Water Lily
Authors: Susanna Jones
The Earthquake Bird
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2003 by Susanna Jones
All rights reserved.
This Grand Central Publishing edition is published by arrangement with Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR, UK.
Originally published in hardcover by Mysterious Press
Hachette Book Group
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New York, NY 10017
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www.HachetteBookGroup.com
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo are registered trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
First eBook Edition: September 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-56524-0
Contents
One
R
una arrived at her sister’s house in the dark. The wooden building, not much more than a shed with a few scrubby bushes in
front, was lit dimly by a couple of vending machines at the end of Nanao’s street. She trod quietly up to the house and peered
through the window of the living room. A little light came from the back room where Nanao slept but she was not necessarily
at home. Nanao would have left the light on even if she’d gone out. There was a mess of books and papers on the shelves and
floor, no doubt some test or academic paper in progress. Runa rang the bell, hoping her sister would not be there. She wanted
to let herself in, find the things she needed and turn straight back for the station. And when she did, she would run all
the way.
Nanao opened the door, blinked. Runa found herself staring at her older sister, realizing that she would have to give an explanation.
Seeing Nanao’s expression, concerned and surprised, Runa wanted to tell her things she knew she could not. She sniffed a couple
of times, kicked her foot casually against the doorstep.
“Hello, Nanao. It’s been ages.”
“Runa. What are you doing here?” Nanao’s right hand moved up to her cheekbone, a gesture from childhood that always gave away
her shyness in uncertain situations. Her perfectly straight eyebrows—just like Runa’s—rarely betrayed her feelings, unless
you knew her.
“I don’t know.” Runa stepped up into the doorway. “I just wanted to visit you.”
“Of course. That’s nice. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. Come in then.” She let Runa pass her, then went ahead to find slippers.
“It’s good to see you. You know you can come any time.”
“I haven’t seen you for months.” Runa groped for something better. She should have thought of this before she arrived. She’d
had two hours on the train and all she’d done was look out of the window at the darkness, having imaginary conversations with
people she knew, trying to explain, to justify what she had done.
“There was a book I wanted to borrow, but I can’t remember what it is now.”
She put her feet into the cotton slippers, wriggled her toes inside them. Her shoulders were hunched and she felt weak. She
stepped forward nervously and bumped into Nanao. Their arms touched and separated quickly.
“Runa, are you all right?”
“How’s Hiroshi?”
“Fine. Still in Taipei, looking around factories.”
“Of course. How’s the university?”
“The same as ever. Well, no. Not quite the same, since I’m only teaching part time now.”
“Why’s that?”
Nanao looked at Runa as if she was stupid.
“The baby, Runa.”
“Baby?”
“I’m pregnant. It’s due in five months, in winter. And Hiroshi’s away for another month at least, so I don’t want to risk
working too hard. I know I told you—”
How could Runa have forgotten? She had known about the baby for weeks. Even as she left the school building she’d been running
names vaguely through her mind. But seeing Nanao looking no thicker than a sheet of paper, with circles under her eyes from
working, it was hard to believe that anything was changing.
“You did tell me. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Come through and I’ll get you a drink. I seem to spend the whole time writing exam papers. Still. How is school?”
Runa shrugged. She was about to say that it was fine but had already paused long enough for Nanao to know that something was
wrong. She followed Nanao into the living room and knelt at the table. Nanao had switched the light on but there were trees
outside the window and the room felt dark.
“How is it?” Nanao fixed her eyes on Runa.
Runa noticed specks of silver glittering in Nanao’s hair and wondered how it could have got there. From paper, perhaps, or
some kind of packaging. Surely Nanao would not have decorated her hair on purpose; she never wore a trace of make-up. Sometimes
she didn’t even brush her hair.
Runa tried to think. “I suppose nothing much has changed.” “You’ve traveled a hundred kilometers to borrow a book whose title
you can’t remember?”
“I’d love a drink.” She wished she knew how to lie. “There’s some of Hiroshi’s beer in the fridge. It’s been there for ages.
It needs drinking up.”
“Yes, please.”
Nanao stood to go to the kitchen.
“I’ll do it, since I’m the guest.” Runa overtook Nanao on the way into the kitchen and took a large bottle of beer from the
fridge. She wasn’t thinking about what she was doing and its cold wetness in her hand shocked her so that she almost let it
slip through her fingers. Her legs wobbled and she felt hot as she grabbed for it.
“Where’s the bottle opener?”
“In the drawer.”
“Where are the glasses?”
Nanao sighed and appeared in the kitchen. “Let me.”
They sipped from tall glasses. Runa peeped over the top of hers and wondered at her sister’s solitary life in this little
old house. The village was tiny and the university was miles away. Nanao didn’t seem to know her neighbors. When Runa had
asked about them in the past, Nanao simply shrugged and looked blank. Hiroshi spent more time away than at home and when he
was there, he hardly spoke. He would come home from work late at night, watch game shows until the early hours of the morning.
He was never rude; if you spoke to him he would answer but he never started a conversation, except with contestants on the
television. So when he went away, it couldn’t be much of a loss to Nanao. She never seemed to mind. But Runa would be lonely
within five minutes if she were married to a man like Hiroshi. She would have to go out or bring people in.
