murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood

so painful for me to write letters.
Speaking of Midori, she sounds like an interesting person. Reading
your letter, I got the feeling she might be in love with you. When I
told that to Reiko, she said, "Well, of course she is! Even I am in love
with Watanabe!' We're picking mushrooms and gathering chestnuts
and eating them every day. And I do mean every day: rice with
chestnuts, rice with matsutake mushrooms, but they taste so great, we
never get tired of them. Reiko doesn't eat that much, though. For her,
it's still one cigarette after another. The birds and the rabbits are doing
fine.
Goodbye.
Three days after my twentieth birthday, a package arrived for me from
Naoko. Inside I found a wine-coloured crew neck pullover and a
letter.
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a happy year being 20. My own year
of being 20 looks like it's going to end with me as miserable as ever,
but I'd really like it if you could have your share of happiness and
mine combined. Really. Reiko and I each knitted half of this jumper.
If I had done it all by myself, it would have taken until next
Valentine's Day. The good half is Reiko's, and the bad half is mine.
Reiko is so good at everything she does, I sometimes hate myself
when I'm watching her. I mean, there's not a single thing I'm really
good at!
Goodbye.
Be well.
The package had a short note from Reiko, too.
How are you? For you, Naoko may be the pinnacle of happiness, but
for me she's just a clumsy girl. Still, we managed to finish this jumper
in time for your birthday. Handsome, isn't it? We chose the colour and
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