual route. We will not miss any stops, but we will be delayed by approximately five minutes.â€\r\n\r\nThe announcement didn’t bother Akiko, as it wasn’t as if she was in a hurry to get anywhere. However, as the bus continued along the temporary route, she realised that it was headed in the direction of Tamao Shrine. She looked around nervously; was it really going to go past the shrine?\r\n\r\nThe bus started to climb the hill, and she realised that it was. She was, fortunately, sitting on the side of the bus away from the shrine, and she turned to stare resolutely out of the window once more, ignoring the reflections she could faintly see.\r\n\r\nAt the crest of the hill, with a piercing whine, the engine died and the bus came to a stop. The driver made a few attempts to start the engine, but it made very strange noises and did not catch. She heard the doors opening.\r\n\r\n“Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies. The bus seems to have broken down. I will try to fix it as quickly as possible, but anyone who wants to get off may do so. Once again, my apologies.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko risked a quick glance at the door. It opened directly on to the steps up to the shrine. Turning away again, she fixed her gaze on a small pottery cat decorating the wall of the house opposite. <em>You don’t get me that easily,</em> she thought.\r\n\r\nA couple of people got off, and then, as the bus continued to fail to move, a few more. Finally, the driver got back on.\r\n\r\n“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid I have to recommend that you get off. The following buses will follow a different diversion route; you can get them at the next stop. Just tell the driver you were on this bus, and you won’t have to pay.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko still refused to move. She would have to get off and face those steps, and then who knew what would happen? <em>It’s all just coincidences,</em> she told herself. <em>Just dreams and coincidences. There’s nothing to worry about.</em> Worry was growing inside her anyway. How many coincidences could she really believe in? And what about the things she saw when she wasn’t asleep.\r\n\r\n“Miss, I’m sorry, but this bus isn’t going anywhere but the depot now.â€ The driver had come to stand over her seat. Akiko sighed and nodded, getting up and turning to face the door, and the steps. Outside, it had started to rain, and she sighed. Of course it had. It was always raining these days.\r\n\r\nShe stepped down from the bus, and almost slipped as she turned to walk down the hill, trying to hold her umbrella against the rain. She was some way from the shrine before she realised she was holding her breath.', 'Bus Diversion', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'bus-diversion', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:25:13', '2009-01-08 02:25:13', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=112', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(113, 1, '2009-01-08 11:24:57', '2009-01-08 02:24:57', '', 'Bus Diversion', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '112-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:24:57', '2009-01-08 02:24:57', '', 112, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/112-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(114, 1, '2009-02-15 00:00:21', '2009-02-14 15:00:21', 'By the time Akiko got home, wet from the rain and mortified at what the people she passed must have thought of her, her good mood had been completely swept away. The image of the snake kept coming back to her, even though she had managed to get away from the shrine without incident. She slammed the door behind her more violently than was necessary, and struggled out of her boots, dropping her jacket in the entrance hall. In the main room she pulled the curtains closed and then took her top off, draping it over the table. She pulled a bra out of the closet and put it on, her mood settling a little immediately.\r\n\r\nFully dressed, she was a lot calmer, and could feel the colour draining from her cheeks as her embarrassment faded. She swore to herself that she would never do that again, as she opened the curtains. It didn’t let a lot of light in; the clouds had darkened, and rain was falling heavily. Akiko sighed and sat down on the floor. She’d been hoping to go out shopping to take her mind off the shrine, but she wasn’t about to go out in that sort of weather. She looked around for something to read as she reached up to turn the light on, and settled on a magazine.\r\n\r\nThe rain continued to pound on the window as she read, the noise fading into the background. After a while, the light seemed to fade a little, and she glanced up. The light was still on, but outside it was almost completely dark, even though it was still afternoon. She pulled the curtains shut again, blocking out the driving rain, and sat down to read again.\r\n\r\nAfter a few minutes she decided it was definitely getting darker, and looked up at the light again. It seemed to be shining through mist, its light scattered into a sort of halo around the bulb. Frowning, Akiko stood up to get a better look. The mist around the light thickened as she did so, and she realised that it covered the whole ceiling. The mist became a layer of white clouds, like an overcast sky, and thickened further to grey, then black, the underside starting to boil as if agitated by a strong wind. Akiko reached up, her hands vanishing into the clouds, and felt their cold wetness on her hands.\r\n\r\nHer stomach lurched as panic began to build. She stretched, standing on tip-toe, until her fingers brushed the ceiling, and she was reassured to find that it was still there.\r\n\r\nA drop of water fell on her arm, and then on her face, and looking around she realised that it had started raining. Stung into action, she gathered everything she could find, covering them with her coats and jackets as the rain strengthened.\r\n\r\nWith a flash and bang, the light fused and went out, plunging the room into darkness. The rain got heavier, and the room was lit once more by a flash of lightning, followed after a couple of seconds by a rumble of thunder. Akiko crouched on the floor in the darkness, breathing heavily. <em>I fell asleep reading. This is a dream. This is a dream.</em> The rain got heavier, and she could feel the tatami mats getting wet under foot as the water soaked into her clothes.\r\n\r\nLightning flashed again, revealing a bank of mist around the edges of the room, a thick white fog that hid the walls from sight. The thunder crashed a bare second later, but Akiko was already dashing for for the door. She was there in two steps, and could feel the mist cold against her body. The wall and door were still there beyond, sensible to her groping hands, and she searched wildly for the handle.\r\n\r\nThe metal was cold and wet under her hand, and she twisted and pushed. The door did not respond. The fog around her was illuminated by another flash of lightning, the deafening thunder occurring at the same moment, and Akiko staggered back from the bright whiteness.\r\n\r\nIn the blackness she felt herself begin to sob, panic overwhelming her at last. She drew a deep breath and screamed, desperate for someone, anyone, to come and help. Her scream was drowned out by thunder, as the lightning showed her cocooned within black clouds, none of the surfaces of the room visible. Her table still reared up out of the roiling fog, but there was no other sign of her room, and even the feeling under foot had changed, from wet tatami to something soft and shifting, almost but not quite like water.\r\n\r\nLight began to filter in from behind her, in the direction that ought to be the window. She turned, hoping to see out, and saw a glow within the mist, which seemed to be thinning. Shapes started to resolve themselves, and she took a step back, away from it, as the mist receded to leave a corridor of cloud leading to a shining white torii.\r\n\r\nBeyond it she could see the shrine grounds, bathed in sunlight, the green grass sparkling with dew, and beyond it the pale wood of the shrine building supporting the copper roof, which burned orange. The scent of flowers drifted to her, while the rain continued.\r\n\r\nLightning and thunder again, and the doors of the shrine opened to let the snake, Tamao, emerge. He slid gracefully down the steps, scales shining in the sunlight, and raised his head to look at her. Akiko knew he was inviting her to walk down the tunnel to the shrine, and she found herself shifting her weight in preparation.\r\n\r\nShaking her head violently, she forced herself to step backward.\r\n\r\n“No!â€ she screamed. “I won’t go! You aren’t real!â€ She took another step back, and another, and the mists closed in on the tunnel as the light faded. Another step and she was within the fog on the opposite wall. One more and she felt her back against the wall.\r\n\r\nAnd the clouds vanished, leaving her in her room. A room thoroughly wet from the rain, with black scorch marks around the useless light. Akiko, still soaking wet, looked around in the faint light that came in from the window, and then reached her hands up to the ceiling.\r\n\r\nThe ceiling was dry. Not a burst pipe then. Rain in the room.\r\n\r\nShe sank to her knees on the sodden floor, struggling to come to terms with a new reality.\r\n\r\n<em>On to <a href="http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/category/02-double-life/">Part 2: Double Life</a>.</em>', 'Raining Inside', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'raining-inside', '', '', '2009-04-13 06:54:19', '2009-04-12 21:54:19', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=114', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(115, 1, '2009-01-08 11:25:37', '2009-01-08 02:25:37', '', 'Raining Inside', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '114-revision', '', '', '2009-01-08 11:25:37', '2009-01-08 02:25:37', '', 114, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/08/114-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(116, 1, '2009-01-13 07:11:32', '2009-01-12 22:11:32', 'The first tremor was small, creating ripples in the surface of Akiko’s coffee. She picked it up in both hands, enjoying the warmth of the cup and savouring the rich aroma, another tremor shook the flat, the rattle of the windows an alarm. Akiko looked around as it died down, but there was no sign of damage.\n\nThe next tremor threw her to the floor, sending the table sliding across the room to smash into the windows in a cloud of broken glass. The tatami matting was rough under Akiko’s cheek, scraping her skin as she slid along the floor. She tasted fear in her mouth, and panic rose from her stomach to clutch at her throat. The floor shook again, and Akiko smelled gas, strongly.\n\nPushing herself to her feet, she tried to run for the door, the ground as unsteady as the deck of a ship at sea. The hallway was dark, and for a moment her searching hands could not find the lock or the handle. The door stuck as she pushed, and the terror that she might be trapped gave her the strength to push harder, forcing it open.\n\nSunlight poured in, filtered through thousands upon thousands of dancing motes of liquid gold, the dust of the city thrown into the air. The crunching and screeching noises of collapsing buildings drowned out any other sound, and Akiko searched for safe footing among the rubble as she tried to get away from the building.\n\nThe gas explosion was too loud to be heard, the wave of pressure throwing Akiko to the ground, hard against a fallen tree, its branches digging into her stomach. She tasted metal in her mouth, and spat the bright crimson of blood onto the tree as the heat from the fire reached her.\n\nThe pain in her stomach was intense as she tried to push herself to a standing position, her feet slipping out from under her. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up.\n\nSupported on a pinnacle of rock thrust high out of the ground, its sides gleaming new where they had been ripped from the earth, was Tamao Shrine. The sun reflected off the warm orange of the copper roof, and the leaves of the trees still caught the light, dancing green as if there was no crisis, no urgency at all. At the very edge of the spire stood the torii, shining white. For a moment, the shrine hung still above her, and Akiko could hear the whispers of the leaves.\n\nThen the rock shifted with a scream almost human in its agony, and the earthy smell of a forest floor washed over her, quickly followed by the stench of rot. The torii tilted towards her, and rocks poured out in front of it. Akiko could only stare as they seemed to form a staircase suspended in the air; she could see a path to the torii, stepping from one plummeting stone to another.\n\nAnd then the lowest stone struck her.', 'Earthquake', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '37-autosave', '', '', '2009-01-13 07:11:32', '2009-01-12 22:11:32', '', 37, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/13/37-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(117, 1, '2008-12-26 07:55:36', '2008-12-25 22:55:36', 'The first tremor was small, creating ripples in the surface of Akiko’s coffee. She picked it up in both hands, enjoying the warmth of the cup and savouring the rich aroma, an another tremor shook the flat, the rattle of the windows an alarm. Akiko looked around as it died down, but there was no sign of damage.\r\n\r\nThe next tremor threw her to the floor, sending the table sliding across the room to smash into the windows in a cloud of broken glass. The tatami matting was rough under Akiko’s cheek, scraping her skin as she slid along the floor. She tasted fear in her mouth, and panic rose from her stomach to clutch at her throat. The floor shook again, and Akiko smelled gas, strongly.\r\n\r\nPushing herself to her feet, she tried to run for the door, the ground as unsteady as the deck of a ship at sea. The hallway was dark, and for a moment her searching hands could not find the lock or the handle. The door stuck as she pushed, and the terror that she might be trapped gave her the strength to push harder, forcing it open.\r\n\r\nSunlight poured in, filtered through thousands upon thousands of dancing motes of liquid gold, the dust of the city thrown into the air. The crunching and screeching noises of collapsing buildings drowned out any other sound, and Akiko searched for safe footing among the rubble as she tried to get away from the building.\r\n\r\nThe gas explosion was too loud to be heard, the wave of pressure throwing Akiko to the ground, hard against a fallen tree, its branches digging into her stomach. She tasted metal in her mouth, and spat the bright crimson of blood onto the tree as the heat from the fire reached her.\r\n\r\nThe pain in her stomach was intense as she tried to push herself to a standing position, her feet slipping out from under her. A shadow fell over her, and she looked up.\r\n\r\nSupported on a pinnacle of rock thrust high out of the ground, its sides gleaming new where they had been ripped from the earth, was Tamao Shrine. The sun reflected off the warm orange of the copper roof, and the leaves of the trees still caught the light, dancing green as if there was no crisis, no urgency at all. At the very edge of the spire stood the torii, shining white. For a moment, the shrine hung still above her, and Akiko could hear the whispers of the leaves.\r\n\r\nThen the rock shifted with a scream almost human in its agony, and the earthy smell of a forest floor washed over her, quickly followed by the stench of rot. The torii tilted towards her, and rocks poured out in front of it. Akiko could only stare as they seemed to form a staircase suspended in the air; she could see a path to the torii, stepping from one plummeting stone to another.\r\n\r\nAnd then the lowest stone struck her.', 'Earthquake', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '37-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-26 07:55:36', '2008-12-25 22:55:36', '', 37, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/26/37-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(118, 1, '2009-02-16 00:00:41', '2009-02-15 15:00:41', 'Akiko wasn’t sure how long she stayed sitting on the floor. Her sodden clothes hung heavily on her, and further wetness seeped through from the tatami mat. She found herself shivering, and forced herself to get up.\r\n\r\nLooking into the closet, she found that it had not, apparently, rained in there, although water had seeped in under the doors, and she was able to find clothes that were more-or-less dry. She quickly dried herself and changed, discovering that the entrance hall, bathroom, and kitchen were also unaffected, and then turned her attention back to the main room.\r\n\r\nIt was still wet, and as she ran her hand over the soaked tatami, Akiko’s mind was utterly confused. One part was insisting that it was simply not possible for it to rain inside, while another part was insisting that it had. It occurred to her that she might still be dreaming, but the sounds and light from the street were too normal, the situation too coherent. It really didn’t seem like a dream. Shaking her head, she forced herself to concentrate on dealing with the consequences of whatever it was.\r\n\r\nFortunately, the rain outside had stopped, and Akiko was able to hang her futon out on the balcony railing. Her mad dash to cover things up seemed to have had some success, and in the light from the streetlights outside she was able to sort out what still needing drying. Her work clothes had been in the closet, and so were only a little damp, and she hung them out to dry properly. The tatami were a problem, however, and she settled for soaking up as much water as she could with towels, and leaving the doors and windows open.\r\n\r\nAs soon as she stopped, however, she remembered the tunnel of mist, and the shining shrine at the end of it. Now that the chance had passed, she found herself wondering what would have happened if she had walked through it. Would she have ended up in the shrine? The image of Tamao was disturbingly clear in her mind. What was he? Why was he bothering her?\r\n\r\nA pale sky in the east announced the coming of dawn before Akiko had slept, or even come close to finding any answers. Looking out of the window, she found herself coming, very reluctantly, to a conclusion.\r\n\r\nShe had to go back to the shrine. Everything had started when she went there in the storm, everything seemed connected to it, and something was trying to get her to go there. If she was going to have any chance of working out what was happening to her, and stopping it, she was going to have to go back voluntarily. And, if she got ready now, she would have time to do it before she went to work.\r\n\r\nIn the shower, the falling water reminded her of the rainstorm, provoking a moment of panic. She forced it down, telling herself sternly that it was just the shower, and it stayed just the shower until she finished. No rain fell as she dressed, leaving her tights off until she she had closed her windows and dried her feet again. She left the door to the main room open, and the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom on. Looking back from the entrance hall, she decided it was the best she could do.\r\n\r\nAkiko realised that she was delaying. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the front door open, and set off for the shrine.', 'Aftermath', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'aftermath', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:51:57', '2009-01-14 02:51:57', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=118', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(119, 1, '2009-01-14 11:51:50', '2009-01-14 02:51:50', '', 'Aftermath', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '118-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:51:50', '2009-01-14 02:51:50', '', 118, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/118-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(120, 1, '2009-02-17 00:00:03', '2009-02-16 15:00:03', 'Akiko was most of the way up the hill when she realised that she had been slowing down. Frowning to herself, she deliberately picked up the pace, hoping to have a bit of time at the shrine before she had to go to work.\r\n\r\nEven so, she came to a stop at the base of the steps, looking up the stairs. The blue sky was bright through the torii, its dark stone a stark contrast. The steps themselves were in dark shadow from the surrounding trees, which whispered in the gentle breeze, an approving sign. The sun was warm on Akiko’s back, and the whole setting felt calm. So why was she waiting at the bottom of the steps?\r\n\r\nConvincing herself that there was no reason, Akiko started up the steps, climbing steadily, refusing to let herself slow down. As her angle changed, the rich green roof of the shrine building came into view, followed by the walls, followed by the figure of the shrine priest.\r\n\r\nAkiko came to a sudden stop, the memory of her last confrontation with Shiraishi flooding back in perfect clarity. She hesitated for only a moment before turning and hurrying back down the steps before she was seen; she could not face being accused of plotting a swindle again.\r\n\r\nAkiko didn’t stop hurrying until she arrived at work, which meant that she was very early. She sat at her desk, in the quiet office, and nodded in acknowledgement to Mr Tanaka, there before her. As soon as she sat down, exhaustion struck her, as she realised that she hadn’t slept all night. Pressing her hands to her forehead, she got up to get a coffee, hoping that she would be able to get through the day.\r\n\r\nAs she worked, she considered her strategy. She still felt that she couldn’t make any progress without visiting the shrine, but she couldn’t face meeting Shiraishi. Was there any time when the priest wasn’t around? The shrine had been very quiet in the middle of the night, when she sleepwalked there, so maybe that was the answer. The more she considered it, the more it seemed to be, and by lunch time she had decided to visit the shrine that night.\r\n\r\nDuring the lunch hour, she got a phone call from Naoyuki.\r\n\r\n“Akiko, it’s me. Tonight’s nomikai has been cancelled; the boss isn’t feeling well. Come round, and remember the deal.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko panicked for a moment, suddenly sure that she couldn’t wait even another day before trying to do something about the problems.\r\n\r\n“I… I can’t…â€ she stuttered out.\r\n\r\n“It’s OK if you do breakfast.â€ For a moment, Naoyuki’s comment made absolutely no sense to her, and then she remembered his promise to make breakfast if she wore no underwear. She felt herself blushing, and hurried to explain.\r\n\r\n“No, sorry, I meant I’m afraid I can’t go round tonight. I… I have a terrible headache. I think I need to get an early night.â€ She realised that it was not entirely a lie; her head was throbbing.\r\n\r\n“Oh.â€ Naoyuki sounded really disappointed. “Are you sure that I can’t make you feel better?â€\r\n\r\n“I just need a rest.â€\r\n\r\n“I suppose you’d better stay home then. OK. Well, see you next time there’s a chance.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko was about to reply when she realised that Naoyuki had hung up on her. She put her phone back in her bag, and went to get yet another coffee.', 'Avoidance', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'avoidance', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:52:39', '2009-01-14 02:52:39', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=120', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(121, 1, '2009-01-14 11:52:31', '2009-01-14 02:52:31', '', 'Avoidance', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '120-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:52:31', '2009-01-14 02:52:31', '', 120, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/120-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(122, 1, '2009-02-18 00:00:45', '2009-02-17 15:00:45', 'Akiko stood at the bottom of the steps to the shrine, the night air slightly chill, and she hugged herself, partly to reassure herself that she really was wearing the thick coat. The area was quiet, with no lights showing in the surrounding houses, and the few streetlights only relieved the gloom to the extent that she could see that the steps were there. Peering up, she thought that she could just make out the torii. Sounds were even clearer than normal; the rustle of twigs in the trees, the sounds of small animals moving around, and, from a direction she couldn’t quite place, the drip of water into a pool.\r\n\r\nShe realised that she was still standing at the bottom of the steps, and forced herself to start climbing. Even in trainers, her footfalls sounded loud in the stillness, at least until a car went past a few streets over, drowning them out completely. At the top of the steps, she paused just outside the torii, looking for something.\r\n\r\nThe precincts were lit, with two lights under the eaves of the shrine, one over the water basin, and a handful of others scattered across the grass. The illumination was dim, but bright enough for Akiko to be able to see the area within the trees clearly. She looked over at the shrine house, but there were no lights there, and no signs of life.\r\n\r\nTaking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, she bowed her head as she stepped through the torii, half expecting the sun to come out. Nothing changed. Halfway between relief and disappointment, she went over to the water basin to purify herself. The source of the dripping sound was the dragon-shaped water pipe standing over the basin, dispensing a slow drip rather than the normal gentle stream. The ripples in the surface caught the light, and Akiko watched them for a moment before taking the ladle to rinse her hands and mouth.\r\n\r\nAs she moved around the shrine after praying, she could see nothing in the shadows under the trees, but the only sounds were of small animals. The smell of earth and plants, with a faint hint of fried noodles and sake (someone’s dinner?) was calming, but gave her no help with understanding her situation. Within the trees, she could see clearly, discarded wrappers and a couple of empty bottles standing out against the grass, but there was nothing strange.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, she felt a growing tension, a nervousness, as she walked around. She was supposed to be doing something. She kept glancing at the shrine building, but it remained dark and quiet. She walked round behind it, where there were fewer lights and, she thought, more pieces of litter. Her nerves increased as she spotted a strange dark shape, but as she cautiously approached she realised that it was just a collection of large stones, almost lost in the gloom.\r\n\r\nShe walked back to the front of the building, her stomach now churning with tension. She tried to sit down, but she found she couldn’t stay still for more than a moment. The sense of urgency was almost overwhelming, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do.\r\n\r\nSuddenly, she remembered the dream of the picnic, and the wounds that had been inflicted on the kami with every piece of litter. Hurrying over to the nearest wrapper she could see, she picked it up. The tension subsided for a moment, but then started to build until she hurried to pick up another one.\r\n\r\nShe gathered litter until her hands were full, and then left to find somewhere to dispose of it.', 'Night Visit', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'night-visit', '', '', '2009-02-18 20:49:11', '2009-02-18 11:49:11', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=122', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(123, 1, '2009-01-14 11:53:10', '2009-01-14 02:53:10', '', 'Night Visit', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '122-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:53:10', '2009-01-14 02:53:10', '', 122, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/122-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(124, 1, '2009-02-19 00:00:22', '2009-02-18 15:00:22', 'When Akiko got back home the following night, there was a stern note on her door from the landlord, warning her about the water “leakâ€, but the tatami was finally dry. She waited for it to get late, and then left for the shrine again, this time with a bag to put the litter in, and she gathered quite a lot. When she got home, she felt at peace with herself, and fell asleep quickly.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, she still had to get up within a few hours, and she was very tired when she got into the office. Satomi commented on it, but Akiko brushed the implied question away, relying on coffee to get her through the day. It seemed to work, and she got to five o’clock without any major problems. That night, she went to the shrine as early as she dared, taking a torch to help her find more litter, particularly around the back, but it was still very late before her mood settled and she felt able to start home with her sack of rubbish.\r\n\r\nThe next morning, Mr Kanayama brought her a pile of papers, with complex instructions about preparing them for a meeting. She listened as carefully as she could, given her sleepy state, and, as soon as her boss left, she sat down to make notes on what was needed, so that she wouldn’t forget. She realised that Megumi was staring at her.\r\n\r\n“What?â€\r\n\r\n“Did you really remember all those instructions?