Thief

Author: [Japanese] Utsuki Rui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-12
Features: With her right hand on the front passenger door, Mitsuko turned her head back to look at her husband, Yosuke again. Yosuke's hands were resting on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the front of the parking lot. Through the dim lighting, the building of Sebi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital could be seen in the distance. Heading east from the Danbō Bridge Station on the Keihan Electric Railway, there were kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools along the way. During school hours and dismissal times, the streets were full of children walking around. However, once you turned into the narrower side streets inside, it was almost empty. Especially at night, this area was completely free of noise, being an extremely quiet residential area. Sebi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital is located at one corner of the residential area. A large sign with the hospital's name stands in the hospital's parking lot. In the night, the lights installed at the top and bottom of the sign cast a three-dimensional effect on the green text. Through the yellow lighting on the parking lot, fine dust-like particles could be seen falling from the sky. Oh, it's snowflakes. Will it snow more in a while? Yosuke pressed the windshield wiper button. The radio in the car was playing the news, sometimes reporting that a bus carrying a ski tour group had an accident on the highway; sometimes informing that a Christmas tree at a department store had been lit up, and so on. Taking a gentle breath, Mitsuko opened the car door and stepped into the pitch-black night. At that moment, she felt the cold night air of December, and she instinctively tightened her neck, her hands pressing against her abdomen, which was covered by a maternity dress. Inside the swollen abdomen was a large bath towel, and her low-heeled leather shoes were wide, making a tapping sound as she walked. Not only her shoes, but even her underwear, stockings, and all her clothing were maternity items. Maternity tights had enough padding around the abdomen and hips, and compared to regular tights, their size could almost be described as "huge." Additionally, the material was stretchable, so there was no worry that the folded bath towel would move or fall out. The bath towel inserted into her abdomen made her stomach swell, and when she wore the thick maternity dress over it, it looked exactly like the big belly of a woman close to her due date. Mitsuko carried a light pink nylon bag and slowly walked toward the hospital, holding her belly as usual. The main entrance of Sebi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital was a pair of automatic glass doors. When the doors opened to the sides, a small gust of warm air from the heated indoor space immediately swept toward her face. The waiting room had about twenty women waiting for their appointments, sitting on beige leather sofas, waiting for the nurse to call their names. The wall clock had already passed eight o'clock. Sebi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital is a specialized hospital for obstetrics and gynecology, and it is also renowned for its achievements in treating infertility. From magazines and TV features, it was known that infertile patients from all over the country would come to seek treatment here. Therefore, even though the appointment time was until 7 PM, there were often many people still waiting in line after 7 PM. The patients who came to seek medical treatment here were already accustomed to such long waiting times, and they would either read books or knit sweaters. Mitsuko walked through the waiting room and up to the second-floor stairs. The first floor of the hospital had outpatient and treatment rooms, while the second floor had delivery rooms and inpatient wards. The nurse's station was at the other end of the second-floor hallway, and next to it was the nursery. Three years ago, Mitsuko received nearly a year of treatment at this hospital. Although both her home and the hospital were within Kyoto City, it was actually very inconvenient to travel from the Yunoshima area in the north to the Fushimi area where the hospital was located. However, there were many patients from Shiga Prefecture, Osaka, and other places who came to seek treatment here. Compared to them, being able to receive treatment within the city was already considered very lucky. Yunoshima was a village in the mountains, and even now, it still had neither light rail nor subway. It took about an hour to drive from her home to Kyoto Station, and then another twenty to thirty minutes to take the train south to Danbō Bridge Station. At this moment, Mitsuko slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor. When she turned her gaze to the window, she unexpectedly discovered that the apartment next door was almost built right up against the hospital building. She saw red, pink, and yellow light points flickering behind the glass windows of one household in the apartment. These light points moved rapidly along a green line shaped like a mountain. She guessed it must be a Christmas tree. An electric light decoration symbolizing a Christmas tree was hanging on the railing of the balcony of the next household, and the orange-yellow lights were flickering on and off. Looking at these common street scenes of December, she took a gentle breath and turned her attention back to the long hallway on the second floor. The layout of the hospital had already been perfectly imprinted in her mind. In order to P3