Seeking eternal beauty
She fell into a swamp and lay there, preserved
After a thousand years
She awoke to put her curse on me
A terrifying cure, a curse for all eternity
What's that?
I have no idea, really
It's kind of blackish and muddy
Have you seen a doctor?
Yes
And?
There's nothing wrong with me
But my stomach's a little upset
You've got to take care of yourself
Right
Just write the damned thing
and get a load off
Right
I repeat, you're not writing literature
This will be a popular, readable love story
By Haruna Reiko, the literary-prize winner
That's the pitch
Don't worry
It won't damage your reputation
I know that
Hey, are you Okay?
A hallucination?
Nothing
You must feel awful
It's psychological
Take care, now
Right
Listen
I've been considering moving
What?
It might help my writing
You think?
I want to get out of my place in Koenji
I see
Do you know of anything good?
What are do you have in mind?
Big and quiet
With high ceilings
A nice view and cheap, of course
Impossible?
Can it be far away?
How far?
Pretty far
You know a good place?
I'll find one
The light's back on
Oh
The circuit breaker's over there
Thanks
Um
Yes?
It seems the former tenants
Left a bunch of things
Oh, really?
Shall I get rid of them?
No, just leave them
Yes
Beloved
Hello, Mr. Kijima?
It's me, Reiko
Sorry I've been out of touch
Yes, I'm all settled
It's a fantastic place
Yes, I know
I'll write like my life depends on it
If the lights go out again
This is the problem
Yes
Um...
That vacant building out back...
Vacant?
The one that's locked up and looks empty
What is it, anyway?
I think it's a training center
Part of Sagami University
Sagami University?
Yes
What's it used for?
I wonder
What kind of people use it?
I've never seen anyone in there
But last night...
It's not in even habitable
I see
Thank you
Yeah, I think this is a fine beginning
It's excellent
Your work always is
Now just pick up your pace
Right
So? How's the new space?
Not bad
That's good
No more excuses not to write
That's right
I wonder what that place is
It's to your taste, isn't it?
How did you hear about that property?
Through an acquaintance
An acquaintance?
Is there something wrong?
No
Did you know
There's a University facility out back?
No
It's kind of creepy
It's supposed to be vacant
But it seems like someone's there
And that's no hallucination
Shall I have it looked into?
I can call the cops, if you want
No, that's fine
Just please, don't use it as an excuse not to write
The documents from Sagami University
Oh, thanks
What are they for?
Oh, nothing
How about this one?
Huh
Last year, the archeological group from Sagami University
Discovered a mummy
A mummy?
Yeah, 1,000 years old
In the Midori Swamp
They dragged it out of the muck
It was a woman
" Anthropologist " " Yoshioka Makoto "
What?
That's him
Yoshioka Makoto, Anthropologist
He looks like a guy I saw near my house
Huh
He was carrying something big
Into the place next door
Really?
Wonder what it was
And in the middle of the night
He carried it like a human
Let's do a little more research
I'll handle it
This is Mr. Murakami from Educational Films
Hello
You're really Haruna Reiko
Oh, I'm deeply moved to meet you
We were meeting about something else
When you came up
I hear you're interested in mummies?
Yes, well
We've got documentary footage in storage
The label says Midori Swamp Mummy
I haven't looked at it yet
But the title caught my eye
It's kind of strange
Why was the film shot?
I couldn't tell you
But it was shot before the war
Before the war?
Yes
Sounds interesting, right?
It's not the one they found last year?
No, no, the film is ancient
From the late 1920s
I wonder what it means
Do you want to see it?
" Midori Swamp Mummy "
May 15th
May 16th
May 17th
Um...
What do you think it is?
Well, it's shot in time-lapse
I mean, they've cut frames
Cut frames?
They probably filmed all day long
And cut it down to 30 seconds
It's a technique for observing something over time
And in surveillance, to detect abnormalities
I wonder what they had under surveillance
I don't know
That was a mummy, right?
I wonder why it didn't decompose in the swamp
Apparently, some kinds of mud
Function to preserve organic matter
I see
Yeah, I looked it up a little
A thousand years ago
Women used to swallow
Huge amounts of mud to preserve their beauty
Liter after liter of pitch black mud
Of course it made some of them so sick they died
The things women do for vanity...
Who are you?
What are you doing?
