And each time he finished a sentence, there was a tiny but meaningful lump of silence left behind. This lump floated there, enclosed in the car's restricted space like an imaginary miniature cloud, giving Aomame a strangely unsettled feeling.

“Find me now. Before someone else does.”

“I'm in no position to hand down any advice," he said, "but there's a rule I fol…”

“I wore my suit and the polka-dot tie. As soon as I spotted Malta Kano, I tried …”

“I really wanted to see you,” I said.“And I really wanted to see you, too,” she …”