"My name is Teru" "It's actually Teruo, but ev eryone calls me Teru" "I work at a coin laundry" "I make sure no one steals any laundry" "Grandma owns the place But recently she's been worrying... about bad people stealing women's underwear" "So she gav e me this job" "I hav e a scar on my head" "When I was a kid, I fell in a manhole" "People say I hav e a scar on my brain, too" "I'm opening shop again today It's my first task ev eryday" "I always forget where I put my keys" "Grandma says I should hang it on a string from my neck" "But I won't do it" "Only kids hang keys from their necks" ""Ooin Laundry"" "Good" "My eyes are always peeled I'm a patrol officer protecting the city" "Big gas tanks..." "I get a bit scared seeing gas tanks" "They get bigger little by little, ev eryday" "They'll swell up like big balloons, and ex plode one day" "Ev eryone will be blown to bits and die" "Hello" "God, my chest hurts" "Must'v e been last night's dinner..." "This old man comes ev eryday" "He comes to wash just one tank top and a pair of underwear" "He liv es with his son and daughter-in-law but she won't wash them for him because they're filthy" "People like that... deserv e to get sucked up by a v acuum cleaner" "Thing about tulips is... the petals start to sag like this during the day..." "This lady lov es photography" "Ev ery time she comes, she brings photos she took recently" "She took those, too" "I said nice things about them, and she brought them back framed" "So I stopped saying nice things about them" "Oan't hav e her putting up any more pictures" "And I feel like an insect looking at so many flowers" "This guy's a box er." "He has a match today" "Hello" "Hey man!" "Keepin' a close watch?" "Yeah" "Oheck it out!" "He's stealing something" "Just kidding, man" "Scared me" "I did ev erything I could..." "I can win this time" "I'm feeling so good, I'm surprising myself, ev en" "All right" "I think he'll win, too" "I mean, he's already lost 18 times" "And this lady..." "I'v e nev er seen before" "You forgot this" "Oh..." "Say..." "Wanna come in for tea?" "What do you do there?" "At the coin laundry?" "Right" "I make sure no one steals any laundry" "Lots of underwear thiev es around" "I see" "Stealing is a bad thing" "You're right" "How old are you?" "20" "Don't look it Figured you were younger" "I'm 20" "Oute hat" "Grandma made it" "I'd get spasms if I went outside without a hat" "Are you sick?" "Not sick" "Just a scar on my head from falling in a manhole" "You fell in a manhole?" "Grandma said so." "I don't really remember it" "I see..." "So you liv e with your grandma" "Just me and grandma" "Alone?" "Me?" "Yup, always alone." "It's a relief" "...most of the time" "Sorry, this is all I hav e" "Here" "I need to go." "I hav e work" "What's the hurry?" "I'll pour some more tea" "But I hav e work" "I'm going now Please" "Just stay 5 minutes?" "OK" "Thanks" "For 5 minutes, she didn't say a word" "My heart was beating a bit faster" "It was my first time touching a woman's hand... other than grandma's" "That night, I casually told grandma about what happened" "Very casually" "Grandma called her a minx" "I'm a loser!" "I'm a goddamn loser!" "What on earth are you doing?" "Oome out man, c'mon" "What's his problem?" "Open up, man" "What the...?" "Hey, open up, come out...!" "Sorry, ex cuse me, do you mind getting out of the way for a sec?" "Hey, let's go already" "O'mon Fine, fine" "Hey" "Was that an ambulance?" "Wonder if someone got sick?" "Or maybe a suicide?" "I rode one yesterday Really?" "Pathetic, huh?" "Knocked out in 2 rounds..." "But you know, I was so close" "I n the first half, I was the aggressor" "Oouldn't believ e how many punches I landed" "I just kept backing him into the corner" "He was totally on the defensiv e" "Must'v e landed at least 15 in a row" "15, for sure" "That wasn't my best shot, though" "It's the left uppercut, man" "I nail the body, then the guard comes down" "So from this angle here, about 45 degrees, from the hip here, I go straight for his chin..." "See?" "His guard comes down, so I go from the hip here and extend straight at his chin" "So I popped him right on the chin!" "His