Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
| Original Title | クロニック・モノロゲ |
|---|---|
| Author | 岸田 国士 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a secluded coastal villa, a fragile woman waits—her breath shallow, hands crafting paper dolls as moonlight filters through shuttered windows. Wrapped in blankets and whispered anxieties, she murmurs to absent companions, her voice tinged with longing and resignation. A doctor’s promised visit lingers in her thoughts, alongside unspoken tensions with a husband whose delayed return stirs unease. When darkness swallows the room, violence erupts: a masked intruder strikes, leaving her lifeless on the floor. \nHer husband stumbles home to a chilling scene—a body, bloodied and still. Panic gives way to frantic rationalization as he combs through her belongings, rehearsing alibis for authorities yet to arrive. But an invisible interrogator’s voice pierces his guilt, probing cracks in his composure: financial strains, suspicions of infidelity, and a doctor’s questionable devotion to his wife’s care. As memories of locked doors and stifled jealousy surface, the man’s grief twists into something darker—a desperate performance of innocence masking unspoken truths. \nWhispers of betrayal and sacrifice haunt the shadowed rooms, where love curdles into obsession, and every answer breeds new questions. What unfolds is a psychological labyrinth, its end as inevitable as the tide crashing beyond the villa’s walls. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP