After The Quake: Stories Site

: A young woman and an older man bond over beach bonfires. They discuss their shared sense of emptiness and a mutual, metaphorical desire to "die from the cold".

: A bitter doctor on vacation is told by a local seer that she has a "stone" inside her body—a metaphor for her deep-seated resentment—that she must remove before she dies. After the quake: stories

: A man's wife leaves him after being transfixed by earthquake news coverage for five days. He travels to Hokkaido to deliver a mysterious package, only to realize he may have "nothing inside" him. : A young woman and an older man bond over beach bonfires