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I was deep in the mountains of Okuchichibu moving a bit too quickly through a swift mountain stream when I fell.

It was almost cartoonish, like slipping on a banana peel. My right foot caught the edge of a rock hidden under the half meter-deep current, and my right arm shot out instinctively to break my fall. The only thing I managed to break, though, was the second metacarpal of my right index finger.

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