"1 778 Stories of Me and My Wife" "The man spoke." "Are you a time traveler who has arrived from the future?" "But she said "no."" ""I'm not even an alien from a distant star."" ""I come from a different place."" ""A parallel reality." "Do you understand?"" "The man raised his head." "A craft from... another dimension hovered above him." "Good afternoon." "I'd like to withdraw 30,000 yen." "Certainly." "If the Matians really exist. .." "why are they always depicted as octopi-shaped?" "Considering Mars' distance from the Sun . .." "shouldn't they have a shape that is more resistant to cold?" "I agree." "Maybe they're like insects with a hard skin." "Yeah." "Martians are insects." "Here's your monthly allowance." "30,000 yen, correct?" "Insects... right." "Thank you." "Martians are insects." "Insect robots." ""Sakutaro  Setsuko Makimura"" "Martians are insects." "Insects." "Insects, insects." "That's it." "Insects." "Martians are insects." "Of course." "I'm home!" "Saku?" "This onion looks like Jupiter." "Finished!" "Sukiyaki!" "Eat first." "Nope." "Read first." "I'm eating." "Another dimension?" "Flies to a similar but different world." "Multiple realities exist parallel to each other, right?" "The hero lives a different life." "And meets a girl." "But she's not human . .." "Don't say more!" "She's not human." "Shush!" "Not human but..." "Let me finish it!" "Not human!" "Mr. Niimi." "Just the man I wanted to see." "Thank you." "Sit." "Your series has been a big hit." "Man and Martian traveling hand in hand to unknown worlds." "Genius!" "Thanks." "About your next piece." "The editor-in-chief wants a romance." "It's a Sci-Fi magazine." "It was." "Sci-Fi doesn't sell anymore." "Feel free to decline." "I know Sci-Fi's your thing." "But... look at your colleague, Takizawa." "He made the switch, and is now a best-selling author." "It's worth a shot." "I've no interest... in romances, mysteries or historical dramas." "If I tried that..." "I'd still want my hero to be a time traveler, clone, or alien." "How about a human-robot romance?" "Say, the 22nd century!" "Immigrants on a remote planet!" "Sounds great!" "You'd be in new territory!" "Let's do it." "Setsuko." "Have some chestnuts." "You're so kind." "I read your husband's latest work." "All those difficult foreign words." ""FS" is all Greek to me." "It's "SF"." "Right. "FS."" "What's wrong?" "Not sure." "You okay?" "Hold on." "Water." "Feel sick?" "Don't tell me you're pregnant." "Maybe." "I can't wait." "Hello?" "Oh, hello." "I'll have it done by noon tomorrow." "Good-bye." "Hello?" "Your wife came in for a pregnancy test." "It looks like appendicitis." "We'll have to operate." ""In Surgery"" ""Setsuko Makimura"" "Setsuko?" "Setsuko didn't have appendicitis." "They found a tumor in her colon." "Malignant cancer." "We found scattered cancer cells." "We were able to remove the main tumor." "But tiny tumors have already spread elsewhere." "We can't remove those." ""Cancer"" "She'll need anti-cancer treatment." "Any questions thus far?" "Will she live?" "At this stage..." "I think a year is the best we can hope for." "Cancer spreads quickly." "With your wife being 32... medicine can only do so much." "Statistically speaking... the percentage of patients such as your wife surviving beyond five years... is zero." "The next morning, I did my best to explain things to Setsuko." "How the tumor had been removed." "But that cancer cells remained." "And that medicine would be needed to kill those." "The medicine may cause nausea and faintness." "You should avoid excess exertion." "That means taking off work." "I see." "Any questions?" "Will I live?" "I lied." "I told Setsuko she'd recover." ""Colon Cancer"" "Are those for Sakutaro?" "He lost his last winter." "Again?" "This is becoming a tradition." "Mom?" "I'm leaving work for a while." "Good." "And Mom?" "Under this cancer treatment, I can't bear children." "I know." "You'll have to