26. The Woman on the Hill

Kono (Masaki Kyomoto), an editor at a women's magazine, is on his way to visit the apartment of Endo, a college senior who writes a serialized novel for his magazine. In the rain, on the winding slope, he senses someone coming up from below — but no one appears. Then, from somewhere, a young child's voice calls "Mother." It comes again and again. Kono searches for the source of the voice... (Based on Takashi Atoda, "The Woman on the Slope," from A Matchbox Life, Kodansha)