murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood

to go on with her story.
"Well, anyway, I enjoyed teaching her for a good six months.
Sometimes I'd find something she said a little surprising or odd. Or
she'd be talking and I'd have this rush of horror when I realised the
intensity of her hatred for some person was completely irrational, or it
would occur to me that she was just far too clever, and I'd wonder
what she was really thinking. But, after all, everyone has their flaws,
right? And finally, what business was it of mine to question her
personality or character? I was just her piano teacher. All I had to care
about was whether she practised or not. And besides, the truth of the
matter is that I liked her. I liked her a lot.
"Still, I was careful not to tell her anything too personal about myself.
I just had this sixth sense that I'd better not talk about such things. She
asked me hundreds of questions - she was dying to know more about
me - but I only told her the most harmless stuff, like things about my
childhood or where I'd gone to school, stuff like that. She said she
wanted to know more about me, but I told her there was nothing to
tell: I'd had a boring life, I had an ordinary husband, an ordinary child,
and a ton of housework. "But I like you so much,' she'd say and look
me right in the eye in this clingy sort of way. It sent a thrill through
me when she did that - a nice thrill. But even so, I never told her more
than I had to.
"And then one day - a day in May, I think it was - in the middle of her
lesson, she said she felt sick. I saw she was pale and sweating and
asked if she wanted to go home, but she said she thought she'd feel
better if she could just lie down for a while. So I took her - almost
carried her - to the bedroom.
We had such a small sofa, the bed was the only place she could lie
down. She apologized for being a nuisance, but I assured her it was no
bother and asked if she wanted anything to drink. She said no, she just
wanted me to stay near her, which I said I'd be glad to do.
"A few minutes later she asked me to rub her back. She sounded as
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