wait to see your grandchild." "That's okay." "I'm in no hurry." "Take care." "Mr. Makimura!" "From here on out, I want you to enjoy yourselves." "Forget you're a cancer patient." "They say laughter builds immunities." "Take care." "Thank you." " The laundry." " I'll get it." ""Cancer Fighting Food"" "Done!" "You'd better let me." "I'm sorry." "Don't be." "I don't want to be pampered." "What should I do?" "Go write." ""What can I do to help?"" "I can't lose Setsuko." "But what can I do?" "There must be something." "Something." "Banana?" "I've got bigger problems." ""Kaneko Toys"" "What am I doing?" "They say laughter builds immunities." "I'd like this." "I'm a novelist." "That's nice." "I know what to do." "Great." "I have to write." "Uh-huh." "I'll write humorous stories." "Funny ones." "We'll kill all those cancer cells with laughter!" "I'll write every day." "At least three pages." "Not a diary or essays." "But stories!" "Hilarious fiction!" "I'm home!" "Sakutaro, look at these flowers!" "They're from my co-workers!" "For 1 0 years of service." "In a groove, huh?" "Read this." ""Episode 1 :" "Checkmate"" "I'm cooking." "No, read it now." "It's an essay." "Since when do you write those?" "It's not." "It's fiction." "It is?" "Not funny, huh?" "A new series?" "It's not for work." "I'm writing one short story a day." "What for?" "For you." "Just for me?" "Yeah." "Laughter builds immunities." "So I want to write something funny." "Is that okay?" ""Ren Takizawa's New Novel!" "Love So Strong It Hurts'!"" "I hear you're writing a romance, too." "No, it's about a human and a robot." "Figures." "You can't catch me, anyway." "So what's up?" "I'm busy." "So am I." "Writing two weekly serials?" "Not work... something I'm writing on my own." "Pro bono?" "When will you learn?" "Setsuko still works, right?" "Try raising a family that way." "Better get serious or the gap between us will widen." "You having a kid?" "Mina's in her fifth month." "Congratulations." "Is that all?" "It's cancer." "What?" "Setsuko." "Colon cancer." "I've decided to write a novel." "For her." ""Episode 2:" "Ferris Wheel"" "It's an essay after all." "It's not." "It's fiction." "You rode a Ferris wheel, right?" "I shouldn't have told you." "It's obvious." "I'll rewrite it." "This is good." "Makimura." "Here." "Thank you." ""Milky Way Elevator."" "Sounds fun." "Is that the rumored daily story?" "Uh-huh." "Now I'm interested." "Episode 3?" ""Episode 3:" "Alarm System"" "You laughed!" "Success!" "What a shame." "It's only for me." "I want you to write this with intent to publish." "Why?" "Not right away." "But if the opportunity arises." "Okay." "In this way, I got into the habit of writing a story every day." "But it proved harder than expected." "I'm going for a walk." "Enjoy." "Good afternoon." "Here." "I know how pregnancy brings on sour cravings." "Oh, no." "False alarm." "What a shame." "Maybe next time." "A child strengthens the body." "Maybe your dreamer husband's, too." "Mrs. Makimura." "From your husband." "Thank you." ""Episode 6:" "The Chimney Room"" "Come to think of it, Setsuko had always been my first reader." "After college, I got a job at a firebrick company." "But had dreams of becoming a writer." ""Masterful!"" ""Hilarious."" " Setsuko" "The first story I ever wrote... and my debut work. .." "were read first by Setsuko." "It's finished." "It's alive!" "If only it could sprout wings." "She was my biggest fan... and source of encouragement." ""Episode 50"" "Ideas, ideas, ideas." "Episode 50:" "One Night's Dream." "I'm compelled to say in advance... this was a dream." "I turned to find... a robot in my room." "Please come with me." "We are, as you can see, outdated old model robots." "We are under attack by new model robots." "What you see is all that remains of our once great numbers." "Please guide us to safety." "Why me?" "This is the world of your mind." "Therefore, you are the one who can save