The Sea Lioival
by MURAKAMI Haruki
Translated by Kiki
I am smoking a cigarette after a simple lunch when a sea lion es to my apartment. I hear a knock, so I ahe door. At my front door there is a sea lion. There isn』t really anything special about him. It is just an ordinary sea lion. I mean he isn』t wearing sunglasses or a three-piece Brooks Brothers suit. Actually he looks old- fashioned and almost ese.
」Good afternoon. o meet you,」 says the Sea Lion. 「I trust that I』m not disturbing you. Is this a good time?」
「It』s ok, I』m not really that busy,」 I say, a bit flustered.
Sea lions are relatively harmless animals. There is nothing fierce or threatening about them. It doesn』t matter what kind of sea lion you have at your front door, there is really no reason for . And this one didn』t look any different.
That realization is almost more disturbing.
「If you could just give me ten minutes, I』d be really grateful.」 Out of habit I gla my watch. But that is unnecessary. I have time.
「But it might not even take that long,」 the Sea Lion adds, practically reading my thoughts. Without even thinking about it I lead him into my apartment. I even offer him a glass of barley tea.
「You shouldn』t have. You really didn』t o go to such trouble.」 He downs half of the tea in one gulp. Theakes a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lights it with his lighter. 「It』s still really hot, isn』t it?」
「That』s for sure.」
「But at least the ms and evenings are not so bad.
「Yeah, but it is September after all.」
「Hmm. The high school baseball tour is already finished. And the Giants have all but ched the pennant.Nothing much to get worked up about, is there? Summer』s practically finished.」
「I guess you』re right.」
The Sea Lion nods in agreement and looks around my apartment. 「Five me f, but do you live here alone?」
「No, I live with my wife, but she』s away on a trip at the moment.」
「Really? Taking separate vacations sounds like fun.」 The Sea Lion gives a knowing slightly ical laugh.
It was pletely my fault, and I take full responsibility. I don』t care how drunk os at some bar in Shinjuku, one should never offer a business card to the sea lion sitting on the stool. I think everybhat. What else I say but since I am a thoughtful person, I offered it to him. I didn』t have any choice. It』s what I had to do. The sea lion took it.
Misuandings cause problems. It isn』t that I dislike sea lions. There isn』t anything that I hate about them. I admit that I』d be torn if suddenly one day my sister annouhat she wants to marry a sea lion. Assuming they love each other I would not vigorously protest such a marriage. Falling in love with a sea lion might happen.
However giving a business card to a sea lion is a pletely differele of fish. As you all know sea lions are symbols of the vast o. A is the symbol of B, and B is the symbol of C. So C is the symbol for both A and B. Sea lions have established their unity on such a pyramid structure. Maybe it tains a high risk of chaos.At the core of this pyramid is the business card. That』s why the sea lion always carries a thick bunch of business cards in his briefcase. For the sea lion those cards represent his pla the unity. It』s the same as those birds that collect beads.
「A few days ago an associate of mine received your business card, I believe.」
「Really?」 I pretend to have no idea what he is talking about