<E-publishing has been started !>
■“Wonderful Stories Falling Down on Christmas Night”(『Kurisumasu no Yoru ni Huttekita Fushigina Monogatari』):
1) One day when Christmas approached, an old w oman appeared from nowhere. She gave a wonderful Christmas present to Meg who saved her from bullies, and went away leaving the words “Remember me at every year when Christmas comes.” Who in the world is she…..? This is “A Goddess of Christmas” which describe a somewhat nostalgic and heartwarming Christmas Eve. 2) “I” threw the key of padlock in Seine with my lover making a vow of everlasting love. It began to make me suffer as a spell after we had a breakup. On Christmas Eve, an old gentleman talked to me, “Mademoiselle…..” on the bridge covered with fog. And he offered me…… “Stardust in The Mist” is a short short story which describes a fantastic Christmas Eve. 3) On the day following Christmas, Marine who lost her dearest grandmother and was left alone visited a town on the outskirts of Paris according to her grandmother’s last words. And there Marine met a father and son with a big white dog which was gimpy. Marine spent the happy time with them and went back to Paris. On the night of the last day of a calendar year, Marine saved a white puppy dog seriously wounded in his leg in a car accident, and rushed into the emergency animal hospital. She met a vet and was filled with nostalgic and strange feeling she got from him. She soon noticed what was happening there at that moment and was amazed. This is “The New Year’s Eve Present.” It describes the happy time which came to the lonely Marine so gently. This is the very collection of fantastic short stories which we want to read on Christmas night.
■”Three Love Stories at The First of Autumn”(『Aki no Hajime no Mittsu no Koi no Monogatari』:
1) This is just between Grandma and me……. The girl posted a grandma’s letter every morning excitedly but her feeling changed to suspicions as she grew. “To whom is she writing? What is it about?…….” She at last knew the ardent “love” of her grandma by her death. This “Letter”sorrowfully describes her love separated by the war. 2) You said “I got a job!” at the other end of the line. I heard your voice for the first time in three years. I felt nostalgic feeling while I was confused. Why I couldn’t understand your pain in those days…. This “Unripe fruits” describes the faint taste of bittersweet love of high schoolers. 3) That girl suddenly appeared before my eyes while I was wandering to find graves because my company went bankrupt and my wife was gone with our daughter. She said “I will be little mermaid for you.” She grew up unbelievably fast. And one day, she disappeared on a sudden and her scarf, which is of the color of the sea and I gave her, was found at the seashore. This is a romantic love story of a middle-aged man who was saved by the little mermaid just for him. This collection contains three fantastic short stories which describe different three generations respectively.
■”Fairy-Tale”(『Otogizoushi』):
Saki lives away from her parents who now reside in England. She was dumped by he lover, parted from her new boyfriend and lost her young and beautiful aunt “Rii-chan” to whom she was deeply attached like her sister. Since then, her loneliness was getting stronger day by day. Although she could find motivation in her work, it could not fill the emptiness of her mind. Rii-chan frequently sang a song for such Saki to make her notice the happiness sooner. There was one more person who was keeping an eye on her. It was a colleague at work, Mr. Tanizaki. Saki finally noticed his love for her and said “I’m sorry that I have never responded to your feelings.” However he decided to accept the marriage meeting which his father recommends. This novel describes the wavering feeling of a girl who reach a marrying age. This is one of Kazusa Nakamaru’s early works.