The Silence Of Metawin.

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The tiny village of Fujikoto is unremarkable in almost every way, but neither Mr. Noburu or his wife Noriko have ever found any solid reason to move away from it, even after their three sons had grown up and all decided to. Noburu-san, although officially retired from farming, still rises early every day to help out with the livestock on his neighbour's property, but once his daily work is done he enjoys nothing more than a leisurely stroll into the village to catch up on the local news from his good friend Koso Ichi who runs the store. The store – although filled with a comprehensive range of goods and household supplies – is less a shop than it is a meeting place for the older locals of the area who no longer have work to bring them together. Which, most people accept, makes verbose, self-important Ichi-san their official unelected chairman, a role he inhabits with a great deal of enthusiasm. Greeting every visitor to his store with the same cheery, overly-loud "Irasshaimase!", Ichi-san revels in the act of doling out the local gossip in delicious, bitesize chunks, always allowing each piece of information to settle in the stomach before offering the next.

It was in this way that Noburu first heard about the two men who were moving into the small mountain house closest to his own. Ichi-san's information was scant, but it was he, and he alone, who had put the Thai gentleman in touch with Tanaka-san when he had first called to enquire if Ichi knew of a rental property local to the the center of the national park. And it was he alone who had been asked to give the convoluted directions to the village from the station and on to the house, before instead offering to collect him and his friend and take them there himself. Neither had spoken much during the journey, but Ichi-san had found them both most interesting and cordial, and was happy to reassure Noburu that he and his wife had just become the lucky recipients of two most pleasant – albeit gaijin – new neighbours.

As the months have passed, and both Noburu-san and Noriko have met them occasionally on the road and in town, they have been pleased to be able to agree with Ichi-san's assessment. The chocolate haired one is an excellent fisherman, and sometimes stops in on his way back from the river to share his catch. The ebony-haired is quieter and more reserved, but Mrs. Noburu was recently both surprised and touched by his gift of six exquisite prepared 'kohada', which she had to admit with some chagrin were even better than her mother's.

Respectful, pleasant but obviously very private people, the two men walked down into the village only two or three times a month for supplies and never seem to receive any visitors, other than the Yuubin'ya with an occasional parcel. So it was with some surprise that Mrs. Noburu noted the slow progress of a police car up the winding track towards the house one Saturday afternoon, as she was hanging out her washing.

Stopping the car at the Noburu's gate, a young male police officer exited and came towards her with a polite, deferential bow. Noriko recognised him immediately as an old classmate and friend of her eldest's son - Akio Yamada - and gave him a warm, welcoming smile.

"Good afternoon Akio-chan."

The young man's cheeks pinked slightly at the familiar greeting, and he straightened his shoulders.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Noburu. Excuse me for disturbing your day, but I have a Detective Inspector from Aomori with me in the car. He wants to speak with the Thai gentleman who is living up in the cabin, if that is possible?"

Frowning slightly, Mrs. Noburu nodded her head.

"You should leave the car here then. The track has a lot of fallen branches and some big holes, you'll break your axel if you try to drive up."

"Sure, sure. I wanted to ask if that is what we might do," the young policeman gave a grateful nod, "Thank you Mrs. Noburu. It's not too far to walk then?"