Chapter 13
The Meeting
As much as Chihiro wanted to reach Professor Natori, she always seemed to talk herself out of doing so at the last minute. Deep inside, Chihiro feared what she might learn, so she kept putting off her attempts at reaching the professor. First, she concluded (quite correctly) that the professor couldn't be reached by phone through the university. She was afraid to write because she was going to graduate from high school very soon--and needed to follow up on her application to Waseda University. She was sure she did well in the entrance examination, her grades looked good, her after-school club participation was sufficient, and her volunteer work at a local retirement home was going to be helpful.
It wasn't helpful enough. She received her rejection notice in January, only a couple of months before graduation. She had a choice: she could sit out a year and take preparation courses, or she could apply to a college that would take a last-minute application. The sad experience watching Taro waste away not withstanding, Chihiro felt she could connect with animals in some meaningful way. She was right, of course, because Sen was making contact with animal spirits--and a little of that contact would find its way into Chihiro's consciousness. Chihiro thought she would make an excellent veteranarian, so she applied to the Ueda Veteranary College in Chofu. It was small, but it had an excellent undergraduate program allowing its students to take both graduate and undergraduate courses during their senior year--and it was very near the home her father was having built. Her parents couldn't hide their disappointment at Chihiro's chosen college and career path, but they came around quickly after they saw how much she seemed to want to help other living things.
All the while, Chihiro's conscious communication with Sen became more frequent--with or without the hair band. Sen really enjoyed reading whether Chihiro was reading or not. As it happened with the license plates on the highway, Sen caused Chihiro's parents occasional concern. One day that January the situation finally hit the breaking point. Chihiro and her mom were sitting opposite each other at the kotatsu (a covered table, heated on the underside, designed to keep a person's legs warm). Chihiro was savoring the lingering taste of a Japanese tangerine while her mom was reading a magazine article about a celebrity who was returning to her ancestral home. Sen started reading the article as well, because the town was part of Natori City in Miyagi Prefecture. The name, 'Natori,' was getting quite a bit of attention lately--in both Chihiro's and Sen's consciousness. Mom looked puzzled for a second, as she came across the town's name. It started with a character she didn't know. She put her finger on the character. Sen knew the town name. [YURIAGE!] Chihiro, totally relaxed at the kotatsu, blankly said, "Yuriage." Mom didn't know what to think. She got up and went to the character dictionary in the bookcase. "Re... Ro... Ya... Yu... Yuri" Her eyes widened. It was an obscure character, no longer legal to use except for proper names, and it was what she saw in the magazine. Even if Chihiro could read the character, there was no way she could see what her finger stopped on.
Mom tried to act as calmly as possible. "Chihiro?"
"Yes?"
"Did you just say Yuriage?"
Chihiro, aware she said something this time, but wasn't sure what she said, replied, "I guess so, but it was just a random thought that came to my head."
Mom went on logically and calmly, "Do you know how to write Yuriage?"
"I'm not sure. Is that 'Yu' as in "Yurakucho?"
"No. It's not three characters; it's two. It's Yuri-age, not Yu-ri-age"
"I haven't got any idea how to do that, mom. Why do you ask?"
It appeared that calmness and logic was about to lose the war. "Chihiro! Whatever you're doing, for whatever reason, you've got to stop it. You're not reading my mind, because I couldn't read the name, you're not looking around corners or at reflections if you can't read the name, and I refuse to believe in out-and-out magic. You are scaring your father and me to distraction."
The following day, Chihiro finally wrote the following to the professor:
-------------------
Professor Yukiko Natori
c/o Tsukuba University
Tennoudai 2, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref. 305-0006
Professor Natori,
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. My name is Chihiro Ogino and am a freshman at a small veteranary college in Chofu. About three years ago, I attended a lecture you gave at my school, Nakaoka Josei High School in Gifu Prefecture. The topic was "Spirits in Japanese culture." Your lecture was fascinating. I, in all sincerity, now believe your topic was based in clinical fact instead of fantasy or legend. Over the last few years, I have been able to communicate with my spirit. This has frightened my parents and is beginning to disturb me. I need to know what to do and how to cope with my spirit. Is it possible I might get an appointment to visit with you for about an hour?
Very respectfully,
Chihiro Ogino
2-145 Chofugaoka
Chofu City, Tokyo Met. 182-0021
----------------------
She dutifully checked her mailbox every day for a month, hoping to get a reply. Nothing came and Chihiro finally gave up. The professor must have been too busy to see "just another fan." It was nearly another three months later when she received a letter from Tsukuba University. Instead of an appointment to see the professor, however, there was an invitation to see her at another guest lecture:
"You are cordially invited to see a special presentation by world-famous sociologist, Mrs Yukiko Natori, at the Tokyo University Yasuda Lecture Hall on August 8 at 6:00PM. Please present this invitation to the greeting counter for seating."
