Chapters 22-24 Summary

In Chapter 22, Hoshino treats Nakata to dinner at a rest stop and asks him where he is headed. Nakata says he wants to go over the bridge to Shikoku and figure out from there. The next day, Hoshino arrives at his destination and tells Nakata to wait in a small park while he unloads his freight. Evidently, when Nakata finished primary school, he learned the trade of traditional woodworking. He assisted a carpenter well into middle age, when his mentor died and the shop closed. Afterward, he invested his retirement in a condo project sponsored by his cousin. The cousin lost all the money to loan sharks and disappeared. Since then, Nakata has lived in a flat arranged by one of his brothers. The company of cats has been his only joy until now. Hoshino returns and asks Nakata if he...