us." "Here they come!" "Stop!" "Why smite the elderly?" "If this is the world of my mind... how could this happen to you?" "Why should they attack us?" "You harbor special affection for older robots." "True." "I love boxlike robots like you." "The new robots sensed that." "That is why they attack." "But we're inside my mind." "I should've been able to defend you . .." "and ensure your survival." "Yet you believe that robots like us are destined to one day disappear." "That is why this happened." "Farewell." "What?" "It is time for you to return." "Beyond that mountain lies your way home." "What about you?" "You're all alone." "Like I said, it was a dream." "Nothing more than that." "But that landscape... those robots. .." "remain forever etched in my memory... where I can still recall the look and voice of Robot No. 1 ." "I like this story." "You do?" "What part?" "The lonely robot at the end... so heartbreaking." "I see." "Can he survive alone?" "What?" "Nothing." ""Episode 50:" "A Dream One Night"" ""Episode 52:" "Falling Over a Wave"" ""Episode 67:" "Robot Dog"" ""Episode 74:" "The Girl Who Waves at the Sky"" ""Episode 88:" "Writer's Block"" "Lunch is ready." ""Episode 1 00:" "Blowfish Paperweight"" ""Episode 1 1 2:" "Vacant Lot Time Machine"" ""Episode 1 72:" "Unmanned Story"" ""Episode 1 87:" "Casting into Another World"" "Half a year passed." "Setsuko was leading a normal life." "Want some lunch?" "I continued writing." "Saku... you can stop any time, you know." "No, I can't." "Why not?" ""Little Fugitive"" ""Episode 365"" "Finished!" "Setsuko!" "I'm done." "Congratulations!" "No. 365!" "Way to scribble away a whole year." "A toast to one story a day... and Setsuko's health!" "Cheers!" "37, 38, 39, 40... 41 , 42, 43... 44, 45, 46, 47." ""Love So Much It Hurts III"" "How many does he write a year?" "Let's see." "That makes 3 this year." "A human and a Martian fall in love." "And a love child is born." "Wow." "The child encounters discrimination." "Compare that to Saku." "Then his dream girl appears." "1 , 2, 3, 4, 5." "She's an android programmed to love aliens." "Just Sci-Fi that barely sells." "Could be a tearjerker!" "You love that about him." "Guilty." "So you two met in college?" "High school." "Same freshman class." "We sat next to each other. .." "and started dating that summer." "We are in relationship in the autumn." "How long is that?" "1 7 years. 8 years of marriage." "Here we're still in college." "Ready?" "Saku's first day of work." "Before you became a writer?" "Setsuko was my sole reader back then." "No photos of you together?" "Saku gets embarrassed." ""Stars on Fire"" "Your first book." "Let's get a picture taken." "That's okay." "Why not?" "Just because." "You're a glutton for punishment, Setsuko." "I'd have divorced him after "the honeymoon incident."" "What's that?" "The morning they were to leave on their honeymoon . .." "an idea for a great story came to him in the doorway." "He didn't." "He did." "He started writing." "No way!" "It's true." "No honeymoon?" "Nope." "You are lucky with women." "Yes." ""Episode 365:" "Little Fugitive"" "Setsuko!" "Just got dizzy." "Here." "What?" "Ready?" "All the excitement tired you out." "Since when did you get so light, Setsuko?" ""Episode 366:" "Rain Man"" ""Episode 500:" "Invitation for a Do Over"" ""Episode 600:" "The Student Paper"" ""Episode 730:" "Professor J's Photo"" "The doctor's diagnosis of a year proved wrong." "We saw our second autumn." ""Milky Way Elevator by Sakutaro Makimura"" "Side effects have led to some bone marrow suppression and anemia." "I recommend refraining from many outings." "Is she getting worse?" "The scattered tumors have grown." "Her current regimen has grown too weak." "You might consider new treatment." "But this medicine isn't covered by insurance." "You're saying..." "It's quite expensive." "Mr. Niimi." "What's up?" "About that romance novel..." "Don't worry." "I convinced the