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Contains spoilers.
The author's afterword explains that the title holds the thought that each life cannot be separated from the lives of others, and that stories that seem separate form a single long work, and it links this to the structure of the nine pieces and the origin of the title.
The afterword says that, from deep relationships to those of people who happen to sit side by side, we sense something from our dealings and experiences with others and take it into ourselves, turning our eyes to how we ourselves come to be and to the characters of the nine pieces.
In the excerpt on the author's official website, Hiroki says that he widens his world through reading and wants to increase what he can offer to people he happens to meet. It is an attitude of preparing what one learns for encounters with others and putting it in a form that can be handed over.
After each quote, we provide a TODO based on a fan's interpretation.
「ただね、俺は奇跡はいつだって起きていると思っているんだ」
A scene in which Hiroki talks about chance encounters
Write down someone you happened to talk to today, and one thing you gained from the conversation
「一冊読めば世界が広がる。」
A scene that links what one can offer to people one meets with reading
Choose one thing from what you read, and share it in your own words with someone who might need it
The essences and TODOs are fan interpretations, not the author's words.
devices in the story
“Room Service.” Arima, who has begun working at a hotel, is taught a way of seeing work by a male guest. In the readers' records, the spelling of the man's name varies.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis is a fan interpretation that turns the view in the story, which connects work to another person's joy, into a form in which you first choose today's person and action.
From today's work, decide on one person and choose one extra touch that may lead to that person's joy.
Steps
“White Valentine.” Mayu, heartbroken, meets an older man on the bus ride home and hears him talk about how to live after anguish.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis is a fan suggestion that turns the thought Mayu receives in the car into one action you can choose yourself, without deciding what the cause of the pain is.
Choose one painful event, and write one point you can change yourself and one next action.
Steps
“Lucky Boy.” Hiroki Miyamoto tells Atsushi Toda, who is job hunting, that he reads books in order to increase what he can offer to people he happens to meet.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis suggestion turns Hiroki's attitude of wanting to offer the world he has widened through books to people he happens to meet into a note with one item per book.
From a book you read, write one idea you could offer, in your own words, to someone you meet.
Steps
“Uniform.” Coach Arima puts into words the aim of the pitch and the bold play for Kasumi, who was a substitute on a youth baseball team.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis is a fan suggestion that moves into short everyday words the coach's way of putting aims and strengths into words even in a moment of failure.
Beyond the result, tell the other person one specific thing they tried or a movement they did well.
Steps
“Graduation Album.” Adachi reads the homeroom teacher's words in his son's graduation album. In the first part, he leaves the hotel room tidied.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis suggestion shrinks the rule in the story that links a hotel room and a graduation album into one place you can finish every day.
Choose one shared place you used today, and tidy just one spot before you leave.
Steps
“The Boyfriend with Superpowers.” Atsushi, who arrives late for their appointment, gives Saki a bouquet and a ring and proposes that they enjoy life together, including the unplanned.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis suggestion turns the proposal in the story, to spend time with someone including the unplanned, into a small offer you can choose again in daily life.
To something that turned out differently from the plan, add one way of enjoying it that you can choose from now, and suggest it to the other person.
Steps
“Lucky Boy.” Hiroki Miyamoto, thinking he should come to love his university, begins cleaning it, and Atsushi Toda, who hears the story, begins cleaning too.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis is a fan suggestion to try for one week, in a place close to you, the order Hiroki followed when he cleaned the university without waiting to come to love it.
Choose one place you want to come to love, and clean the same one spot briefly every day for a week.
Steps
“The Land of Dreams.” Hiroki Miyamoto, who was about to quit his part-time job, begins picking up trash at the university after hearing words from Zhang Hao and the store manager.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis suggestion shrinks the flow in which Hiroki, who was looking for reasons to quit, turned to picking up trash into one action to take before explaining.
Take something you know you should do, and turn it into action for just two minutes before adding reasons.
Steps
“Please, Go Ahead.” Zhang Hao sees a young person give up a seat on the train and uses the “Please, go ahead” he has just learned. The details of who gave the seat to whom have not been confirmed.
This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' recordsThis suggestion keeps as a step you can choose while traveling the scene in which a short phrase and the act of giving up a seat pass from person to person.
While traveling, when you notice someone who may need a seat, say “Please, go ahead” and free up your seat.
Steps
You can also listen during spare moments, such as on your commute to work or school.