â€\r\n\r\n“I think so…â€ Akiko looked back down at her notes. Everything she could remember was there, and there didn’t seem to be any obvious gaps.\r\n\r\n“Wow. Good luck.â€ With that, Megumi went back to her own work. Akiko realised that Satomi had looked over, but the other woman just smiled and shrugged, indicating her own pile of documents. Akiko smiled back, to thank her for the implied apology, and then headed for the photocopier.\r\n\r\nThe first forty sheets she copied were useless, because she’d put the original on the glass the wrong way round. Annoyed with herself, she checked very carefully before starting again, and then found that she’d made twenty copies more than were necessary. She decided that she needed more coffee before continuing.\r\n\r\nThe next set to do was a stack of fifty charts, all in colour, of which she had to make thirty sets. She checked that the originals were all properly mounted in the feeder, confirmed the paper levels, and then watched the first few sheets come out, making sure that they were all orientated correctly, the right size, and in colour. Everything was fine, so she went to sort out the next bit while the copier was working; she didn’t have time to babysit the machine.\r\n\r\nWhen she went back, it had finished, but as she picked the papers up she felt as though her heart stopped beating. All the later sheets were in black and white. She went down the pile; the first few, the ones she had checked, were in colour. Quickly, she ran a test copy of a single sheet; colour. How could the setting have changed? She hadn’t seen anyone go near the copier, and anyway, why would anyone do that?\r\n\r\nShe looked at the clock; already late. Resigning herself to working into the night, Akiko set the papers up again, determined to watch them this time.', 'Work Problems', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'work-problems', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:53:50', '2009-01-14 02:53:50', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=124', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(125, 1, '2009-01-14 11:53:46', '2009-01-14 02:53:46', '', 'Work Problems', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '124-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:53:46', '2009-01-14 02:53:46', '', 124, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/124-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(126, 1, '2009-02-20 00:00:57', '2009-02-19 15:00:57', 'By the time Akiko got home, having left the sets of papers for Mr Kanayama, it was already late enough to go to the shrine, but as she pulled off her shoes she decided to skip it and just go to bed. Although the weird thing with the colour copying was hard to blame on tiredness — those first few sheets <em>had been</em> colour— the numerous other mistakes that had doubled the length of time needed were not. She felt exhausted, and it was having an impact on her work. Surely the shrine could wait one night. Akiko pulled off her clothes and wrapped herself in the futon.\r\n\r\nThe ground in the shrine was heaving, rippling like the surface of the sea, throwing up bits of litter and threatening to suck Akiko under. She struggled to remain upright, but lost her footing, and then dirt fell on her face.\r\n\r\nAkiko jerked awake, sitting up in the futon, which had fallen over her face. She was shaking, and she got out of bed, putting her pyjamas on while she calmed down.\r\n\r\nThe waters around the shrine stank, and Akiko could not identify some of the things floating in them. Given what she could identify, she didn’t look too hard. The waves undermined the torii, and it collapsed into the filth with a great splash. Akiko jumped backwards, but some drops of the foulness landed on her, burning against her skin as she tried to brush them off, leaving red marks behind.\r\n\r\nShe turned, to see that the waters had started to undermine the rear of the shrine building. The timbers groaned in protest, and then started to shriek. A blast of wind brought a wall of stench that made her gag, and a cloud of droplets that scorched her skin. She realised that Tamao was still in the shrine, and ran forward, as the fetid water lapped at her heels.\r\n\r\nBreathing hard, Akiko forced her eyes open. She was drenched in sweat, but she stayed lying in bed, refusing to move, sure that she would be asleep again soon.\r\n\r\nShe was flying over Kawasaki, a landscape of slums and urban decay. A group of homeless huddled round a fire in a car, and a group of youths were beating another as he cried for help, ignored by passers-by. She passed over the shrine, the house a burnt-out shell and the shrine itself missing part of its roof, the precincts covered with litter. Her angle of view changed, and as she saw the man using the inside of the shrine as a toilet she was suddenly falling from the air towards the rubble and broken glass of a collapsed factory.\r\n\r\nAkiko’s scream woke her up. She looked at her watch in the light from outside; three am. She didn’t feel as though she had slept at all, and was sure that she wouldn’t. She put the light on, and started gathering the things she needed to go and clean the shrine.', 'Sleepless Night', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sleepless-night', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:54:34', '2009-01-14 02:54:34', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=126', 0, 'post', '', 4);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(127, 1, '2009-01-14 11:54:24', '2009-01-14 02:54:24', '', 'Sleepless Night', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '126-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:54:24', '2009-01-14 02:54:24', '', 126, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/126-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(128, 1, '2009-02-21 00:00:40', '2009-02-20 15:00:40', 'The cool air woke her up a bit, and she found that just being at the shrine calmed her down a lot. She had half filled her rubbish bag, poking around with her torch at the edges of the wood, when she heard the sound of someone clapping at the shrine.\r\n\r\nShe spun round, heart in her mouth, afraid that it would be the priest. She soon saw that it wasn’t; it was a man, and she realised that she had met him here before. After a moment, she remembered his name; Mr Takenaka. He straightened up from his final bow, and looked straight at her, then kept an eye on her as he descended the steps. She decided it would be best to go to talk to him, since he might have recognised her.\r\n\r\nAs they drew closer, he broke the silence.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata, isn’t it?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes. Mr Takenaka, right?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, nice to see you again. What exactly are you doing here at this time?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko realised that she could ask exactly the same question, except that she was pretty sure that Mr Takenaka had a much better relationship with Shiraishi than she did.\r\n\r\n“I was, er, cleaning.â€ As she said it, she realised how strange it would sound, and she lifted her bag of rubbish, holding it out as proof. Mr Takenaka glanced at it, and nodded.\r\n\r\n“Very good of you. But why at this time of night?â€\r\n\r\n“I, um, I couldn’t sleep, and so…â€ Akiko trailed off, acutely aware that she must sound ridiculous and look suspicious, but Mr Takenaka only nodded again.\r\n\r\n“I know what you mean.â€ He sighed, and looked around. “This shrine used to be a really calming place, you know? Just coming here made me feel better, and I could always sleep again when I got home. These days, though…â€ His voice trailed off, and Akiko saw that he was lost in thought. She waited, not liking to interrupt, and after a short pause he turned to address her again.\r\n\r\n“Does Revd Shiraishi know that you’re doing the cleaning?â€ Akiko shook her head vigorously, and then blushed.\r\n\r\n“No, I haven’t told her.â€ She hoped that the blush would be invisible in the dark.\r\n\r\n“Oh, well I could. She’d appreciate it, I know. She’s very short-handed at the shrine.â€\r\n\r\n“Ah, no, I’d rather you didn’t.â€ Akiko spoke quickly as soon as he paused. “I’d rather she didn’t know.â€ Mr Takenaka looked puzzled.\r\n\r\n“Why ever not?â€\r\n\r\nNow Akiko was really embarrassed. She had no idea how to answer the question without looking stupid, mad, or both.\r\n\r\n“We… We had an argument…â€ She was still trying to think of something sensible to say when she saw that Mr Takenaka was stifling a smile and nodding.\r\n\r\n“I see.â€ Akiko was baffled. What on earth did he think he understood? Did he know about the kami? For a moment, she was tempted to ask him, but the thought of what he would say if she were wrong quickly dissuaded her. “Well,â€ he continued, “I won’t tell her, but I’m sure she’s very grateful anyway. Good night.â€ With a slight bow, he took his leave, and Akiko was alone in the shrine once more.', 'Night Encounter', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'night-encounter', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:55:09', '2009-01-14 02:55:09', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=128', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(129, 1, '2009-01-14 11:55:03', '2009-01-14 02:55:03', '', 'Night Encounter', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '128-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:55:03', '2009-01-14 02:55:03', '', 128, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/128-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(130, 1, '2009-02-22 00:00:15', '2009-02-21 15:00:15', 'Akiko still wasn’t entirely settled when Mr Takenaka left, so she decided to gather a bit more litter before trying to leave. She strongly suspected that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she tried to go too early, anyway. She went back to the edge of the wood, the ground uneven, the soil shifting slightly underfoot. She shone her torch into the shadows at the bases of the trees and in the undergrowth, looking for the flashes of colour that indicated rubbish. A chill breeze made her shiver, and the trees rustled in apparent sympathy.\r\n\r\nA low sound broke the stillness, a grating sound, like two large rocks sliding over each other. The ground did not move, but Akiko still looked around nervously, casting the beam of her torch around. She could see nothing different, even when she trained the beam on the group of rocks behind the shrine, and after a few seconds the sound stopped.\r\n\r\nSlightly puzzled, Akiko went back to collecting rubbish. She stepped over a tree root, and stumbled as the ground shook slightly. The grating sound of sliding rocks was larger this time, and Akiko ran out of the woods, into the open ground, in case the earthquake got worse. By the time she was standing by the shrine, the ground was still again. The noise of grinding rocks had still not stopped, however, and it seemed to be coming from the stones behind the shrine.\r\n\r\nCautiously, Akiko moved a bit closer to get a better view of them. She couldn’t see any obvious movement, and she shone her torch on them, its light casting sharp shadows of one rock on another. The individual stones were large, one taller than she was, and a very deep green, with swirling white veins running through them. She could see four, one set vertically, with two others leaning against it over a horizontal one at the base, and they seemed completely still, even as the grinding sound continued, and even got louder.\r\n\r\nKeeping her distance, Akiko began to move round the rocks, wondering if there was another one round the back. As she lifted her foot to take a step, the ground kicked up, sharply, and she lost her balance, shrieking in surprise as she dropped the torch and little bag, throwing her hands out to catch herself as she fell.\r\n\r\nThe ground was cold, and both her hands landed on several sharp pebbles, leaving them grazed and bleeding. Her torch went out as it hit the ground, and she heard it rolling across the grass, a thin, tinny sound. Sucking her breath in at the pressure on her smarting palms, she pushed herself up to a kneeling position, looking up at the rocks as she started to stand up.\r\n\r\nThere was a light within the rocks, a deep, angry red, like a banked fire or lava in the heart of a volcano. It brightened, its source apparently hidden in the crevice where the four rocks met, and as it did so, a blast of warm air struck Akiko in the face. The light faded again, almost disappearing, and then brightened again, warm, dry air heavy with the smell of hot metal blowing over Akiko. She found that she couldn’t summon up the will to move, instead sitting fascinated by the light. It strengthened again, and this time the wind, very warm this time, was accompanied by a slight tremor in the earth, which passed as the light faded once more.\r\n\r\nThe pulsing continued, each interval shorter than the last, the light brighter, the wind stronger and hotter and the tremor worse every time. Akiko’s paralysis was replaced by terror, panic pouring through her as a hot wind blew over her, and she sprang to her feet. As she did so, the earth shook again, violently, and she lost her balance, falling back to the earth, tasting soil in her mouth as she sprawled in the dirt. She looked up, and a strong wind as hot as an oven blew grit into her eyes, making them sting and water.\r\n\r\nShe tried to push herself upright, but the tremors were too strong, every time she fell back onto her stomach. Looking up, she could see the rocks, apparently unaffected by the quakes, and the red light burning within them, now bright and hot enough to make her eyes water if she looked directly at it, a rising sun held within a rocky embrace.\r\n\r\nThe wind was constant now, and hot, although it still pulsed stronger and weaker, faster and faster, and the clouds of grit blown from the rocks forced Akiko to keep her eyes closed. She pressed her face against the soil, gripping the shaking ground with her hands, whispering desperate apologies to she knew not what.\r\n\r\nThere was a deafening crash of thunder, felt as much as heard, shaking her bones and making her shiver to her core, with a flash of lightning so bright that she could see it, red through her eyelids, even though she had her face down. And then the rain came, falling straight down, heavier than she could ever remember, soaking her in moments and turning the earth she was lying on to mud, which seeped into her clothes.\r\n\r\nShe tried once more to lift her head, looking at the rocks, at the red light from within them, which still shone brightly, the rain steaming as it struck the rocks around it. The wind had dropped, and the earth was no longer shaking, so Akiko tried once more to stand up, caked in mud. As she did so, the wind started again, blowing the rain straight at her. The rain was heavy, but warm, and even as it soaked her to the skin, she was not chilled. The wind was so strong that she had to lean against it to avoid being blown backwards, but she did manage to stand up.\r\n\r\nNot sure why she did it, she managed to bow twice, clap twice, and then bow one final time.\r\n\r\nThe light vanished, the rain and wind stopping as if someone had thrown a switch. The ground was still wet, covered with puddles, and Akiko was drenched, but clean, the rain having washed all the mud from her. Nervous, she grabbed her torch and bag of litter, and hurried from the shrine.\r\n\r\nThe path from the shrine building to the torii was dry.', 'Within the Stones', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'within-the-stones', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:55:49', '2009-01-14 02:55:49', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=130', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(131, 1, '2009-01-14 11:55:34', '2009-01-14 02:55:34', '', 'Within the Stones', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '130-revision', '', '', '2009-01-14 11:55:34', '2009-01-14 02:55:34', '', 130, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/14/130-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(132, 1, '2008-12-26 07:56:49', '2008-12-25 22:56:49', 'The next day at work, Akiko found herself drinking coffee almost constantly in a bid to stay awake. She couldn’t understand why she was so sleepy; a couple of disturbed nights shouldn’t have such a strong effect. As lunchtime approached, she frowned at the screen yet again, as a decision that ought to have been easy took far too long because she just couldn’t get the request straight in her mind.\r\n\r\n“Lunch?â€ It was Satomi. Akiko shook her head quickly, trying to break the reverie she had fallen into, and then smiled and nodded.\r\n\r\n“Of course.â€\r\n\r\n“Chinese today.â€\r\n\r\n“That sounds great.â€ Akiko was genuinely pleased; the Chinese restaurant, although a bit noisy because it was directly under the railway, was both good and inexpensive, unlike most of the other places her colleagues tried to take her.\r\n\r\nMegumi started interrogating her as soon as they were in the restaurant.\r\n\r\n“You’re looking very sleepy, Akiko. Naoyuki keeping you awake at nights?â€ Akiko almost wished that she had never mentioned her boyfriend to them, but this was still better than Megumi needling her about not having a partner.\r\n\r\n“He’s on a business trip. I just didn’t sleep well.â€ Megumi looked disappointed, but didn’t pursue the conversation. In the silence, Akiko chose to study the menu.\r\n\r\nOnce they had ordered, Satomi took the lead.\r\n\r\n“Well, what do you think of Tanaka’s promotion?â€ She looked at the two of them, obviously expecting an answer. Akiko had been surprised, but she’d always thought that Tanaka was the best of the new recruits, even though his university was some place up in Tohoku. She glanced at the other two, looking for a hint.\r\n\r\n“He was at Mountain Cottage University, wasn’t her?â€ Megumi was almost sneering.\r\n\r\n“It wasn’t actually called that, you know.â€ Akiko felt safe defending him that far.\r\n\r\n“Well, some place in the back of beyond. Nowhere anyone’s heard of.â€\r\n\r\n“Mm, well.â€ Akiko certainly didn’t want to try to defend his university.\r\n\r\n“They didn’t promote his university,â€ Satomi said. “I think it was a good choice.â€\r\n\r\n“Hagiwara graduated from Waseda,â€ Megumi pointed out, sulkily.\r\n\r\n“Yes, but Tanaka is much better at his job,â€ Akiko said, more confident now.\r\n\r\n“How would you know?â€ Megumi seemed to realise that it was a silly question as she asked it, but Akiko still felt the need to defend herself.\r\n\r\n“You can tell just from the documents he gives us to photocopy, even without thinking about the meetings. I mean…â€ She stopped herself. Was she being too effusive? She tried to gauge Satomi’s reaction.\r\n\r\n“He’s certainly a good worker,â€ she said, “and Mr Kanayama seems to agree.â€\r\n\r\n“But his <em>accent!â€</em> Megumi protested. Satomi grinned.\r\n\r\n“The advent of email has done wonders for his promotion prospects. ‘Oi be repperzenting yore inneressets’…â€ Megumi laughed aloud, and Akiko joined in, even though Satomi’s Tohoku accent was not very convincing.\r\n\r\n“‘Proices are hoi this yerr.’â€ Megumi’s attempt was, if anything, even worse, but Akiko laughed along with Satomi, and the conversation devolved into making fun of the mannerisms of their co-workers.', 'Work and Lunch', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '41-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-26 07:56:49', '2008-12-25 22:56:49', '', 41, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/26/41-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(133, 1, '2008-12-25 08:02:27', '2008-12-24 23:02:27', 'The clothes weren’t completely dry, but Akiko decided that they were dry enough; she was starting to feel really hungry, and wanted to get home. She laid them out on a shelf in the changing area in the bathroom, and took the yukata off, hanging it up to avoid creasing. As she reached for her underwear, she thought she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye.\r\n\r\nShe spun round, quickly trying to cover herself with her hands, worried that someone was watching her. The changing area was quite large, like the bath itself, but not so large that someone could actually hide there. <em>Seeing things is getting to be a habit, girl. You need to be careful,</em> she chided herself, turning back to the shelf.\r\n\r\nThis time she was sure that something moved behind her, and she turned back towards the mirror. It was large, covering almost the entire wall, and some moved behind her in the reflection, with a flash of colour. She spun back round again, but could see nothing. Quickly, she took the yukata off the hook and pulled it back on, holding it shut. There still didn’t seem to be any hiding place, but Akiko was sure she had seen something. She opened the door and called out.\r\n\r\n“Revd Shiraishi!â€ Shiraishi appeared from a room at the other end of the house. “Is there anyone else here?â€ The older woman looked puzzled.\r\n\r\n“No, just the two of us. Is anything wrong?â€\r\n\r\n“Er, no.â€ Akiko suddenly found her worries ridiculous. It was probably just a piece of cloth flapping as she knocked it. “Sorry, I… I just thought I heard something. No problem. Sorry.â€ She closed the door again, and picked up her knickers, planning to put them on before she took the yukata off, this time. They were a bit cold and damp, and for a moment she didn’t want to put them on.\r\n\r\nAgain, she had the sense that there was something behind her, and she turned to face the mirror, searching the room with her eyes. Nothing. <em>I’m just nervous,</em> she told herself. She kept looking around the room while she pulled her knickers on, and then took the yukata off so that she could put her bra back on. She finished settling it, glanced in the mirror, and screamed.\r\n\r\nBehind her, coiled on the shelf, was a brightly coloured snake.\r\n\r\nShe spun to face it, backing up as far as she could against the sinks in front of the mirror. But there was nothing on the shelf but her clothes.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata? Are you OK?â€ Shiraishi called from outside the door, sounding very concerned. Akiko took a deep breath.\r\n\r\n“I’m fine. Sorry. I just…â€ She paused. Just what? What could she say she had done? “I just banged my knee. It was surprise more than anything else. Sorry to disturb you.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, I see. Be careful.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, I will. Sorry.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko finished getting dressed, her clothes a little clammy against her skin, but far better than they had been. She thought about getting home while she started fixing her make-up, and decided to ask Shiraishi if it was all right to call a taxi to get her from the shrine.\r\n\r\nShe was fixing her lipstick when she saw the snake again.\r\n\r\nIt was behind her, coiled on one of the shelves. Its scales glittered red, green, purple, gold, and silver, and it seemed to be looking straight at her reflection with shining eyes.\r\n\r\nAkiko couldn’t move, could hardly breathe. If it weren’t for the difference in size, she would have thought it was the same snake she saw in her dream, but it seemed to have trapped her in its gaze. She kept thinking <em>so beautiful, so beautiful,</em> while a cold hand seemed to squeeze her heart with <em>what if it moves?</em>\r\n\r\nBut the snake moved no more than Akiko did. Its eyes remained fixed on hers, its head raised above the coils of its body on the shelf. It seemed to be watching her, as if waiting for her to do something.\r\n\r\nAkiko forced herself to take a deep breath, and another one. This time, she wouldn’t scream. She willed herself to turn around and face it, but her muscles did not obey. Another deep breath, and this time she did turn round.\r\n\r\nThe shelf was empty. Frantically, Akiko looked for anywhere the snake could have gone, but, although there was enough cover for a serpent, she didn’t think it could have got to any hiding place while she was turning. Her heart was beating quickly now, and she was beginning to feel genuine fear. She decided to get away from the shrine as quickly as possible, and turned back to the mirror to gather her make-up things.\r\n\r\nThe snake was clearly visible in the reflection, sitting on the shelf in the same position, looking straight at her. Looking back over her shoulder was a reflex. The shelf was empty. But when she looked back in the mirror, the snake was there.\r\n\r\nShe felt herself begin to shake as she took her pocket mirror and turned to face the empty shelf. She held the mirror up, and then closed her eyes. Did she really want to see?\r\n\r\nSummoning up all her willpower, she opened her eyes again and angled the pocket mirror so that she could see the reflection of the shelf.\r\n\r\nThe snake looked at her from the mirror, while the shelf in front of her was as empty as ever.\r\n\r\nA dam broke inside Akiko, and the fear overwhelmed her. She stuffed her mirror into her bag, and, grabbing her things, dashed out of the changing room and headed for the front door. Shiraishi emerged from a room as she passed.\r\n\r\n“Do you want to call a taxi?â€\r\n\r\n“No, thank you, I’ll walk.â€\r\n\r\n“Walk? It’s still raining. Are you sure you’re all right?â€\r\n\r\n“I’m fine. Thank you for the bath, and the tea. I really appreciate it.â€ Akiko had the door of the house open as she said that, and ran out into the wet night, not really caring how she appeared.\r\n\r\nShe didn’t stop running until the front door of her flat closed behind her, and she sank back against it, gasping for breath.', 'Mirror, Mirror', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-25 08:02:27', '2008-12-24 23:02:27', '', 20, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/25/20-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(134, 1, '2008-12-25 08:04:49', '2008-12-24 23:04:49', 'The strong wind changed direction from moment to moment, driving cold rain hard into Akiko’s face from all angles. She wiped water from her eyes and peered into the gloom. A flash of colour from ahead, moving, and she ran forward again, splashing into a puddle in the dark. Her trainers and jeans were already sodden, but the rainwater briefly chilled them again.\r\n\r\nThunder roared and lightning flashed, and in the light the brilliantly-coloured serpent turned to look back at her, fixing its eyes on hers. Akiko forced herself to run faster, even as her legs seemed to get heavier by the moment. She was blind in the renewed darkness, and barely avoided a car the swerved past her with screeching brakes and screaming horn. The driver shook his fist at her, but Akiko couldn’t wait, and ran onwards.\r\n\r\nHer hair was plastered to her skin, cold around her head, and water ran in rivers down her back and legs to the ground. She could feel the icy needles of rain all over her body, and she stumbled as the wind shifted to blow from behind her, briefly lifting her from her feet.\r\n\r\nQuickly recovering her balance, she saw the snake ahead of her, wound around a tall cedar tree, climbing it with smooth movements. As its jewel-like skin passed each branch, it seemed to shed light, leaving the branch wrapped in gold and gems.\r\n\r\nAkiko reached the bottom of the tree before the snake disappeared from view above. Jumping, she grabbed the lowest branches, the scent of cedar wood filling her nostrils as the bark began to peel away, the gems left by the snake falling to the ground with the tinkling of small bells.\r\n\r\nGems fell around Akiko like cherry blossoms as she climbed, but she ignored them, concentrating on the bark, rough under the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. Her dress caught repeatedly on branches as she ascended, and she ripped it free every time. The snake was still visible above her, and then she looked up again at the base of the cloud, and the snake was already gone.\r\n\r\nAkiko entered the clouds. She could see and hear nothing, and could not even feel the tree trunk she was clinging to. The air was even clean of scents. Refusing to give up, she made her arms and legs keep climbing, or tried to, even though she couldn’t feel them move.\r\n\r\nShe broke through the clouds, standing under the torii at the entrance to Tamao Shrine. The sun glittered on the polished stone of the path, and she could see the snake disappearing into the doors of the shrine. She bent down to take her shoes off, because she couldn’t walk into the shrine on high heels…\r\n\r\n…And sat bolt upright in bed, groping for the switch for the bedside light. Akiko’s heart was racing, her breath coming in panting gasps, and she was drenched in sweat. The light filled the room, and she looked around at its reassuring normality, slowly calming down.', 'Climbing', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '23-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-25 08:04:49', '2008-12-24 23:04:49', '', 23, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/25/23-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(135, 1, '2008-12-25 08:08:42', '2008-12-24 23:08:42', 'The clouds were threatening rain, but not actually producing it, when Akiko got off the train on her way home. She popped into the convenience store next to the station to get the ramen for her evening meal, and her cellphone buzzed. A text message from Naoyuki.\r\n\r\n<em>Are you coming round for dinner tonight?</em>\r\n\r\nAkiko smiled. Perfect timing. She’d have to cook, but wouldn’t have to buy the ingredients.