knee started buckling, and I just went off on him!" "1, 2, dodge, and a hook..." "Say, are ambulances fast?" "Mind if I stay a bit longer?" "Go ahead" "Sorry, man" "I thought about what grandma used to say" "Things work out for some people and they don't for others" "And then I remembered the minx" "She looked so sad then" "The minx is here" "Say..." "Will you come with me when I'm done with this load?" "Where?" "Walk me to the bus station" "No?" "OK" "Actually, I'm going back to my hometown" "How come?" "Mind if we take a detour?" "OK" "You don't say much, do you?" "I don't?" "But I know, people who don't say much are actually saying lots inside" "To tell the truth, I'm not much of a talker myself" "But I don't think it's a good thing" "All it does is distance people" "Right" "Know what I mean?" "Kind of" "I'm going to change" "Watch out for the puddle" "Say..." "Do you think I can jump ov er this puddle?" "No way" "Just imagine it It's a deep gorge" "If I fall, I won't come back" "I'd die" "I magine it?" "No" "Please" "If I make it ov er this gorge," "I get to be in a whole other world" "I magine it?" "Yup" "Great" "I'm gonna make it" "Ready..." "Go!" "I did it!" "I did it!" "I made it!" "I made it!" "I did it!" "I did it!" "I did it!" "I did it!" "What'd you do?" "It's nothing Just a scratch" "OK, I can go home alone now Good-bye" "A long time ago," "I used to think the gas tanks were always getting bigger" "Thanks" "No one came, man" "The minx forgot something again" "That's why I opposed it from the start" "Paint her nails, dye her hair," "Like you can just dye anything..." "My eyes are peeled again today" "I'm a patrol officer, protecting the world from bad people." "Pretty, huh?" "The pansies came out so nice" "But my eyes start hurting if I keep them peeled too long" "They get tired." "So I closed my eyes like this sometimes" "I feel better with my eyes closed since I don't hav e to see anything" "I'll go do some grocery shopping first" "Dirty ev erything, leav e things scattered all ov er the place..." "You ex pect people to liv e in that?" ""Property for sale"" "People like that... deserv e to get sucked up by a v acuum cleaner" "My name is Mizue... a name I'm not too fond of" "I'm home" "Good to see you, tired?" "No, not really" "You'll hav e to share the room with your sister for now" "Sorry about that No problem" "Mizue, you're not hungry yet, right?" "I'll cook tonight" "But you must be tired" "I'm fine, really" "I used to hav e a dream" "Hello Hello" "One day, I'd leav e this town and work at a flower shop in Tokyo" "That's it, that's all I wanted" "When I turned 24," "I finally started liv ing by myself in Tokyo" "Mizue Yes?" "I'm going to the bank Thank you" "And I fell in lov e" "He came to the shop just as we were closing, and asked to hav e flowers deliv ered that day" "He kept begging me, saying it was for a woman he lov ed" "I gav e in to his eagerness and reluctantly accepted" "He wrote the woman's name on a paper and handed it to me" "The name he wrote was Yamada Mizue... me" "He lov ed to flatter me, and said I looked like Audrey Hepburn" "I didn't know who Audrey Hepburn was, so I rented a v ideo with her in it" "It was called "Always"" "She was a v ery elegant... old lady" "We were so happy together Always meeting at the same place, chatting about silly things" "And time just seemed to fly" "On my birthday" "I waited for him at the usual place" "Starting in the afternoon, I waited for 8 hours, alone" "Hello?" "I can't go" "How come?" "You see, a baby..." "Sorry, one more time..." "A baby was born" "Wow, whose?" "I hav e a wife" "Hello?" "Hello..." "For some reasons, I found myself standing alone in a jewelry store" "Mmm, it's good Is it?" "Nev er seen anyone put broccoli in curry" "Really?" "A lot of people do it" "Maybe in Tokyo" "Nothing to do with Tokyo!" "O'mon, it's pretty good, huh?" "Nothing special" "From that moment, I started stealing like I was possessed" "And then I would toss them in the mail box" "Sorry for taking the bed" "I really don't mind sleeping on the floor..." "Say, are you into any boys?" "No" "I see" "Good night" "How long is sis staying here?" "For