A Tale For The Time Being

Nao asks if the reader is still there and says that she understands if the reader has given up on her by this point since, after all, she gave up on herself. Nao explains that just as she is sitting on the bench, feeling hopeless and invisible, her dad appears. She is shocked to see her dad still alive since she had thought that he had gone to commit suicide. He asks why she didn’t tell him that Jiko was dying. She replies: “I thought you were dead” (360). When they get to the temple, Jiko is still alive, and many people are there to see her one last time. Before dying, Jiko follows the Zen master tradition of writing a final poem before she dies. With Muji’s help, she writes a single Japanese character that means “to live” (362). Soon after, Jiko dies peacefully in the company of Muji, Nao, and her grandson. Nao helps Muji wash Jiko’s body and dress her in a special white kimono. Nao’s mom arrives to attend the funeral, and all the guests have a chance to say goodbye to Jiko and give her presents to take with her into the afterlife.