boss." "I'll write it." "I'll still do my other projects." "I want the work." "Understood." "New medicine?" "Once every two weeks." "Is that okay?" "If you think it's best." "Episode 774:" "The Messenger" "One day, she was offered a new part-time job." ""I need you to leave messages on people's answering machines."" "She was given specific messages and a list of telephone numbers." ""I can't come to the phone now." "Please leave a message."" "Space Fleet 802 returned to Earth at 1 400 hours yesterday." "Commander Esperato and crew are all safe." "She knew neither the nature nor the sponsor of this work." "The UN has located coordinates to the secret base Piassa." "Commence immediate evacuation." "At first, she was hesitant." "An organization of psychics are plotting to occupy the Moon." "But gradually... she began to enjoy it." "New model Robot X-2041 has escaped!" "But her favorite message is..." "Haidal aliens among us are changing humans into octopi." "They retain human awareness... and can be returned to normal." "For now, do NOT eat octopus." "For now?" "Who could eat octopus after that?" "Great." "Let's eat." "This?" "Uh-oh." "Thank you, Mr. Niimi." "What?" "Romance novel?" "We plan to run it in Monthly Love  Romance." "What's this about?" "What's what about?" "Romance novel." "You only write Sci-Fi." "Change of heart, I guess." "What happened?" "Nothing." "What's the reason?" "Do I need a reason?" "No. but..." ""Avastin: 750,000 yen"" "Sakutaro?" "Yes?" "Take a seat." "You didn't say it was expensive." "I didn't?" "No." "I can earn enough." "You're writing a romance novel." "Because I wanted to." "At this time?" "Why not?" "Tell me the truth." "I am." "Sakutaro." "I'm going for a walk." "I don't want to live if it means you doing work you hate." "How can you say that?" "Because." "I'll do whatever it takes for you to live a long life." "Without consulting me?" "Don't you understand?" "I do... but I oppose this." "The last thing I want is to be the cause of something you'll regret forever." "It's my regret to bear." "Then maybe it'd be better if I weren't around!" "Don't ever say that again!" "Setsuko?" "Setsuko's gone." "Setsuko!" "I'm beat." "My stamina's not what it was." "Don't disappear like that!" "Let me read it." "Your romance novel." ""Love's Desert Region"" "I don't think you should write romances." "You think?" "It was the dullest thing you've ever written." "I thought so, too." "I'll give it up." "But not the treatment." "We'll use my secret stash." "You've been saving cash in secret?" "That's what "stash" is." "That drawer." "You're kidding." "I've put away 1 0,000 yen every month." "After 8 years, that's 1 .08 million." "When we turn 60, it'll be 4.32 million." "60?" "Yeah, I thought we'd take a cruise or something at 60." "But let's use it." "No way." "Let's keep saving... and take that trip at 60!" "Forget the romance novel." "I've got two other offers." "Both weekly serials, too!" "Understood." "I leave it to you." ""Episode 908:" "The Hermit Comes"" ""Episode 1 ,020"" "It's hung poorly." "I'll call the landlord." "I can do it." "Newspaper man!" "Episode 1 020:" "The Bill Collector." "When he opened the door... standing outside was..." "Newspaper bill collection." "Excuse me but... what are you?" "Newspaper bill collector." "You're really a bill collector?" "Yes, I am." "I have your bill right here." ""Sakutaro Makimura"" "That'll be 3,550 yen." "3,550 yen." "Thank you." "You saw me." "Listen closely." "What you saw was a figment." "I've been like this all along." "Got it?" "I didn't forget to shape-shift into a human." "Right?" "Want to be erased?" "Want me to take out my atomic gun and shoot you?" "No, right?" "You saw nothing." "Okay?" "Good." "Newspaper man!" "You a Martian?" "Sorry?" ""Year 4"" "Donating this, too?" "Yeah." "I'm doing this against my will." "I know, I'm sorry." "But I need to take stock of things." "These picture