After the Dream—Natsume's Arc (Complete)

[brythain]

"It's been a while, author-san."

My head jerks up from where it had come to rest, next to a stale, dried-out coffee mug.

Two dissimilar eyes gaze at me, almost unreadable, touched at the edges with humour as dry as my evaporated coffee.

"Er, yes. I've been busy! Sorry!"

"In my long experience—" I look closely through bleary eyes and realise this is Natsume Ooe, perhaps in her fifth decade "—writer's block is a sadly all too common affliction amongst those who write too much on too little sleep."

"I've not been writing at all!"

"Well, you've not been writing our story much. You, of course, have your more mundane work to pursue, and I have to forgive you for attempting to earn a living. But I'm not here to provoke, nor chastise, you."

"It's a pleasure to have your company, Ms Ooe, as always. To what do I owe this honour?" I ask, remembering my manners.

"Ha. I'm here to offer you a lead. When do you think Rin Tezuka met Rika Katayama?"

"First meeting?"

"First consequential meeting."

"I had been about to say 2005, at Yamaku, when Rika first entered the school as Rin's junior."

"Which is why I specified otherwise."

"That meeting?"

"Yes."

"I suspect sometime after 2044, when Rin had come back to the East Coast."

"You suspect right, even if somewhat vaguely."

"I should track that down?"

She laughs a little grimly. "Author-san, I am the voice of the Great Shimbun. I whisper a hint, and scores of journalists ride the information waves. And you dare ask me this sort of question?"

My mind begins to find its gears. I blow her a kiss. "This was during the war years, then. Somewhere around the point of confluence?"

"That's for the investigative writer to consider. I shall leave you to it."

An eye of fire and one of smoke—that is the gaze of Natsume Ooe. As she vanishes, I realise I have looked upon the basilisk and yet remain flesh and blood.

[Scroff]

I truly appreciate your work ("enjoy" isn't the right word, given its nature) and want to send you heartfelt thanks.

“Nat, you’ve not called me that for ages. Aww. Shit.” Her tears are hot, huge drops. They scald my heart. “Aww. She’s not with me anym… aww… come on Miki, come on. Ahhh, Nat. Ahhh…”

These were the hardest lines for me to read in the whole of your mosaic. Miki would have been a glorious mother!

[brythain]

I truly appreciate your work ("enjoy" isn't the right word, given its nature) and want to send you heartfelt thanks.

“Nat, you’ve not called me that for ages. Aww. Shit.” Her tears are hot, huge drops. They scald my heart. “Aww. She’s not with me anym… aww… come on Miki, come on. Ahhh, Nat. Ahhh…”

These were the hardest lines for me to read in the whole of your mosaic. Miki would have been a glorious mother!

I'm very grateful for your comments. I write characters based on real-life experiences, and when readers like yourself tell me such things, I feel I've done something right.