No Longer Human ( PDFDrive )

138
to speak, of a woman's chivalry, but in my experience,
at least in the cities, the women possessed a greater
abundance of what might be termed chivalry than
the men. Most men concerned themselves, all fear and
trembling, only with appearances, and were stingy
to boot.) She enabled me to marry Yoshiko and to
rent a room on the ground floor of an apartment building
near the Sumida River which we made our home.
I gave up drink and devoted my energies to drawing
cartoons. After dinner we would go out together to
see a movie, and on the way back we would stop at a
milk bar or buy pots of flowers. But more than any
of these things it gave me pleasure just to listen to
the words or watch the movements of my little bride,
who trusted in me with all her heart. Then, just
when I had begun to entertain faintly in my breast
the sweet notion that perhaps there was a chance I
might turn one of these days into a human being and
be spared the necessity of a horrible death, Horiki
showed up again.
He hailed me, "How's the great lover? Why,
what's this? Do I detect a note of caution in your
face—you, of all people? I've come today as a messenger
from the Lady of Koenji." He lowered his
voice and thrust his jaw in the direction of Yoshiko,
who was preparing tea in the kitchen, as much as to
ask whether it was all right to continue.