Two and a half hours on the express train from Tokyo heading north. That day, I had returned home to attend the memorial service for the first anniversary of my father's death. When I arrived home, everyone was busy preparing for the service. My sister urged me to go and offer incense for my father, and there was a strange woman in the Japanese-style room. She was a refined and beautiful woman, unsuited for a place like this in the countryside... Her gaze entangled me. I felt an indescribable tension and elation. Why was she staring at me like that?