“Oh, you foul little beast!” she cries. Not quite knowing what’s going on, I look around in a state of bewilderment making to touch her arm. As my fingers glide across the bony flesh of her elbow, she turns to me with a look of horror on her face. For a second, I think it’s… Read more

Hachikō makes a mad dash for it, but with a snap of the lead, she pulls him back. The day grows old, and while the sun still shines, the heat from its searching rays is diminished. The sky is sepia; as sepia as the buildings that flow over the horizon to foreign lands of which… Read more

Lifting me to my feet, she pats me down and combs my curly head of hair. I don’t want to go out. I don’t want to do anything other than drink my beer and take photos of her body. Not of her—just of her body. I want it to fuel my seedy obsessions regarding the… Read more

“Don’t swear at me, I was only trying to do good. You don’t want our Hachikō having bad breath, do you? Or worse still, suffering from the unimaginable terrors of gum disease?” “You blow my mind sometimes,” I reply. Rubbing my eyes, I grunt and slide down the chair. “You’re such a drama queen,” she… Read more

Sensing he’s been insulted, the dog lets out a huff. “Don’t worry, boy, I love you,” I tell him. “Oh,” she says, “you tell a stray dog that you love him, but not your own fiancée. Doesn’t that make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.” “Come off it,” I reply, “I always… Read more

“I know you’ve told me already, but tell me again. Take pity on me.” “Hmm,” she mumbles before sipping her beer. “Hachikō was a dog who lived in Japan in the early twentieth century. As a loyal and obedient mutt, he would go to meet his owner at the train station after he finished work.… Read more

“What made you choose that name?” I ask. Giving me more evols, this time it’s her turn to be the one rolling her eyes. “Ugh, you don’t listen to a single thing I say, do you?” “What do you mean?” “I’ve told you about Hachikō before.” “Have you?” “Yes—and once again it seems as though… Read more

“You did that on purpose!” she hisses. Pulling away from my touch, she gives me the evols and peels off the label on her bottle of beer. I remember hearing when I was a student that to peel off such labels represented underlying sexual frustration. It’s why I stopped doing it myself. No need to… Read more

“You’re thinking of something hurtful to say, aren’t you?” Sipping my beer, I eye her body as the sun washes over it the same way the summer rain washes away my sins. It’s as milky as I’ve ever seen. Her body. Not the sun. Although both are a source of life to me, and even… Read more