November 20, 2015

We had already sat down in the tatami room but the tea ceremony wasn’t going to begin for a bit. I picked up a pink hardcover book from the table and tried to read the title with great difficulty. I eventually succeeded (and consequently forgot what it was) and concluded that I had to look for the blue book and read its cover as well. I stood up and walked through the hall until I came upon the shoe cabinet in the unlit entryway of the residence.

I held my nose for a moment and quickly became aware of my surroundings but went back to being determined to find this book. I flipped through the bowl of miscellaneous coins, keys, and receipts to no avail. Everything was on the floor when the lights turned on and an old friend walked in from another room. I walked over and hugged him while he apologized for “protecting [me] so much”.

I started running through all of the rooms to find out that every time I opened a screen door, I was sent back to a previous memory. Apparently I had already spent several weeks here and was unaware of it. Each room was its own slice of time, replaying my experiences over and over.

I quickly jumped through a room with a past tea ceremony into the central garden. I hopped from one rock to the other around the water.