Chapter Eight, In Search of What Was Lost Summary

Mitsuko is awakened by her phone ringing. Kiguchi has taken ill, and Mitsuko promises to stay with him while Enami goes or a doctor. Kiguchi is afraid he may have malaria, which he had in the army. Mitsuko comforts him with her imitations of love, like when she worked in the hospital. The doctor comes, takes some blood, and gives Kiguchi a shot. Kiguchi may need to go into the hospital, and Mitsuko offers to stay behind with him for a couple of days. As Mitsuko sits over Kiguchi's feverous form, he calls out Gaston's name in his sleep.

Mitsuko dozes and awakens when the tourists return from the Ganges. She learns that the tourists saw Ōtsu at the river, carrying the bodies of the indigent dead and dying...