Chapter 26Out the north exit of Kichijoji Station, Hiroshi opened his umbrella and hurried past the traffic circle toward a pedestrian shopping street. He was late and could not remember the directions. He stopped to scroll through his phone but kept walking as he scanned the long row of narrow shops—packed in like giant books on a shelf—for the coffee mill statue he was supposed to find.
There was no giant coffee mill statue, so he dropped his umbrella in the stand outside the coffee place that looked like it should have a statue and walked down the steep stairs into the basement, hoping he was right.
In the calm space of the coffee shop, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. She was a petite woman, with fine features. Hiroshi watched her as she tucked the book she was reading
