Strange Houses

Yuzuki shares that her family visited her grandparents’ house in August 2006, as they routinely did every summer. She shares a floor plan of the house, which she drew from memory. The symmetrical house was bisected by a hallway that extended down the length of the house. At the end of the hallway was a Buddhist altar. To the left of the altar were the tatami room of Yuzuki’s grandparents, Shigeharu and Fumino, and the living room. To the right of the altar were four proportionately sized tatami rooms, two of which Yuzuki’s family occupied during their visits. A third tatami room was occupied by Yuzuki’s Aunt Misaki and her son, Yoichi. The remaining tatami room was left vacant.

Yoichi’s father, Kimihiko, died in February 2006 of a heart attack. Kimihiko was the eldest son in his family and had elected to live in his elderly parents’ house to look after them. Shortly after Kimihiko’s death, his wife, Misaki, gave birth to a second child.

Kurihara observes that on the right side of the house, none of the tatami rooms had any windows looking outside. Yuzuki confirms this and shares that each of the four rooms had sliding doors that provided access to each other.