Occupied City Read Free Page B

is here.
I am Kato Teruko and I am sixteen years old but here I am no longer Kato Teruko and now I am no longer sixteen years old; now I am always struggling, here I am only weeping
. Our assistant manager counts our heads and nods, everybody is here.
I am Takizawa Tatsuo and I am forty-six years old but here I am no longer Takizawa Tatsuo and now I am no longer forty-six years old; now I am always struggling, here I am only weeping
. Our killer holds a pipette as though it were a dagger in his hand.
I am Takizawa Ryu and I am forty-nine years old but here I am no longer Takizawa Ryu and now I
am no longer forty-nine years old; now I am always struggling, here I am only weeping
. We all watch as our killer drips some clear liquid into each of our cups.
I am Takizawa Takako and I am nineteen years old but here I am no longer Takizawa Takako and now I am no longer nineteen years old; now I am always struggling, here I am only weeping
. We all listen as our killer tells each of us to pick up our own teacup.
I am Takizawa Yoshihiro and I am eight years old but here I am no longer Takizawa Yoshihiro and now I am no longer eight years old; now I am always struggling, here I am only weeping
. Each of us reaches for our own cup.
We who are here now in the grey
. Now our killer raises his hand in warning.
We who are always, already struggling
. We all listen as our killer warns us of the strength of the serum, the damage it can cause to our gums and tooth enamel if we do not watch our killer’s demonstration carefully, if we do not follow our killer’s instructions precisely.
We who are always, already only weeping
. We all watch as our killer now takes out a syringe.
You define us as the victims
. We all watch as our killer dips his syringe into the liquid.
You damn us as the victims
. We all watch as our killer draws up a measure of the liquid into the syringe.
You are happy to remember us in the black and white of our deaths
. We all watch as our killer opens his mouth.
You are ignorant of us in the colour of our lives
. We all watch as our killer places his tongue over his bottom front teeth and then tucks it under his lower lip.
We are evidence at a crime scene
. We all watch as our killer drips the liquid onto his tongue.
We are bodies in a crime book; bodies, never characters
. We all watch as our killer tilts his head back.
In our lives you did not know us
. We all watch as our killer stares at his wristwatch, his right hand in the air.
Only by our deaths did you find us
. We all watch as our killer’s hand falls.
At a crime scene
. We all listen as our killer tells us that this medicine may damage our gums and our teeth, as our killer tells us we must all swallow quickly.
In a crime book
. We all nod.
Our names, our faces
. We all listen as our killer tells us that exactly one minute after we have taken the first medicine, he will administer the second medicine.
In print and in photographs
. We all stare at the 500CC bottle marked SECOND DRUG.
Reduced to a number
. We all listen as our killer promises us that after we have taken the second medicine, we will be able to drink water or rinse out our mouths.
Twelve, you will always write 12
. Now our killer tells each of us to lift up our cups.
In this number, this number 12
. We allpick up our teacups.
In this number, we die again
. And now each of us drinks.
Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again
. Our killer tells us to drip the liquid onto our tongues.
For we are not twelve
. And now we all taste the bitter liquid.
We are Takeuchi Sutejiro, Watanabe Yoshiyasu, Nishimura Hidehiko, Shirai Shoichi, Akiyama Miyako, Uchida Hideko, Sawada Yoshio, Kato Teruko, Takizawa Tatsuo, Takizawa Ryu, Takizawa Takako and Takizawa Yoshihiro
. We all swallow it down.
We who are here now in the grey
. And we hear our killer tell us he will administer the second drug in exactly sixty seconds.
We who are always, already