books, too." "Really?" "Perhaps Sumire would like them." "But you treasured these." "Who can I read them to?" "Will you take them?" "Thanks!" "My boss spilled the beans." "I'm so sorry." ""Sci-Fi writer Makimura pens a story a day"" "He asks ... if you'd consider documenting your wife's bout with cancer." "Documenting?" "An essay about writing her a novel these past 4 years. .." "No, thank you." "I understand." "But if it sells, it could spark sales of your science fiction." "I won't profit from her illness." "Excuse me." "If it isn't devoted husband Makimura!" "Way to capitalize on your wife's illness." "Maybe your boring Sci-Fi will sell." "Not you, too." "You can't keep this up." "What?" "A story a day." "Feel free to stop anytime." "You know how it ends, don't you?" "Of course." "Then find a reason to end it." "You're too stupid to realize you're damning yourself." "The doctor said Setsuko had a year." "It's been four." "That may be so." "But don't credit your novel for that." "It's the medicine." "I know that." "I just can't quit." "It's like a daily prayer." "To ease your conscience." "Maybe it's a burden on her." "Leave me alone." "I'll keep writing." "Next year and the next." "1 0 years, 50 years." "Hi." "Welcome back." "Thanks." ""Episode 1 ,41 6:" "A Book Appears"" "Saku..." "Setsuko!" "Setsuko was slowly... but surely weakening." "It's okay." "Getting up grew more difficult." "She spent more time in bed." "What that ultimately told me was..." "I had been powerless." "It hadn't mattered." "I'll end it here." "Episode 1 ,470..." "The Knowledge Vendor." "When I was a child, the Knowledge Vendor came nearly every day." "On wheels." "It was a robot." "It would pick a spot and start playing music." "Somewhere unobtrusive." "And wait for the children to come." "The Knowledge Man!" "Hey, the Knowledge Man!" "The Knowledge Vendor would answer their every question." "For example..." "Your question, please." "What's at the end of space?" "It is said there is nothing." "But actually, space is a large ball... that giant aliens play baseball with." "When a homerun is hit... it produces stardust." "Your question, please." "Why is the sky blue?" "Good question." "Because beyond the sky lies an ocean." "There, gravity goes upward." "Occasionally, that gravity field weakens and water from that ocean falls." "That is when you need an umbrella." "One day, the Knowledge Vendor stopped coming." "Parents had apparently complained... that it was misleading the children." "But I still often summon up nostalgic memories. .." "of that glib Knowledge Vendor, surrounded by children." "An sky ocean." "The Knowledge Vendor's sky." "I'd like to see it." "I bet you can see it from there." "Um..." "I don't know." "Oh." "Your manuscript?" ""Episode 1 ,470:" "The Knowledge Vendor"" ""Episode 1 ,500:" "Living on Memories"" ""Episode 1 ,600:" "Tale of Mr. N"" ""Year 4"" "Mr. Makimura." "The spreading has stopped." "The medicine worked." "You think they helped?" "Of course your stories helped." "I knew it." "I knew they would." "Hooray!" "Saku?" "Think we can travel?" "Yeah." "Let's go!" "Honeymoon, here we come!" ""Come to Hokkaido!"" "That way!" "So blue." "Like the ocean." "Setsuko." "Crouch down." "A little more." "Okay." "They say... 96 percent of space remains a mystery." "If we can solve even some of that mystery. .." "we might find a connection to other worlds." "You mean like parallel realities?" "Yeah." "Somewhere there's another you and me." "And another somewhere else." "I wonder what we do in those places." "Find each other and live together." "There we have children... and travel together when we're old." "A trip to Mars." "But this place isn't bad, either." "I choose here." "4 months after our trip..." "Setsuko was admitted to the hospital." "Tumor markers have increased dramatically these six months." "What?" "The medicine is no longer suppressing the cancer." "But we traveled." "6 months ago, I