Toshiro Watanabe:

Do you have any childhood fears? By childhood fear, I mean a particular fear that stretches back to your earliest memories. A childhood fear is a fear that is so embedded in your childhood, that it becomes part of your childhood's very definition. Take my fear of spiders. It's a very primordial fear living within me. It's instinctual, but it's also kind of silly. I loathe spiders for the way they look, that's it. It's foolish, but I can't help it. It doesn't matter that most spiders are harmless. It doesn't matter that spiders are beneficial to mankind. I hate them. They are grotesque. You could say that I am being irrational, and you would be right. That doesn't change anything though. I am afraid of spiders, and I am in good company. Mild arachnophobia is common. It is easy to understand, and it is easy to explain. Spiders are frightful creatures.

I have another childhood fear. It is not so easy to explain. My parents watched a television program called 'Mary from Ohio' when I was in kindergarten. It was about ten or eleven years ago, and most of my memories surrounding 'Mary from Ohio' are fuzzy and vague; however, I have certain memories of the show itself which are very sharp.

I remember the opening scene showing a cozy looking home and soft, warm music played behind the voice of Mary's affectionate mother, calling her name. I remember that well. I also remember Mary herself. She was a fully grown, adult woman wearing a pinafore over a dress and pigtails. Mary wore childish clothes and childish hair. I can remember Mary screaming and crying. I can remember Mary's fear and Mary's horror (although, I never understood what had Mary, so terrified). - But most of all, I can remember one thing about Mary. It was forbidden for me to look at her. Mary was bad. Mary was dirty. Mary was frightful and frightful things were happening to her. I was never told what these frightful things were. That was left to my imagination, and that was left to my dreams. Those dreams starring 'Mary from Ohio' were dreadful, but they faded as I got older.

I haven't had a 'Mary from Ohio' dream in years. I haven't given much thought to 'Mary from Ohio' since I was a small child. Why then am I bringing all of this up now? - Pleasant Valley has a new resident. She is a middle-aged woman with childish clothes and childish hair. She is a little shorter, and her skin and hair is a shade darker, but her resemblance to 'Mary from Ohio' is more than just uncanny. It is spooky. - She works at The Blue Church hotel. I do too. The 'Mary from Ohio' facsimile is my new boss.