Parade

“This makes it easy to pick up with chopsticks, doesn’t it? Here, Tsukiko, you try it.”

What difference does it make, since you’re going to eat them anyway?

“WHEN YOU SAY ‘LONG AGO,’ HOW LONG ago do you mean?”

“Long ago means long ago.”

“I see.”

The two beings looked exactly like the spirit creatures I had seen in folktale books—they had human bodies, red faces with long noses, and wings. You mean tengu?

One time I had tried asking Nishida, “Why do you think these types have latched on to us?”
“I’m not really sure. But you know, there are plenty of other things out there that don’t make sense, right?” I was impressed by the lack of concern in Nishida’s response. She was right about that. The truth was, I myself wasn’t all that interested in the reason. I had just felt like asking the question

that. The truth was, I myself wasn’t all that interested in the reason. I had just felt like asking the question

The tengu sat quietly on either side of me until third period, but after that they went off somewhere. The next thing I knew, the badger, the sand-throwing hag, and the rokurokubi woman with the long neck were also gone.

rokurokubi woman with a very long neck. Before today, there had never been any sign of these creatures—I was sure of that.

I went over to Nishida and quietly ventured a question.