Lederhosen

    By MURAKAMI haruki

    translated by Alfread Birnbaum

    quot;Mot; a friend of my ;all because of a pair of ss.quot;

    Ive got to ask. quot;A pair of ss?quot;

    quot;I kno sounds strange,quot; s;because it is a strange story.quot;

    A large  tutors electric organ, but most of ime sennis, so srim and alanned. You migs fanatic. One days off, ss in a morning run before o to do laps; t ternoon its tennis, follos, but Im nowhere near her league.

    I dont mean to suggest s te trary, siring; sting emotional pressure on anyone. Only s attaco t body--craves vigorous activity, relentless as a comet.

    o do tle on t siful--so, even agreed to take t inevitably, ten to tage, some problem hrough.

    Like my ;S unlucky.quot;

    quot;ell, I guess,quot; I sympathize.

    Im not in total agreement rue, luck may rule over parts of a persons life and luck may cast patc y laps or run ty kilometers--to overcome most any trouble. No,   on marrying, is . Marriage just doesnt fall , at least not entirely.

    And so sutoring electric organ, devoting every free moment to sports, falling regularly in and out of unlucky love.

    Its a rainy Sunday afternoon and s shopping.

    quot;Forgive me,quot; s;I took a rain codays tennis,   t...Am I interrupting anyt;

    Not at all, I say. I didnt feel quite in to  sitting around, cat on my lap, co tcc ty minutes of Jaicularly riveted to tube. But c anys t of our eyes.

    Its ts roll up. No sign of t a bit. Sill no alking. No after an  is, s mine.

    Im already t popping in t video  fation--at least to my mind, ting up--but I uess a reason is w.

    quot;t really ssquot;, s;t;

    quot;You mean ts traps?quot;

    quot;You got it. Fated a pair of leder. ell, Fatty tall for ion.  even look good in ted t can you picture a Japanese man akes all kinds.quot;

    Im still not any closer to tory. I o ask:  ances be--and of whese souvenir lederhosen?

    quot;Oelling t of order. Stop me if t make sense,quot; she says.

    Okay, I say.

    quot;Moter . Someto do. Of course, Mot speak German, s eac overseas bee in . Itd been ages since s. So Mot taking ten days off and going to Germany, t allo, and Mot;

    quot;ts ?

    quot;Rig; s;Mot ed o bring back, and Fat;

    quot;Okay so far.quot;

    s  argue until all ;  storm out of t come  least not tly ther women.

    quot;Not a bad man, a  kind of a skirt-c; sosses off matter-of-factly. No relations of alking. For a second I almost t no, Im told, hes alive and well.

    quot;Fatroubles ting along just fine.quot;

    t go  incident. ended ten days in Germany to nearly a monto tokyo, and o Japan, sayed er of hers in Osaka. She never did come back home.

    Neiter--nor and il tal difficulties, ient one--so ploddingly patient in fact t simes ion; family al and moted to er. So  even make t to call, it o ts edly, but t o come to t ions were.

    In mid-September, ter returning to Japan, entions kno of told ;You o me.quot; ould so explain,  ;Ive lost all love for you--in any way, s; Oely none.

    quot;All t; sells me. quot;But it  just ts splitting up many times, so I  psyc plain divorced  all t funny business, I  ten so upset. t Motoo. ts ;

    I nod.

    quot;Up until t point, Id alaken Motand by me. And yet t  a ion. It  me so  able to forgive Mot time. I e ters asking o set traig sions, never even said sed to see me.quot;

    It  until ter t sually saer utoring electric organ. Meanweac a prep school.

    s been able to talk to er because s knoo say. quot;I myself couldnt tell ;but it all started over t pair of ss.quot;

    quot;Ss?quot; Sarted as I o speak to  curiosity got tter of er  into a nearby coffee sea. So  story.

    t sold to up for her.

    quot;All to buy ledersmans so expensive, said er.

    So Motrain to buy rain compartment sat a middle-aged German couple, o buy leder; Mot;Vat so?quot; toget;Zat is ze place, ja is ze best.quot;  very confident.

    It  old-fasoone streets led in all directions, and cats o a cafe for a bite of kasekuchen and coffee.

    S sip of coffee and playing  tle too the shop.

    quot;t; Mother said.

    o travel by oneself, s as sones. In fact, t time in y-five years t sraveled alone. During trip, s once been lonely or afraid or bored. Every scene t met   ouc sil ter-- no need to trouble hem.

    S problem. It iny old guild s didnt ourists, but inside she door and walked in.

    took dos and scribbled to a notebook. Beain divider one of sewing machines could be heard.

    quot;Darf ic; ther.

    quot;I  to buy leder; she responded in English.

    quot;For Madame?quot; he asked back.

    quot;No, I buy for my ;

    quot;Ac; said t;your  ;

    quot;No, I say already, ; she replied.

    quot;Ziss make problem.quot; t;Ve do not make article for customer .quot;

    quot;My ,quot; Moth confidence.

    quot;Ja, of course, of course,quot; tily. quot;Excuse my not good Englis I vant say, if your  exist  sell ze leder;

    quot;; Mother asked, perplexed.

    quot;Is store policy. Is unser Prinzip. Ve must see ze leder fit customer, ve alter very nice, only zen ve sell. Over one ation on ziss policy.quot;

    quot;But I spend o come from o buy your leder;

    quot;Very sorry, Madame,quot; said t;Ve make no exception. Ziss vorld is very uncertain vorld. trust is difficult sink to earn but easy sink to lose.quot;

    Motood in trained o break tuation to te t difference in size, tical expressions.

    quot;ell, per; Mot;I find man just like my  man puts on lederer very nice, you sell ledero me.quot;

    t old man looked .

    quot;But, Madame, zat is against rule. Is not same man ;

    quot;Pretend you do not kno man and t man sell ledero me. t o your policy. Please, I beg you. I may never come back to Germany. If I do not buy leder;

    quot;; ted.  for a feurned to tream in German. times. turned back to Mot;Very ion--very exception, you please understand--ve vill knoter. Not so many come from Yapan to buy leder;

    quot;t; so t;Das ist so nett vor I; Ser ory--folds able and sig of my coffee, long since cold. till no sign of t tion ake turn?

    quot;So t; I interject, eager to ;Did your mot;

    quot;Yes,quot; sterly  expression. quot;Mot on a bencc t. it asking  seems t speak a ;

    quot;t; I joke.

    quot;I dont kno ; s;tuation to ted to stand in for Fats tucking tling ay minutes time Moto divorce Fat;

    quot;ait,quot; I say, quot;I dont get it. Did somety minutes?quot;

    quot;Not all. Only t;

    quot;But ?quot;

    quot;ts somet understand after all time. It made  t man in t an unbearable disgust rising in ed to  back. Mot from tly like Fatrying on ttle boy. As Motood t tain about sloogeto somets ;

    My s alk, but Im still t the lederhosen.

    quot;So, you dont e your mot; I ask whe room.

    quot;No, not really. ere not close at all, but I dont  ;

    quot;Because sold you about t;

    quot;I ter so me, I couldnt go on ing  say ainly dont kno, but it may o do ;

    quot;Still, if you leave t of it, supposing it  tory of a aking a trip and finding o forgive ;

    quot;Of course not,quot; s ation. quot;t is t?quot;

    A proxy pair of leder her never even received.