Chihiro didn't know what to make of the invitation. Did her letter get intercepted by a staffer as fan mail? Did Mrs Natori intend to see her after the presentation? Of course, Chihiro made plans to attend the lecture. Even if the professor made no plans to visit with her, maybe she could get to ask a question or two--the lecture was still a few months off, so she could prepare some very good questions.
The Yasuda Lecture Hall was easy enough to find; it was a major landmark on the campus. Chihiro arrived a bit early. Several student volunteers were at the reception table in front of the auditorium reserved for Professor Natori's lecture. She was a bit concerned as she walked up, because the admission for non-students was 2000 yen (about $20 US). She was hoping that all she needed was the invitation, yet she was willing to walk home afterward. She presented the invitation.
"Ogino Chihiro..." The student who took her invitation rechead across the table to a small case of index cards. "Ogino... Ogino... Yes. Here it is. Follow me to your seat."
Chihiro felt greatly relieved. The volunteer picked up a plastic shopping bag beneath the table and gestured that she follow him into the auditorium. She felt like she was getting a VIP treatment. When the volunteer stopped and showed Chihiro her seat, she was a bit disappointed that it wasn't front and center. Her seat was several rows back and way off to the speaker's right. She sat down and looked through the plastic bag. There was a collection of books on spirits and ghosts by various authors as well as a bound compendium of Professor Natori's published--and very dry--works. Just as she sat down, another student volunteer approached. "Chihiro-san?"
"Yes," Chihiro replied hopefully.
"Could you come with me? The Professor would like to see you for a few minutes before the lecture."
That was what Chihiro wanted to hear more than anything else. "Yes," she replied, trying to hold back her excitement. The student led her to a small office in the hallway outside the auditorium. She opened the door. Inside, behind a small table with two chairs opposite each other, was the familiar face she was hoping to see. The professor greeted her. "Ogino Chihiro-san, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Please close the door and sit down here. I know your situation."
[SEN!]
Sen didn't recognize the spirit who addressed her. [I'M SORRY, BUT DO I KNOW YOU?]
[VERY GOOD, SEN. YOU USE COMPLETE SENTENCES. LET ME EXPLAIN]...
The Meeting
As much as Chihiro wanted to reach Professor Natori, she always seemed to talk herself out of doing so at the last minute. Deep inside, Chihiro feared what she might learn, so she kept putting off her attempts at reaching the professor. First, she concluded (quite correctly) that the professor couldn't be reached by phone through the university. She was afraid to write because she was going to graduate from high school very soon--and needed to follow up on her application to Waseda University. She was sure she did well in the entrance examination, her grades looked good, her after-school club participation was sufficient, and her volunteer work at a local retirement home was going to be helpful.
It wasn't helpful enough. She received her rejection notice in January, only a couple of months before graduation. She had a choice: she could sit out a year and take preparation courses, or she could apply to a college that would take a last-minute application. The sad experience watching Taro waste away not withstanding, Chihiro felt she could connect with animals in some meaningful way. She was right, of course, because Sen was making contact with animal spirits--and a little of that contact would find its way into Chihiro's consciousness. Chihiro thought she would make an excellent veteranarian, so she applied to the Ueda Veteranary College in Chofu. It was small, but it had an excellent undergraduate program allowing its students to take both graduate and undergraduate courses during their senior year--and it was very near the home her father was having built. Her parents couldn't hide their disappointment at Chihiro's chosen college and career path, but they came around quickly after they saw how much she seemed to want to help other living things.
All the while, Chihiro's conscious communication with Sen became more frequent--with or without the hair band. Sen really enjoyed reading whether Chihiro was reading or not. As it happened with the license plates on the highway, Sen caused Chihiro's parents occasional concern. One day that January the situation finally hit the breaking point. Chihiro and her mom were sitting opposite each other at the kotatsu (a covered table, heated on the underside, designed to keep a person's legs warm). Chihiro was savoring the lingering taste of a Japanese tangerine while her mom was reading a magazine article about a celebrity who was returning to her ancestral home. Sen started reading the article as well, because the town was part of Natori City in Miyagi Prefecture. The name, 'Natori,' was getting quite a bit of attention lately--in both Chihiro's and Sen's consciousness. Mom looked puzzled for a second, as she came across the town's name. It started with a character she didn't know. She put her finger on the character. Sen knew the town name. [YURIAGE!] Chihiro, totally relaxed at the kotatsu, blankly said, "Yuriage." Mom didn't know what to think. She got up and went to the character dictionary in the bookcase. "Re... Ro... Ya... Yu... Yuri" Her eyes widened. It was an obscure character, no longer legal to use except for proper names, and it was what she saw in the magazine. Even if Chihiro could read the character, there was no way she could see what her finger stopped on.
