Traumatic experiences from the past can have a profound effect on our present relationships. Haruki Murakami skilfully captured these experiences in his novels. In Kafka on the Shore, Kafka's mother and sister abandoned him as a child leaving him with his tyrannical father. It created an overwhelming and lasting effect on Kafka's ability to forge close and healthy relationships. The deprivation of motherly love and sisterly affection made him have dreams about sexual intercourse with Sakura and a real encounter with Miss Saeki fulfilling his father's Oedipal prophecy. In Sputnik Sweetheart, Miu sees her alter ego indulging in filthy intimacy while being stuck overnight on a Ferris Wheel. The sight made her incompetent to form healthy sexual relationships with anyone, even her husband. She started having trouble trusting her own body, sexuality, and desires and had issues being close to others physically and emotionally. Learning to process and heal from our previous traumas is essential for establishing healthy connections in the present. Although it may be a drawn-out, tedious, and challenging process, it is achievable.

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which hints or indications of forthcoming events are dropped or buried. Usually, foreshadowing is relatively evident; but it can be more cryptic or arcane, particularly when some aspects can only be identified as foreshadowing after readers have extra details to contextualise and make logical sense of what occurred earlier. It builds tension and draws the reader deeper into the story, so they are eager to read and discover what happens next. The purpose of foreshadowing is to heighten the suspense and anticipation of what is to come, increasing the reader's engagement with the material. Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle epitomises the despondent protagonist, vainly looking for the purpose both in real and dream realms, neither of which he entirely resides. It is a genius, captivating, prescient, infused masterpiece loaded with aspects of humour and terror. This masterwork is filled with foreshadowing, from the title, a plethora of similes and metaphors, to character features and surroundings.

There is no universal way to deal with the loss of a loved one; everyone has their own way of handling grief. In the long process peaks and dips, we subconsciously take the decisions that are sometimes wrong. Similar is the case with many characters of Haruki Murakami. They are hooked onto their precious, who left them early in their lives. Every relationship they built was short-lived. In Norwegian Wood, Naoko chose to hang herself after mourning over the deaths of her sister and Kizuki, feeling overwhelmed by the sense of loss. Miss Saeki became a handful of embers at the tender age of fifteen when her lover was snatched from her in Kafka on the Shore; the narrator of Killing Commendatore always sought her sister in others. Even after acknowledging the fact, reaching out to others, and journaling their grief, all the characters were tired of holding the agony on their shoulders. They kept looking for some solace but in vain. It is not solely the living characters who shape the narration of the novel, but also the dead ones by living within the subconscious. Pure grief and misery took hold of them for the rest of their lives.