The man always sat in the same seat, the stool farthest down the counter. When it wasn’t occupied, that is, but it was nearly always free. The bar was seldom crowded, and that particular seat was the most inconspicuous and the least comfortable. A staircase in the back made the ceiling slanted and low, so it was hard to stand up there without bumping your head. The man was tall, yet, for some reas
![Kino, by Haruki Murakami](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/e6cfc8bf775d84fb28b7f90a53b1a86f5fe47336/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.newyorker.com%2Fphotos%2F590966f51c7a8e33fb38d6d7%2F16%3A9%2Fw_1280%2Cc_limit%2F150223_r26182.jpg)