"The Messenger": A miraculous date between the living and the dead

May 24, 2022

Is there anything you said that you didn't have time to say? Is there a regret you can never make up for? Is there a question you've been seeking the answer to? Is there anyone you would pay anything to see again? If you were told that a messenger could allow you to meet a deceased person, would you be willing to accept this miracle?

Oh, I forgot to tell you the rule, you can only meet one dead person in your life, just for one night. Similarly, the deceased can only meet one living person, but the deceased cannot issue a commission and can only wait for the living to knock on the door. Once the deceased accepts the commission, he cannot meet other living people. However, if the deceased refuses the entrustment, and this is the only entrustment, he may regret not taking the opportunity to return to earth for one day.

Okay, have you considered who to take advantage of this only opportunity to meet?

This is the story setting of "The Messenger" by Mitsuki Tsujimura, the winner of Japan's Naoki Prize. Through five stories, readers are taken on a journey of healing. Although it involves the heavy issue of life and death, it has a heart-warming effect.

"Messenger" is divided into five chapters, each chapter is an independent short story. The first four chapters are the story of the living meeting the dead through the messenger. The last chapter reveals the mystery of the messenger's life experience and combines the stories of the first four chapters. The stories are closely linked together, both as a profile and as a complement, making the story more complete and leaving a lingering sound at the same time.

The setting of the living and the dead spending a night together can be written into many bloody plots, but Tsujimura Fukasuki designed five ingenious stories to write about the care, family affection, friendship, love, etc. between people. It's an unconventional read and full of surprises. For example, in the first chapter "Idol's Experience", a woman with a boring life is looking for the undead soul who turned out to be an idol who died suddenly a few months ago. An idol is a heartthrob, so there should be many people who want to meet her through messengers. How could she waste this only opportunity to meet fans she has never met before? What was the reason why she agreed to meet? This story allows readers to see the kind side of human nature, permeating the lonely atmosphere with positive energy.

Between life and death, we inevitably carry some regrets, regrets that we did not seize the last moment to fulfill our filial piety, and regrets that we made wrong decisions that can never be made up for. The protagonist in "The Experience of the Eldest Man" clearly does not believe in the existence of the messenger, but still finds the messenger to meet his mother who died of illness. Just because he feels guilty for his mother, he does not tell her and her family the news of her mother's serious illness, causing her death. I can spend more time with my family. Some regrets may not be made up for, but there is no need to hold them dear.

Fukasuki Tsujimura is good at psychological description, especially the delicate emotions of teenagers. In "The Experience of a Best Friend", the protagonist holds a grudge and even has murderous intentions because his best friend took away the opportunity to be the protagonist of a stage play. Her best friend died in an accident caused by her. She asked a messenger to meet him. Was it out of apology or malice?

"Those Who Wait" is a pure love story that can make readers cry silently. The man has always been obsessed with his girlfriend who left without saying goodbye seven years ago. After he proposed to her, she disappeared along with the engagement ring. He didn't believe she cheated on him, but he didn't want her to be unable to come back due to an accident. If the messenger helps them meet again, does that mean it's the last time?

The last chapter "The Envoy's Experience" tells the story of the protagonist inheriting the ability of the envoy from his grandmother. The protagonist's parents died when he was young. Police investigation revealed that his father killed his mother and then committed suicide. Before he inherits the power of a messenger, he can choose to meet his father or mother. Should he meet his murdered mother or his murderer's father? Who can let him know the truth? As the protagonist learns to act as a messenger, he witnesses miraculous dates again and again, and once questions that the living are consuming the dead by meeting the dead to eliminate their regrets, but he still realizes the value of the messenger's existence.

Death is ruthless, but there is love in the world. How much we long for the messenger to exist and give the living and the dead another chance to get together. But before the messenger appears, we should cherish every moment with the people we value and leave no regrets. This is the most complete practice.

Book title: "The Messenger"

Author: Tsujimura Fukasuki

Translator: Gao Zhancan

Published by: Crown

2012/11/6

"The Messenger" was also made into a movie