record of a night too brief – hiromi kawakami
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When she sang high notes, flocks of birds took flight from the branches of the gingko trees. When she sang low notes, the earth heaved, and small furry creatures emerged from underground and crawled about.
[…]
the singer commenced singing. It was as if an immense musical instrument was filling the firmament with sound, or as if the melody of her song was swimming through the skies… In the next moment her voice had overwhelmed all else, and rather than listening, we seemed to be encompassed within it. No longer able to know the words, we were conscious only that her lilting voice was, slowly and powerfully, all around us.
*******
“Where are we going?” I enquired. The girl nodded several times, her eyes closed, looking unworried.
“Where?” I asked again.
“The night,” she replied.
With that, her head tilted downwards, and she fell into a deep sleep. She was carried along as she slept.
Now a part of the chaos, alongside the girl, I entered the night.
