Excerpt
It is after lunch. In this town, every family has lunch at the same time, goes to their afternoon naps at the same time. Listen, you can hear snores undulating from neighbor to neighbor. Breathe in, you can catch the lingering smell of white rice and cooked fish.
The daughter, who has refused to take a nap, is now sitting in the backyard next to a plum tree. The sun gently touches her back. She yawns. What a nice day. What a nice afternoon. It almost feels so nice that it irritates her.
Mr. Snail, do you honestly enjoy your life in this town?
Shhh! What a stupid question.
A pause.
I guess where you live, it doesn’t matter that much. You seem happy just hanging out here in this small bottle.
Lifting it to the level of her eyes, the daughter studies the world through its translucent body. This must be what the snails are seeing right now: golden sunlight shining through the purple leaves, moist soil filled with clover, a patch of red peeking out from the back door.
A patch of red?
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