told your wife her stamina would decline." "She wanted to travel once before becoming bedridden." "So I gave her some strong medicine... to help her make the trip." ""Setsuko Makimura, 36"" "The medicine... can no longer stop the spread." "Frankly, I believe she has... about two months." "Why, Setsuko?" "Why did you deceive me?" " I wanted to travel." " Setsuko!" "Okay... but I'm going to die." "Don't say that!" "I know it." "No, you don't!" "I've known." "Since when?" "Since you started writing me a story every day." "I know I'm close." "No, you don't!" "You turned one year into five!" "You'll bounce back..." "Stop dreaming." "Where's today's story, Saku?" "Not yet." "I want to read it." "What's with him?" "Is he okay?" "Better stay away." "Episode 1 ,722..." "The Green Guards." "Please listen." "For I myself believe it a dream." "I awoke to see 3 strange aliens standing nearby." "They were green, with flat heads." "These "green guards" forced my car to change course." "They then crashed." ""We erred."" ""You don't require our protection," they said." "The green trio then vanished." ""Episode 1 ,751 :" "The Age of Dangerous Crosswalks"" "You need a shave." "It's a pain." "No excuse." "Take care of yourself." "Or you'll turn off the girls." "I don't care." ""Episode 1 ,761 :" "Transferring Melancholy"" "He's a writer." "He writes a story every day... for his sick wife." "Did Saku lose another pair?" "No, but I'm sure he will." "So I'm getting a head start." "My fingertips are growing numb." "My back, my chest, my stomach all hurt." "Here I thought I still had lots of time to live." "Setsuko." "I want to stay with Saku." "To keep reading his stories." "See his books in the bookstore." "I love watching him write." "I want to grow old with him." "There's still so much to talk about." "I want to be a doting mom . .." "and you a grandmother." "Setsuko." "But I can't." "Finished." "You okay?" "Sorry." "It hurts!" "It hurts!" "I can't even hold your story." "Episode 1 ,774:" "The Face of Childhood." "I read about them in stories." "But I never really believed in ghosts." ""Hello." "Long time, no see."" "A man on the street was beaming at me." "A stranger?" "Or someone from the past?" "We'd both changed so much over the years." ""Do you remember me?"" "He smiled, and called himself "M ."" "If only I could look as I did then..." "Doctor!" "Doctor." "My wife's in pain." "Please help." "She refuses painkillers." "They'd stop the pain, but she'd sleep a lot." "She says she doesn't want to miss your stories." "I'll wait for her to wake up, and read to her." "So please." "I understand." "Setsuko." "Roses for a rose." "Thank you." "Thanks for coming." "My pleasure." "What is it?" "It's about Sakutaro." "Look after him, will you?" "Setsuko, stop worrying about that dolt and worry about getting better." "The only one in the world who could look after him... is you." "Oh?" "He's more attractive to women than you give him credit for." "Him?" "He makes you dream." "Introduce him to a nice girl, will you?" "Not possible." "Only you . .." "could accompany that delusional child through life." "Sorry." "I'm counting on you." "Well, don't." "You're the only one for him." "You know that, right?" "Don't lose this." "It's written for only one reader... in the entire world." "Lights out!" "Episode 1 ,775." "Reading a Story." "After writing for a while, he set down his pen." "His wife lay sleeping." "She'd been asleep for most of three days." "He'd written her a story." "He had written one every day since she took ill." "As he wrote words his wife could no longer read . .." "he tried to fight off the many memories of their life together." "More importantly... he devoted himself to making her laugh." "When he looked up, his wife was awake." "Shall I read?" "She seemed to nod." "He pulled his chair close and began to read." "After writing for a while, he set down his pen." "His wife lay sleeping." "Then