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Night Patrol OfficerAuthor: Izumi Kyoka
| Original Title | 夜行巡査 |
|---|---|
| Author | 泉 鏡花 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the frostbitten streets of 19th-century Tokyo, a rigid patrolman enforces order with unyielding severity, his lantern cutting through the darkness like a predator’s gaze. An elderly rickshaw puller trembles under his reprimand for tattered clothing, embodying the desperation of those clinging to survival. Nearby, a shivering mother and infant are harshly evicted from shelter, their pleas met with cold adherence to duty. Yet shadows of deeper turmoil emerge as a young woman, Oka, navigates a venomous exchange with her embittered uncle—a man consumed by decades-old resentment toward her late parents. Their clash unveils a forbidden love between Oka and the patrolman, thwarted by her uncle’s vindictive schemes. As cruelty and longing collide, a drunken misstep sends the uncle plunging into icy waters, forcing the patrolman to confront the chasm between duty and humanity. Will he uphold his merciless code, or risk everything for a love society deems impossible? Amidst poverty and frost, lives intertwine in a haunting dance of sacrifice and buried desires, where every choice carries the weight of survival. |
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