>> “But I’m so lonely! I want to be with someone! I know I’m doing terrible things to you, making demands and not giving you anything in return, saying whatever pops into my head, dragging you out of your room and forcing you to take me everywhere, but you’re the only one I can do stuff like that to! [...] And now I’m really, really, really tired and I want to fall asleep listening to someone tell me how much they like me and how pretty I am and stuff. That’s all I want. And when I wake up, I’ll be full of energy and I’ll never make these kinds of selfish demands again. I swear. I’ll be a good girl.
“I hear you, believe me, but there’s nothing I can do.”
“Oh, please! Otherwise, I’m going to sit down right here on the ground and cry my head off all night long. And I’ll sleep with the first guy that talks to me.”
That did it. I called the dorm and asked for Nagasawa. When he got to the phone I asked him if he would make it look as if I had come back for the evening. I was with a girl, I explained.
“Fine,” he said. “It’s a worthy cause, I’ll be glad to help you out. I’ll just turn over your name tag to the ‘in’ side. Don’t worry. Take all the time you need. You can come in through my window in the morning.”
“Thanks. I owe you one,” I said and hung up.
“All set?” Midori asked.
“Pretty much,” I said with a sigh.
“Great, let’s go to a disco, it’s so early.”
“Wait a minute, I thought you were tired.”
“For something like this, I’m just fine.”
“Oh boy.”
[...]
“Come on, say something to me,” Midori said, her face buried in my chest.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Anything. Something to make me feel good.”
“You’re really cute,” I said.
“... Midori,” she said. “Say my name.”
“You’re really cute, Midori,” I corrected myself.
“What do you mean really cute?”
“So cute the mountains crumble and the oceans dry up.”
Midori lifted her face and looked at me. “You have this special way with words.”
“I can feel my heart softening when you say that,” I said, smiling.
“Say something even nicer.”
“I really like you Midori. A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Like a spring bear,” I said.
“A spring bear?” Midori looked up again. “What’s that all about? A spring bear.”
“You’re walking through a field all by yourself one day in spring, and this sweet little bear cub with velvet fur and shiny little eyes comes walking along. And he says to you, ‘Hi, there, little lady. Want to tumble with me?’ So you and the bear cup spend the whole day in each other’s arms, tumbling down this clover-covered hill. Nice, huh?”
“Yeah. Really nice.”
“That’s how much I like you.”
“That is the best thing I’ve ever heard,” said Midori, cuddling up against my chest. “If you like me that much, you’ll do anything I tell you to do, right? You won’t get angry, right?”
“No, of course not.”
“And you’ll take care of me always and always.”
“Of course I will,” I said, stroking her short, soft, boyish hair. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
“But I’m scared,” she said.
I held her softly, and soon her shoulders were rising and falling, and I could hear the regular breathing of sleep. <<
from: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
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