\r\n\r\n<em>Sounds lovely. Just let me go home and change</em>,<em> </em>she texted back. Her phone buzzed again almost as soon as she had left the convenience store.\r\n\r\n<em>No need for underwear.</em>\r\n\r\nAkiko blushed and quickly blanked the screen. Naoyuki was always saying things like that. As usual, she toyed with the idea of actually not wearing underwear, just to see the look on his face, but the idea was far too embarrassing. That reminded her of wearing the yukata over nothing the previous day, and she decided to avoid going past the shrine on her way home.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, she turned a corner to find the road blocked. Two cars had collided, and now formed a barrier right across the road. The drivers seemed largely unharmed; they were standing by the accident, shouting at each other. Akiko thought about other routes home, and quickly realised that she either had to go past Tamao Shrine, or go a very long way round. For a moment she was tempted by the long route, but she told herself she was being silly. It wasn’t as if the shrine would reach out and attack her.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, she found herself slowing as she crested the hill and the trees and torii came into view. She tried not to look at the shrine precincts, but kept stealing glances at it, until she realised that what she was doing. <em>As if I wanted to check that there was no snake!</em> Chiding herself for her stupidity, she made herself look.\r\n\r\nThe branches of the trees, clothed in green, swayed slightly in the gentle breeze, and the dark grey stone of the torii matched the colour of the threatening clouds overhead. The rustling of the leaves joined the scent of damp earth on the wind, but there was, of course, no sign of the snake.\r\n\r\nAkiko realised that she had come to a complete stop, standing in the road and staring at the shrine. <em>What am I worried about?</em> she asked herself. There was no answer; she could hardly be scared of an imaginary snake. Taking a deep breath, she set off again, walking briskly along the road in front of the shrine precincts.\r\n\r\nAs she crossed in front of the entrance, her right foot slipped, and she nearly fell. Flinging her arms out, she managed to retain her balance, staggering forward a few more steps. After a moment to regain her composure, she set off walking again, away from the shrine. She didn’t look back.\r\n\r\nShe had to hurry; Naoyuki would be waiting for her, and he didn’t like it when she was late.', 'Diversion', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '27-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-25 08:08:42', '2008-12-24 23:08:42', '', 27, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/25/27-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(136, 1, '2008-12-25 08:09:21', '2008-12-24 23:09:21', 'The ground was warm, and the blades of grass tickled her feet as she walked across the lawn. The breeze played with her hair, strands dancing across her face, tickling her nose and then leaping out of reach before she could brush them away. The fabric of her skirt stroked her legs with every step, raising goose-bumps as it teased around her thighs. She put one hand on the smooth wood of the railing, running it back and forth along and across the grain as she looked up at the shrine.\r\n\r\nThe slight give of the steps under her feet was reassuring, as the shrine supported her, and even seemed to give her a little push upwards, as if to say that she should go inside. The metal fittings on the doors were cool to the touch, sheltered by the eaves, and the doors swung open to her lightest touch, barely seeming to push back at all. Inside the shrine the cool air embraced her, and the lines of the joins between the boards created the only contrast as they creased the skin of her feet. Unlike the doors, the heavy silk curtains weighed her hands down as she moved them aside, and the fabric brushed all down her back as she let them fall behind her, making her shiver.\r\n\r\nThe embroidery on the inner curtains was hard under her fingers, the curtains themselves almost stiff as she pulled them aside. She put one knee onto the platform, and the she could feel the edges of all the piled layers of silk, each a line of ice against her skin. Tamao’s skin was smooth under her hands, the slick warmth of polished stone mixed with a coolness that was almost metallic. Her hair fell forward, reaching out to touch his body, and she felt the ends brushing over it.\r\n\r\nIt was time to leave, and as she stepped out of the doors the warmth of the sun on her skin melted something inside her, and pure joy sprang up in her heart. As her right foot touched the path, one stone as cool as the next was warm, she was suddenly struck by a wave of heat from behind, far more intense than the light of the sun.\r\n\r\nTurning, she ran back into the heat, the doors now crumbling beneath her fingers as burning pain started in her fingertips, spreading slowly up her arms. The curtains reached out to seize her, wrapping her arms and legs in agony, and as she seized the inner curtains she felt burning rivers coursing over her body, her head consumed with agony as her hair burned away, every strand a fiery needle thrust into her scalp.\r\n\r\nShe reach out, with hands that felt nothing but pain, pain that vanished in an instant as she touched the skin of the kami. She wrapped her arms around the great cylinder of his body, and the pain fled from the rest of her. His skin was pressed against hers, stone cool and metal hot, but although the heat was even greater than the fire, it did not burn. The floor started to shift under her feet, fragments of charred wood shifting over each other, and her stomach lurched as she started to fall.', 'Burning Shrine', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '29-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-25 08:09:21', '2008-12-24 23:09:21', '', 29, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/25/29-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(137, 1, '2008-12-25 08:09:55', '2008-12-24 23:09:55', 'She woke up with her scream ringing in her ears, sitting upright in bed. Clutching the futon, she hugged it to her chest, and tried to calm her panting breath. <em>Only a dream, only a dream,</em> she repeated to herself.\r\n\r\n“Akiko? What on earth are you doing?â€ Naoyuki sounded half asleep and half annoyed. Akiko couldn’t answer for a moment, her body still shaking and her breath coming in gasps. “Akiko? I’ve got to work tomorrow. Give me the futon so I can sleep.â€ This time Naoyuki sounded mostly annoyed, and he pulled at the futon. Akiko found herself still gripping it tightly, and forced her fingers to unclench.\r\n\r\nThe futon slid away from her, and the air was cool against her skin. Her eyes had almost adjusted to the darkness, and she carefully slipped out of bed and quietly pulled her clothes on. Careful to make no noise, she went out of the bedroom and through to the sitting room, curling up on the sofa.\r\n\r\nStaring into the darkness, she gradually calmed down, but the idea of sleeping still sent her heart racing in terror. The clock on the DVD unit told her it was almost half past three, and she resigned herself to staying awake until dawn.\r\n\r\nShe was shaken awake.\r\n\r\n“Akiko, why are you sleeping on the sofa? What about breakfast?â€ She opened her eyes and looked up at Naoyuki, standing over her in his bathrobe. “I’m going to have a shower, anyway.â€ Akiko looked at the clock. After six. She sat up and glanced down at her clothes. They were very creased, which wasn’t really surprising, but that meant that she would have to go home and change. She looked at the clock again, and sprang up in a panic, dashing into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.\r\n\r\nMost of it was on the table when Naoyuki came out of the shower.\r\n\r\n“Looks nice, thanks.â€ He sat down and started eating. “So what was that about last night, then? You woke me up.â€ Akiko felt herself blushing.\r\n\r\n“Oh, just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about.â€\r\n\r\n“Well, try to have bad dreams more quietly in future. I can’t afford to be half-asleep at work, you know.â€\r\n\r\n“No, sorry. I’ll do my best.â€ Akiko sat down, eating quickly with one eye on the clock.\r\n\r\n“Oh, by the way, the company’s sending me to Niigata for a couple of days from tonight.â€\r\n\r\n“Is it an important trip?â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, fairly important.They’d normally send someone more senior, but Igarashi said he was sure I could cope.â€ Naoyuki looked at her and smiled as he said that, and Akiko smiled back.\r\n\r\n“It’s good to see that they recognise your ability.â€\r\n\r\n“Well…â€ Naoyuki looked back down at his plate, and then stood up. “I’d better go. Clear up before you leave, will you?â€ He came round the table, and slipped a hand inside Akiko’s blouse to fondle her breast as he kissed her. Then he was gone.\r\n\r\nAkiko looked at the breakfast things, and the clock, realised that she was very likely to be late for work.', 'Sleeping Together', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '31-revision-2', '', '', '2008-12-25 08:09:55', '2008-12-24 23:09:55', '', 31, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2008/12/25/31-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(138, 1, '2009-02-23 00:00:42', '2009-02-22 15:00:42', 'Friday was a terrible day at work. Akiko was utterly exhausted, to the point that even Megumi sounded sympathetic when asking how she was, and the documents she had prepared were not quite right. Mr Kanayama explained the problem, but Akiko couldn’t see how she could have got that wrong. She managed to get the corrected parts to the meeting before it finished, but she could tell that Mr Kanayama was disappointed.\r\n\r\nEven though she knew that she should work late to try to improve his opinion of her, she just couldn’t keep going past five. She fell asleep on the train home even so, waking up with a start at the stop before hers. There was another note from the landlord when she got back, something about a water leak, but she barely had the energy to pull her futon flat and collapse onto it.\r\n\r\nThe ground was pleasantly warm under her feet as she walked around the shrine precincts, the blades of grass tickling slightly. With every step, her awareness of the grass became more intense, more precise, so that she could feel the shape of each blade, all its imperfections, bends, tears, and insect bites. And then they started to dig into her feet, sharp pricks that got stronger, turning to cuts that drew blood, flowing warm and sticky over the soles of her feet, the grass now lancing into her feet and crumbling to dust within the wounds…\r\n\r\nAkiko sat up sharply, drawing a shuddering breath. Her heart was racing, and she reached down to massage her feet without thinking. Despite her exhaustion, it was clear to her what she had to do. She would get no peace otherwise.\r\n\r\nDespite her convictions, she still hesitated at the foot of the steps, remembering the previous night. Clutching her rubbish bag and torch, she made her way carefully into the shrine precincts, straining all her senses for any sign of trouble.\r\n\r\nAfter purifying herself and making her initial prayers, the only problem she found was that her torch wasn’t working. That wasn’t really surprising, now that she thought about it, but it still restricted her to looking for rubbish in the open area. The air was very still, and even the animals seemed to be resting; apart from Akiko herself, the only sounds were those of distant cars, and occasional sirens. Her footfalls sounded loud to her, and she kept glancing nervously at the shrine house, but there was no reaction. When she started jumping at her breathing as well, she realised that she was over-reacting, and tried to relax.\r\n\r\nShe found a few pieces of litter for her bag, but the area round the front of the shrine was quite clean now. Still unsettled, she decided that she had to go around the back, even though that was darker and near the rocks.\r\n\r\nThe stones were a dark mass in the night, with no sign of a light within them. The air stayed still, and the ground remained steady under her feet. She looked up, and hundreds of stars shone down. She bent to pick up a piece of litter, and then straightened sharply at a rhythmic noise. She looked first at the stones, but they remained unmoving. And then she placed the noise.\r\n\r\nSomeone was coming up the steps into the shrine.', 'Restored Calm', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'restored-calm', '', '', '2009-02-25 20:57:19', '2009-02-25 11:57:19', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=138', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(139, 1, '2009-01-20 11:53:56', '2009-01-20 02:53:56', '', 'Restored Calm', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '138-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:53:56', '2009-01-20 02:53:56', '', 138, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/138-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(140, 1, '2009-02-24 00:00:16', '2009-02-23 15:00:16', 'For a moment, Akiko’s instinct was to hide, but she quickly suppressed it. She wasn’t doing anything wrong in the shrine, and if she hid things would just look more suspicious if she were spotted. And Shiraishi was in the shrine house, so if there was a problem she could always call for help. Cautiously, she walked round the side of the shrine to see who it was.\r\n\r\nA young man stood at the top of the steps, under the torii, looking around as if searching for something. He looked in her direction and, a moment later, walked over to the water basin to purify himself. As he stepped into the light, Akiko recognised him; Mr Takenaka’s son. She couldn’t remember his given name, though. She hung back while he went to pay his respects at the shrine, but stepped forward as soon as he turned away.\r\n\r\n“Good evening. Mr Takenaka, isn’t it? What brings you here so late at night?â€ It was hard to be sure in the gloom, but Akiko thought that he blushed a little before replying.\r\n\r\n“Oh, I just couldn’t sleep, so I came here for a change of location. And to ask for success for the business. What about you?â€\r\n\r\n“I’m just cleaning again. I suppose your father told you?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, er, no, I mean…â€ There was an embarrassed pause. “I mean, yes he told me about you cleaning yesterday, but no, he didn’t say that you would be here tonight.â€\r\n\r\n“Well, he didn’t know that.â€\r\n\r\n“No.â€\r\n\r\nSilence fell again, and stretched, becoming more and more awkward. Finally, Akiko felt she had to break it.\r\n\r\n“Well, I should get on with the cleaning. I want to get home relatively early today.â€\r\n\r\n“I’ll help you!â€ The offer was made very quickly and enthusiastically, and the younger Takenaka followed her round the back of the shrine, glancing at her to see what she was doing and then going to collect rubbish himself.\r\n\r\nAkiko found herself looking over at him repeatedly, a suspicion as to his real reason for being there slowly forming in her mind. She caught him looking her way a couple of times, but he always looked away immediately.\r\n\r\nShe let the search for litter in the darkness distract her from the question of the best way to let him down gently if he asked her out. Just tell him about Naoyuki? That might be easiest, but it was a bit harsh. Come up with some other story? She knew she wasn’t good at that.\r\n\r\nA shadow on the ground proved to be a pebble, not rubbish, although the next suspicious shape was a coffee can. She could hear Takenaka moving around, his footsteps, occasional muttered comments, just a bit too quiet to make out, and even, after a time, his breathing. And then she realised that she could smell him, too, a distinctly human smell on the air, quite unlike the natural smells of the shrine.\r\n\r\nShe stood up, her bag mostly full, and walked over to him.\r\n\r\n“Well, I’m done for tonight. Let me take what you’ve collected.â€ He handed the rubbish over, filling her bag up, without managing to say anything coherent.\r\n\r\n“Thank you for your help.â€ She thought about saying something like ‘see you again’, but decided against it. He might have wanted to say something, but he had not managed to put it together before she was on her way out down the shrine steps.', 'Aid in the Night', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'aid-in-the-night', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:55:26', '2009-01-20 02:55:26', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=140', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(141, 1, '2009-01-20 11:55:17', '2009-01-20 02:55:17', 'For a moment, Akiko’s instinct was to hide, but she quickly suppressed it. She wasn’t doing anything wrong in the shrine, and if she hid things would just look more suspicious if she were spotted. And Shiraishi was in the shrine house, so if there was a problem she could always call for help. Cautiously, she walked round the side of the shrine to see who it was.\n\nA young man stood at the top of the steps, under the torii, looking around as if searching for something. He looked in her direction and, a moment later, walked over to the water basin to purify himself. As he stepped into the light, Akiko recognised him; Mr Takenaka’s son. She couldn’t remember his given name, though. She hung back while he went to pay his respects at the shrine, but stepped forward as soon as he turned away.\n\n“Good evening. Mr Takenaka, isn’t it? What brings you here so late at night?â€ It was hard to be sure in the gloom, but Akiko thought that he blushed a little before replying.\n\n“Oh, I just couldn’t sleep, so I came here for a change of location. And to ask for success for the business. What about you?â€\n\n“I’m just cleaning again. I suppose your father told you?â€\n\n“Yes, er, no, I mean…â€ There was an embarrassed pause. “I mean, yes he told me about you cleaning yesterday, but no, he didn’t say that you would be here tonight.â€\n\n“Well, he didn’t know that.â€\n\n“No.â€\n\nSilence fell again, and stretched, becoming more and more awkward. Finally, Akiko felt she had to break it.\n\n“Well, I should get on with the cleaning. I want to get home relatively early today.â€\n\n“I’ll help you!â€ The offer was made very quickly and enthusiastically, and the younger Takenaka followed her round the back of the shrine, glancing at her to see what she was doing and then going to collect rubbish himself.\n\nAkiko found herself looking over at him repeatedly, a suspicion as to his real reason for being there slowly forming in her mind. She caught him looking her way a couple of times, but he always looked away immediately.\n\nShe let the search for litter in the darkness distract her from the question of the best way to let him down gently if he asked her out. Just tell him about Naoyuki? That might be easiest, but it was a bit harsh. Come up with some other story? She knew she wasn’t good at that.\n\nA shadow on the ground proved to be a pebble, not rubbish, although the next suspicious shape was a coffee can. She could hear Takenaka moving around, his footsteps, occasional muttered comments, just a bit too quiet to make out, and even, after a time, his breathing. And then she realised that she could smell him, too, a distinctly human smell on the air, quite unlike the natural smells of the shrine.\n\nShe stood up, her bag mostly full, and walked over to him.\n\n“Well, I’m done for tonight. Let me take what you’ve collected.â€ He handed the rubbish over, filling her bag up, without managing to say anything coherent.\n\n“Thank you for your help.â€ She thought about saying something like ‘see you again’, but decided against it. He might have wanted to say something, but he had not managed to put it together before she was on her way out down the shrine steps.', 'Aid in the Night', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '140-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:55:17', '2009-01-20 02:55:17', '', 140, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/140-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(142, 1, '2009-02-25 00:00:37', '2009-02-24 15:00:37', 'Akiko was woken the next morning by the insistent ringing of her cell phone. She lay in bed for a while, waiting for the answering service to get it, but after a moment it started ringing again. Whoever it was, they weren’t willing to wait. Sighing, she crawled towards it, pulling it back into bed with her before looking to see who was calling.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki.\r\n\r\nQuickly, she picked up.\r\n\r\n“Hello, Naoyuki?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes. Akiko, we need to talk. Come to the cafe near the station as soon as you can.â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€ Naoyuki sounded upset and angry, and Akiko had no idea what it could be.\r\n\r\n“Just come, OK?â€\r\n\r\n“OK.â€ Her answer came a bit slowly. “But…â€ Naoyuki had already hung up, before she could ask what it was about.\r\n\r\nFor a moment she didn’t get out of bed, but she quickly realised that she was falling asleep, and forced herself to sit up, and then stand. She’d better get going.\r\n\r\nA quick shower and can of coffee from the vending machine later, she was almost awake, and ready to talk to her boyfriend. When she got to the cafe, he was pacing outside, looking at his watch, and when he saw her he came hurrying over.\r\n\r\n“What took you so long? Come on, we need to talk.â€ He grabbed her arm, and almost pulled her towards a bench at the back of the park, a long way from almost all the people there.\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki? What is it?â€\r\n\r\n“You’ve been back.â€ It was clearly an accusation, but not one that made any sense to Akiko.\r\n\r\n“What?â€\r\n\r\n“You’ve been back to the shrine. Someone saw you.â€\r\n\r\n“Well, yes…â€\r\n\r\n“I told you not to go there!â€ He was very nearly shouting, and he suddenly looked around, dropping his voice to avoid drawing attention. “I told you not to get involved with Shinto.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko thought that that wasn’t entirely accurate, but she was mostly puzzled by the vehemence of his reaction.\r\n\r\n“I’ve only been once or twice…â€ she began, but Naoyuki cut her off.\r\n\r\n“What will people think of you? Come to that, what sort of person are you? Going to that sort of place, and after I said not to!â€ He sounded almost incredulous, but Akiko was just getting more and more confused.\r\n\r\n“It’s a shrine…â€\r\n\r\n“Exactly! People haven’t gone to shrines for decades!â€\r\n\r\n“Lots of people go at New Year’s.â€\r\n\r\n“That’s different, and anyway you should go to a temple then.â€ He stopped, taking a deep breath and obviously struggling to get himself under control.\r\n\r\n“Look, I just want you to promise me that you aren’t going to go back again. Ever.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko looked at Naoyuki. He seemed completely in earnest, equal parts disappointed and angry, and she was at a loss. Why on earth was this so important to him?\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki, why…â€ she began, but he cut her off again.\r\n\r\n“Just promise, OK?â€\r\n\r\nFor a moment, she thought that she would be only too happy to never go again, but she didn’t think that the kami would allow that. The thought of explaining the problem to Naoyuki passed briefly through her mind, instantly rejected.\r\n\r\n“I’m sorry, really, but I can’t.â€ Naoyuki looked really shocked.\r\n\r\n“Well… Well then, I’m not sure I can keep seeing you.â€ Akiko almost stopped breathing for a moment, and Naoyuki hurried on. “Call me again when you’ve thought about it some more. Or I’ll call you.â€ So he wasn’t dumping her just yet, then. “But really, you can’t go to the shrine.â€\r\n\r\nHe started walking away, and although he looked back a couple of times, as if he were going to say something more, he never did.', 'Lovers'' Tiff', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lovers-tiff', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:56:22', '2009-01-20 02:56:22', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=142', 0, 'post', '', 4);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(143, 1, '2009-01-20 11:56:01', '2009-01-20 02:56:01', '', 'Lovers'' Tiff', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '142-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:56:01', '2009-01-20 02:56:01', '', 142, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/142-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(144, 1, '2009-02-26 00:00:28', '2009-02-25 15:00:28', 'It was already evening when Akiko woke up on Sunday, the week’s lack of sleep finally catching up with her. Saturday night’s visit to the shrine had been completely uneventful, and she’d been in bed before two am; she looked at the clock telling her it was already after five in disbelief. Her cell phone was blinking at her, indicating numerous messages, which meant that she had slept through that, as well. And her body still felt heavy as she dragged herself to the phone.\r\n\r\nTwelve missed calls. She called up the details, her heart sinking as she went through the list. None from Naoyuki; twelve from her mother, the most recent only half an hour earlier. She sighed, realising that there was no way to get away from calling back. Even so, she didn’t make the call immediately. There were so many reasons why she didn’t want to have a conversation about her marriage prospects just then.\r\n\r\nSitting up and shaking herself, she placed the call.\r\n\r\n“Hello, Akiko?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, Mum. How are you?â€\r\n\r\n“So nice to hear from you. It’s ages since you called.â€\r\n\r\n“Mum, it can’t be more than a couple of weeks.â€\r\n\r\n“That was me calling you. I don’t know how long it is since you called me.â€ Akiko had to admit that she wasn’t sure, either, but she wasn’t about to say that.\r\n\r\n“Anyway, Mum, I’ve called now. How are you?â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, I’m fine.â€\r\n\r\n“And how’s Dad?â€\r\n\r\n“Same as ever. Looking forward to retiring.â€ Akiko smiled, briefly. She could easily imagine.\r\n\r\n“I’m sure he is.â€\r\n\r\n“And looking forward to being a grandfather. He says he’ll have lots of time for grandchildren once he’s retired.â€ Akiko stifled the groan, keeping it silent. Her mother wasted very little time.\r\n\r\n“Mother, I’m not even married yet.â€\r\n\r\n“And when can we expect to hear wedding bells? How is that nice young man?â€\r\n\r\n“He’s fine, Mum.â€\r\n\r\n“Fine? That doesn’t sound very enthusiastic. Are you having problems? You really need to find the right man soon, so if he isn’t the one, you mustn’t mess about.â€\r\n\r\n“Mum!â€ Akiko was a bit more forceful than she’d intended. “There are no problems. Everything is going well. I don’t know whether we’re going to get married, but I don’t know that we aren’t. There’s just nothing to report.â€ Even as she said it, she felt guilty. Right out lying to her mother felt wrong, even though she couldn’t think of any alternative. There was no way to mention the problems without raising a whole set of issues she just couldn’t talk about. She wondered if she’d ever find anyone she could talk to about the events at the shrine, and realised that her mother had started asking another question.\r\n\r\n“…at work?â€ was all Akiko heard.\r\n\r\n“I’m sorry, there was interference. What was that?â€\r\n\r\n“How are things going at work?â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, the usual. More overtime than normal last week, so I’m very tired today.â€ Akiko saw an opportunity, and seized it. “Actually, I’ve only just woken up, so I really need to get something to eat. Talk to you again later.â€\r\n\r\nShe hung up before her mother could press her any further.', 'Phone Home', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'phone-home-2', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:56:59', '2009-01-20 02:56:59', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=144', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(145, 1, '2009-01-20 11:56:52', '2009-01-20 02:56:52', '', 'Phone Home', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '144-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:56:52', '2009-01-20 02:56:52', '', 144, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/144-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(146, 1, '2009-02-27 00:00:05', '2009-02-26 15:00:05', '“Who’s the big cheese?â€ Megumi whispered. Akiko shushed her, but she also wanted to know the answer, sneaking peeks over her shoulder as he was shown into Mr Kanayama’s office.\r\n\r\n“Taro Wakabayashi,â€ Satomi whispered. “President of Wakabayashi Construction, and head of the Wakabayashi Group.â€ Akiko looked blankly at her.\r\n\r\n“Never heard of him,â€ Megumi said, saving Akiko the trouble.\r\n\r\n“No, well, it’s not like Mitsubishi or anything. It is, however, the biggest construction company around here, by a significant margin. If Mitsubishi were building something here, they’d probably contract with Wakabayashi for it. The other companies in the group cover a wide range of businesses.â€\r\n\r\n“And he’s a potential new client?â€ Akiko asked.\r\n\r\n“Right,â€ Satomi agreed. “Hence all the bows from everyone.â€\r\n\r\n“Ah.â€ Nodding in understanding, Akiko risked another glance at the office. Mr Wakabayashi had seemed to pay attention to every employee when he came into the office and they were all lined up to bow to him, which certainly suggested that he was taking them seriously. “Here’s hoping he brings us lots of business.