Кадзуо Исигуро - Klara and the Sun

Josie turned to him in surprise. Then she put down her own sharp pencil and reached forward for the sheet. For a long moment, she looked at it with blank eyes, while Rick kept watching from the door.

‘I can’t believe you’d write this,’ she said finally. ‘Why would you do this?’

I turned around on the Button Couch, estimating the tension had reached a level that could no longer justify complete privacy. Perhaps Rick had forgotten about my presence, because my turning round appeared to startle him. His gaze came to me for a second, still filled with fear and anger, then he strode out of the room without a word. We listened to his steps going down the stairs.

Once the front door noise came, Josie yawned, threw everything off the bed and lay down on her front, as though the visit had ended like any other.

‘He can be so exhausting sometimes,’ she said into her pillow.

I came off the Button Couch and began to tidy the room. Josie’s eyes stayed closed, and she said nothing more, but I could tell she hadn’t fallen asleep. As I went on tidying, I naturally glanced at the sheet that had caused the tension.

As expected, the picture showed versions of Josie and Rick. There were many inaccuracies, but also enough resemblances to leave no doubt about the intended identities. Picture Josie and Picture Rick appeared to be floating in the sky, the trees, roads and houses far below reduced to miniature sizes. Behind them, in one section of sky, were seven birds flying in formation. Picture Josie was holding up with two hands a much larger bird, offering it as a special gift to Picture Rick. Picture Josie had a large smile, and Picture Rick a look of thrilled amazement.

There was no bubble for Picture Rick. The only one was for Picture Josie’s thoughts, and inside it Rick had written:

‘I wish I could go out and walk and run and skateboard and swim in lakes. But I can’t because my mother has Courage. So instead I get to stay in bed and be sick. I’m glad about this. I really am.’

I added this picture to the collection I was gathering in my hands, making sure it wasn’t near the top. Josie remained quiet and still, her eyes closed, but I knew she wasn’t asleep. In the days before Morgan’s Falls I would perhaps have spoken to her at this point, and Josie would have responded with honesty. But the mood between us was different now, and so I decided to say nothing. I went to the dressing table, reached down and placed this latest pile beside the others in the space underneath.

—

Rick didn’t come back the next day or the day after. But when Melania Housekeeper asked, ‘Where boy go? Get sick?’ Josie just shrugged and said nothing.

As the days continued and there was still no visit from Rick, Josie grew more quiet, and her signals became keep away ones. She still continued with her drawings in bed, but without Rick and the bubble game, her enthusiasm would quickly drain away, and often she’d toss unfinished pictures onto the floor, stretch out on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

One afternoon when she’d been staring in this way, I said to her: ‘If you liked, Josie, we could play the bubble game. If Josie would draw the pictures, I’d do my best to think of suitable words.’

She went on staring up at the air. Then she turned and said: ‘Look. That’s just not going to work. I don’t mind you listening in. But there’s no way you could do that instead of Rick. No way at all.’

‘I see. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested…’

‘No. You shouldn’t have.’

As more days passed without a Rick visit, Josie grew lethargic, and I was concerned she was also growing weak again. It occurred to me this was the ideal time for the Sun to send his special help, and whenever his pattern in the bedroom altered suddenly, or when he burst out in the sky following an overcast spell, I’d watch with particular keenness. But though he continued unfailingly to send his normal nourishment, his special help didn’t come.

—

One morning I returned to the bedroom after taking down her breakfast tray, and found her propped up on her pillows, sketching busily with something like her old enthusiasm. She also had a serious expression I’d not seen before while working on a picture, and when I tried to make conversation, she didn’t reply. Once, as I was tidying the room and came near the bed, she adjusted her posture to prevent me glimpsing any part of her sheet.

After a time she tore out the page, screwed it into a tight ball and dropped it into a crevice in her duvet between herself and the wall. She then began a fresh drawing, her eyes large and tense. I sat on the Button Couch, this time facing towards her so she would know I was ready to converse whenever she wished to do so.

After almost an hour, she put down her sharp pencil and stared at her picture for some time.

‘Klara? See down there, bottom left drawer? Could you get me an envelope? One of the large padded ones?’

As I was crouching down by the drawer, I saw Josie raise her sharp pencil again, and from its movements I knew she was no longer drawing, but writing words. Then she folded the picture down the middle, placing a blank sheet between the halves to prevent smudging, took the padded envelope from me and carefully slid the picture inside. Peeling off the thin paper tape, she sealed the envelope, pressing its edge to make sure.

‘Glad that’s done,’ she said, turning the envelope in her hands as though it brought her comfort to do so. But as I began to move away from the bed, she suddenly held it towards me. ‘Would you put this in the same drawer you found the envelope? Lower left?’

‘Of course.’ I took it from her, but didn’t go immediately to the drawer. Instead I stood in the middle of the room, holding the envelope, and looked at her. ‘I wonder if this picture is a special gift from Josie to Rick.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘It was just an estimate.’

‘Well, your estimate’s right. I wanted it to be for Rick. For when he next comes here.’

There was silence while she watched me, and I was uncertain if she was simply impatient for me to place the envelope in the drawer as she’d requested, or if she was waiting for me to say something more about Rick and his visits. In the end I said:

‘Perhaps he’ll come again soon.’

‘Perhaps he will. No sign of it though.’

‘I think Rick will be pleased to see the picture. He’ll see Josie took special care with it.’

‘I didn’t take special care.’ She flashed angry eyes. ‘I got bored and drew another picture. That’s all. But you’re right. It’s for Rick. Problem is, he’d have to come here to get it. And he doesn’t come any more.’

She went on staring at me. I remained standing in the middle of the room.

‘Josie,’ I said after a while. ‘If you like, I could take the drawing to him.’

Her eyes became surprised and also excited. ‘You mean, you’ll take it over to him? To his house?’

‘Yes. It’s only the neighbor house after all.’

‘I guess it wouldn’t be so weird you taking this to him. Other people’s AFs go on errands all the time, right?’

‘I’d be happy to go. I believe I’ll be able to find the correct trail to his house.’

‘And would you do it today? Before lunch?’

‘Whenever Josie wishes. If you like, I could take it to him now. Right away.’

‘You think that’s a good idea?’

I raised the padded envelope slightly. ‘I’d very much like to take Josie’s picture to Rick. It would be good for me to explore the outside. And if Rick receives this special picture, he may forgive Josie and be her best friend again.’

‘What do you mean, “forgive”? It’s for me to forgive him . That’s really dumb, Klara. I don’t think I want you to take this to him now.’