The Graveyard Apartment Read Online Free PDF

now on. Those indulgences were probably the reason behind Tamao’s monthly lapses into bedwetting, which soaked through the sheets and the quilted pad underneath, as well.
    As Misao and Tamao approached the narrow street leading to the Central Plaza Mansion, which wound past Manseiji and skirted the adjacent graveyard, they saw a petite, winsome-faced young woman standing by the side of the road. Her hair was stylishly cut in shingled layers, and she wore black leggings and a long black cardigan with shoulder pads. A small girl was squatting nearby, drawing pictures on the asphalt with colored chalk.
    Maybe they live in our building, Misao thought. She gave a slight nod and was about to pass by when the woman addressed her.
    â€œExcuse me, but are you the folks who just moved in, by any chance?”
    â€œThat’s right,” Misao replied.
    â€œAh, just as I thought,” the woman said, with a smile that struck Misao as open and friendly, with a touch of mischief. They traded the customary bows.
    â€œIt’s nice to meet you,” the woman said. “I’m Eiko Inoue. We live in apartment 402.”
    At a glance, Eiko Inoue struck Misao as the kind of woman who had been raised by conscientious parents, had married in the usual way, and then had popped out a couple of kids, as expected. Wherever she went, a woman like that would find it easy to make friends, and she would never stop to wonder whether her own essential loneliness might be the driving force behind her compulsive sociability. She just looks like that type, somehow, Misao mused. She made an effort to smile back as amicably as she could.
    â€œI’m Misao Kano. I’m sorry I haven’t been down to say hello before this, but I’ve been busy registering my daughter for kindergarten and so on.”
    â€œOh, really?” Eiko Inoue’s eyes grew wide. “Will your daughter be enrolling at St. Mary’s?”
    When Misao nodded, the woman’s attitude became even friendlier. “Kaori!” she called out to her own daughter. “Aren’t you going to say hello to our new neighbor? This nice little girl is going to be in your class at kindergarten.”
    â€œHello,” Kaori said reticently, squinting at Tamao. Kaori’s eyes wore an open, unguarded expression, just like her mother’s.
    â€œWhat’s your name, dear?” Eiko asked, turning to Tamao.
    Tamao introduced herself, but her shy smile was directed toward Kaori. Her face was alight with curiosity, and she seemed to have forgotten all about the dead bird.
    â€œWhat a little doll,” Eiko said. “Does she have any brothers or sisters at home?”
    â€œNo, she’s an only child,” Misao replied. “Maybe that’s why we’ve been, um, having some problems.”
    â€œOne child is the way to go,” Eiko laughed. “At least for the parents! When you have two or three kids running around the house all day, before you know it they’ve turned you into a worn-out old lady.”
    Misao chuckled at this, and Eiko went on, “Seriously, though, I’m very happy to meet you.” Her body language seemed to suggest that she would have liked to go over and give Misao a hug, on the spot. “We moved here at the end of last year, so it’s been a little over four months, and I still haven’t gotten to know anyone. My older child, Tsutomu, is in the senior kindergarten class, and he’s made quite a few friends there. I haven’t really socialized with any of the mothers, though, so I’m really pleased to run into you like this!”
    Misao didn’t entirely understand why Eiko was so overjoyed about their encounter, but she didn’t find her new acquaintance’s ebullience off-putting at all. She figured it was only natural that someone who moved to a new place would feel an initial sense of isolation and loneliness, and would long for a kindred spirit to talk