â€\r\n\r\n“And pay rises!â€ Megumi added. Akiko shushed her again, but couldn’t help smiling. A pay rise would, certainly, be very nice.\r\n\r\nThe meeting went on for a long time, which Akiko supposed was a very good sign, and she was soon concentrating on her work again. It was supposed to be simple data entry, but the spreadsheet was telling her that the company had lost billions on one contract, and that was clearly not the case. She started chasing the calculations back from cell to cell, trying to find the mistake, but there were no obviously superfluous zeroes. She started working a few bits out by hand, deciding that the error was likely to be in one of the formulae, and as she did so the screen saver kicked in, leaving her monitor dark.\r\n\r\nLightning from outside flickered in the reflection of the windows, but the thunder was inaudible. Akiko finished her calculations, without finding the error, and looked back at the monitor, reaching for the mouse.\r\n\r\nThrough the windows, she could see a cloudy sky with patches of blue, darkening towards rain, while the reflections of the window in the monitor were dominated by the black clouds and lightning flashes of a major storm. She glanced over her shoulder; very different weather in two parts of the sky was not impossible. However, although the clouds were darker, and starting to rain, there was no storm. She looked back at the monitor.\r\n\r\nThe rain in the reflected windows was heavier, and she could see motion in the distance, glimmering with every flash of lightning. The glimmers came closer, and she could see that they were the reflections off a churning wall of water, a tsunami rushing towards her, buildings collapsing as it passed over them.\r\n\r\n<em>Tsunami don’t get that big,</em> she thought, <em>or come this far inland.</em>\r\n\r\nThe wave in the reflection reached the windows of their building, shattering them as it struck.\r\n\r\nThe lights went out.\r\n\r\nMoments later, they flickered back on, accompanied by the sounds of computers restarting and muttered curses from the other workers. The windows reflected in the monitor matched the direct view, but Akiko realised that she couldn’t stay any longer.\r\n\r\nClaiming illness, she hurriedly left the office.', 'Flooding', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'flooding', '', '', '2009-02-27 07:25:10', '2009-02-26 22:25:10', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=146', 0, 'post', '', 5);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(147, 1, '2009-01-20 11:57:33', '2009-01-20 02:57:33', '', 'Flooding', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '146-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:57:33', '2009-01-20 02:57:33', '', 146, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/146-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(148, 1, '2009-02-28 00:00:54', '2009-02-27 15:00:54', 'It was raining steadily by the time Akiko reached Tamao Shrine, but at least it wasn’t too heavy. She’d bought a light rain coat from a convenience store, and it seemed to be keeping her largely dry. She reflected that the rain would reduce her chances of meeting anyone at the shrine, for which she was grateful; she could feel herself starting to blush at the mere thought of explaining to anyone why she was there in the afternoon.\r\n\r\nAs she climbed the steps, she intended to go straight into the woods, where she couldn’t be seen, but as she passed through the torii she found that the shrine building demanded her attention, and she couldn’t bring herself to forgo paying her respects. She quickly rinsed her hands, then walked as quickly as she dared to the shrine, ringing the bell, bowing, clapping her hands, and bowing again, as instructed. She paused a moment, looking into the gloom within the shrine, but there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. She hurried from the veranda before anyone could see her.\r\n\r\nWithin the trees, she felt a lot calmer. The leaves blocked most of the rain, and the sound of drops running off them and hitting the ground was soothing. The scent of wet soil filled the air, and, when Akiko stood still to listen, she could hear an occasional scurrying, as some small creature hurried about its business.\r\n\r\nShe looked around, as her eyes adjusted to the relative gloom, and started gathering rubbish, the garish colours of the packaging standing out against the natural tones of the woodland floor. With no particular plan, she just wandered into the woods, picking up rubbish as she came to it, feeling that the further in she was, the less likely she was to be spotted.\r\n\r\nHer bag was about half full when she found herself looking at one of the largest trees she had ever seen. Its trunk, looking almost as though it was formed of three or four trunks coiled together, was wider than her outstretched arms, and as she looked up into the canopy she realised that the rain was entirely blocked, the layers upon layers of green leaves stretching high into the sky. She looked back down at the trunk, noticing the rope tied around it, decorated with folded strips of white paper, and felt an urge to touch the bark.\r\n\r\nShe thought she was resisting the urge, which was completely irrational, but she found herself walking towards the tree and raising her hand. The bark was slightly warm to the touch, rough with the scars of years, and as she ran her hand over it the sensation sent shivers up her arm and down her back. Stepping back, she put her rubbish bag on the ground, and then placed both hands on the bark. Her tension seemed to drain out of her, into the tree, and she relaxed against it.\r\n\r\nShe was at the bottom of the shrine steps, with a full bag of rubbish, before it struck her that she had paid no attention to whether anyone saw her on her way out. With a stab of panic she looked back up the steps, but there was no-one there. She seemed to be safe.', 'Cleaning in the Rain', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'cleaning-in-the-rain', '', '', '2009-03-02 17:53:54', '2009-03-02 08:53:54', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=148', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(149, 1, '2009-01-20 11:58:10', '2009-01-20 02:58:10', '', 'Cleaning in the Rain', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '148-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:58:10', '2009-01-20 02:58:10', '', 148, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/148-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(150, 1, '2009-03-01 00:00:30', '2009-02-28 15:00:30', 'The sense of calm stayed with Akiko as she made her way home, only to suddenly vanish as she turned a corner. Her stomach was churning, her heart pounding, and her breath coming in gasps, as if she had just run up a hill. She put one hand on a wall for support, and just stood there, looking around, while she calmed down a bit.\r\n\r\nThere was nothing obvious to cause such a reaction; just houses, some cars, and a building site. She looked around again, but it still seemed to be an absolutely typical Kawasaki scene. Despite the absence of anything frightening, her body refused to calm down completely. She tried taking a few deep breaths, and nearly retched. There was a scent of rot on the air, decaying meat and sour milk mixed with faeces. She searched for a source, and found her eyes drawn to the building site.\r\n\r\nThe sign said “Wakabayashi Constructionâ€, which meant more to her now than it had that morning, and the workmen seemed to be clearing the land ready for building. Men with chain-saws and a digger were in the process of cutting down a bamboo grove, the tall stems falling to earth with a crash to be dragged away as the digger pulled up the roots.\r\n\r\nThe odour still nagged at her, and at the edge of hearing Akiko thought she could hear someone screaming. It seemed to be coming from the building site, but even as she drew closer she realised that that wasn’t possible; quite apart from the fact that the workmen would have heard it, the screaming was from too far away.\r\n\r\nStill, something about the work held her attention, and she had been examining the scene carefully for some time before she realised what she was doing. With no idea of what she was looking for, she couldn’t say why she had to keep looking, but she couldn’t look away.\r\n\r\nThere was a flicker of motion at the edge of her vision, but when she turned to look it was just an area of bamboo stumps, waiting for the digger to root them up. Another bit of motion, this time at the base of a falling stem of bamboo, but, again, she couldn’t see anything definite when she looked again. The stench of rot was getting stronger, although she had become somewhat used to it, and the screaming continued, an almost-inaudible accompaniment to the scene.\r\n\r\nThe shape of the bamboo became intensely clear to her, each stem stretching up to the sky, deep green and ringed, proudly proclaiming its life and its place in the world, until the chain-saw bit into the base, bringing it tumbling down to earth. The fall of each stem started to affect her like a physical blow, a poke in the stomach that got stronger with every death. She found herself holding on to the chain-link fence for support, desperate to look away, but unable to.\r\n\r\nAnd then she saw something else in the rapidly-disappearing grove, something moving between the dying stumps, jumping eagerly from one fallen stem to the next, as if feeding on them. The workmen were oblivious to its presence, but Akiko could see it getting bigger.\r\n\r\nIt was black, the black of mould on a wall that hadn’t been cleaned for years, the black of mildew on an old bath, of rotten clothes left in a gutter for months. Every time it jumped, there was a stronger wave of the rotting stench, and every time it crouched over a stump the sound of screaming got thinner, as if one voice among many had been silenced.\r\n\r\nShe couldn’t make out a shape for it at first; it seemed to have too many legs, and then too few, and she wasn’t sure whether it had a head at all. It never stopped moving, and although it was darker than the gathering gloom it was still half-lost in the shadows. She felt her heart and breathing speeding up again as her fear built up.\r\n\r\nWhat <em>was</em> it?\r\n\r\nIt stopped, then, in the middle of the devastated grove, and somehow she knew that it had turned towards her. She saw light within it, the light of smoky fires, and there was a chemical reek as two points of light, eyes, she realised, fixed on her.\r\n\r\nHer whole body shivered, as if a dozen cold, slimy hands caressed her skin at once, probing at her body, touching her everywhere. Nausea rose within her, as she felt dirtier than she ever had, and the eyes got bigger as the thing left the grove to approach her, the stench getting stronger with every step it took. Akiko couldn’t move. It was as if she was in mud up to her knees, mud through which worms were crawling, brushing against her skin, stinging her if she tried to take a single step.\r\n\r\n“It’s a tragedy, isn’t it?â€\r\n\r\nThe sensations all vanished at the sound of the voice, and Akiko turned to see an old woman standing next to her, looking at the grove, where the workmen continued to fell it.\r\n\r\n“Yes.â€ Akiko couldn’t manage any more. She still felt filthy, contaminated, but there was nothing holding her legs any more.\r\n\r\n“I remember when there were groves like that all round here, you know. That was one of the few that were left, and now it’s gone, too.â€\r\n\r\n“It’s a real shame. I’m sorry, please excuse me.â€ The woman nodded, as Akiko turned and walked away from the building site, picking up the pace as she remembered the thing within the grove, getting faster as her fear returned, until she was running home as fast as she could.\r\n\r\nAs soon as she got back to her flat, grabbing the note the landlord had left on the door and dropping it in the hallway, she started the bath, pulling her clothes off as quickly as she could and dropping them straight into the washing machine before washing herself in the shower.\r\n\r\nShe had been soaking in the bath for half an hour before she began to feel clean again.', 'Building Site', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'building-site', '', '', '2009-03-01 20:04:37', '2009-03-01 11:04:37', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=150', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(151, 1, '2009-01-20 11:58:36', '2009-01-20 02:58:36', '', 'Building Site', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '150-revision', '', '', '2009-01-20 11:58:36', '2009-01-20 02:58:36', '', 150, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/20/150-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(152, 1, '2009-03-02 00:00:35', '2009-03-01 15:00:35', 'Akiko made sure that she got into work early the following day, and started looking at the problems with the spreadsheet again. She still had no idea what she had seen at the building site, but she had equally little idea as to what she should do about it. Go back? That didn’t seem like a good idea. Ignore it? That also seemed like a bad plan; whatever it was, it had seemed threatening. But at that point, she ran out of ideas.\r\n\r\nSighing, she shook her head and tried to focus on the spreadsheet again. The error had to be in here somewhere.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata?â€ She looked up, and Mr Kanayama was standing by her desk. “Could I have a word in my office, please?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, of course.â€ Akiko stood up, following her boss back to his office. He closed the door behind them, and went to stand behind his desk. For a moment, he said nothing, looking down at the papers in front of him. When he did speak, it was without looking up.\r\n\r\n“You left work early yesterday.â€ Half statement, half accusation.\r\n\r\n“Yes…â€ Akiko began, uncertain. “I wasn’t well.â€\r\n\r\n“Hm.â€ Mr Kanayama cut her off. “That wasn’t the first time recently, was it?â€ Akiko remembered going home a bit early after seeing the snake in the windows, and had to agree.\r\n\r\n“No, it wasn’t.â€\r\n\r\n“Hm. And there was that problem with the photocopying, and the spreadsheets Mr Tanaka asked you to do yesterday still aren’t finished.â€ Akiko really didn’t like the way this conversation was going, and could feel her legs beginning to shake, but she couldn’t think of anything to say at that point. She could hardly deny what Mr Kanayama was saying.\r\n\r\nHe cleared his throat and looked at her briefly, before dropping his eyes back to the desk.\r\n\r\n“You really need to pick up your work level, you know. We can’t afford to carry passengers at this company.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko felt the colour drain from her face, and fought back the tears that were pricking at her eyes. <em>He hasn’t fired me, not yet, </em>she reminded herself.\r\n\r\n“Yes, sir.â€ Mr Kanayama cleared his throat again, and looked up at her.\r\n\r\n“I had high hopes for you, Tanahata. Don’t disappoint me.â€\r\n\r\n“No, sir.â€\r\n\r\n“Very well, that’s all for now.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, sir.â€ Akiko bowed to him, and left the office.\r\n\r\nBack at her desk, she found herself staring at the computer, not really seeing the numbers on the screen. Could she really be at risk of losing her job? She thought about the problems she’d had over the last couple of weeks, and mentally compared them to the sorts of mistakes Megumi made all the time. She couldn’t feel that she was the one who should have this threat hanging over her. Satomi was, she could tell, stealing glances at her, but Megumi hadn’t even arrived yet.\r\n\r\n“Sss, Akiko!â€ Satomi whispered, trying to get her attention. “You’d better look busy. Mr Kanayama is watching you.â€\r\n\r\nWith a start, Akiko realised that she had been doing nothing. She quickly turned her attention back to the spreadsheets, looking for that elusive error.', 'Work', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'work', '', '', '2009-03-03 11:27:23', '2009-03-03 02:27:23', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=152', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(153, 1, '2009-01-22 10:47:00', '2009-01-22 01:47:00', '', 'Work', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '152-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:47:00', '2009-01-22 01:47:00', '', 152, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/152-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(154, 1, '2009-03-03 00:00:45', '2009-03-02 15:00:45', 'Akiko tried to stop herself pacing for the dozenth time outside the cafe, but it was no good. She’d arrived half an hour earlier than Naoyuki had said, but she had definitely not wanted to be late. He’d actually said something about making up during the phone call, and Akiko was quite hopeful.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki appeared exactly on time, as ever, carrying a bunch of flowers. That was not usual; Akiko couldn’t remember him ever giving her flowers.\r\n\r\n“These are for you, Akiko. I’m sorry, I think I over-reacted a bit.â€ Akiko almost forgot to take the flowers in shock; Naoyuki hardly ever apologised. “Let me buy you dinner,â€ he continued, and took her arm. Akiko could only nod, following where he led.\r\n\r\nThe dinner was excellent, at a restaurant Akiko had not been to before. Naoyuki refused to let her look at the menu, which made her suspect that it was rather more expensive than the places they normally went. If he was trying to make up for his behaviour, she reflected, he was doing a good job. He talked about his work, and about hers, but didn’t mention the shrine at all. By the time they were heading back to his apartment, Akiko almost felt that everything was sorted out between them.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki went to kiss her almost as soon as they were inside, and Akiko wasn’t surprised, or reluctant. They sat on the bed, undressing each other, and Naoyuki started kissing her neck, working down towards her breasts. Akiko put her hands on the back of his head, then started caressing his back as he reached her nipples.\r\n\r\nHe came back up to kiss her as he worked her skirt and knickers off, running his hand up between her legs as she pushed his trousers and boxer shorts off. As he entered her, she closed her eyes and gripped his hips.\r\n\r\nThe warmth of his skin shifted under her hands, turning harder and patterned in warm and cold. The sensation was somehow familiar, and moments later her dreams of the shrine came flooding back. Her breath caught in her throat as her stomach lurched, and she opened her eyes.\r\n\r\nA snake loomed over her, its golden eyes looking straight into hers, its body resting between her naked legs. Lightning played around its mouth as it lowered its head towards her, its jaws opening slightly.\r\n\r\nAkiko screamed and thrust her hands up to push it away.\r\n\r\n“What? What is it?â€ Naoyuki asked as he pushed himself up again beside her. “What did I do?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko sat bolt upright, clutching the futon to her chest and looking around, her heart pounding, her mouth dry. There was no sign of the snake, and Naoyuki looked genuinely worried.\r\n\r\n“I… I’m not sure.â€ Again, Akiko was lost for words. “It just starting hurting all of a sudden.â€ She realised that that was true; there was still a dull ache between her legs. She shuddered again, and reached for her knickers to pull them on.\r\n\r\n“I’m really sorry, Naoyuki. I have to go home. Let’s meet again tomorrow.â€\r\n\r\n“I can’t. Meeting. Friday?â€ Naoyuki sounded a little sullen, but at least he was arranging another date.\r\n\r\n“Friday sounds good. See you then.â€ Akiko was already dressed and on her way out of the flat.', 'Kiss and Make Up', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kiss-and-make-up', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:48:15', '2009-01-22 01:48:15', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=154', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(155, 1, '2009-01-22 10:48:08', '2009-01-22 01:48:08', '', 'Kiss and Make Up', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '154-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:48:08', '2009-01-22 01:48:08', '', 154, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/154-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(156, 1, '2009-03-04 00:00:21', '2009-03-03 15:00:21', 'Akiko got home the following night to another note from her landlord, reporting claims of excessive noise. She had no idea what that was talking about, and put it on one side; she had more immediate things to worry about. Naoyuki had emailed her to check that she was all right, but she was still disturbed by the vision. She could easily come up with things it might mean, but she did not like any of the ideas it suggested. For almost an hour, she seriously considered not going to the shrine, but her steadily building tension convinced her that she would have to go if she was going to sleep at all.\r\n\r\nHer lack of sleep was catching up with her again, so she decided to take a risk and go to the shrine a bit earlier than normal. She paused at the bottom of the steps, straining her ears for any sound. She could hear the drip of the water into the basin, and the leaves rustling in the occasional breeze, but other than that, the shrine seemed to be quiet. Stepping as quietly as she could, she hurried up the steps and into the shrine, quickly rinsing her hands and mouth and then going to pay her respects. As she turned away from the shrine, she noticed that there was still a light on in the shrine house. She almost ran down the steps and into the cover of the woods.\r\n\r\nIn the darkness under the trees she felt a lot safer from discovery, but she quickly realised that there was no way she could do any cleaning without using her torch. The light from the shrine grounds was enough to see where the main tree trunks were, but everything around them was merely degrees of shadow. She glanced back at the open area, but she couldn’t see anyone moving about. Making sure to direct it away from the house, she turned her torch on and cast the beam around, looking for rubbish.\r\n\r\nThere was a flash of orange from a bush, and Akiko turned the torch off as she made her way over, turning it on again to confirm that the orange was an empty senbei wrapper. She picked it up and put it in her rubbish bag, then shone the torch around once more.\r\n\r\nAs she walked through the darkened woods in between each use of the torch, she was very aware of the trees around her. She could feel the shapes of their roots under her feet, her footing slightly unsteady as she tried to move around them, and their lower branches caught at her hair and clothes, as if trying to caress her. The smell of wood and leaves filled the air, cleaner and clearer the further into the wood she went, and the gentle creak of the trunks and branches as they settled in the night air was almost a lullaby. Every time she turned the torch back on, the trees seemed to draw back from her even as they sprang into full visibility.\r\n\r\nHer bag becoming full, Akiko turned back towards the open area, and she could see the shrine building clearly through the trees before she realised that she had been turning the torch on while it was pointed in that direction. Putting it away, she walked as quickly as she dared towards the exit, hoping she had not been spotted.\r\n\r\nAs she emerged from the woods, Shiraishi was waiting for her.', 'Kami''s Woodland', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'kamis-woodland', '', '', '2009-03-05 10:14:37', '2009-03-05 01:14:37', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=156', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(157, 1, '2009-01-22 10:48:39', '2009-01-22 01:48:39', '', 'Kami''s Woodland', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '156-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:48:39', '2009-01-22 01:48:39', '', 156, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/156-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(158, 1, '2009-03-05 00:00:53', '2009-03-04 15:00:53', 'Akiko hesitated at the edge of the wood, but it was clear that the priest knew she was there. There was nothing to be gained by delaying, but it was still long moments before she could bring herself to step out. Shiraishi came forward, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgement, her hands tightly clasped in front of her.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata.â€ She stopped, apparently unsure what to say next. Akiko had no idea what to say, either, so the silence stretched out. Finally, Shiraishi broke it.\r\n\r\n“I’m sorry I accused you of planning to con me. That was unreasonable.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko just nodded, not at all sure how to respond. Shiraishi seemed to wait for her to say something, but then decided to continue herself.\r\n\r\n“What are you doing here?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko held up the bag of rubbish.\r\n\r\n“Cleaning.â€ Even as she said it, she felt that it was too curt, too aggressive to be a proper answer, but she could think of no way to improve it. Shiraishi, however, just nodded.\r\n\r\n“Thank you. It’s quite difficult for me to keep the shrine clean by myself. But why are you cleaning in the middle of the night?â€ For a moment, Akiko thought that she was going to have to try to answer that question without being offensive, but then Shiraishi sighed. “I’m sorry, I suppose I know the answer to that. I can imagine that you wouldn’t want to run into me again after our last conversation.â€\r\n\r\n“No, it was just…â€ Akiko instinctively tried to soften the assessment, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She reflected, wryly, that she wasn’t doing a very good job of communicating this evening.\r\n\r\n“It’s all right. I’m really sorry about what I said. I’m afraid that our relationship got off to a bad start there, and yet you still cleaned the shrine.â€ Akiko knew what she wanted to say at this point, but she held her tongue. Mentioning the fact that Tamao kept appearing to her did not seem wise, given what had happened the last time. And if she could patch things up with Shiraishi, she would be able to come to clean earlier, which would mean more sleep. Still, she realised that she had to say something.\r\n\r\n“It… It needed doing.â€ Shiraishi grimaced, but nodded.\r\n\r\n“The shrine precincts really are too large for me to look after by myself. As I say, I really appreciate the help. Won’t you come into the house for a cup of tea? It’s quite cool out here.â€\r\n\r\n“I… Thank you, but not tonight. I really need to get home; I have to go to work tomorrow.â€ Shiraishi looked disappointed, but nodded.\r\n\r\n“I see. Well, at least let me take the bag of rubbish and throw it away for you.â€ She held her hand out, and Akiko quickly handed over the carrier bag of litter. “Thank you. If you still want to clean, I would very much appreciate it. And you should feel free to come earlier in the evening.â€ She smiled slightly as she finished, and Akiko found herself smiling back.\r\n\r\n“Thank you. I think I will.â€', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'reconciliation-2', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:49:18', '2009-01-22 01:49:18', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=158', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(159, 1, '2009-01-22 10:49:10', '2009-01-22 01:49:10', '', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '158-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:49:10', '2009-01-22 01:49:10', '', 158, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/158-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(160, 1, '2009-03-06 00:00:36', '2009-03-05 15:00:36', 'The additional sleep did not seem to have made much difference to Akiko’s energy the next morning, as she struggled to maintain the facade of alertness necessary to keep Mr Kanayama from criticising her further. The strain of keeping it up was starting to tell on her by mid-morning, and she was deeply grateful that it was Friday; fantasies of sleeping through the whole weekend were one of the things sustaining her.\r\n\r\nDuring one such fantasy, she noticed Mr Kanayama emerging from his office, and immediately turned her attention to the database she was supposed to be checking. Fortunately, the data in it was mostly correct, limiting the number of necessary changes. Mr Kanayama came over and stood by her desk, and she looked up before bowing her head to acknowledge him. He nodded back, and handed her a file.\r\n\r\n“I need graphs and charts of this data before I leave for Osaka tomorrow morning. Make sure that they are clear. They have to make us look good, without being misleading; the companies in Osaka <em>will</em> press me on details.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, sir.â€ He just nodded again, his face grim, and Akiko flicked through the file, her heart sinking. Reams of data, all in hard copy, that she would need to type in. She opened up the spreadsheet, and was about to begin when Satomi leaned across and whispered,\r\n\r\n“How are you going to present them?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko realised that she didn’t know, and that until she did know she didn’t know how to set up the spreadsheet.