Page "romance" Paragraph 1067

He seemed to have picked up a virus that day, because the next morning he had a small cough and felt a bit hot.

He stayed home, reading and refusing to think about his frightening experience at Ryusenji.

But the process of refusing to think about it was an active reminder in itself and he couldn't rid himself of a consciousness of it throughout the day.

The cold lingered, making sleep difficult that night, and he remained in bed still the next morning, now unable to keep from thinking about the inexplicable sight of burning metal, the wretched sound, the unbearable feeling of having been to a remote Tokyo temple at some earlier time in his life.

All of the elements of the experience were impossible and yet the reality of them was heavy upon him and he resolved never again to visit the temple at Fudomae.