Short Story: I Won't Let you go by Hiromi Kawakami

Source Text

The mermaid stopped swimming and took the horse mackerel, holding its head and tail with both hands. She leaned against the wall of the bathtub and, just like she was playing a harmonica, slid her mouth from the horse mackerel’s head to its tail. In one motion, she thoroughly cleaned the meat off the bone. It was an utterly refined manner of eating. The mermaid ate up the entire horse mackerel – she didn’t leave a shred behind, nor did she sully the water. Enomoto handed her another, which she ate the same way. She must have eaten five of them. I could have watched her eating horse mackerels forever, but Enomoto didn’t give her any more. Once she had finished eating the last one, the mermaid began swimming to and fro again. Enomoto left the bathroom so, reluctantly, I followed after him. But I did not want to leave the mermaid’s side.

Target Text

Putri duyung itu berhenti dan mengambil ikan itu, menggenggam kepala dan ekornya dengan kedua tangannya. Dia bersandar di dinding kamar mandi dan memegang ikan itu seperti memainkan harmonika, menggeser mulutnya dari kepala sampai ekor ikan. Hanya dengan satu gerakan saja, dia bisa memisahkan tulang ikan dari dagingya. Cara makan yang benar- benar sempurna. Putri duyung itu memakan semua ikan itu tanpa menyisakan sedikit pun, bahkan dia juga tidak mengotori airnya. Enomoto memberikan ikannya lagi, dan putri duyung itu makan dengan cara yang sama. Dia harus memakan lima ekor ikan. Mungkin aku bisa melihatnya makan selamanya tapi Enomoto tidak memberinya lagi. Setelah dia selesai makan, dia mulai berenang lagi. Enomoto meninggalkan kamar mandi, jadi dengan terpaksa aku mengikutinya. Padahal aku tidak ingin meninggalkan putri duyung itu.