“It’s humid tonight.”
“Did I wake you? Had you gone to bed?”
“No. I was getting some work done. To be honest I’m glad to have an excuse to stop. I’ve been working since I got up this
morning and haven’t accomplished anything yet. I found I’d made a mistake in one of the exam papers that affected everything
else so I had to start again.”
Sometimes Runa could not believe that she was Nanao’s sister. Nanao the physicist, so hardworking, driven, responsible, married,
and pregnant. She couldn’t imagine her making a mistake. Nanao’s glass caught her eye and she stared. The liquid lit was orange.
“You’re not drinking beer? I just noticed.”
“I’m pregnant, Runa.”
“Oh, yes. Of course. You can’t have alcohol now. That’s a pity.”
“You could look at it that way.” Nanao ran a finger around the base of her glass.
“Never mind. I’ll drink for you.”
As they drank, Runa realized how tired she was. She had taken the bus from school at four o’clock and dashed to the train
without eating. Not that she was hungry. She hadn’t eaten much for days. She became more tired and more drunk and found she
wanted to tell Nanao everything. How good it would feel to share the load. The secret kept fizzing up inside her and she was
only just able to keep it in.
“So, what’s happening at school?”
Nanao’s voice was smooth and liquid. It reminded Runa of their mother’s voice and it made her feel different, as if there
were less of a hurry. Listening to that voice, she could almost doze off and sleep all night. So much had happened to her.
She would tell Nanao a little of it, but not all. She spoke and her voice came out in a whisper.
“You know. It’s not a perfect life. Everybody watches you all the time. It’s not easy to do the things you want to, living
in that village where there’s nothing except the school.” Nanao was listening intently. “And then, things happen.”
“What things happen?” Nanao’s voice lowered to match Runa’s.
“Things. A lot of gossip.”
“What kind of gossip?”
Runa couldn’t stop. There was always part of her that wanted to break every promise she made to herself, or to any-one else
for that matter—like snipping off all her hair every time she’d grown it to the length she wanted.
“You see, they’re saying that a teacher has been having an affair with a pupil. One of the fifth years.” She paused. “What
do you think of that?”
Nanao didn’t take her eyes off Runa.
“What do I think? Why are you asking me? I think it’s wrong, of course. If it’s true then I hope they’ve been found out and
the teacher sacked.”
“Mmmm. But it’s not quite in the open yet. It was a secret affair but someone took a photograph of the couple together. Now
that person has written to one of them anonymously and is threatening to expose them. They can’t tell anyone about it. Their
lives will be ruined.”
The air conditioner clanked into action and blew cool air across Runa’s face. Nanao sat absolutely still. Runa knew she was
working hard to hide her shock. Nanao was always calm. Amazement registered like the slightest ripple across a pond, then
a moment of extra stillness as she adjusted. She opened her mouth slowly to speak.
“So in fact no one knows for sure apart from the teacher, the pupil, and the person, or people, with the photograph.” “It
seems so.”
“So then, Runa, this gossip is about you. Unless you’re the anonymous writer.”
“Of course I’m not. I would never do anything so underhand.”
Nanao folded her arms and looked out of the window as if she thought someone was out there. Runa knew it was possible. A person
determined to ruin her life could have followed her here. Nanao turned her head back but didn’t look at Runa.
“Are you still seeing him?”
“No. Not really.”
“Not really?”
“I have to see him every day. I can’t help it. He’s there. It’s not a serious relationship. If this letter hadn’t come it
would have blown over in no time.”
“Tell me about him.”
“There’s nothing much to tell. I like him. He’s very sweet and good-looking. We were just attracted to each other. We have
fun. I can’t explain. It doesn’t matter. It’s going to happen sometimes, isn’t it? Especially when there are so many bored
people out in the middle of nowhere. Some teachers and pupils are bound to be close in age. I expect it’s happened lot of
times before.”
Runa felt better. It was so reasonable when she said it aloud.
“That has nothing to do with it. It’s wrong. I can’t even be bothered to think about why. It just is. Runa, you are planning
to go back there, aren’t you? You’re not running away?”
“I am going back.” That was half true. “I just wanted to get away this evening.”
“Is the picture absolutely incriminating? Is it not possible to make something up to explain the fact that you were together?”
Runa shook her head. “We were leaving a love hotel.”
She pulled an envelope from her pocket and took out the photograph and letter. The picture showed a small building decorated
like a fairy castle, flanked by a shoe shop and a hair salon. The two lovers were leaving, not touching but walking very close.
Runa’s face was visible and her lover’s profile was clear. Their expressions were serious, guilty, almost comically so. There
was a
mikan
tree right next to the hotel with ripe orange fruits hanging down. Runa noticed for the first time how nicely the tree framed
the picture.
She realized that she must have intended to show Nanao the picture. Otherwise she would not have brought it. Sometimes she
surprised herself.
“Of all the places to walk out of together. A love hotel. How are you going to explain that one
away
? How could you be so stupid?” Nanao threw the picture down. “It’s indefensible.”