Keiko Furukuru

Keiko Furukuru grows up in a suburban household in Japan with a “normal” and loving family (6). From a young age, she is deemed rather strange by her family and teachers. She does not catch on to established social norms nor does she feel empathy for people. There are a few early examples of odd behavior that confirm her family’s belief that she was is not a normal child. For example, after finding a dead pet bird in the park, she suggests to her mother that they take it home to grill it for her father, who likes yakitori. In an attempt to break up a fight between two boys at school, she takes a shovel and whacks one of the boys over the head with it, nearly killing him—ending the fight like everyone wanted, she cannot understand why the teachers are so upset with her...