What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

Author:Michiko Aoyama
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781529196269
Published: 2023-08-09T18:30:00+00:00

It was a surprise to see the words ‘go to plan’. The same words Madam Mizue had said to me earlier in the day. How uncanny it is that what one reads can sometimes synchronize with reality.

My estimation of Ms Komachi went up. I wondered why she’d told me about this book.

Which reminded me … the free gift she’d given me was still in my bag. I dug the felted object out from the inside pocket and sat it lightly on my palm to examine. The continents on the ping-pong-ball-sized globe were mostly rough outlines, but Japan was accurately rendered. Perhaps the fine, detailed handiwork that had gone into making it was a sign of love of the country. A way of saying, This is where I am. It’s night now. The Earth will turn and morning will come …

While rolling the felted globe in my fingers, I was struck by an idea: Ptolemaic theory and Copernican theory; geocentrism and heliocentrism. Aeons ago, people used to believe that the Earth was stationary and the heavens moved around it. When in fact it was the Earth that rotated.

Something clicked. That’s it.

I was forced to move from Mila to the information resources department. And I have to do housework and childcare. If I put myself at the centre of everything, does that mean I always see myself as a victim? And why I always end up wondering why can’t people do things that work for me.

I stared at the blue sphere on my palm. The Earth moves. Morning and night don’t stay – they go.

What do I want to do now? Where do I want to go?

I was aware of something shifting. The same gut feeling I had had that morning with Madam Mizue moved more sharply into focus. Suddenly I knew what I wanted: I wanted to be a literary-fiction editor and work with authors, to draw out the best in them and bring readers the best possible stories.

The playground is big. Madam Mizue’s words still rang in my head. Had she been suggesting I get off the merry-go-round and try out something else in the playground? Never swerving from a path is not necessarily a virtue – isn’t it better sometimes to be honest about what you really want?

I picked up my smartphone to search for recruiting information with publishers. Up until now, I had limited myself to companies that published magazines, thinking that was my only option. But my current situation meant that being part of a magazine editorial team, which requires speed and teamwork, was not feasible. In book publishing, however, it might be easier to work independently at my own pace. Maybe I could find a new path? Would it be possible for me to change direction and go into literary publishing?

After a while I came across Cherry Peach Books, an old established publishing company that is strong in literary fiction. Madam Mizue had also published several books with them. As luck would have it, they were currently recruiting, but I would have to post my application by tomorrow.

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