he awoke." "He had nodded off with his story in his lap." "His wife lay sleeping." "Just a dream." ""Just a dream."" "He sat back in his chair." "Then he noticed his wife looking his way." "At the manuscript." ""Shall I read?" he asked." "Shall I read?" "After writing for a while, he set down his pen." "But it was just a dream." "His wife... lay sleeping." "The clock read 1 :30 a.m." "If he slept, he'd surely dream of reading to her." "But eventually, that dream would become a reality." "He just needed to wait." "Excuse me." "Let's sit down." "You haven't slept." "No." "Still writing for your wife every day?" "Yes." "But... not for her." "Writing every day is how I cope." "Setsuko just lets me do it." "Got any coffee?" "Forget the caffeine and get some sleep." "I'm tired, but I don't want to sleep." "What if she were to die while I was asleep?" "I'm scared of her leaving me... without me knowing." "While you're resting..." "I'll keep watch for you." "Did I wake you?" "No." "I feel relieved... whenever I wake up." "Is the moon out?" "Yeah." "Open the curtains." "Saku?" "Yes?" "I'm so grateful... to have spent my life with you." "I mean it." "Thank you." "I'll go write." "The fierce battle lasted 60 hours." "A single fighter had become detached from its fleet. .." "and approached a nearby planet." "The pilot was exhausted." "He'd fought without sleep for 60 hours." ""Episode 1 ,776:" "Sleep-Deprived Power"" "The pilot's field of vision was badly blurred . .." "making the planet appear flat." "The planet then flattened to fit his vision . .." "causing violent eruptions... and earthquakes." "Civilization was annihilated." "The pilot couldn't land on a flat planet." "So he set a course for another." "The pilot flew past a double star." "But to him, they appeared as four." "The double stars then doubled again... with disastrous results." "The pilot's sleep-deprived hallucinations became real." "He became known by others as "The Destroyer of Life."" "He has wandered the cosmos now for millions of years." "A ghost. .." "in human form." "He became known by others as "The Destroyer of Life."" "The story stuck in the man's head." "For he lacked sleep." "If he were to sit, slumber would overtake him instantly." "Sleep deprivation is scary." "It brings out tremendous power." "My treat." "If you'd like." "Episode 1 ,777." "This Morning, Another Story." "He writes for his sick wife." "One short story a day." "Thanks." "He had promised her he'd write only fiction." "But she'd labeled them essays." "When she could no longer read them herself, he read to her." "But she'd been unconscious for 2 days." "And had shown no response." "Still he persisted." "But now nothing came to him." "The anxiety of being separated from his wife swelled in him." "And he rushed to her bedside." "She lay in a deep sleep." "He placed his story by her pillow." ""She lay in a deep sleep."" ""He placed his story by her pillow."" "Then a breeze... swept the pages into the air." "What is it?" "Mrs. Makimura?" "Call Dr. Matsushita." "I'm here." "Mrs. Makimura?" "It's an essay." "You're right." "It's an essay." "I'll rewrite it." ""Year 5"" ""Episode 1 ,777:" "This Morning, Too"" "Help me move the manuscript." "Who still writes on paper?" "It's heavy." "Set it down." "Over here." "What's that?" "Setsuko asked me to place it with her." "Not here." "Over there, then." "Careful." "It won't fit there!" "Not here, either." "Outside." "Where do we put this?" "What goes in her coffin... ?" "Episode 1 ,778." "The Final Episode." "I told you to be careful!" "Quiet!" "Quietly." ""Episode 1 ,778:" "The Final Episode"" "At last... we've come to the final episode." "I'm sure I've caused much trouble with it." "Today..." "I will write... so that you can read this." "What did you think?" "Thank you... for everything." "Let's... find each other... once again." ""Episode 1 ,778:" "The Final Episode"" "Dedicated to Taku  Etsuko Mayumura"