\r\n\r\n“Thanks,â€ she whispered back, and Satomi smiled, returning to her own work.\r\n\r\nThe project was actually a lot less daunting than she had thought, when she came to look at it. At least half the information in the files was irrelevant, and there was normally only one choice for the way to display it if you wanted it to look good. She briefly reflected that that was not a good sign, in more general terms, but that wasn’t her problem. She was entering data before lunch time, and worked through the lunch hour to get them finished.\r\n\r\nBefore handing anything over to Mr Kanayama, she checked once more, comparing the data to the sheets of paper and printing out the graphs, checking their impact. Everything looked accurate to her, and she showed the graphs to Satomi, who agreed that they looked good. Taking a blank thumb drive (no point risking mistakes over the files) she copied the spreadsheets across, and took them to Mr Kanayama.\r\n\r\nHe looked pleased when he received the drive. He did not look pleased ten minutes later, when he stormed out of his office, dropped the drive on her desk, and told her to stop messing about and do it properly.\r\n\r\nAkiko was stunned. She was about to ask what the problem was, but he had already returned to his office. Opening the files, she was stunned again. They were completely different from the ones she had handed over. Data she had checked was now wrong, the graphs were badly designed and chosen to show the company in the worst possible light, and half of the points were not illustrated at all. She opened the files on her own computer, and they were the same.\r\n\r\nIn her state of complete bafflement, one thing became distressingly clear: she was going to have to call Naoyuki and cancel their date.', 'Mysterious Work Problem', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mysterious-work-problem', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:50:06', '2009-01-22 01:50:06', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=160', 0, 'post', '', 5);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(161, 1, '2009-01-22 10:49:56', '2009-01-22 01:49:56', '', 'Mysterious Work Problem', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '160-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:49:56', '2009-01-22 01:49:56', '', 160, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/160-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(162, 1, '2009-03-07 00:00:11', '2009-03-06 15:00:11', 'Akiko stared at the screen, her face twisted into a frown. This was definitely not how she had planned to spend her Saturday, but she didn’t see that she had any choice. It had been midnight before she got the graphs and charts ready for Mr Kanayama, and that left a pile of the other work she had been supposed to do on Friday sitting on her desk. Given her boss’s current attitude, she was sure she had to do something to convince him she was serious. So here she was. She grimaced at the screen again, and started typing.\r\n\r\nHer cell phone rang. She ignored it at first, but the person, a number she didn’t know, didn’t give up.\r\n\r\n“Hello? This is Akiko Tanahata.â€\r\n\r\n“This is Ota.â€ Her landlord.\r\n\r\n“Oh, Mr Ota. What can I do for you?â€\r\n\r\n“I’ve had several complaints from your neighbours about the loud noises from your room at night.â€\r\n\r\n“At night?â€ Akiko was confused. <em>She</em> hadn’t heard any loud noises.\r\n\r\n“Yes. Your contract requires you to keep the noise down after dark. So please see to it.â€\r\n\r\n“But…â€ He had already hung up on her. Akiko closed the phone and turned back to the screen, just as it went blank. She tapped at the keyboard, and at the power key, but they had no effect. She got down on her hands and knees under the desk, and found that the cord had got wound around her chair leg and the plug had been pulled out of the socket.\r\n\r\nPlugged in again, the computer started up, but when she tried to open any of her files she got error messages; the crash seemed to have corrupted part of the disk. She looked for earlier versions, but they wouldn’t open either, and then the machine crashed again.\r\n\r\nAkiko stared at the screen, incredulous. How many problems could she face on a single weekend? Something moved in the reflection, behind her, and she quickly looked over her shoulder. She saw Mr Tanaka, on his way to his desk. He nodded at her, but paid little attention, caught up in his work as normal.\r\n\r\nWhen she looked back, the screen was a window onto the shrine, looking down from above the torii. Without thinking, she moved the mouse, but it had no effect on the image. The deep green of the trees contrasted with the bright green of the copper roof, but there was no sign of anyone in the grounds. Just an empty drink bottle on the path. And a plastic lunch tray. And an empty crisp packet.\r\n\r\nAs she watched, more and more litter appeared on the ground, filling it up, hiding the grass from view and starting to build up to the level of the shrine veranda. She waved the mouse and stabbed at keys, but nothing changed the image on the screen.\r\n\r\n“All right,â€ she muttered. “I get the message.â€ Turning the computer off made the image fade, and she gathered her coat and bag. She looked at the pile of work still sitting on her desk and sighed. It looked like it wasn’t going to get done this weekend, after all.', 'Working Weekend', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'working-weekend', '', '', '2009-03-09 17:46:02', '2009-03-09 08:46:02', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=162', 0, 'post', '', 3);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(163, 1, '2009-01-22 10:50:32', '2009-01-22 01:50:32', '', 'Working Weekend', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '162-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:50:32', '2009-01-22 01:50:32', '', 162, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/162-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(164, 1, '2009-03-08 00:00:45', '2009-03-07 15:00:45', 'There wasn’t, in fact, a great deal of litter left in the open area of the shrine precincts, but now that she didn’t have to worry about Shiraishi spotting her, Akiko took advantage of the daylight to track down the bits she had missed so far. They were mostly small things, and all of Akiko’s attention was focused on them, to the point that she didn’t notice Mr Takenaka until he was standing right beside her.\r\n\r\n“Good morning, Ms Tanahata. Do I take it that you have made up with Revd Shiraishi?â€ Akiko straightened up, and felt herself blush slightly. Her behaviour seemed more than a little ridiculous, now.\r\n\r\n“Good morning. Yes, we had a talk and sorted things out.â€ He smiled.\r\n\r\n“That’s good to hear. I gather you met my son, Akira, one evening.â€ Akiko nodded.\r\n\r\n“He helped a bit with the cleaning.â€ This time, she thought there was something a little sad about Mr Takenaka’s smile.\r\n\r\n“He’s a good boy. Well, don’t let me keep you. I’ve got a meeting with Revd Shiraishi; ujiko business.â€ Akiko nodded, although she wasn’t entirely sure what ujiko business would be. Something to do with the people who used the shrine. She bowed back to Mr Takenaka, and then returned to hunting rubbish.\r\n\r\nIt started to drizzle as she did so, the path soon glistening under a film of water, the grass shining clean. The calm smell of the earth rose around her, and once again she forgot about the rest of the world, her mind completely at peace.\r\n\r\nHer path took her round the back of the shrine, to the collection of rocks. It was only when she was poking between them, fishing out old leaflets and food wrappers that had blown in, that she remembered what she had seen there a few nights previously. She took a step back, but they seemed to be just rocks; fairly large rocks, certainly, but no more special than that. Still, she wasn’t willing to put what she had seen down to a dream. She reached back in, carefully, and picked up a sodden mass that had once been a leaflet. Nothing happened, and nothing happened while she finished gathering the rubbish, and then moved on to search the rest of the ground.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata!â€ It was Shiraishi, calling from the shrine house. “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko straightened up, and looked around again. It was definitely possible that she had found all the litter in the open area.\r\n\r\n“That sounds great, thank you,â€ she called back, as she started to walk over. “I think I’ve got all the litter from the open area.â€\r\n\r\n“Thank you so much. It’s really a big help, you know.â€ Akiko just shrugged, not really comfortable with the gratitude. <em>She doesn’t know the real reason,</em> she thought.\r\n\r\nThe tea was very good, and the small Japanese sweets that Shiraishi served were delicious, but Akiko felt very uncomfortable the whole time. Mr Takenaka was there as well, and he seemed worried by something; at any rate, he said very little, most of it to Shiraishi. Shiraishi herself also seemed distracted, but Akiko would have said that she was embarrassed at least as much as worried. And Akiko couldn’t think of anything to talk about apart from the appearances of the kami, and that was a topic she really didn’t want to raise.\r\n\r\nWhen the shrine doorbell rang, everyone looked up, and Akiko could see the relief she was feeling on the faces of the other two.\r\n\r\n“That will be my family,â€ Mr Takenaka said, and he was right. His wife greeted them all politely, but Akira seemed a bit tongue-tied.\r\n\r\n“Well then, I’ll get ready for the ceremony. Please wait in here.â€ Shiraishi stood and took her leave, and Akiko followed her example.\r\n\r\n“I don’t want to disturb you, so I’ll go back to cleaning. Please excuse me.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, you don’t have to go.â€ Mr Takenaka’s protestation did not sound at all sincere, and Akiko suspected that he had something he wanted to talk to his family about before the ceremony.\r\n\r\n“I really should get on. I want to pick up some more litter in the woods before it gets dark.â€ Mr Takenaka nodded his understanding, and his wife murmured a few conventional words. Akira bowed to her, but he was blushing and didn’t seem able to say anything.\r\n\r\nAkiko had barely started gathering the rubbish when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at it: Naoyuki. For a moment, she thought about not answering it, not here, but she quickly realised that that would just mean she had to explain herself later.\r\n\r\n“Hello, Naoyuki?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes. How are you? How’s work going?â€\r\n\r\n<em>That’s right,</em> she thought. <em>He thinks I’m in work; that’s where I said I’d be.</em>\r\n\r\n“Not too bad, but not as well as I would like.â€ <em>Not quite a lie,</em> she reassured herself.\r\n\r\n“When do you think you’ll be finished?â€ That was a difficult question.\r\n\r\n“Not today, I think. The computer is playing up, so I can’t get things done very quickly.â€\r\n\r\n“That’s a shame. I was hoping you’d be able to come over this afternoon; I got my work finished this morning.â€ Akiko looked around the shrine, wondering whether it would be all right to go to see her boyfriend. If she could do it without any visions.\r\n\r\nBefore she could answer, the sound of the drum came from the shrine building, as the Takenakas’ ceremony began.\r\n\r\n“What’s that?â€ Naoyuki’s voice was suspicious.\r\n\r\n“What’s what?â€ Akiko was suddenly flustered.\r\n\r\n“That noise. It’s a drum. You’re at the shrine, aren’t you?â€ The accusation was strong in his tone, and Akiko responded without thinking.\r\n\r\n“No, I told you, I’m in work.â€ The shrine was quiet for a moment, and then Shiraishi started reciting a prayer, the sound carrying clearly to Akiko. She turned to run deeper into the woods, but it was too late.\r\n\r\n“You are not. You’re at the shrine. Don’t lie to me, Akiko. I told you not to go there; why did you go? What are you doing there?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko had no idea how to answer. She could hardly tell her boyfriend to mind his own business, but she didn’t know what else to say, especially while he was shouting into the phone.\r\n\r\n“Look, you have to get over this shrine obsession, Akiko. Stay away from it, and call me when you think you can.â€ He hung up then, leaving her standing in the woods, the sound of the prayer flowing around her.', 'Call to the Shrine', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'call-to-the-shrine', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:51:19', '2009-01-22 01:51:19', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=164', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(165, 1, '2009-01-22 10:51:08', '2009-01-22 01:51:08', '', 'Call to the Shrine', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '164-revision', '', '', '2009-01-22 10:51:08', '2009-01-22 01:51:08', '', 164, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/22/164-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(166, 1, '2009-01-06 09:54:48', '2009-01-06 00:54:48', 'Akiko almost ran up the steps to the shrine, one hand on the railing for balance. At the top of the steps she looked around, wondering where the priest was. She couldn’t see anyone, but then she heard a drum beat from the shrine building, its deep sonority starting slow and then speeding up, before coming to a sudden stop.\r\n\r\nShe started towards the shrine, and went straight past the purification basin. As she did, however, she felt her stomach twist, and she turned back. The water was icy cold as she poured it over her hands, and sharp in her mouth, but as she replaced the ladle she felt much better, somehow lighter in the core of her body.\r\n\r\nA chanting voice became audible as she approached the shrine, and as she climbed the steps she began to make out words. It was the priest’s voice, and she almost seemed to be speaking Japanese, but the words did not quite fit together in the right way.\r\n\r\nFrom the top of the steps she could see into the shrine, where Shiraishi had was just standing up from kneeling in front of a large stick with lots of paper streamers stuck onto it. The priest was wearing a long robe over the white kimono and purple hakama this time, and had a black crown-like thing with three peaks at the front on her head. She picked the stick up, and walked to wave it over three other people sitting in the body of the shrine.\r\n\r\nThere were two men, one older, and one younger, both wearing suits, and an older woman in a kimono. They looked like a family, and Akiko quickly realised that they must be having a more formal prayer said, as Shiraishi had mentioned on Akiko’s last visit. Akiko was a little embarrassed, but she wanted to talk to the priest, so she waited.\r\n\r\nShiraishi went towards the back of the shrine to read something, again in almost-Japanese, and then the older man put a small green branch with white paper tied on it onto a table, before everyone bowed and clapped as Shiraishi had taught her. Akiko wondered whether she should join in, but in the end decided not to.\r\n\r\nAnd then it was over, and the family, turning to leave, spotted her. The woman just nodded, but the younger man, who was, now she could see his face, clearly the son, looked for rather longer, before bowing quickly, as if confused or embarrassed about something. The older man also looked at her for a while, and Akiko looked back, sure that she had seen him somewhere. Suddenly, he smiled and bowed.\r\n\r\n“Ah, hello again.â€ As he did, Akiko remembered where she had seen him: he had been leaving the shrine as she came in the last time. The priest looked between them.\r\n\r\n“Mr Takenaka, do you know Ms Tanahata?â€ He shook his head.\r\n\r\n“I saw her coming to the shrine a few days ago, and just now she looked familiar.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, I see. Well,â€ Shiraishi turned to Akiko, “can I help you with something?â€\r\n\r\n“Er, I’d like to talk to you about something.â€ The priest nodded.\r\n\r\n“If you can wait a few minutes, I’ll just get changed.â€ Akiko indicated that this was fine, and Shiraishi led the Takenakas out of the shrine.', 'The Takenakas', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '67-revision-2', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:54:48', '2009-01-06 00:54:48', '', 67, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/67-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(167, 1, '2009-01-06 09:59:04', '2009-01-06 00:59:04', 'Akiko tried to get back into the swing of things through the rest of the afternoon, but found that things had built up while she’d been distracted, and it took her the whole time to get everything straightened out. It was almost six before she felt she could leave the office, and there was a text message from Naoyuki on her phone.\r\n\r\n“I’ve got out of the drinks tonight. Dinner?â€ Akiko checked the time it had been sent; only a few minutes earlier. Relieved, she texted back a positive response, and then left to meet him.\r\n\r\nAs regular customers of the restaurant they were greeted warmly and shown to their usual table, in a fairly private corner at the back. Naoyuki looked very cheerful.\r\n\r\n“Oh, I wish I knew which idiot had decided that drinking yourself into insensibility was an essential part of office work in Japan.â€ He paused.\r\n\r\n“Mmmm.â€ Akiko knew that he wasn’t really complaining, just leading up to what he really wanted to say.\r\n\r\n“Still, when they’ve just decided to promote you, it’s hard to begrudge them their little pleasures.â€ He was grinning all over his face now.\r\n\r\n“A promotion? Really? Congratulations!â€ Akiko was really excited. “What to?â€\r\n\r\n“Well, deputy section head, so only one step, and not until next month. Actually, it’s not official yet; the section head has just recommended it to the department head.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh.â€ Akiko felt the stirrings of worry; what if it didn’t happen?\r\n\r\n“Oh, no, it’s really rare for the department head to overrule the section heads on appointing their own deputies. Not something to worry about, really. I told you the business trip went well.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, you did. And you were right, as usual. Congratulations!â€\r\n\r\n“Thanks. Well, have you been back to that shrine?â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€ Akiko was shocked that Naoyuki had remembered their conversation.\r\n\r\n“Well, I’m going to be a deputy section head soon. I’m already dating an older woman; I don’t want people to think she’s old-fashioned, as well.â€ He was smiling as he said it, but Akiko could tell that he was serious.\r\n\r\n“No, I’ve not been back.â€ <em>How could he find out? It was only once more.</em> “And I’ve got no plans to go back again. Well, barring truly torrential rain.â€ <em>And that’s true,</em> she thought. <em>I’m finished with people who think I’m a con artist.</em>\r\n\r\n“Probably best to stay away from it even if the rain does fall, you know. There are some strange people hanging around shrines. They put salt in the doorway, and have those little shrines in their houses. It’s really not the right image for this day an age. All superstition, you know.â€\r\n\r\n“I only visited. I didn’t say I believed it.â€ Akiko was surprised at how earnest Naoyuki seemed.\r\n\r\n“Well, true.â€ He suddenly smiled, seeming to relax. “That’s right. Why would you believe in the kami or any of that rubbish?â€\r\n\r\nThe image of a giant, shining snake flashed through Akiko’s mind, but she just nodded and smiled.\r\n\r\n“Well, then,â€ Naoyuki continued, looking more relaxed, and with a sly look, “once we’ve eaten, why don’t we go back to my place and <em>celebrate</em> some more?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko knew she had turned bright pink.', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '75-revision-2', '', '', '2009-01-06 09:59:04', '2009-01-06 00:59:04', '', 75, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/06/75-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(168, 1, '2009-01-28 06:53:19', '2009-01-27 21:53:19', 'Akiko tried to get back into the swing of things through the rest of the afternoon, but found that things had built up while she’d been distracted, and it took her the whole time to get everything straightened out. It was almost six before she felt she could leave the office, and there was a text message from Naoyuki on her phone.\n\n“I’ve got out of the drinks tonight. Dinner?â€ Akiko checked the time it had been sent; only a few minutes earlier. Relieved, she texted back a positive response, and then left to meet him.\n\nAs regular customers of the restaurant they were greeted warmly and shown to their usual table, in a fairly private corner at the back. Naoyuki looked very cheerful.\n\n“Oh, I wish I knew which idiot had decided that drinking yourself into insensibility was an essential part of office work in Japan.â€ He paused.\n\n“Mmmm.â€ Akiko knew that he wasn’t really complaining, just leading up to what he really wanted to say.\n\n“Still, when they’ve just decided to promote you, it’s hard to begrudge them their little pleasures.â€ He was grinning all over his face now.\n\n“A promotion? Really? Congratulations!â€ Akiko was really excited. “What to?â€\n\n“Well, deputy section head, so only one step, and not until next month. Actually, it’s not official yet; the section head has just recommended it to the department head.â€\n\n“Oh.â€ Akiko felt the stirrings of worry; what if it didn’t happen?\n\n“Oh, no, it’s really rare for the department head to overrule the section heads on appointing their own deputies. Not something to worry about, really. I told you the business trip went well.â€\n\n“Yes, you did. And you were right, as usual. Congratulations!â€\n\n“Thanks. Well, have you been back to that shrine?â€\n\n“What?â€ Akiko was shocked that Naoyuki had remembered their conversation.\n\n“Well, I’m going to be a deputy section head soon. I’m already dating an older woman; I don’t want people to think she’s old-fashioned, as well.â€ He was smiling as he said it, but Akiko could tell that he was serious.\n\n“No, I’ve not been back.â€ <em>How could he find out? It was only once more.</em> “And I’ve got no plans to go back again. Well, barring truly torrential rain.â€ <em>And that’s true,</em> she thought. <em>I’m finished with people who think I’m a con artist.</em>\n\n“Probably best to stay away from it even if the rain does fall, you know. There are some strange people hanging around shrines. They put salt in the doorway, and have those little shrines in their houses. It’s really not the right image for this day and age. All superstition, you know.â€\n\n“I only visited. I didn’t say I believed it.â€ Akiko was surprised at how earnest Naoyuki seemed.\n\n“Well, true.â€ He suddenly smiled, seeming to relax. “That’s right. Why would you believe in the kami or any of that rubbish?â€\n\nThe image of a giant, shining snake flashed through Akiko’s mind, but she just nodded and smiled.\n\n“Well, then,â€ Naoyuki continued, looking more relaxed, and with a sly look, “once we’ve eaten, why don’t we go back to my place and <em>celebrate</em> some more?â€\n\nAkiko knew she had turned bright pink.', 'Reconciliation', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '75-autosave', '', '', '2009-01-28 06:53:19', '2009-01-27 21:53:19', '', 75, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/75-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(169, 1, '2009-03-09 00:00:18', '2009-03-08 15:00:18', '<em>Well, at least I’m not exhausted,</em> Akiko thought as she surveyed the pile of work on her desk on Monday morning. She had slept well on Saturday night, and, after failing to get into the office on Sunday, had spent part of the day at the shrine, but most of it catching up on more sleep. The pile of remaining work was still very intimidating, however, which was why she had come in early.\r\n\r\nNevertheless, Mr Kanayama was there ahead of her.\r\n\r\n“Ah, Ms Tanahata, could you come into my office for a moment?â€\r\n\r\n“Of course, sir.â€ She put the file she’d been inspecting back on the pile on her desk and went to his office, wondering what he wanted.\r\n\r\n“Please close the door behind you.â€ Mr Kanayama was standing behind his desk, looking down at it. Akiko pushed the door to, suddenly very nervous. This wasn’t looking good.\r\n\r\nMr Kanayama took a deep breath, and looked up at her.\r\n\r\n“You still haven’t finished the work you were given on Friday, have you.â€\r\n\r\n“No, sir.â€ Akiko felt that she had to justify herself more than that, even though the amount she had received on Friday was obviously more than could be done in one day. “I did come in during the weekend, but there were problems with the computers, and I couldn’t get it finished.â€\r\n\r\n“No-one else reported computer problems this weekend. And Tanaka says that you left the office around ten, and didn’t come back.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, but my computer crashed. I couldn’t get anything else done.â€\r\n\r\n“Really?â€ Mr Kanayama sounded sceptical.\r\n\r\n“I’ll show you.â€ Akiko remembered that the disk had been corrupted, with none of her files opening. That should convince him.\r\n\r\n“Very well.â€\r\n\r\nWith Mr Kanayama standing over her, Akiko started up the computer and clicked on a file to open it. The program started up, and the file appeared, with no sign of any problems. Akiko stared at it, disbelieving. None of the files had opened, she was sure of it.\r\n\r\n“It seems to be working perfectly well now,â€ Mr Kanayama observed from behind her.\r\n\r\n“Er… yes.â€ Akiko wasn’t sure what to say, or think. “It wasn’t working on Saturday.â€\r\n\r\n“Maybe. I think we should go back to my office.â€ He didn’t wait for her to say anything, and Akiko got up to follow him with dread heavy in the pit of her stomach.\r\n\r\nShe closed the door to the office without waiting to be told, and stood in front of his desk as he fiddled with some of the papers on it. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked up at her again.\r\n\r\n“Your work has been below par for some time, Ms Tanahata. Particularly so in the last few weeks. I was hoping that you would be able to turn things around, and I gave you several opportunities to do so. But the graphs you gave me for the meeting still contained errors, errors that may have cost us a contract.â€ Akiko opened her mouth to protest her innocence; she was sure that the graphs had been correct. She’d checked them many times. But Mr Kanayama immediately interrupted.\r\n\r\n“Don’t try to justify it. The simple fact is that you are not up to this job.â€ He dropped his eyes back to the desk. “I’m afraid that I have no choice but to let you go. Collect your things from your desk on your way out.â€', 'Meeting with the Boss', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'meeting-with-the-boss', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:38:06', '2009-01-28 03:38:06', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=169', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(170, 1, '2009-01-28 12:37:59', '2009-01-28 03:37:59', '', 'Meeting with the Boss', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '169-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:37:59', '2009-01-28 03:37:59', '', 169, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/169-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(171, 1, '2009-03-10 00:00:14', '2009-03-09 15:00:14', 'For a moment Akiko could say nothing from the shock, her mouth dry as she felt waves of heat, followed by chills, flow through her. She couldn’t have actually been fired, surely?\r\n\r\n“I’m sorry?â€ It sounded lame even in her ears. Mr Kanayama cleared his throat again.\r\n\r\n“You’re fired, Ms Tanahata. Please collect your personal possessions, and then leave the office.â€ He was still looking at the desk, refusing to meet her eyes.\r\n\r\n“What for? What have I done?â€ As she said it, an edge of anger crept into her voice, even as it settled into her mind. It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything unethical.\r\n\r\n“As I said, you are clearly not up to this job. I’m afraid that I cannot justify continuing to employ you.â€\r\n\r\n“What, unlike Megumi? She’s constantly late preparing things, forgets half of what anyone asks her, and hasn’t managed a project without a mistake while I’ve been here. Why isn’t she being sacked?â€\r\n\r\n“This isn’t about Ms Ito, it’s about you, Ms Tanahata.â€\r\n\r\n“It’s because of her father, isn’t it. I don’t have a rich father you daren’t offend, so you are happy to sack me when you need some sort of scapegoat.â€ Even as she said it, Akiko felt her anger taking over. A small part of her mind was warning her to be careful, but she didn’t listen to, didn’t <em>want</em> to listen to it.\r\n\r\nMr Kanayama had flushed, and now he did look up.\r\n\r\n“Don’t insult my integrity, Ms Tanahata. How can you even suggest that I would fire you for anything less than a good reason? Or that my attitudes to Ms Ito are influenced by who her father is?â€\r\n\r\n“Maybe you’re screwing her, then.â€ The small part of Akiko’s mind winced as she said that.\r\n\r\n“How dare you!â€ Mr Kanayama almost shouted the words, his face now bright red. “I was obviously right to fire you before your attitude could cause the company even more problems. Now, are you going to leave by yourself, or do I have to call security and have you escorted out?