2. Chapter 2. The Beginning of the End ˆ–‡”–Š‡‹‡–‡‡–Š‹•–ƒ…‡–Šƒ–†ƒ›‘ˆ•ƒ›‹‰Dzǯ˜‡”›•‘””›dzƒ†„‘™‹‰ deeply at the waist, I got dizzy, fell over, hit my head, and lost consciousnessȄor so I was told. It was while I was working a part-time shift at a beer garden. The cause was obvious. It would happen to anyone if they worked in the sweltering heat without having anything to eat. Recklessly, I walked myself back home to my apartment after that, but my eyes felt as if they were being clawed out of their sockets, so I ended up going to the hospital anyway. By taking a taxi to the emergency room, my already dire financial situation got even worse. On top of that, my boss told me to take some time off work. That meant I had to cut back on living expenses even more, but I †‹†ǯ–‘™™Šƒ––Š‡”‡™ƒ•Ž‡ˆ––‘…—–Ǥ…‘—Ž†ǯ–‡˜‡”‡‡„‡”–Š‡Žƒ•– –‹‡Šƒ†ƒ‡ƒŽ™‹–Š‡ƒ–‹‹–ǤŠƒ†ǯ––”‹‡d my hair in four months, ƒ†  Šƒ†ǯ– „‘—‰Š– ƒ •‹‰Ž‡ ’‹‡…‡ ‘ˆ …Ž‘–Š‹‰ •‹…‡ –Š‡ …‘ƒ– ˆ”‘ –™‘ ™‹–‡”•ƒ‰‘ǤŠƒ†ǯ–‰‘‡–‘Šƒ‰‘—–™‹–Šƒ›‘‡•‹…‡•–ƒ”–‹‰…‘ŽŽ‡‰‡Ǥ Šƒ†”‡ƒ•‘•–Šƒ–…‘—Ž†ǯ–ƒ•›’ƒ”‡–•ˆ‘”Š‡Ž’ǢŠƒ†–‘–ƒ‡…ƒ”‡ my own income. It hurt to sell off my CDs and books. They were all used and painstakingly chosen with the strictest judgment to ensure I had the best of the best. But without a computer or TV, that was about all I had that was worth any money. Before I said good-bye, I decided to listen to each CD one last time in order. I put my headphones on, lay down on the tatami, and pressed play. Then I hit the switch on the room fan with blue blades that I bought at a secondhand shop, and I periodically went to the kitchen to fill my cup with water. It was the first time I missed any college classes. But I knew nobody ™‘—Ž†…ƒ”‡–Šƒ–™ƒ•ƒ„•‡–Ǥ‡”Šƒ’•–Š‡›†‹†ǯ–‡˜‡‘–‹…‡™ƒ•‰‘‡Ǥ One by one, I moved the CDs from the stack on the right to the stack on the left.