The earth would continue its monotonous rotations, politicians would continue issuing unreliable proclamations, people would continue yawning their way to the office, children would continue studying for their college-entrance exams. Amid the endless surge and ebb of everyday life, interest in a missing elephant could not last forever. And so a number of unremarkable months went by, like a tired army marching past a window.

Haruki Murakami, The Elephant Vanishes