tabtabt February 14th, 1975, in the evening of the Saint Valentine's Day, I was going up the stairs of this shop slightly depressed in mind. (For the season, though I retrospect that there was no particular reason, my wife had returned to her parents' home in Kyusyu with children.) I put on a knickerbockers handmade of my wife and pulled on long lace-boots almost covering the stockings.

tabtabt (Though knickerbockers should be worn as carpenter's working clothes and also as formal dresses, since there was nothing but a such rustic one as it's cuffs' position went almost to the ankle in their knickers sold in worker's shops, I asked my wife to make special products shortened inside lengths to the kneecap and used them customarily.)

tabtabt Then and there, I met Chao. As she was a regular visitor of the shop, this was not the first time when we met. Chao, ordinarily took her seat at the benches in a line along the wall at the depth of the room. That is, her seat was usually at where I could not catch her figure unless I looked back twisting around. Nevertheless, as she frequently came to the front counter and chattered with Meg or Master, it is sure that uncountable shots captured Chao had been stacked in my memory.

tabtabt I don't remember that Chao went steady with some particular person. She wore such a strait black skirt as fitting tight and twisting her two legs, and put on high heeled shoes of perhaps medium height. Chao had her hair in the frizzling Afro style, cut luxuriantly like a mushroom, and on her earlobes, rather big and white oval pebbles taking slightly on rainbow colors were seen. I also got a short and strong permanent wave and this was primarily for the convenience of my work.