Okiyo had come to work at our boardinghouse at the end of February. She's fattish in a sensual way, has a healthy complexion, and reveals something impudent and unyielding in her slightly squarish, thick-eyebrowed face. They say she's twenty years old. At any rate, it seems that when she first arrived, she made a real effort to approach Kindaichi. But Otsune—another interesting one—was intent oh dissuading her, so it seems Okiyo abruptly changed her mind about my friend. I was able to infer this much from Kindaichi's words. Afterwards, apparently, he was continually watching her with the feeling a man has when the small bird that has flown into his house suddenly escapes. It seemed to me that Kindaichi, inexperienced as he is in dealing with women, had not realized that Okiyo's innately lascivious yet somewhat domineering attitude had gained control of his rational faculties. On the last day of last month, Kindaichi—having never once offered the maids a tip—gave something only to Okiyo. Apparently, she told the other servants about it after she went downstairs. The next day Otsune's attitude, Kindaichi said, had undergone a complete transformation. A really ridiculous and pitiful tale. Nevertheless, the very fact that it is ridiculous and pitiful makes it interesting. It was at this point that the university students had arrived.
Well, that's beside the point. The students all left today except for two. Tonight, they were sleeping separately in Rooms 7 and 8.
I had stayed up late.
It was about one-twenty. I was busily engaged in writing when suddenly I heard footsteps stealing outside my room, someone breathing short and hard. Well! Breathlessly I cocked an ear.
The breathing outside my door sounded, on this very quiet night, as violent as a storm. For a while there was no indication that the person would move on. Whoever it was seemed to be spying out the conditions in the various rooms.
From the first, however, I didn't think it was a thief. Not by any means!
Suddenly the shadow of a woman, her hair done up in a huge shimada hairdo, was clearly shadowed against the sliding paper door at the entrance to my room. It was Okiyo.
Strong as she was, I could tell by the violence of her breathing after she had stolen up the stairs how violently her heart was beating. The corridor lamp had caused her silhouette to fall against my door.
The door of the room next to mine moved quietly on its hinges. The woman entered.
A faint voice mumbled, "Mm-mm." It seemed to me she had awakened the dozing man.
Before long, she slightly opened the door she had closed and was apparently spying on my room. And then with the door left as it was, she once more entered the room. Again I heard that "Mm-mm." And then faint voices. She went to the entrance of the room and slid the door shut. I thought I heard her take two or three steps; then nothing more caught my ear.
A clock striking one-thirty in a distant room.
A rooster's faint cry.
I felt as if I were suffocating. The two in the next room must have thought I had fallen asleep. If I had offered the slightest sign that I was awake, how embarrassed they would have been. I was in a real fix. So trying as hard as possible not to make a sound, I first took off my haori and socks and rose slowly to my feet, but I found it quite difficult to get into bed. It was about ten minutes before I finally managed somehow to crawl in. Even then I still felt somewhat suffocated. I was really having a difficult time!
In the next room quick, warm, irregular breathing was faintly audible, like the breathing of a lion from far off. They were in the midst of rapturous pleasures.
Hearing those sounds—those strange sounds—I didn't feel the least bit moved. From the very first I had felt as if I had discovered some good material for a story. "That man's really something!" I thought. He had probably remained behind just to make a conquest of Okiyo. Even so, that woman—how bold she was! Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, should I tell Kindaichi about it? But that would be cruel. No, it would be more amusing to tell him. The clock struck two.
Before long I fell asleep.