a long time" "I'm embarrassed." "Ev eryone asks about her" "Don't say that" "Think about me, too." "You'll hav e to be a bit more tolerant" "Why should I hav e to tolerate?" "It's sis's fault" "We can't help it." "She's not normal" "No need to be uptight." "We're all practically friends here" "I'm looking forward to it" "Honestly, we won't be able to pay much but I think you'll get a certain joy from working here" "Yes" "They'll be glad to hav e you Why don't you start tomorrow afternoon?" "Yes" "We hav e so many old folks, it'd be nice to hav e someone young" "Thank you v ery much" "Don't worry, these folks won't mind that at all" "Doesn't that four-eyed freak in math tick you off?" "Let's go to a karaoke Yeah, let's sing!" "Oan I help you find something?" "Something comfortable" "Well, then, this one here has some low heels so it should feel nice or this one here..." "Ex cuse me Yes?" "What do normal girls wear?" "I'm sorry... for embarrassing you" "I'm going to start working tomorrow" "I'll be making auto parts at Yasuda's" "Wiring for engines and brakes" "Once I start getting my paychecks," "I'll rent a room" "So just be patient for a short while, OK?" "I do feel bad" "Not that I want to work there" "Oh, but don't tell mom" "Keanu Reev es is cute, isn't he?" "I like him, too" "Good night" "Actually, I am Huh?" "I nto a boy" "Really?" "Going steady with him?" "No" "Told him how you feel?" "No" "How come?" "I'm embarrassed" "Is he cute?" "No, he has a weird face" "A weird face?" "A really weird face." "Ev eryone calls him a camel" "A camel?" "Right, a camel" "A camel, huh..." "Sorry" "So funny!" "A camel...!" "I'll be going" "Hav e a good day." "Thank you" "So what do you do?" "I made sure no one stole clothes at the coin laundry" "I mean your job It is my job" "That's not a job" "It is" "You're lying" "I'm not lying." "Grandma owned the place" "Sound like a hell of a boring job" "It's not there anymore, though Grandma says she was tricked" "She looked real sad" "The entire place was taken away, huh?" "Ev erything?" "But there was one thing left behind" "Something a customer forgot It's not ours" "Well, sure" "So that's what I'm going to go deliv er" "That thing left behind?" "The sea?" "It's the sea, so what?" "Oan I open the window?" "So who's this chick?" "Her name's Mizue" "No, I mean, what's she to you?" "A customer?" "But she isn't just another customer, right?" "I'm asking if you like this woman" "Don't understand?" "Think about it." "Who the hell would hitchhike..." "Just to deliv er a dress someone forgot?" "All this way" "Is that normal?" "Is it?" "No, right?" "Of course it isn't" "Right?" "Yeah" "It's lov e" "That's what we call lov e" "I don't know about Mars, but on Earth at least, we call it lov e, remember that" "What're you writing?" "So I won't forget" "Well, it's nothing to write about..." "Don't let me stop you, though" "Wanna see?" "I'll let you see it" "A while back, I used to be a salaryman Oan you believ e it?" "Nope, not at all" "And that's when she came along" "At first, she wasn't anything" "Just another colleague" "Then one day, we decided to hav e a welcome party for her... in a tiny bar" "At first, ev eryone's just drinking and chatting" "But then this drunk guy got up... and told her to giv e them a talent show" "'Oourse, she resisted." "Said she was embarrassed" "I mean, what the hell is a 35 year-old lady supposed to do... in front of a bunch of guys, anyway?" "But ev eryone's cheering and goading her on, so she reluctantly gets up" "What do you think she did?" "She started cawing like a crow Orow?" "Yeah, and she didn't just open her mouth and go "caw"" "She did this weird thing with her mouth, and she went ov er and ov er like that" "A week later, she was gone" "Nev er found out what happened" "Probably had to deal with some crap" "Then this guy in the office tears up her resume and tosses it, saying he doesn't need it anymore, it's full of lies anyway..." "So I kinda finished it out, peeled this off and took it home" "I figure, ev en if the resume's a lie, the picture's gotta be real" "Beer" "My beer isn't here" "That was a long time ago" "Here you go" "You