Mom tried to act as calmly as possible. "Chihiro?"
"Yes?"
"Did you just say Yuriage?"
Chihiro, aware she said something this time, but wasn't sure what she said, replied, "I guess so, but it was just a random thought that came to my head."
Mom went on logically and calmly, "Do you know how to write Yuriage?"
"I'm not sure. Is that 'Yu' as in "Yurakucho?"
"No. It's not three characters; it's two. It's Yuri-age, not Yu-ri-age"
"I haven't got any idea how to do that, mom. Why do you ask?"
It appeared that calmness and logic was about to lose the war. "Chihiro! Whatever you're doing, for whatever reason, you've got to stop it. You're not reading my mind, because I couldn't read the name, you're not looking around corners or at reflections if you can't read the name, and I refuse to believe in out-and-out magic. You are scaring your father and me to distraction."
The following day, Chihiro finally wrote the following to the professor:
-------------------
Professor Yukiko Natori
c/o Tsukuba University
Tennoudai 2, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref. 305-0006
Professor Natori,
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. My name is Chihiro Ogino and am a freshman at a small veteranary college in Chofu. About three years ago, I attended a lecture you gave at my school, Nakaoka Josei High School in Gifu Prefecture. The topic was "Spirits in Japanese culture." Your lecture was fascinating. I, in all sincerity, now believe your topic was based in clinical fact instead of fantasy or legend. Over the last few years, I have been able to communicate with my spirit. This has frightened my parents and is beginning to disturb me. I need to know what to do and how to cope with my spirit. Is it possible I might get an appointment to visit with you for about an hour?
Very respectfully,
Chihiro Ogino
2-145 Chofugaoka
Chofu City, Tokyo Met. 182-0021
----------------------
She dutifully checked her mailbox every day for a month, hoping to get a reply. Nothing came and Chihiro finally gave up. The professor must have been too busy to see "just another fan." It was nearly another three months later when she received a letter from Tsukuba University. Instead of an appointment to see the professor, however, there was an invitation to see her at another guest lecture:
"You are cordially invited to see a special presentation by world-famous sociologist, Mrs Yukiko Natori, at the Tokyo University Yasuda Lecture Hall on August 8 at 6:00PM. Please present this invitation to the greeting counter for seating."
Chihiro didn't know what to make of the invitation. Did her letter get intercepted by a staffer as fan mail? Did Mrs Natori intend to see her after the presentation? Of course, Chihiro made plans to attend the lecture. Even if the professor made no plans to visit with her, maybe she could get to ask a question or two--the lecture was still a few months off, so she could prepare some very good questions.
The Yasuda Lecture Hall was easy enough to find; it was a major landmark on the campus. Chihiro arrived a bit early. Several student volunteers were at the reception table in front of the auditorium reserved for Professor Natori's lecture. She was a bit concerned as she walked up, because the admission for non-students was 2000 yen (about $20 US). She was hoping that all she needed was the invitation, yet she was willing to walk home afterward. She presented the invitation.
"Ogino Chihiro..." The student who took her invitation rechead across the table to a small case of index cards. "Ogino... Ogino... Yes. Here it is. Follow me to your seat."
Chihiro felt greatly relieved. The volunteer picked up a plastic shopping bag beneath the table and gestured that she follow him into the auditorium. She felt like she was getting a VIP treatment. When the volunteer stopped and showed Chihiro her seat, she was a bit disappointed that it wasn't front and center. Her seat was several rows back and way off to the speaker's right. She sat down and looked through the plastic bag. There was a collection of books on spirits and ghosts by various authors as well as a bound compendium of Professor Natori's published--and very dry--works. Just as she sat down, another student volunteer approached. "Chihiro-san?"
"Yes," Chihiro replied hopefully.
"Could you come with me? The Professor would like to see you for a few minutes before the lecture."
That was what Chihiro wanted to hear more than anything else. "Yes," she replied, trying to hold back her excitement. The student led her to a small office in the hallway outside the auditorium. She opened the door. Inside, behind a small table with two chairs opposite each other, was the familiar face she was hoping to see. The professor greeted her. "Ogino Chihiro-san, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Please close the door and sit down here. I know your situation."
[SEN!]
Sen didn't recognize the spirit who addressed her. [I'M SORRY, BUT DO I KNOW YOU?]
[VERY GOOD, SEN. YOU USE COMPLETE SENTENCES. LET ME EXPLAIN]...