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko drew breath for a stinging retort, but suddenly realised that she had nothing to say. Nothing that would make a difference, anyway. Nothing that was worth wasting energy on. She let the breath out again, slowly, and then nodded. She couldn’t bring herself to make any polite noises, and simply turned her back on her boss. <em>Former</em> boss, she reminded herself, as she let herself out of the office.\r\n\r\nShe pulled her personal property out of her desk, piling it on her chair as she looked around for something to put it in. Satomi arrived before she had finished, and Akiko avoided her co-worker’s eyes, continuing with the job as if there was no-one there. She knew Satomi was looking at her, but the other woman didn’t try to say anything as Akiko picked up her things and left, and Akiko was almost grateful enough to turn back and say good bye. Almost, but not quite.\r\n\r\nAt the lifts, Megumi was just coming out.\r\n\r\n“Akiko, where are you going?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko managed to bite back her response, letting the lift doors close behind her, hiding her from Megumi and anyone else in the office.', 'Fired', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'fired', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:38:39', '2009-01-28 03:38:39', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=171', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(172, 1, '2009-01-28 12:38:35', '2009-01-28 03:38:35', '', 'Fired', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '171-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:38:35', '2009-01-28 03:38:35', '', 171, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/171-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(173, 1, '2009-03-11 00:00:51', '2009-03-10 15:00:51', 'Akiko replayed the conversation with Mr Kanayama over and over in the train on her way home. Every time she came up with better responses, either to convince him that he was lowly scum and that she didn’t want their stupid job anyway, or that he was making the biggest mistake in the company’s history, so that he grovelled to her to accept his apologies and take the job back. Sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhen she got off the train, however, her mood flipped to despair. She couldn’t even keep a job as an office worker. What was she going to tell Naoyuki? What was she going to tell her mother? What must Satomi think of her now? And Megumi: Megumi would probably be gloating, blaming everything on Akiko’s failure to buy new Louis Vuitton bags every three months. Thinking about Megumi helped switch her mood back to anger. It was absurd to think that she was a worse worker than Megumi, and utterly inconceivable that she deserved to be sacked while Megumi didn’t. Akiko started speculating darkly about affairs between Megumi and Mr Kanayama, or conspiracies to ruin her life stretching up through the company.\r\n\r\nThat reminded her of the other influence that had played a role. Tamao. What did the kami want? He had made it impossible for her to work properly, interfering with the computer and, she was suddenly sure, with the files and print-outs, making her lose her job. He’d rather have her picking litter up in the shrine grounds. Maybe he was also behind the affair between Megumi and Mr Kanayama. That would make sense; she couldn’t see any other reason why those two might get together. Well, she could understand Mr Kanayama lusting after Megumi, but he was hardly a prize physical specimen, and Megumi hardly needed to go gold digging. And if she did, she’d set her sights rather higher than the manager of such a small company. Yes, the kami definitely had to be involved.\r\n\r\nSatisfied with the conspiracy, she started thinking about ways to expose it in the press, bringing the whole company down in scandal as crowds picketed the shrine over the kami’s destruction of her life.\r\n\r\nOf course, that was impossible. No-one would believe her about the kami. Not even the priest at the shrine believed her about the kami. Naoyuki would dump her for sure if she blamed it on the kami. She felt tears pricking at her eyes as her mood swung back to despair, and had to stop on a street corner and take a deep breath to steady herself. She looked down at her clothes, her work uniform, and the tears threatened again. <em>Get home and get changed,</em> she told herself. <em>You’ll feel better then.</em>\r\n\r\nShe walked up the stairs to her flat, and realised something was wrong as she reached the door. There were boxes and cases piled round the door, things she recognised, her things. On the door was a note, addressed to her.', 'Getting Home', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'getting-home-2', '', '', '2009-03-12 20:42:32', '2009-03-12 11:42:32', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=173', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(174, 1, '2009-01-28 12:39:20', '2009-01-28 03:39:20', '', 'Getting Home', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '173-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:39:20', '2009-01-28 03:39:20', '', 173, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/173-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(175, 1, '2009-03-12 00:00:42', '2009-03-11 15:00:42', '<em>Ms Tanahata,</em>\r\n\r\n<em>I warned you several times about noise in the flat and damage to the property. This situation is completely unacceptable, and you are hereby evicted, effective immediately.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Ota</em>\r\n\r\nAkiko read the note several times, not believing it. Noise? Damage? She couldn’t remember any noise or damage. She put her key into the lock, but it wouldn’t turn. Looking around the landing, she realised that all her property had been taken out, and now sat around her. She felt numb, a conviction that this must be another dream, another unsubtle message from the kami to get her to do what he wanted, taking hold of her mind. She looked around, staring at the boxes and cases without really seeing them, waiting to wake up.\r\n\r\nIt started to rain, a few drops falling on the items nearest the edge of the landing. For a moment, she did nothing, but as the rain got heavier she started picking up the boxes and bags, moving them closer to the wall. As she moved her spare work uniform, something broke inside her.\r\n\r\nThis wasn’t a dream.\r\n\r\nShe tried to blink back the tears, but they were coming too fast. She took a deep breath, but it shuddered and turned into a sob as she let it out again. Standing, she shook her head, determined to get herself under control. Reaching out, she grabbed the railing, gripping it tightly, so tightly that the edges dug into her palm, holding her breath and blinking rapidly.\r\n\r\nShe couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her breath came out in a wail, and she crumpled to the floor, sitting staring at her worldly goods as they vanished behind her tears.\r\n\r\nWhat was she going to do now? No job, no home. How could she face anyone? She was homeless. Her future was a tent made of blue sheeting, people ignoring her to her face and mocking behind her back.\r\n\r\nThe idea of suicide briefly crossed her mind, as she imagined jumping in front of the train she used to catch to work, but she angrily rejected it. The kami wasn’t going to beat her that easily.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki. She could call Naoyuki. It would be easy for her to stay away from the shrine now that the kami had destroyed her life. She could stay with him. She was sure that would be OK.\r\n\r\nFumbling, dropping it twice, she got her cell phone out of her bag, and called him. His phone rang and rang, but she was put through to the answering service before he picked up. She hung up and dialled again. And again. And again. The fifth time, she left a message.\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki! I need to talk to you! Call me back! Come and see me!â€ She was wailing and sobbing as she said it, not sure that he would understand, and as the service beeped to tell her that the message was over she dropped her phone, still crying, and reached out for one of the bags.\r\n\r\nAs she did so, she caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye, something half-hidden behind her bags, something entirely the wrong shape to be a person.', 'Despair', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'despair', '', '', '2009-03-12 20:41:50', '2009-03-12 11:41:50', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=175', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(176, 1, '2009-01-28 12:40:00', '2009-01-28 03:40:00', '', 'Despair', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '175-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:40:00', '2009-01-28 03:40:00', '', 175, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/175-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(177, 1, '2009-03-13 00:00:41', '2009-03-12 15:00:41', 'When she turned to look, at first she thought there was nothing there. It was hard to see through the tears anyway, and she wiped her eyes, drawing shuddering breaths as she tried to keep herself calm and her vision clear.\r\n\r\nThere was another flicker of motion, just off to the side, and this time when she looked she could still see something, a dark shape, the colour of rotten fruit, and then it vanished, dropping behind her bags.\r\n\r\nFear overwhelmed despair, driving her to her feet and clearing her eyes in a moment. Standing, she could see the creature, dark as decay, something twisted and warped that might once have been a lizard, and as it turned what must be its head towards her, she was assaulted by the sweet stench of rotting oranges. It didn’t seem to have any eyes, or mouth, but somehow she sensed that it was looking at her, assessing her, and she backed away without thinking until the railing touched her from behind.\r\n\r\nSomething brushed against her arm, something wet and slimy, instantly soaking the sleeve of her blouse with a stinking wetness that stung against her skin, and she jumped sideways, flicking her head round to look at the shape, the vivid green of pus from an infected wound, that jumped from the railing to land among her clothes and burrow into them.\r\n\r\nShe screamed.\r\n\r\nAt the sound, the shapes appeared from among the bags, apparently looking at her. The black lizard was climbing on top of her suitcase, while the pus-coloured creature, which resembled a rat, poked its nose out from behind a box of cosmetics. A charred bird with eyes the shifting colour of chemical fires pulled itself up by its wings from behind her television, and opened its beak to breath a cloud of ash in her direction.\r\n\r\nAkiko screamed again.\r\n\r\nThe creatures hardly responded, merely continuing to stare at her. Her breath was coming in ever-shorter gasps as her panic rose. What were they? What did they want with her? She wondered if they were anything to do with the kami. Could they be his servants? Or guards? Or assassins?\r\n\r\nThat last thought sent a deep chill through her. Was the kami not happy with ruining her life, and set on taking it as well?\r\n\r\nThat didn’t make sense, though. She always felt better at the shrine. And these things didn’t seem anything like Tamao. They were still watching her, but they were making no move to approach. Akiko felt as though the patch of slime on her sleeve was spreading over her whole body, and she had a desperate desire for a shower. But, of course, her shower was on the other side of a door she could no longer get through.\r\n\r\nThe realisations crowded in. She had lost her job. She had lost her home. There were monsters sitting on her clothes. She was either mad or being persecuted by a kami.\r\n\r\nShe couldn’t cope, and, with a wail of fear and despair, she ran from the landing, bolting down the stairs, almost falling, and running from the flats as the rain pounded on her and tears obscured her vision.', 'Watchers', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'watchers', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:41:09', '2009-01-28 03:41:09', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=177', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(178, 1, '2009-01-28 12:40:58', '2009-01-28 03:40:58', '', 'Watchers', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '177-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:40:58', '2009-01-28 03:40:58', '', 177, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/177-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(179, 1, '2009-03-14 00:00:13', '2009-03-13 15:00:13', 'At first, Akiko was just running, but she soon realised that she was running to the shrine. She had no idea why, but she didn’t care. She didn’t have anywhere to go.\r\n\r\nShe didn’t stop running at the bottom of the steps, climbing them as quickly as she could, her feet slipping repeatedly on the slick, wet surface, but somehow she avoided falling. As she climbed her tears slowed and finally stopped, and she could see clearly by the time she reached the torii.\r\n\r\nShe paused just outside it, looking into the shrine precincts. The rain was a silver veil here, softening the edges of the shrine building without concealing it, making it seem more of a natural part of the environment. Drops of water collected on the undersides of both of the torii’s crossbeams, sparkling as they dripped to the ground below, a thin curtain of jewels.\r\n\r\nAkiko’s panic fell away from her, leaving the anger and despair behind. Ducking her head, she walked through the torii, and towards the water basin. Angry as she was, she couldn’t make herself go before the kami without purification. As she poured the water over her hands, it felt as though the contamination was washed from her body, and as she spat out the water from rinsing her mouth, she felt clean again. She looked, and there was no stain on her sleeve where the thing had touched her, although she was soaking wet.\r\n\r\nShivering a little, she hurried to the shrine, and rang the bell before bowing, clapping, and bowing once more. Then she just stood there for long moments, looking into the shrine, her emotions churning. She wanted the kami to appear so that she could shout at him, but there was no sign of the snake. She decided to shout at him anyway.\r\n\r\n“Tamao! What do you want with me? Why did you want to wreck my life? Do you even care? Do you even know what you have done? Is it just a game to you, sending dreams to people, interfering with their work, wrecking their homes? I thought kami were supposed to protect the places where they were, not destroy people. What have I ever done to you? I even picked up the litter. I cleaned your shrine for you, and all you did was threaten me! You have no gratitude. I hate you!â€\r\n\r\nShe finished on a scream, breathing heavily, with an uncomfortable feeling that she was being childish, and that she had not been fierce enough, that Tamao still didn’t understand her problems.\r\n\r\nShe remained standing, looking into the shrine, sure that the kami would appear to berate her, or that there would be some kind of curse, but there was nothing. Just the drip of the water from the eaves, the flickering lights in the depths of the shrine, and the smell of wet earth.\r\n\r\nShe heard someone climbing the steps behind her and turned to see Mr Takenaka, his face grim. He nodded to her.\r\n\r\n“You’re right, you know. This shrine is cursed.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko was looking beyond him, to the figure who had just appeared at the torii.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki.', 'Shrine Protest', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'shrine-protest', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:42:03', '2009-01-28 03:42:03', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=179', 0, 'post', '', 2);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(180, 1, '2009-01-28 12:41:44', '2009-01-28 03:41:44', '', 'Shrine Protest', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '179-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:41:44', '2009-01-28 03:41:44', '', 179, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/179-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(181, 1, '2009-01-28 12:41:49', '2009-01-28 03:41:49', '', 'Shrine Protest', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '179-revision-2', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:41:49', '2009-01-28 03:41:49', '', 179, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/179-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(182, 1, '2009-03-15 00:00:09', '2009-03-14 15:00:09', 'Naoyuki, standing under his umbrella, made no move to approach, and Akiko’s stomach knotted with dread. Why did he have to find her here? Why had he come here? She knew he had seen her, so why didn’t he come closer?\r\n\r\nIt felt like she stood looking at him for hours, but it couldn’t even have been a minute. She was vaguely aware of Mr Takenaka standing next to her, but he said nothing, and didn’t even move to pay his respects to the kami. The wet path to the torii glistened, and Akiko realised that she would have to go to talk to Naoyuki.\r\n\r\nShe walked down the stairs of the shrine and along the path, each step more difficult than the last. She was sure she knew what Naoyuki was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it; didn’t want to lose him as well, not today, at least not today.\r\n\r\nHe hardly moved, standing just outside the torii, his umbrella over his head and his shoulders hunched against the rain. Akiko stopped just inside, looking at him through the gate.\r\n\r\nShe could find no words.\r\n\r\n“You called me.â€ Naoyuki almost spat the words out, as if it hurt his tongue to say them. He paused, then, for a long time, and took a deep breath before continuing.\r\n\r\n“You called me five times, begged me for help. You didn’t answer when I called, so I came looking for you. I found your cell phone with all your other things outside your flat. I was worried.â€ He paused again, breathing heavily.\r\n\r\n“But you’re <em>here.</em>â€ Anger was clear in his voice now, and Akiko didn’t know what to say. He had come to find her. He had been worried. But now…\r\n\r\n“How could you come here, after what I said?â€ Naoyuki’s voice was getting louder, building up to a shout, and Akiko felt herself beginning to cry. “Do you think that the kami might help you? Are you really that naive? That deluded? I thought I understood you, Akiko, I really did. But this… I can’t understand this. Can you explain it?â€\r\n\r\n“I think the kami did this.â€ Akiko said it without really thinking. She had nothing to lose now. Nothing at all.\r\n\r\n“What?â€ Naoyuki was incredulous.\r\n\r\n“I think the kami cursed me. He…â€\r\n\r\n“‘He’?â€ Naoyuki interrupted, angry incredulity clear in his tone.\r\n\r\n“He interfered with my work so that my boss fired me,â€ Akiko continued, ignoring Naoyuki’s question, “and he did something at my flat so that my landlord evicted me. And then he sent monsters to the flat to scare me away and drive me here, and…â€ She paused for a moment. “Why did you come <em>here</em>?â€\r\n\r\n“You weren’t with your things, and I thought you might have come here.â€ Naoyuki flushed a little as he said it, and it didn’t make much sense to Akiko. They hadn’t talked so much about the shrine that it was the obvious place for her to go, particularly not in the rain. Why hadn’t he tried the coffee shops first? The answer was obvious to her.\r\n\r\n“And the kami made you come to the shrine. He wanted you to see me here. He wanted to wreck our relationship.â€\r\n\r\n“You’re mad, Akiko. There are no kami. And you can’t blame them for your faults. If anything’s wrecking our relationship, it’s your obsession with this shrine, not the fact that I happen to be here now.â€\r\n\r\n“Why can’t you just accept what I tell you?â€ Akiko wailed, desperate for someone to understand.\r\n\r\n“It’s insane. You’re talking rubbish. How could I accept that?â€ Naoyuki’s face was red now, and his voice was getting hoarse from yelling. “You’ve let me down badly, Akiko. I thought I could trust you. I thought you were a good person.â€\r\n\r\n“I <em>am.</em>â€ Akiko insisted, through tears that made Naoyuki blur and shimmer in front of her.\r\n\r\n“You are <em>not.</em> I don’t know what you are. I don’t know how you can think as you do. I don’t know you anymore.â€ Naoyuki was shouting at the top of his voice, and he stopped, looking upwards and drawing a shuddering breath. Akiko tried to appeal to him, but she couldn’t get her mouth to form words. Naoyuki looked down, straight at her, and Akiko hurriedly brushed tears from her eyes, determined to meet his gaze.\r\n\r\n“Akiko, it’s over. I can’t see you any more. Ever again. Don’t try to call me.â€\r\n\r\n“Naoyuki!â€ He turned his back on her without another word, and started walking down the steps. Akiko crumpled to the ground, and the sobs came again. The stone was cold under her hands, and the rain had soaked through her jacket, leaving her cold to the skin. Her wet hair fell forward around her face, water running down the matted strands to pool in front of her, mixing with her tears in tiny puddles whose dancing surfaces reflected her face in a thousand fragments, fragments of her life, fragments of what she once was.\r\n\r\nSomeone placed a coat over her shoulders, but they didn’t say anything, and Akiko didn’t look up to see who it was. She cried into the rain, crying for her lost life, her lost future. And crying because she had nowhere to go, nothing to do. She had been driven out of society. She sobbed until her throat was raw and her eyes swollen, and then slowly quietened down.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata?â€\r\n\r\nIt was Shiraishi. Akiko wondered how much the priest had heard, and whether she was going to accuse her of being mad once more. She said nothing.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata?â€\r\n\r\nHer tone wasn’t accusing. Taking a shuddering breath, Akiko looked up. Shiraishi was holding a large umbrella over both of them, and looking down at her with concern. Akiko looked around. Naoyuki was long gone, but there was no sign of Mr Takenaka, either. He must have slipped out while she was crying.\r\n\r\n<em>Someone else who thinks I’m mad,</em> she reflected, bitterly.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata?â€ The priest hadn’t given up yet. “Won’t you come inside and dry off.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko looked back up at her, and slowly began to get to her feet.', 'Across the Boundary', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'across-the-boundary', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:43:03', '2009-01-28 03:43:03', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=182', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(183, 1, '2009-01-28 12:42:50', '2009-01-28 03:42:50', '', 'Across', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '182-revision', '', '', '2009-01-28 12:42:50', '2009-01-28 03:42:50', '', 182, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/01/28/182-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(184, 1, '2009-03-16 00:00:20', '2009-03-15 15:00:20', 'Akiko closed the door of the storage room, making sure that it was locked. She hoped that three weeks would be long enough to find somewhere permanent to live; she didn’t want to pay for it for any longer than was absolutely necessary. Hefting the bag containing the items she’d decided she needed, she looked at her watch. Already after eleven. She walked to the entrance and looked out at the continuing rain, wondering where she was going to sleep.\r\n\r\nThe glow of neon over near the expressway caught her attention, and offered a solution. There was a cluster of love hotels near the interchange, and no doubt at least one would have vacancies. Pushing open the door, she stepped out into the cold rain of the night.\r\n\r\nShe didn’t like the look of the first hotel she came to, but the second looked rather less seedy, and had vacancies, so she booked herself in. The room booking machine gave her options for three hours or overnight, and she booked overnight, for 7,000 yen, collecting the card key from the slot at the bottom. As it fell, she heard noises behind her, and hurried through the curtains into the elevator lobby before anyone could see that she was there alone.\r\n\r\nThe room was much as she expected, with a large bed, large bath, small karaoke machine, and bowl full of condoms. She’d visited love hotels a few times with her boyfriends, and this one was fairly standard. It was somewhere to sleep, at any rate.\r\n\r\nShe pulled off her shoes, and then took off the raincoat Shiraishi had lent her and hung it behind the door. Stepping up into the room proper, she opened her case, determined to finally change out of her work clothes.\r\n\r\nAfter changing, she looked at the uniform lying on the bed, and wondered what to do about it. Strictly speaking, she should return it to the company, but she couldn’t face the thought of going back.\r\n\r\nAnd at that moment the reality of her situation hit her again, and she sank down on to the bed, fighting a losing battle with tears. What on earth was she going to do? She couldn’t live in a love hotel for ever. Not alone.\r\n\r\nShe pulled her cell phone out of her bag, grateful that it had survived being left on the landing, and dialled Naoyuki. She listened as his phone rang, until it turned over to the answering service. Hanging up, she dialled again. And again. And again. And again.\r\n\r\nShe thought about leaving a message, but she could think of nothing to say. She tried anyway, and left a largely silent message, during which she managed to say his name once.\r\n\r\nDropping the phone onto the bed, she started crying again. Naoyuki wouldn’t call back this time, she was sure of it. No job, no home, no boyfriend, 26 years old. What kind of a failure was she?\r\n\r\nShe picked the phone up to call Naoyuki again, sobbing as the ringing tone sounded in her ears, redialling every time the answering service came on, hanging up and redialling, redialling.', 'Love Hotel', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'love-hotel', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:16:27', '2009-02-03 04:16:27', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=184', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(185, 1, '2009-02-03 13:16:22', '2009-02-03 04:16:22', 'Akiko closed the door of the storage room, making sure that it was locked. She hoped that three weeks would be long enough to find somewhere permanent to live; she didn’t want to pay for it for any longer than was absolutely necessary. Hefting the bag containing the items she’d decided she needed, she looked at her watch. Already after eleven. She walked to the entrance and looked out at the continuing rain, wondering where she was going to sleep.\n\nThe glow of neon over near the expressway caught her attention, and offered a solution. There was a cluster of love hotels near the interchange, and no doubt at least one would have vacancies. Pushing open the door, she stepped out into the cold rain of the night.\n\nShe didn’t like the look of the first hotel she came to, but the second looked rather less seedy, and had vacancies, so she booked herself in. The room booking machine gave her options for three hours or overnight, and she booked overnight, for 7,000 yen, collecting the card key from the slot at the bottom. As it fell, she heard noises behind her, and hurried through the curtains into the elevator lobby before anyone could see that she was there alone.\n\nThe room was much as she expected, with a large bed, large bath, small karaoke machine, and bowl full of condoms. She’d visited love hotels a few times with her boyfriends, and this one was fairly standard. It was somewhere to sleep, at any rate.\n\nShe pulled off her shoes, and then took off the raincoat Shiraishi had lent her and hung it behind the door. Stepping up into the room proper, she opened her case, determined to finally change out of her work clothes.\n\nAfter changing, she looked at the uniform lying on the bed, and wondered what to do about it. Strictly speaking, she should return it to the company, but she couldn’t face the thought of going back.\n\nAnd at that moment the reality of her situation hit her again, and she sank down on to the bed, fighting a losing battle with tears. What on earth was she going to do? She couldn’t live in a love hotel for ever. Not alone.\n\nShe pulled her cell phone out of her bag, grateful that it had survived being left on the landing, and dialled Naoyuki. She listened as his phone rang, until it turned over to the answering service. Hanging up, she dialled again. And again. And again. And again.\n\nShe thought about leaving a message, but she could think of nothing to say. She tried anyway, and left a largely silent message, during which she managed to say his name once.\n\nDropping the phone onto the bed, she started crying again. Naoyuki wouldn’t call back this time, she was sure of it. No job, no home, no boyfriend, 26 years old. What kind of a failure was she?