asshole!" "Sorry, didn't mean to get you inv olv ed" "Almost there" "You can walk from here" "Thanks" "Hey" "Take this" "Don't need it Take it for the thought" "Hey" "You ev er need help, see me" "Hey!" "Don't get the wrong idea" "I'm not some nice guy or anything" "I just happen to like you a little bit" "That's all" "I'm really not that nice, so don't get the wrong idea" "So long So long" "Oan I help you?" "I'm looking for someone named Mizue" "My sister isn't here But..." "Who're you?" "Who?" "What's she to you?" "What's she...?" "What're you here for?" "She left it there, so I'm deliv ering..." "What're you saying?" "I need to giv e her something, so..." "So you're looking for her?" "Right" "Where'd she go?" "She left again" "But I know where she is" "Really?" "I can tell you, but... you hav e to tell her something for me" "You walk fast" "There's a bus stop straight up this path" "Take that bus and it won't be long Don't get off in the middle" "Take it to the last stop, and ask for her when you get off" "OK" "Weird hat" "Grandma made it." "If I go out without it, I'd..." "Tell my sister when you see her..." "I told the camel how I feel" "Told the camel...?" "She'll understand." "Bye" "Oamel...?" "Oamel...?" "Hard day Good work" "Man, I'm beat" "Something wrong?" "A drunk" "Did he get v iolent?" "He's asleep Still there?" "Sleeping like a log." "Not a care in the world..." "Say, you mind waking him up later?" "Oh no, I can't stand drunks" "Please No, ask someone else" "Oh, c'mon..." "Um..." "I'll go wake him" "Will you?" "Thanks" "Sir, time to wake up" "Sir!" "Sir!" "Hey?" "What're you doing here?" "That's my question" "Where am I?" "What're you doing out here?" "Asked someone at the apartment 'cause I'm deliv ering something, and..." "Deliv ering what?" "Your dress." "You forgot it in the dryer" "But I hav e to apologize" "I washed it ev eryday after that" "Now it's all tattered" "Sorry" "So funny..." "Smells like detergent" "Thanks" "Oan't see anything, right?" "There's nothing around here" "You're so strange." "Ooming all the way out here..." "But I'm happy Don't think I'v e ev er been happier" "It's hard to put into words, but..." "It's lov e." "On Earth, we call this lov e." "I don't know about Mars, though" "Say..." "What?" "Oan I turn the TV on?" "Sure" "So weird" "Sorry, did I wake you up?" "Sick?" "No, just can't get to sleep" "Hey, tell me a story" "What kind?" "Anything, like about yourself, or maybe a fairy tale..." "You're like a kid" "O'mon" "How about a story grandma told me a while back?" "Sure" "Heard it so often, I memorized it" "Yeah?" "What's it about?" "About a young man who's good at whistling" "Let's see..." "Once upon a time, somewhere, there was a poor young man" "He was a v ery good whistler" "Anytime he was happy about something, he'd whistle" "One day, he went to the sea" "There, he saw a ship in the distance and thought how wonderful it would be... if he could trav el the world in it" "Happy with the thought, he gav e a good whistle" "Right then, a sailor walked by, so the young man asked him, "Will you please put me on that ship?"" "The sailor told him," ""Sure, if you hand ov er that thing you got there"" "The young man had a silv er cup in his hand" "He was torn" "It was an important keepsake from his mother, you see" "But he finally gav e the silv er cup to the sailor" "He wanted to be on the ship more than anything" "And he was able to get on that ship" "But all of a sudden strong winds blew, and it became a terrible storm" "The ship was tossed, and it finally sank" "And?" "What happened then?" "I can't remember..." "What, is that supposed to be a sad story?" "A happy story?" "I'm not sure..." "Oan you sleep now?" "Now with this on my mind" "I'll ask grandma tomorrow" "I got you!" "The camel" "Your sister told the camel" "Said you'd understand" "Oh!" "That's the message" "Almost forgot!" "You there?" "What's the matter?" "I'll nev er find out the ending" "I don't understand" "About what?" "They said grandma's dead" "What does that mean?" "Your shoelaces are untied" "I'm not much good at this" "What do you usually do?" "Grandma did it ev ery morning" "You think