Stop!
Please!
Stop!
Hello
Yeah, I know
I'll be right there
I'm closing the deal
With the National Museum for a special exhibit
I'm sure of it
The mummy will obviously be the centerpiece
Get to work on the preservation process
How much longer will it take?
Don't know
A month?
I don't know what I don't know
And the archeologists you mentioned
The ones from 80 years ago
Unfortunately no record of their dig survives
I see
So there's no way to know whether
You've dug up the same mummy
They found 80 years ago
Besides, if it is the same
Why would anyone bury it
Right back where they found it?
I understand
It's less than ideal
I understand
But what can I do?
It's not your problem, it's mine
You just handle the money, as usual
Yoshioka!
I've got qualms about this, too!
Oh, yeah?
It's only a mummy
But...
What?
Last night I was paralyzed
It's happening every night, now
So I've gotten used to it
I can't move at all for awhile
But it doesn't mean anything
I get sleepy right away
But...
Not last night
There was something at the foot of my bed
Like it was...
Just waiting for the moment when I went rigid
Then, finally...
It...
Crawled onto my chest
It was heavy and cold
Almost like rubber
It stayed on me for 3 full hours
When dawn came
It finally went away
It wasn't a dream
The mismatched spatula
Marks on the exterior base
And the grey color of this cross section
Set this apart from others
That's all
Thank you, professor
Next, we'd like to have Dr. Yoshioka
Present his report on the eternal corpse
Right
Slides
Yes
Say, Yoshioka
I heard you've been
Up at the training center in Ibaragi
What are you up to?
Nothing
Same old
Studying mud?
Yeah
Listen, I've got some grad students in training
I'll send them over
Just 3 days, put them to work
I don't need help
It doesn't matter what
It's just training
I'm Yoshioka
Right
I'm Haruna
I need you to keep something for a little while
Keep what?
The mummy
Just for a little while
But...
I'm expecting students this afternoon
I don't want them to see it
Please
Why me?
I was sure you'd keep it for me
Just for a couple of days
Don't bother about it at all
Sure
I'm grateful
It's supposed to be kept in an environmentally
Controlled container in the lab
I see
But it just doesn't feel like
The right place for her
Ouch! It's me!
Ouch
Oh, no!
A little gift
Oh, thank you
How did you get in here?
You gave me a real scare
Sorry
The door wasn't locked
I see
What are you doing here so late?
I drove out
I was worried
How's it going?
How's what going?
The romance novel
Answer me
Are you making progress?
Yes
How much?
Well, I'm writing away
Oh... Mr. Kijima
Please
One more week, that's it
Finally time to jump off that cliff
Have you got problems?
Of course not
Professionals never do
I've known many writers
To get stuck in writers' block and vanish
I don't want that to happen to you
You still haven't unpacked
Want me to send you some help?
No, I'm fine
Don't blame me, Okay?
I'm getting rid of what you couldn't
For a thousand years
Well done
I'll read it later
And tell you what I think
How about a title?
I'll leave that up to you
Okay and email me the file
I'll rush it over to production
Aren't you going to read it first?
No, I'm sure it's a masterpiece
If you don't like it, just kill it
No way
I'm not killing a piece you stayed up
Writing 3 days and nights
I see...
What's wrong?
Nothing
Lose your nerve?
No
What you write gets published
That's the nature of being a pro
You're right
It's in your hands now
Mr. Yoshioka
Miss Reiko
I took the mummy back last night
Oh, I see
Thank you for keeping her
She's almost a thousand years old
Her garments suggest that
Her family was privileged
Approximately 20 years of age
Height, 155 cm
Her bone structure indicates a noble visage
For a woman of her time
The huge deposits of chalky mud
In her stomach and lungs
Prevented decay for over 1,000 years
That's about all we know
Still, the cause of death is unclear
Whether she fell into the swamp by accident
Or was buried there in some sacrificial ritual...
Is it possible she consumed
All that mud intentionally?
A form of suicide?
Yes
It's possible
I see
She would stop at nothing to acquire
An eternally youthful body
That's a natural supposition
But maybe
She regrets it now
Regrets it?
Yes, swallowing all that mud
What are you doing?
Making an incision in the abdomen to remove the mud.
Easy enough
Don't you think it will provoke
Some new terrible misfortune?
I've had enough misfortune