\n\nShe picked the phone up to call Naoyuki again, sobbing as the ringing tone sounded in her ears, redialling every time the answering service came on, hanging up and redialling, redialling.', 'Love Hotel', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '184-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:16:22', '2009-02-03 04:16:22', '', 184, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/184-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(186, 1, '2009-03-17 00:00:38', '2009-03-16 15:00:38', 'Akiko woke up lying on the bed in the love hotel, her cell phone still clutched in her hand. She pushed herself upright, looking at the time: six am. She felt empty, utterly drained, and tired as she was she could tell that she wouldn’t sleep. Struggling to her feet, she stretched and looked around the room. The bath was inviting, and the sight of her tear-stained face in the mirror convinced her that she really wanted to freshen up.\r\n\r\n<em>Might as well take advantage of the facilities,</em> she thought, as she started running the bath.\r\n\r\nIt was only after she had got in, and begun to relax in the hot water, that she noticed that the whole wall was a mirror, including the portion that formed one side of the bath, so that even the parts of her that were underwater were reflected. She smiled slightly, thinking that Naoyuki would really like it.\r\n\r\nSobs rose in her chest again and, wrapping her arms around her legs, she let them come, let her tears fall into the bath, let herself go completely.\r\n\r\nShe wasn’t sure how much time passed before her breathing settled and the tears stopped flowing, but the water was still warm. She took a few deep breaths, and brushed the tears from her eyes, glancing into the mirror.\r\n\r\nThere was no reflection. Instead, she saw the water of the bath continuing, uninterrupted, until it reached a boundary of natural stones, large ones. Beyond them was a grassy area, crossed by a stone path and surrounded by towering trees. Sunlight fell through the leaves, sparkling off the surface of the water, and making the roof of the small open hut beside the pool almost glow, the straw thatching turning gold. Inside the hut she could see a yukata, hanging from a hook, and a white towel lay on one of the stones, as if she had abandoned it there.\r\n\r\nAkiko quickly looked the other way, confirming that the bathroom of the love hotel was still there, and unchanged. She turned back to the mirror, where the pool was still visible. She realised that she couldn’t see any reflection at all, and watched as ripples in the surface of the water crossed the line where the mirror should be, uninterrupted. Cautiously, she stretched a hand out towards the mirror, reaching forward, expecting to feel it any moment, but her hand just kept going.\r\n\r\nShe snatched it back, as she realised that she could smell pine needles, and hear the wind in the branches. She was about to reach out again, when she heard voices from the mirror, women’s voices, coming from further down the path where it disappeared into the woods.\r\n\r\nStung into action, Akiko scrambled out of the bath, back into the love hotel, and grabbed a towel from the rack, wrapping it round her. She turned back, to be confronted by her reflection, wrapped in a white towel, her face almost as pale as the fabric.', 'Mirror Bath', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mirror-bath', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:17:20', '2009-02-03 04:17:20', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=186', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(187, 1, '2009-02-03 13:17:16', '2009-02-03 04:17:16', '', 'Mirror Bath', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '186-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:17:16', '2009-02-03 04:17:16', '', 186, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/186-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(188, 1, '2009-03-18 00:00:26', '2009-03-17 15:00:26', 'Akiko sat in a coffee shop, nursing her coffee to make it last as long as possible. The jobs paper was open on the table in front of her as she went through it, looking, first, for jobs that looked appealing, as well as available soon. Each time she found a possibility, she called the contact number.\r\n\r\n“Hello, my name is Akiko Tanahata. I’m calling about the position you advertised in this week’s Job Pages.â€\r\n\r\nThe responses she got were very varied, but had one thing in common.\r\n\r\n“I’m terribly sorry, but we’ve already filled that post.\r\n\r\n“I’m afraid that advert was put in by mistake; we filled that post last year.â€\r\n\r\n“Unfortunately, due to the economic conditions, we have had to decide against filling that vacancy.â€\r\n\r\n“Thank you. I have to tell you that the advert was incomplete, however; we require experience using 3D CAD software. Do you have any?â€\r\n\r\nAfter a couple of hours of this, Akiko was getting so frustrated she felt like crying again.\r\n\r\n<em>This is ridiculous,</em> she told herself. <em>There must be jobs available in Kawasaki. Keep looking. Don’t give up.</em>\r\n\r\nDespite her resolution, however, she found herself staring blankly at the pages, and finally getting up to order another coffee.\r\n\r\nWhen she sat down again, she forced herself to look through the magazine once more, but her heart wasn’t in it. She glanced over the pages, barely taking in the details of the adverts, while her mind went over her last day at work, the previous day, and then the previous week, as she tried to understand why she had lost her job. In the cold light of day, the idea that the kami had deliberately driven her out of her job seemed ridiculous, and she was almost convinced to put the sequence of incidents down to bad luck.\r\n\r\nBut she still couldn’t understand why she’d been sacked. It really was true that Megumi made the same sorts of mistakes all the time, and while her father’s position bought her some security, it couldn’t be that much. And, seriously, she couldn’t believe that Megumi and Mr Kanayama were having an affair. An image formed in her mind, and, shuddering, she tried to forget it, even as it brought a brief smile to her lips.\r\n\r\nShe shook her head, telling herself to stop brooding, and tried to concentrate on the job adverts again. She found another one that looked promising, and picked up her cell phone to call.\r\n\r\n“Hello, my name is…â€\r\n\r\n“If this is about the job, don’t bother.â€ The woman at the other end interrupted her, her voice strained. “The company’s just gone bust.â€ She then hung up, without waiting to see whether that really was what Akiko had wanted. Akiko dropped her phone onto the table, and buried her face in her hands.\r\n\r\nA curse. A curse was the only reasonable explanation. Tamao was cursing every company in Kawasaki in an attempt to stop her getting a job.\r\n\r\n<em>Oh, for goodness’ sake, woman,</em> she berated herself, and looked up again. Her eyes fell on the coat over the chair opposite. Shiraishi’s raincoat. Akiko sighed as she realised that she would have to return it, and decided to get it over with as soon as possible.', 'Job Hunting', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'job-hunting', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:17:55', '2009-02-03 04:17:55', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=188', 0, 'post', '', 5);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(189, 1, '2009-02-03 13:17:49', '2009-02-03 04:17:49', '', 'Job Hunting', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '188-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:17:49', '2009-02-03 04:17:49', '', 188, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/188-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(190, 1, '2009-03-19 00:00:00', '2009-03-18 15:00:00', 'Akiko reached the shrine precincts without any trouble, and the threatening clouds did not open up to actual rain along the way. At the bottom of the steps, however, she paused, looking up them at the torii. Something was strange about the way she felt, and it took a moment for her to work out what it was.\r\n\r\nShe wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t nervous. She wasn’t even angry. What she was feeling was <em>anticipation.</em> That made no sense. She was almost convinced that Tamao was persecuting her; why should she feel as though she wanted to be here?\r\n\r\nUnder the grey clouds, the steps up through the bank were dark, and Akiko’s footfalls sounded very loud in her ears. Looking up, the area beyond the torii seemed very bright despite the cloudy day, but when she reached the top, bowing her head to enter, there was nothing unusual to see. The ground was still damp from the rain, and she had to fight down a brief urge to hunt for litter.\r\n\r\nShe had already purified herself at the basin before she realised what she was doing, and remembered that she had planned to go straight to the house and just give the coat back. <em>At this point,</em> she thought, <em>I might as well pay my respects first.</em> She walked over to the shrine, climbing the slick wooden steps, and rang the bell, without throwing any money in, before bowing, clapping, and bowing again. She stood quietly for a few moments, letting her eyes adjust to the gloom within the shrine, wondering whether she would see the snake.\r\n\r\nShe felt that she didn’t mind either way. It was just relaxing to be back at the shrine, back where she didn’t need to worry.\r\n\r\nIt was some time after that thought crossed her mind before she realised how strange it was. Why did she not have to worry here? When she thought back to the things she had seen, or the time she had woken up here in her nightwear, worrying seemed like the most sensible reaction. And, she had to remind herself, the kami had cursed her and ruined her life. <em>Why do I have to remind myself of that?</em> she asked herself.\r\n\r\nNone of it broke the mood. She was still calmly considering the problem of why she was so calm, standing, completely relaxed, under the eaves of the shrine, watching the flames flicker and dance in the two lanterns at the rear of the hall, light reflecting off the metal fittings on the inner doors, closed today, hiding the blind.\r\n\r\nAkiko shook herself out of her reverie. She was here to return the coat, and it wouldn’t do to forget. Bowing once more, to take her leave, she went down from the shrine and across to the house, ringing the bell. Shiraishi soon came, and looked surprised to see her.\r\n\r\n“Oh, Ms Tanahata.â€\r\n\r\n“I brought your coat back. Thank you.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh. Oh yes, of course. Thank you. I hope you are all right now.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, thank you.â€ An easy social lie, but it was somehow bitter on her tongue.\r\n\r\n“Well… Oh.â€ Shiraishi was looking over Akiko’s shoulder, and she looked back as well, to see a young man standing there, smiling shyly, Takenaka’s son, what was his name? Oh yes, Akira.\r\n\r\n“Good morning Ms Tanahata, Revd Shiraishi.â€', 'Return to the Shrine', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'return-to-the-shrine', '', '', '2009-03-20 07:14:23', '2009-03-19 22:14:23', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=190', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(191, 1, '2009-02-03 13:18:27', '2009-02-03 04:18:27', '', 'Return to the Shrine', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '190-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:18:27', '2009-02-03 04:18:27', '', 190, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/190-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(192, 1, '2009-03-20 00:00:43', '2009-03-19 15:00:43', '“Good morning, Akira,â€ Shiraishi replied. “I’ll go and get changed; come and wait inside. If you’ll excuse me, Ms Tanahata.â€ The priest bowed briefly to Akiko, who quickly returned it, and then disappeared into the shrine house.\r\n\r\nAkira made no move to go into the house, just standing on the path. Akiko thought she might be in the way, and took a step back, away from the door, but he still didn’t move.\r\n\r\n“Ah… Have you come for a ceremony as well?â€ he asked, sounding a little nervous.\r\n\r\n“No, I was just returning a coat.â€ Akira said nothing, but looked like he was waiting for Akiko to say more. She was about to make her excuses and leave, when she realised that she did not, in fact, have anywhere to go or anything to do, and extending the conversation suddenly seemed like a very good plan. “Are you here for a ceremony, then?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes,â€ Akira replied, enthusiastically. “I’ve come to have a business success ceremony performed for my father.â€ He stopped, suddenly, and Akiko was sure he had been planning to say more. She glanced behind her, but Shiraishi hadn’t reappeared.\r\n\r\n“A business success ceremony? What’s that like?â€\r\n\r\n“Like most other ceremonies, except that the norito is a request for business success.â€\r\n\r\n“Norito?â€ It was a word Akiko had not heard before.\r\n\r\n“Oh, the words that the priest says to the kami. The main bit of the ceremony, I suppose.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, the prayer?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, I suppose it is a lot like a prayer. Actually,â€ he grinned suddenly, “I’m not at all sure what the official difference is. Apart from noritos being in old Japanese, I suppose, but I don’t imagine that’s the most important distinction.â€\r\n\r\n“Hmm, no.â€ Akiko fell silent for a moment, as she couldn’t think of anything else to say about noritos.â€So… is there any particular reason for this ceremony?â€ She wondered if there was something special about the day, or some rule that you were supposed to have the ceremony every year.\r\n\r\n“Well, my father’s business isn’t doing well. I don’t know the details, but I know that there aren’t as many clients as there are normally. I think he’s worried about it, so I decided to have an extra ceremony done. It can’t hurt.â€ Akiko felt very awkward, unsure that she wanted to have been told all of this. Akira suddenly blushed, and continued. “Don’t tell my father, will you? I haven’t told him I’ve come to have the ceremony done.â€\r\n\r\n“No, of course not. I probably won’t have the chance to.â€\r\n\r\n“Well, you do seem to bump into him quite a lot. You saw him yesterday, right?â€ Now it was Akiko’s turn to blush, and she could feel her face heating up. How much had Mr Takenaka told his son about her protest to the kami? Or the fight with Naoyuki? How much had he seen, come to that? Akira’s face became slightly quizzical, which, after a moment, was a relief. If he didn’t know why she was embarrassed, his father couldn’t have said very much.\r\n\r\n“That’s true, I did. But it was pure chance.â€\r\n\r\n“Still outside, Akira?â€ Shiraishi’s voice came from inside the house, and Akiko and Akira both turned to see her standing there in full ceremonial vestments. “If you would like to come in now, we can do the ceremony.â€\r\n\r\n“And I should be going,â€ Akiko said. “Thank you again for the loan of the coat, Revd Shiraishi.â€', 'Akira''s Prayer', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'akiras-prayer', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:19:31', '2009-02-03 04:19:31', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=192', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(193, 1, '2009-02-03 13:19:24', '2009-02-03 04:19:24', '', 'Akira''s Prayer', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '192-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:19:24', '2009-02-03 04:19:24', '', 192, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/192-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(194, 1, '2009-03-21 00:00:36', '2009-03-20 15:00:36', 'Akiko wandered aimlessly for some time after leaving the shrine, and eventually found herself in a cafe, sitting in a booth away from the door and nursing a single cup of coffee. The job magazine sat on the table in front of her, but she couldn’t bring herself to open it again. What was the point? They were just going to have reasons to reject her again, and she wasn’t sure she could take that right now. She had tried calling Naoyuki again, but again he had ignored her. Sitting with her phone in her hand, she suddenly decided to call her mother. She could explain the situation, and get some sympathy, at least, and probably real help.\r\n\r\nStill, she found herself holding her phone, looking at it, for several minutes before she could bring herself to dial.\r\n\r\n“Hello, this is Mrs Tanahata.â€\r\n\r\n“Mum? It’s Akiko.â€\r\n\r\n“Akiko? This is a nice surprise. You hardly ever call me.â€\r\n\r\n“Sorry, Mum.â€ Akiko paused, intending to explain her problems, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “So, how are you? How’s Dad?â€\r\n\r\n“We’re both doing just fine. I was talking to Mrs Yamada at my calligraphy class; do you remember her?â€\r\n\r\n“Er, maybe…â€\r\n\r\n“Noriko’s mother. You were friends with Noriko.â€ Noriko Yamada… Akiko thought for a moment, and then remembered.\r\n\r\n“Well, she was in my class. I wouldn’t say that we were friends.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, well, anyway she was telling me that Noriko is getting married this summer, to the son of the president of the company where she’s been working. The second son, admittedly, so not the heir, but still, she’s done very well. And she was just an office worker, like you.â€\r\n\r\n“Mmm.â€ This really wasn’t what Akiko wanted to hear.\r\n\r\n“So, when am I going to be able to tell Mrs Yamada about your wedding? He’s at a different company, right? Will you still quit when you get married?â€\r\n\r\n“Ah, well…â€ Now or never, Akiko thought, but she still couldn’t make herself say it.\r\n\r\n“It’s getting a little embarrassing, you know. Most of my friends’ daughters are already married, or at least engaged, and some of them are even showing me pictures of grandchildren. I’m really looking forward to being able to show them pictures of mine.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko was frozen in place. What on earth could she say now? “My boyfriend dumped me because he caught me in a shrineâ€? That would hardly make her mother happy. And it didn’t seem particularly likely to elicit support, either. More likely, her mother would just berate her for throwing away such a great opportunity to get properly married, and at her age, too.\r\n\r\n“So, how are things going with him? Any proposal yet?â€\r\n\r\nFor a long moment, Akiko couldn’t bring herself to say anything.\r\n\r\n“Akiko? Are you still there?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, Mum. Sorry. Things are going perfectly well, but I’ll tell you when he proposes to me. You don’t think I’d keep that secret, do you?â€\r\n\r\n“Well, you never tell me anything, you know. I’m your mother, Akiko. You should tell me things.â€\r\n\r\n“Yes, I know. Anyway, I’m sorry, I need to get back to work.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko hung up, and put the phone down at the table, staring blankly at it. Who <em>could</em> she talk to?', 'Phone to Mother', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'phone-to-mother', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:20:10', '2009-02-03 04:20:10', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=194', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(195, 1, '2009-02-03 13:20:07', '2009-02-03 04:20:07', '', 'Phone to Mother', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '194-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:20:07', '2009-02-03 04:20:07', '', 194, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/194-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(196, 1, '2009-03-22 00:00:16', '2009-03-21 15:00:16', 'Akiko suddenly realised that it was dark outside, and when she looked at her watch she discovered it was after seven. She’d been sitting in the cafe, staring blankly into space, for hours. As she started gathering her things to leave, she realised that the waitresses had been watching her, and that they seemed somewhat relieved.\r\n\r\n<em>Relieved that I’m going,</em> she wondered, <em>or that I’m not ill?</em> Their farewells were entirely conventional, however, and Akiko dashed out without meeting any of their eyes. She found a basic restaurant and bought herself some dinner, eating it without tasting it, drifting off into reveries repeatedly, so that the staff kept coming round to see whether she was all right. The place wasn’t busy, though, so they didn’t try to move her on. It was after nine before she left, and found herself just standing in the street outside.\r\n\r\n<em>I have nowhere to sleep. </em>It struck her again, forcefully, and she struggled to control herself, to hold back tears. <em>I can go back to the love hotel. No problem.</em> The memory of her vision in the bath flickered through her mind, but she refused to let it influence her. She had to sleep somewhere.\r\n\r\nShe went to the coin locker to get her bags out, and started walking to the love hotels. Their garish neon cast strange light over the dark street, and the shadows of plants and utility poles were coloured, moving and shifting as the neon flashed and changed. Akiko jumped several times when she thought something was moving behind her, but when she looked it was just a bush, or a gate, and nothing to be frightened of. She told herself to stop jumping at shadows, but it made no difference; her nerves and tension just kept building.\r\n\r\nAnd then a shadow looked back at her.\r\n\r\nShe had reached the love hotels, and was passing one that looked particularly seedy when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Her heart leaping, she turned to look. For a moment, it was just a shadow, with a couple of points of garish purple neon in it, over a side door. Then the points of neon blinked. When they came back they moved, together, scuttling round the top of the door, enveloped in darkness, and Akiko couldn’t see them as anything other than eyes.\r\n\r\nIt was suddenly difficult to breathe, and she stumbled backwards until she stepped over the edge of the road, into the bushes that marked the edge of the field. The twigs scratched at her hands and caught at her clothes, as the shadow shape dropped down from above the door and came nosing out towards the street. A shadow against darkness, Akiko could make out no details of its shape, just those purple neon eyes. It reached the edge of the circle of light cast by a street lamp, and stopped, fixing its gaze on her, but coming no closer.\r\n\r\nAkiko found that she couldn’t look away, could hardly even blink. She felt something slimy on her face, spreading, sliding down, covering her breasts as her nipples became sore, pain that was mirrored in her groin as she felt something in her hair, and a strange, foul aftertaste filled her mouth. It took her a moment to place it, because it tasted far worse than she remembered, but the basic taste was the same. Semen. Her stomach heaved as she started to gag, and suddenly the thing across the road looked away, melting back into the shadows.\r\n\r\nAkiko didn’t move. She could still taste it in her mouth, and feel it all over her body, a pollution that seemed to pass through her skin to taint her spirit. She heard voices, and shrank further back into the bushes, unsure what she looked like.\r\n\r\nThen she realised she knew one of the voices.\r\n\r\n“So I gave him the report.â€ Naoyuki!\r\n\r\nHis last comment was met by a peal of high-pitched laughter from his companion, and Akiko felt her heart sink. As they came into the light, the strength drained from her legs, and she barely kept herself upright and quiet.\r\n\r\nNaoyuki, in his suit, had his arm around the waist of a girl in high-school uniform, his hand under her short skirt. Her hair was bleached blonde, her skin very tanned, and she didn’t seem to object at all. In fact, she seemed to be taking the initiative as she led him to the love hotel opposite.\r\n\r\nJust before entering, Naoyuki paused and looked around. Akiko shrank back into the bushes, but he didn’t seem to see her, and the girl quickly pulled him through the entrance, and out of sight of the road. As they went in, Akiko saw two black shapes scuttle around the doorway, one looking round with purple neon eyes before darting inside. She became deeply conscious of how dirty she felt, and dashed out of the bush while the street was quiet, running for the hotel she had stayed in before.\r\n\r\nAs soon as she was through the entrance she paused, looking around. The shadows seemed a bit deeper than she expected, but they didn’t move, and they didn’t look back at her. Unwilling to spend any longer looking for trouble, she got a room key from the vending machine and hurried up.\r\n\r\nInside the room, she started a bath running right away, and was already pulling her clothes off when she looked up at the mirror.\r\n\r\nThere was nothing on her. Indeed, she realised that the slimy feeling, the soreness, and the foul taste had all gone, leaving her with nothing but a deep-seated feeling of contamination. Throwing her clothes out of the bathroom, she showered vigourously, the feeling of filth slowly sloughing off her, washed away with the hot water.\r\n\r\nIt was only after she had got into the bath that she felt truly clean, however, and she leaned back, closing her eyes as she tried to relax.\r\n\r\n<em>What are those things?</em>\r\n\r\nShe had no answer to the question, and it was quickly joined by another.\r\n\r\n<em>Where am I going to get money?</em> She couldn’t afford to stay in even such a cheap hotel for much longer.', 'A New Woman', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-new-woman', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:20:53', '2009-02-03 04:20:53', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=196', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(197, 1, '2009-02-03 13:20:43', '2009-02-03 04:20:43', '', 'A New Woman', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '196-revision', '', '', '2009-02-03 13:20:43', '2009-02-03 04:20:43', '', 196, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/03/196-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(198, 1, '2009-03-23 00:00:29', '2009-03-22 15:00:29', 'Akiko’s dreams were of dark, polluting creatures chasing her, and of her money running out completely, leaving her living on the streets and begging from passers-by. Despite that, she woke up feeling refreshed. Stressed, but refreshed. Getting out of bed, she took another shower while planning her day.\r\n\r\nAt first, she kept going over and over her encounters with the contamination creatures, shuddering involuntarily as she recalled how she had felt afterwards. For all her thinking, however, she had no idea what they were, where they came from, or how to deal with them. This did not make her feel any better, but in the end she looked at herself in the mirror, and told herself to stop worrying about the things she could do nothing about.\r\n\r\nIt didn’t work. It did, however, let her worry about her lack of money as well, and on that topic she was able to come up with some more plans. Obviously, she had to keep looking for a proper job, but she needed to get some income as soon as possible, and keep her expenditure down. <em>What if one of those things injures me? I need some savings,</em> she thought as she dried her hair. She needed to find a part-time job, one that would leave her time to hunt for a real job but provide enough money for her to live. She frowned. That wasn’t going to be easy. She couldn’t afford to keep staying in love hotels, that was for sure.\r\n\r\n“Are you looking for staff at the moment?â€ Akiko had gone to one of the cafes near the station, one that she remembered having a recruiting poster in the window.\r\n\r\n“Not right now, sorry. If you leave your contact details, we’ll get back to you if we have anything.â€ Akiko nodded, and started filling the forms in.\r\n\r\n“Do you have any idea when you might be hiring again?â€\r\n\r\n“No, sorry. It depends on when someone quits, you see.â€ Akiko nodded in understanding, handed over the form, and moved on to the next place.\r\n\r\n“Do you have any food preparation qualifications?â€ The question surprised her.\r\n\r\n“Er, no…â€\r\n\r\n“I’m sorry, then, but we have all the serving staff we need right now. All the vacancies are in the kitchens.â€\r\n\r\n“Can I leave my contact details?â€\r\n\r\n“You could, but there are already more than twenty people on the waiting list. We have good staff retention.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, I see. Thank you.â€ On to the next candidate.\r\n\r\n“Can you put a kimono on?â€\r\n\r\n“What?â€ That was a very unexpected question. “Well, not by myself.â€\r\n\r\n“Oh, I see. We have a couple of vacancies in the kimono department, but you have to wear a kimono if you work there. There’s nothing else at the moment, I’m afraid.â€\r\n\r\n“Can I leave my contact details?â€\r\n\r\n“Of course.â€\r\n\r\nWorking down the list, she moved on.\r\n\r\n“I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid not.â€\r\n\r\n“But you have a poster in the window!â€\r\n\r\n“I know. I meant to take that down, which is why I’m really sorry. A whole bunch of high school girls came in this morning and all signed up together. Strength in numbers, perhaps. Anyway, I had to push things to take them all on as it is, so I’m afraid we really have no vacancies at all just now.â€\r\n\r\n“I see.â€ Akiko was quite despondent.\r\n\r\n“You could leave your contact details, though.â€\r\n\r\n“No, that’s all right. I’ll call back.