The Final Call and the Open Ending

This flow traces Watanabe’s last attempt to connect with Midori and the unresolved question of where he stands.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Promise to Wait

Midori Receives a Note A small request Watanabe writes to Midori that he cannot explain himself yet and asks her to wait a little longer. He offers no date or full account. Distance maintained The note keeps a possibility open without repairing their separation. Watanabe is not yet ready to face the relationship he says he wants.

A Month of Wandering

Delaying Contact Life away from Tokyo Watanabe travels without a destination and calls Midori only once. She asks what he is doing and where he is, but he cannot explain. A growing cost His silence prolongs Midori’s uncertainty. Grief becomes a reason for withdrawal, but it also risks harming someone who has asked for honesty.

Returning Still Lost

A Return Without Reentry The city again Watanabe arrives back in Tokyo but remains shut in, unable to call Midori. He feels defiled and continues to inhabit memories of Naoko. Reiko intervenes Reiko’s letter and visit create a path back toward conversation. Her presence helps him face the dead without using grief to avoid every living relationship.

The Phone Call

Watanabe Reaches Out A direct appeal Watanabe calls Midori and says he has many things to discuss. He tells her that all he wants in the world is her and that he wants them to begin again. A question without coordinates Midori asks where he is. Watanabe looks around the phone box and cannot identify his location, turning emotional confusion into a literal absence of bearings.

A Future Not Yet Reached

Connection and Disorientation The call continues Watanabe calls out to Midori from a place he cannot name. The ending does not confirm what she will say or whether their relationship can begin again. An open task His declaration has moved him toward life, but he has not yet regained a stable sense of self. The unresolved ending leaves connection as a choice he must continue making.

After Naoko’s funeral

September 1970

2 October 1970 and the days immediately afterward

After Reiko leaves for Asahikawa

The closing moment of the novel