I'v e changed?" "I said I'd change that day..." "Now that I'm back home, you think I'v e changed?" "A little bit" "How?" "Your hair's longer?" "I'll be going now" "Hey..." "Oan I go with you?" "Why?" "I hav en't heard the ending yet..." "The story about the good whistler" "I guess she's down there" "But she's not really there" "Because she's dead" "She's there, but she isn't" "Weird" "Oan I ask you something?" "What?" "What about your parents?" "Don't know" "You don't know?" "Don't remember" "Grandma said... my memories are frozen in a big block of ice, and no one can get them out" "What should we do?" "What's that?" "Someone who drov e me" "Said I should come if I need help" "I'm here" "Hello" "Hello" "You really come" "You see them flying at weddings and sports ev ents, right?" "They don't just happen to be there, you know" "It's my job to make these pigeons fly" "But it's not like you can just throw 'em up there" "You gotta time it right and make 'em go at once" "Must be amazing" "It is, actually Wanna see a little?" "And then you do his" "Why?" "Pigeon hate the color red" "So you wav e this around to keep 'em up in the air" "Thank you for hav ing us ov er..." "Oan't sleep?" "It's nothing new, I'm getting used to it" "I can nev er get used to it" "I start thinking I might age decades while I'm asleep." "And I get scared and wake up" "Next time I wake up, I might be an old man" "Not that I'm afraid of getting older" "It's just that..." "I can't bear to think that this life I'm liv ing will soon be... a thing of the past" "Not making sense, am I?" "What're you gonna do?" "Stay with him?" "If you wanna protect him, you'll hav e to make some sacrifices" "Actually," "It's just the opposite" "Being with him is what's sav ing me" "I'm the one that's depending on him" "Oan I ask you one thing?" "A cawing crow Oan you imitate a cawing crow?" "Nev er done it" "Good, that's fine" "What?" "Ev en if you could, don't do it in front of me" "I can't bear to see you" "G etting sleepy Night" "And so I'm a day older" "Good night" "When I do this, that's your signal, all right?" "Oongratulations!" "Wonder what Mizue's doing?" "Probably got bored of waiting and fell asleep" "Yeah" "Hey..." "Just for a second, suppose she isn't there" "What would you do if she went away and didn't come back?" "Just assume" "There's no way Just assume, I said" "There's no way She said she'd wait" "Don't say stuff like that" "What's wrong?" "She's not here" "Welcome home" "You're here!" "You're here!" "Sure am" "Here" "Seconds, please" "Good?" "Try it" "Hands, use your hands" "You can do it" "Why don't you try it!" "Listen up" "I'v e decided, just now" "Actually, been thinking about it for a while, but I finally made up my mind" "I'm leav ing Japan tomorrow" "Why?" "I'v e done a lot of things so far" "Got no regrets as far as that goes" "But there's one thing I still hav en't done" "What do you think that is?" "What is it?" "Marriage" "So I decided I'm going to marry" "But there's one problem And it's a serious one" "What?" "Women just don't dig me" "But that's in Japan" "Somewhere out there in the world, there's a woman waiting for me" "So I decided..." "I'll marry a blonde with big tits" "So I'll be leav ing Japan" "I'll giv e you ev erything" "The pigeons, the house, the car..." "It's all yours" "But..." "It's a done deal, final" "So tonight's my farewell party" "But don't get the wrong idea" "I'm not being nice or anything, all right?" "I just happen to kinda like you two That's all" "OK, so let's toast" "I thought you were going to leav e" "I thought so, too" "Well, dunno what your feelings are, but I can tell you he's nev er gonna betray you" "Not ev er" "Not too many people out there you can trust not to betray you" "I'll be the one to betray him, then" "You won't betray him You're here right now, aren't you?" "So long" "If you ask me, you're both hopeless on your own, but..." "You out of your mind?" "!" "G et going" "Together, you can do it!" "You'll make it!" "Bye!" "He's really gone" "What'll we do?" "We can do it if we're together" "You're a good driv er" "Out it out, I'v e nev er driv en one of these before" "I'll giv e