Tengo

In the middle of his description of Fuka-Eri’s history, the Professor asks her to go and make some tea. As soon as she is gone, he leans forward and rapidly explains a few important details that might upset her.

The Professor says that Fuka-Eri showed up on his doorstep seven years ago, several years before the Lake Motosu incident. He knew her well from her early childhood, and she was no longer the same happy, talkative little girl he used to know. She could not speak, and she had clearly been badly frightened. Even now, she refuses to talk about her experiences at the time.

The Professor called, wrote, and tried to visit the Sakigake compound many times, but he never managed to contact Fuka-Eri’s parents. Sakigake had previously been a friendly and welcoming place, but now leaders guarded the entrance and acted suspicious of visitors. The Professor began to worry that Fuka-Eri’s parents were being held captive, and he reported his suspicions to the police. They tried to investigate, but they had little legal right to an investigation. Sakigake had become a religious organization and shut out the public. The Professor has learned almost nothing from his many attempts to discover what happened inside the organization's walls.

Meanwhile, Fuka-Eri lived with the Professor since the day she arrived on his doorstep. At first, her inability or unwillingness to speak made it difficult for her to go to school. Because of this, he has tutored her himself. She has developed a strong friendship with his daughter, Azami. He has tried not to interfere with their relationship because it seems to be helping Fuka-Eri recover from whatever happened to her at the commune. She has grown more communicative since she dictated the manuscript of Air Chrysalis to Azami, and he is hopeful that this progress will continue. However, he has thus far found it impossible to get her to speak directly about her experiences.

After learning all this, Tengo travels back to Tokyo alone. During the journey, he thinks about a little girl who was in his class in elementary school. Her family belonged to a strict religious sect called the Society of Witnesses, and she was required to spend her Sundays traveling around the city with her mother, attempting to spread their religion. Tengo often spotted her while he was out with his father on the NHK rounds. It was not really possible for a boy and a girl in his school to be friends, but he felt a strong connection to her because they were forced to spend their days off in such a similar manner.

Tengo remembers that this girl was socially ostracized at school. Her religion set her apart and made it difficult for other children to connect with her. For instance, she was required to recite a prayer before meals. Even now, Tengo remembers every word of this prayer:

O Lord in Heaven, may Thy name be praised in utmost purity for ever and ever, and may Thy kingdom come to us. Please forgive our many sins, and bestow Thy blessings upon our humble pathways. Amen.

Tengo occasionally helped this girl through tight social spots, and he often caught her watching him. Once when the two of them were alone in the classroom, she walked over to him and took his hand. For a long, strange moment, they stared at each other without speaking. When she let go and ran away, he was left feeling vulnerable and shaken. He has never fully understood why she approached him that day. But even now, he feels intensely moved when he thinks about it.