â€\r\n\r\nNot even McDonalds would hire her.', 'Not Even a McJob', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'not-even-a-mcjob', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:24:19', '2009-02-05 04:24:19', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=198', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(199, 1, '2009-02-05 13:24:12', '2009-02-05 04:24:12', '', 'Not Even a McJob', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '198-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:24:12', '2009-02-05 04:24:12', '', 198, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/198-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(200, 1, '2009-03-24 00:00:33', '2009-03-23 15:00:33', 'It was dark when she got back to the station after a fruitless day searching for jobs and a slightly more productive hour or so cleaning the precincts at Tamao Shrine. She pulled her stuff out of the coin locker, and looked around, wondering where she could sleep. The hotels around the station were definitely too expensive, and she couldn’t even afford to go back to the love hotel, at least not until she got some sort of job.\r\n\r\nNot even McDonalds! That still rankled. On the bright side, she hadn’t seen any of the creatures. Maybe they stayed in certain areas; another reason not to go back to the love hotel. And… She shied away from the memory, unwilling to even acknowledge it.\r\n\r\nAs she looked around, her eyes fell on a board advertising a manga cafe. “Sofa cubicles! Open 24 hours! Shower rooms!â€ A quick bit of mental arithmetic suggested that she could stay there for a couple of thousand yen, which was much better than the hotels. Picking her bags up, she headed in the indicated direction.\r\n\r\nThe cafe was quite dark, a maze of cubicles with walls that were just a little taller than her, with simple doors. There were, indeed, sofas in every cubicle, along with a computer and a desk, and the drinks machine was free. The food machine wasn’t too expensive either. The desk clerk had seemed completely unfazed by the amount of luggage she was carrying.\r\n\r\n“Don’t forget to lock the shower room door. Someone gets embarrassed every week, and it’s mostly men here at night.â€ Akiko felt herself blushing at the very thought.\r\n\r\n“I’ll be careful.â€\r\n\r\n“Ladies toilets are on the third floor, so you probably want to go up there. Most of the manga are down here, so there are empty cubicles. Quieter, too. Sound good?â€\r\n\r\n“Oh? Oh, yes, that’s fine.â€\r\n\r\n“You’re in J35, then. Bring this to the reception desk when you leave. Oh, it’s a thousand yen in advance, the rest when you go.â€ Akiko handed over a thousand yen note, and took the plastic block the clerk handed to her.\r\n\r\n“Thank you.â€\r\n\r\n“Thank you. Good night.â€\r\n\r\n“Good night.â€ Akiko was already climbing the stairs when she realised what the clerk had said. She cringed with embarrassment; he’d realised she was planning to stay the night.\r\n\r\nIn the cubicle, she just took her shoes and coat off before stretching out on the sofa. It was quite comfortable, and the third floor did seem to be largely deserted. There were no strange creatures to be seen, either.\r\n\r\nSoon, she fell asleep.\r\n\r\nThe shouting woke her up.\r\n\r\n“Find your own manga!â€\r\n\r\n“I was already reading that. You took it from my cubicle.â€\r\n\r\n“Did not! You want to make something of it?â€\r\n\r\n“Think you’re hard, don’t you? Go home now, while you can.â€\r\n\r\n“Bloody idiot!â€\r\n\r\nThen there was a crash, followed by another, and rather less coherent shouting. Akiko sat up, and pushed open the door of the cubicle, looking around. She could see nothing but the corridor, and a couple of other open doors as other people looked to see what the trouble was. Then a couple of members of staff came charging up, and she ducked back in as they went past.\r\n\r\nThere was more shouting as the offenders were faced down and thrown out, and the staff issued apologies as they went past. Akiko settled back down, and was asleep again far faster than she had thought likely.', 'Manga Cafe', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'manga-cafe', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:25:12', '2009-02-05 04:25:12', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=200', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(201, 1, '2009-02-05 13:25:02', '2009-02-05 04:25:02', 'It was dark when she got back to the station after a fruitless day searching for jobs and a slightly more productive hour or so cleaning the precincts at Tamao Shrine. She pulled her stuff out of the coin locker, and looked around, wondering where she could sleep. The hotels around the station were definitely too expensive, and she couldn’t even afford to go back to the love hotel, at least not until she got some sort of job.\n\nNot even McDonalds! That still rankled. On the bright side, she hadn’t seen any of the creatures. Maybe they stayed in certain areas; another reason not to go back to the love hotel. And… She shied away from the memory, unwilling to even acknowledge it.\n\nAs she looked around, her eyes fell on a board advertising a manga cafe. “Sofa cubicles! Open 24 hours! Shower rooms!â€ A quick bit of mental arithmetic suggested that she could stay there for a couple of thousand yen, which was much better than the hotels. Picking her bags up, she headed in the indicated direction.\n\nThe cafe was quite dark, a maze of cubicles with walls that were just a little taller than her, with simple doors. There were, indeed, sofas in every cubicle, along with a computer and a desk, and the drinks machine was free. The food machine wasn’t too expensive either. The desk clerk had seemed completely unfazed by the amount of luggage she was carrying.\n\n“Don’t forget to lock the shower room door. Someone gets embarrassed every week, and it’s mostly men here at night.â€ Akiko felt herself blushing at the very thought.\n\n“I’ll be careful.â€\n\n“Ladies toilets are on the third floor, so you probably want to go up there. Most of the manga are down here, so there are empty cubicles. Quieter, too. Sound good?â€\n\n“Oh? Oh, yes, that’s fine.â€\n\n“You’re in J35, then. Bring this to the reception desk when you leave. Oh, it’s a thousand yen in advance, the rest when you go.â€ Akiko handed over a thousand yen note, and took the plastic block the clerk handed to her.\n\n“Thank you.â€\n\n“Thank you. Good night.â€\n\n“Good night.â€ Akiko was already climbing the stairs when she realised what the clerk had said. She cringed with embarrassment; he’d realised she was planning to stay the night.\n\nIn the cubicle, she just took her shoes and coat off before stretching out on the sofa. It was quite comfortable, and the third floor did seem to be largely deserted. There were no strange creatures to be seen, either.\n\nSoon, she fell asleep.\n\nThe shouting woke her up.\n\n“Find your own manga!â€\n\n“I was already reading that. You took it from my cubicle.â€\n\n“Did not! You want to make something of it?â€\n\n“Think you’re hard, don’t you? Go home now, while you can.â€\n\n“Bloody idiot!â€\n\nThen there was a crash, followed by another, and rather less coherent shouting. Akiko sat up, and pushed open the door of the cubicle, looking around. She could see nothing but the corridor, and a couple of other open doors as other people looked to see what the trouble was. Then a couple of members of staff came charging up, and she ducked back in as they went past.\n\nThere was more shouting as the offenders were faced down and thrown out, and the staff issued apologies as they went past. Akiko settled back down, and was asleep again far faster than she had thought likely.', 'Manga Cafe', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '200-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:25:02', '2009-02-05 04:25:02', '', 200, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/200-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(202, 1, '2009-03-25 00:00:19', '2009-03-24 15:00:19', 'The morning was a repeat of the previous day. Akiko visited several shops that weren’t hiring right now, and spent a couple of hours in a cafe calling companies who were no longer interested in the jobs they had advertised. By lunchtime she had called all of the reasonable candidates, with no luck at all. She ordered some food in the cafe; it was slightly expensive, but after sitting there all morning she didn’t feel that she could just leave to eat elsewhere.\r\n\r\nShe did leave after the meal, though, to avoid being forced to eat dinner there as well. After an hour wandering aimlessly around the shopping area, she came to the conclusion that she had asked in all the shops that looked at all likely. She knew that she ought to try the ones that didn’t look likely, as well, but she just couldn’t summon up the motivation.\r\n\r\nShe found herself walking away from the station, towards the shrine, and decided to continue. She had nothing better to do, and the shrine was a better place to be sitting than in front of the station like some unemployed homeless person. Even if she was an unemployed homeless person.\r\n\r\nAfter purification and paying her respects, Akiko looked around the shrine, deciding what to do. There was no litter she could see, and probably none hidden, since she had found only a couple of small pieces the previous day. There were, however, some weeds growing in the path, and she decided to pull them up. The grey stones were cool to the touch, and the scattering of earth from the roots of the weeds fell like black stars against clouds.\r\n\r\n“I’ve made some tea. Would you like some?â€\r\n\r\nAkiko hadn’t heard Shiraishi approach, and she quickly stood up to greet the priest properly.\r\n\r\n“Yes, thank you.â€\r\n\r\n“It’s inside. Come on in.â€ Shiraishi led the way, and, in the entrance way, pointed at a corner. “Leave the weeds there. I’ll throw them out later.â€\r\n\r\nOnce they were seated and drinking the tea, Shiraishi turned to Akiko, slightly hesitant.\r\n\r\n“Er, thank you for doing the weeding.â€ Akiko bowed her head in acknowledgement.\r\n\r\n“It’s really nothing.â€\r\n\r\n“I can’t help noticing that you’re here on a weekday afternoon…â€ Her voice trailed off, and she seemed to be blushing slightly. Akiko was sure she was.\r\n\r\n“Oh, yes. I’m… I’m not working today.â€ <em>Perfectly true,</em> she told herself.\r\n\r\n“Mmm.â€ Shiraishi didn’t sound entirely satisfied. “Are you all right?â€\r\n\r\n“What? Oh yes, I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be?â€ Even as she said it, Akiko realised it was a silly thing to say, given what she had said to Shiraishi and what the priest had seen. She felt herself blushing again, and dropped her eyes.\r\n\r\n“Well, I was just a bit worried, you know…â€ The priest was probing a bit, and Akiko seriously considered telling her everything. It had gone wrong last time, but they seemed to have got over that, and the priest already knew about Akiko seeing Tamao. For a moment, she wanted to, but she couldn’t quite make herself form the words.\r\n\r\n“No, I’m fine.â€ Picking up the tea, she forced a smile over the top of the cup.', 'Day Work Conversation', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'day-work-conversation', '', '', '2009-05-11 17:18:11', '2009-05-11 08:18:11', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=202', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(203, 1, '2009-02-05 13:25:57', '2009-02-05 04:25:57', '', 'Day Work Conversation', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '202-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:25:57', '2009-02-05 04:25:57', '', 202, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/202-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(204, 1, '2009-03-26 00:00:10', '2009-03-25 15:00:10', '“Revd Shiraishi? Are you there?â€ A voice called from the entrance, relieving Akiko of the need to say anything more. The priest’s face set hard in a moment, and she got to her feet, looking almost angry.\r\n\r\n“Please excuse me, Akiko. Could you go and work outside again?â€\r\n\r\n“Yes,â€ Akiko said, surprised. “Yes, of course. Thank you for the tea.â€\r\n\r\n“You’re quite welcome.â€ Akiko stood, and the priest escorted her to the door, where a businessman was standing. Akiko thought he looked familiar, and he looked startled when she appeared, looking at her quite hard for a moment. Where did she know him from? He did not greet her, or even really acknowledge her, before turning back to the priest.\r\n\r\n“May I come in?â€\r\n\r\n“I suppose so.â€ Both of them glanced at Akiko, and she took the hint, bowing and leaving the house.\r\n\r\nAs she was pulling weeds up, she racked her brains. She had definitely seen the man before somewhere, and she had a sense that it was important. She hadn’t just seen him on the street. There was a chill breeze, and she looked up. The sky was darkening, the clouds thickening and turning an ominous black. She could see the underside swirling as the wind drove it, wind that was getting stronger by the moment. Keeping a firm grip on her carrier bag, Akiko continued pulling up the weeds, but the wind was whipping the dirt up, and some of it was getting in her eyes. As she sat back on her heels, blinking rapidly to clear her vision, the man came back out of the shrine house, followed by Shiraishi.\r\n\r\n“The answer is still no,â€ she said, almost shouting.\r\n\r\n“Call me when you change your mind,â€ he replied, his tone patronising, and Akiko suddenly remembered where she had seen him: Mr Wakabayashi, the construction company boss, who had come to her company a few days before she was sacked.\r\n\r\n“I won’t.â€ Shiraishi sounded very determined, but Wakabayashi just bowed to her, and turned to leave.\r\n\r\nAs he did so, the heavens opened and torrential rain began, as if someone had turned on a tap. The torii almost vanished beyond a grey curtain of water, and the spray bouncing back from the path was higher than Akiko’s thighs as she knelt there. She was soaked before she had properly registered that the rain had started, and moments later she felt water flowing down the path from behind her, flowing into her trousers and between her legs, running away in front of her to cascade down the steps. Wakabayashi had put up a useless umbrella, hurried away, doubtless to a waiting car. Akiko stood up, and hurried over to the shrine house, taking care not to slip, intending to wait in the porch.\r\n\r\nShiraishi was there, her face set, her expression somehow strange.\r\n\r\n“You’re already soaked to the skin, aren’t you?â€ Akiko nodded. “Let me get you a yukata. You can use the bath again.â€ The priest forced a smile. “You must be a rain woman.â€', 'Another Visitor', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'another-visitor', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:26:58', '2009-02-05 04:26:58', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=204', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(205, 1, '2009-02-05 13:26:46', '2009-02-05 04:26:46', '', 'Another Visitor', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '204-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:26:46', '2009-02-05 04:26:46', '', 204, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/204-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(206, 1, '2009-03-27 00:00:18', '2009-03-26 15:00:18', 'When Akiko emerged from the bathroom in her yukata, there was no sign of the priest or her clothes.\r\n\r\n“Revd Shiraishi?â€ There was no immediate response, and Akiko made her way to the waiting room. The tea things were still on the table, and her clothes were carefully hung over stands. Akiko reached out to feel it, but even her underwear was still too wet to wear.\r\n\r\n<em>Well, it’s not like I have somewhere else to be,</em> she thought. <em>But where is Revd Shiraishi?</em>\r\n\r\n“Revd Shiraishi?â€ she called out again, louder this time.\r\n\r\n“In ''ere.â€ The reply was slightly slurred, and Akiko followed the sound back into the house. She found the priest sitting by a table, a half-empty large bottle of sake and cup in front of her. As Akiko entered, she was pouring herself another drink.\r\n\r\n“Kanpai!â€ she said, with a half smile, and then she barked a humourless laugh, before downing the contents of the cup and filling it again.\r\n\r\n“Revd Shiraishi, are you all right?â€\r\n\r\n“Course I am. Fine. What could possibly be wrong? You juss sit there. I’m busy.â€ She drained another cup, and looked away from Akiko as she filled it again. Her face was already red, and Akiko, looking at the size of the bottle, was suddenly worried.\r\n\r\n“Revd Shiraishi…â€\r\n\r\n“I’m <em>fine</em>, I said. Lemme alone. I dint push you. You can wait til your things are dry, course. But lemme alone. Go on. Go.â€ She made shooing motions with her hands as she picked up the cup, spilling a lot of sake on the table. “Shit.â€\r\n\r\nAs Shiraishi started pouring herself another drink, Akiko went back to the waiting room, not wanting to upset her further, but very worried. As she paced the room, wondering what she could do, her eyes fell on a stack of business cards. The top one belonged to Mr Takenaka, and had his address on. It was really very close to the shrine. She pulled out her cell phone, but as she opened it the screen flashed “battery lowâ€ at her, and it died. Cursing herself for not recharging it at the hotel, she looked out of the window and the torrential rain, and then crept back inside to peep in at Shiraishi, who was still drinking. Sighing, she went back to the waiting room and changed into her wet clothes, shivering at their touch.\r\n\r\n<em>Not that it’s really worth drying them out,</em> she thought.\r\n\r\nChanged, she checked the address again, picking up the business card, and borrowed one of Shiraishi’s waterproofs before heading out into the rain.\r\n\r\nDespite the coat, she was soaked, again, before she had even got to the bottom of the steps. The water running along the road was up to her ankles, and she had to step carefully to avoid falling over. Peering at the address plates on gates and lamp posts, she found her way to the right house, the Takenakas’ name on the board.\r\n\r\nShe rang the doorbell, and worked out what she wanted to say. Akira answered.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata?â€ He sounded very surprised, which was only to be expected.\r\n\r\n“It’s Revd Shiraishi. She’s… well…â€ <em>drinking herself into oblivion,</em> Akiko thought, but she couldn’t say that.\r\n\r\n“I’ll get my father,â€ Akira said, disappearing back into the house. When Mr Takenaka appeared, he was already getting ready to go out.\r\n\r\n“Is she drinking?â€ He kept his voice low. Akiko nodded, and he sighed.\r\n\r\n“I’ll go to the shrine. You’d better go home.â€ Akiko thought about the manga cafe, but nodded anyway. There was nothing else for her to do.', 'Sake', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'sake', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:27:52', '2009-02-05 04:27:52', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=206', 0, 'post', '', 1);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(207, 1, '2009-02-05 13:27:40', '2009-02-05 04:27:40', '', 'Sake', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '206-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:27:40', '2009-02-05 04:27:40', '', 206, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/206-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(208, 1, '2009-03-28 00:00:07', '2009-03-27 15:00:07', 'Akiko woke the next morning in the manga cafe, her bag of wet clothes smelling slightly from under the desk. The shower room was fine for changing in, but there wasn’t anywhere to dry her things, so her first job today was finding a laundrette and running the clothes through the drier. The clerk gave her directions, and she found the laundrette a short walk away, across the swollen river churning its way to the Tama.\r\n\r\nThe laundrette was on the ground floor of a derelict block of flats, and although there was another woman there when Akiko arrived, her washing soon finished, and Akiko was alone with the tumbling machine. She sat, listless, in a chair, and for the first time allowed herself to properly remember what she had seen Naoyuki doing. She started crying, and at first she thought it was just the tears making the room swim.\r\n\r\nIt was as if there was dust in her throat, and she started to cough. As she gasped for breath, she felt the grittiness of disintegrating concrete all over her, on her skin, inside her clothes, chafing against her as she moved. She wiped the tears away and tried to take a breath, but she only coughed again. Her vision cleared, and she saw it.\r\n\r\nThe dark grey of old concrete, riddled with cracks, surrounded by the dust it created every time it moved, it was watching her with eyes like broken windows, gaping holes into an empty soul. Two canine heads had their attention fixed on her, and it moved towards her, every footfall grating like metal on stone. One shoulder flexed in a cloud of dust, and Akiko could see the brown of rusted iron within. It opened its mouths, dust flying out.\r\n\r\nAkiko sprang to her feet, grabbing her bag, and ran out of the building. She looked behind her; the thing was following. Seized by panic, she sprinted out and down the street.\r\n\r\nThe road wasn’t that quiet, and she had to dodge pedestrians and cyclists. Quite a few people protested as she barged past them, but whenever she looked back the thing was still following, dodging around people, and gaining slightly.\r\n\r\nShe had been running for some time before she realised that, although people reacted to her, no-one else was reacting to the monster chasing her. Just like the snake, she thought, her heart going cold and her breath stopping for a moment. <em>They can’t see it.</em>\r\n\r\nRenewed panic gave her a burst of speed, and she changed her direction. <em>The shrine,</em> she thought. <em>Head for the shrine.</em> Her skin, abraded by the dust under and in her clothes, was getting very sore, and she thought she could even feel some blood flowing, but she couldn’t stop. The thing was definitely gaining on her.\r\n\r\nShe stumbled as she turned up the hill, and for a moment she could feel its breath, cold, dank and gritty, on her back, before she pushed off again, gasping for breath, her legs and lungs protesting as the steps to the shrine finally came into view, the creature barely behind her now.', 'Pursuit', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'pursuit', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:28:39', '2009-02-05 04:28:39', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=208', 0, 'post', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(209, 1, '2009-02-05 13:28:24', '2009-02-05 04:28:24', '', 'Pursuit', 0, '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '208-revision', '', '', '2009-02-05 13:28:24', '2009-02-05 04:28:24', '', 208, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/2009/02/05/208-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
INSERT INTO `tamao_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_category`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES(210, 1, '2009-03-29 00:00:47', '2009-03-28 15:00:47', 'Her breath came in short gasps as she started up the steps, taking them three at a time. She was nearly at the top when she felt a sharp pain on her trailing ankle; pushing down with all her strength, she threw herself through the torii, stumbling on the path and falling to her hands and knees as her leg, all its strength gone, collapsed under her. She looked back, at the thing climbing the steps, and screamed.\r\n\r\nIt sprang up the last few steps.\r\n\r\nAnd, as it reached the torii, disintegrated into a cloud of grey dust, dust caught by a sudden gust of wind blowing straight out from the shrine and scattered into the air.\r\n\r\nAkiko was still breathing hard, and her left leg was numb and weak. The wound on her ankle was more of a scratch than she had thought, although some of the dust had got into it, making it sting.\r\n\r\n“Are you all right? Ms Tanahata?â€ Akiko looked up to see Shiraishi running across from the house towards her. “You screamed…â€ The priest’s voice trailed off.\r\n\r\n“Something was chasing me.â€ Shiraishi looked startled, and glanced around. Akiko shook her head. “It vanished when it tried to go through the torii. Nothing but dust left now.â€\r\n\r\nShiraishi turned to look down at Akiko, and Akiko dropped her eyes to the ground. She could tell that the priest was still looking at her, and had crouched down beside her. She didn’t want to look at Shiraishi’s face and find out what the priest was thinking. The silence stretched out, and Akiko started trying to brush some of the dust from her clothes.\r\n\r\nThe dust. She was still covered in dust. She could see it, and feel it against her skin. Her skin started to crawl under it as she realised just how dirty she was, but there was also a sense of exultation. Real dust! She looked up, looking Shiraishi straight in the eye.\r\n\r\n“Do you see the dust? All over me?â€ The priest’s eyes were more concerned than anything, and for a moment she didn’t respond. Akiko suddenly wondered whether anyone else could see the dust, but then Shiraishi nodded slowly. “The dust came from the thing that was chasing me. It was like a two-headed dog made out of old concrete. And I saw something by the love hotels two days ago, and there were things by my flat. And something similar on the building site. Only I don’t think anyone else sees them, just like no-one else sees the snake.â€ She paused. “I haven’t seen the snake for a few days, either.â€ She realised she was babbling, then, and took a deep breath to calm herself. Dust caught in her throat, provoking a fit of coughing.\r\n\r\n“What’s going on?â€ Akiko hadn’t meant to sound so pleading, but Shiraishi still hadn’t moved, or said anything. She looked at the priest again, but couldn’t hold her gaze, soon looking back down at the floor.\r\n\r\n“You…â€ Shiraishi began, then stopped, cleared her throat, and started again. “You should come inside and have a shower, first. You’re filthy.â€ Akiko nodded; she was feeling dirtier by the second, and definitely wanted to wash. She tried to stand, but her left leg was still weak, and she staggered. Shiraishi held out an arm to support her, and then guided her into the house, and back to the bathroom, leaving her in the anteroom.\r\n\r\nBy the time Akiko came out of the bathroom, wearing a yukata again, she felt much better. Clean, for a start, and her leg was back to normal, the scratch much smaller than she would have believed possible. She was actually feeling quite cheerful.\r\n\r\nShiraishi was waiting for her, sitting by the table, with tea and Japanese sweets set out. The priest was kneeling rigidly, her hands clasped on the table in front of her, and she looked up as Akiko came in.\r\n\r\n“Ms Tanahata, please sit down and have some tea.â€ She sounded very formal, and Akiko found herself getting nervous as she did as she was asked. Shiraishi poured her a cup of green tea, and passed her a sweet. Akiko took a sip of the tea, which was good, while the priest looked at the table, and then back up at her.\r\n\r\n“Please tell me what’s been happening to you.â€ Akiko was surprised, and didn’t know how to answer at first. Shiraishi seemed to take her silence for reluctance, and hurried on. “I promise not to make any wild accusations this time. I’ll just listen, at least until you finish.â€ The priest was blushing slightly as she said that, apparently a little embarrassed. Akiko could feel her face heating up; now it came down to actually saying what had happened, it all seemed ridiculous to her. How was anyone going to believe her? “Could you start with seeing the kami?â€ Shiraishi continued. Akiko took a deep breath, and nodded.\r\n\r\nShe started from the first storm, and told the priest everything. Once she had started talking, it got easier, especially as Shiraishi made no comment, just nodding and indicating that she was still listening. Akiko described the dreams and visions, and the problems at work, and the snake appearing in the night club. She talked about the vision in the love hotel, and the creatures that she had seen, at the building site, near her flat, near the love hotel, and in the laundrette. She put particular emphasis on the fact that her flat had been wet after the internal rainstorm, and the dust that had covered her earlier, but Shiraishi still said nothing.\r\n\r\nWhen she had finished, the priest just sat there, saying nothing, but nodding slightly. Akiko waited, but there was still no response.\r\n\r\n“Well?â€\r\n\r\n“I…â€ Shiraishi began, and then broke off. “I don’t know.â€\r\n\r\n“Do you believe me?â€\r\n\r\n“I don’t think you’re lying to me.â€\r\n\r\n“You saw the dust!â€ Did the priest think she was mad?\r\n\r\n“I did. Yes, I saw the dust.â€ The priest looked up again, meeting Akiko’s eyes.\r\n\r\n“I really don’t know. I have to think about this.â€\r\n\r\n“Weren’t you trained for this?â€ Shiraishi laughed, briefly.\r\n\r\n“No, I’m afraid the standard training for a Shinto priest does not cover what to do when the kami starts appearing.â€ By the time she finished the sentence, she was very serious again. “I have to think.â€\r\n\r\nAkiko nodded.\r\n\r\n“If you have time, come back tomorrow, and we’ll talk again.â€ Akiko felt a surge of hope,\r\n\r\n“You don’t disbelieve me, then?â€\r\n\r\n“I…â€ Again a pause. “No. I’m not sure what to think, but I don’t think you’re lying, or simply mad.â€\r\n\r\n“But then…â€ Shiraishi raised a hand to stop her.\r\n\r\n“Like I said, I need to think. Come back when you have time.â€ Akiko nodded.\r\n\r\n“Can I finish my tea?â€ Shiraishi smiled again.\r\n\r\n“Of course.â€', 'The Truth', 0, '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-truth', '', '', '2009-04-27 21:01:53', '2009-04-27 12:01:53', '', 0, 'http://www.davidchart.com/Novels/Tamao/?p=210', 0, 'post', '', 10);