you a sign, OK?" "Sign to let the pigeons go I'll do this... then you let them go, OK?" "Just open it like this" "I'm getting nerv ous" "You sure you can do this?" "Oongratulations!" "Dear..." "Daddy..." "The pigeons!" "Let 'em go!" "O'mon, let 'em go!" "That didn't go well" "It was a good wedding, though" "They were all crying" "Yeah, they were" "Hey Yeah?" "Let's get married, too" "Let's hav e a wedding like that" "No?" "Don't be so casual about something like that" "But wait..." "If we get married, who's making the pigeons fly?" "I know." "I'll do it myself" "I'll get married and make the pigeons fly all by myself" "I'll practice more, and get better at using the flag, so they won't come down too soon" "I hope you get better" "I'm sure I will" "There" "Hey!" "Wanna go for a walk?" "Let's go!" "Hurry" "Something on your face" "Let's take a look OK" "I like this one" "Me, too" "It's ex pensiv e, though Oosts 240,000 yen" "Then we'll sav e up and come back to buy it" "I like this one" "Me too." "But it's ex pensiv e Oosts 90,000 yen" "Oan't buy anything in this store like this" "Well then, let's imagine it" "I magining again..." "I magine it I know it's impossible now, but... one day we'll buy these chairs and put this table in front, and then... we'll get this bookshelf, and... oh, and how about this curtain!" "OK then, imagine it..." "I'll get this clock here, and this lamp, too" "I like that" "I magine it" "On the other side, we'll put this clock and this lamp" "The place would be full of clocks and lamps!" "This one, too" "Yeah, it's beautiful" "I'll go look in the front" "Hmm, again..." "It's untied again" "Was it like this?" "No..." "Like this..." "I did it!" "Look!" "I tied it myself!" "That's good..." "I know it's in your pocket Take it out" "I'm a patrol officer Let's go inside" "Oall the police" "Yes" "So, what do you do?" "I fly pigeons now" "Before, I was at a coin laundry..." "OK, whatev er And what's your relationship to her?" "We're getting married" "I see..." "That's too bad" "She'll be in there about a year Prison, I mean" "Looks like she's done this many times before" "A habitual offender with a record" "Didn't know?" "I see, that's tough..." "You're lying" "You're a cop but you're lying" "It's no lie, she confessed Don't lie!" "Oops shouldn't lie!" "Liar!" "Hey, stop it!" "I said stop it!" "Oalm down!" "My name is Teru" "It's actually Teruo, but ev eryone calls me Teru" "I work at a coin laundry" "I make sure no one steals any laundry" "I hav e a scar on my head" "When I was a kid, I feel in a manhole" "People say I hav e a scar on my brain, too" "My eyes are always peeled" "I'm a patrol officer protecting the city" "My name is..." "Teru..." "I fell in a manhole..." "I hav e a scar..." "On my brain, too..." "I hav e a scar..." "I keep watch..." "So no one steals..." "I watch..." "So no one steals any laundry..." "So no one steals..." "That's my..." "My..." "I saw a dream" "It was the ending to the story I told Mizue once, about the young man who was a good whistler" "After he fell off the ship during the storm, he was washed ashore" "That's when a beautiful girl walked by" "She noticed the young man, and tried to call for help, but no one was around" "But then she noticed the silv er cup that washed up together" "She took the cup and went to fill it with water, and got him to drink from the cup" "Ov er and ov er, she made him drink" "When the young man was conscious again, he quietly stood up" "There was no one around" "Not the beautiful girl, not the precious silv er cup" "So was it a sad story after all?" "Or a happy one?" "I really don't know" "The one thing I do know... is that the young man was glad to be aliv e" "Because after he got up, he faced the sea and gav e a good whistle" "A year later" "I was thinking" "The whole time..." "I n the end did I change at all?" "I'm getting off Please, let me off!" "Stop!" "Welcome home" "Figured you'd find me if I did this" "I got really good at this" "So let's hav e a wedding" "Let's do it here right now" "I magine it" "We're in a church" "The bells are ringing," "the priest is here," "and ev eryone's smiling" "I magine it?" "I did"