Dogra Magra (28/47)

by Hisashi Yumeno

One day, on April 25th, an English speech contest was held by high school students at a magnificent Western-style building called the Memorial Hall in Inaba-machi, Fukuoka. The young master was scheduled to give the first speech as a representative of the graduating class. He intended to go in his high school uniform, but O-yashiro stopped him and tried to make him wear a new university student's outfit. The young master smiled wryly and tried to escape, saying, "It's too early," but O-yashiro forcibly dressed him and wiped away her tears with joy as she saw him off. That scene is still etched in my memory. Looking back, that was probably the last time the young master wore his university clothes.

Well, the next day, which was today, was the special day for the young master and Omoyo. We had also been staying overnight since the day before yesterday to help. Omoyo had her hair tied up in a takashimada style and was working in a grass-green furisode with a red tasuki, and her beauty was rumored to be no less than that of our ancestor, Rokumi-sama, in her portrait. Her personality was also very gentle, to the extent that the nanny would sing, "A thousand ryō for her beauty, a thousand ryō for her character, and the remaining thousand ryō depends on the groom."

The young master was twenty years old, but his discernment and demeanor were so solid that even someone close to thirty could not match him, and his manliness, in particular, was on par with that of a court noble. It was even rumored in Hakata that such a couple was rare. The preparations were luxurious; a splendid house was built by clearing a field to arrange the young master's entry into the family. The kimonos were tailored by Kyōya Gofukuten, the best kimono shop in Fukuoka, and the food was brought in by Uokichi, the best caterer in Fukuoka, making it lively. The widow's enthusiasm was remarkable.

However, the young master's role at yesterday's speech was very minor, and he had promised to return by two o'clock at the latest, no matter how late it got. But even after the time passed, he was nowhere to be seen. The young master was never one to be late, so as an elder, I felt a little uneasy. When I asked everyone, they seemed unconcerned, saying, "The speech probably ran late." But this had never happened before, and I couldn't help but worry.

While I was busy, the sky began to cloud over, and the long spring day suddenly grew dark as if it were evening. At that moment, O-Yashiro-san called me over and asked, "He's twenty years old, so there shouldn't be any mistake, but since he hasn't returned yet, could you go and look for him around there?" I had just been thinking the same thing, so I finished repairing the steamer basket I was working on, took a puff of tobacco, and then left, still wearing my straw sandals. It must have been around four o'clock.

I took the light railway to Nishishinmachi and stopped by my younger brother's place, who ran a cooked-food stall at the tram's terminus at Imagawabashi. I asked him, "Have you seen our young master?" He and his wife replied, "Oh, that young master? He passed by here about two hours ago and walked west, not taking the tram tracks. It was the first time we saw him in his university uniform, so we both watched him go for a while. He's a good son-in-law."

The young master usually disliked the smell of smoke from these tram tracks, and even when he went to high school, he would walk from Meinohama through the rice fields every day, saying it was good exercise. However, it's about one ri from Imagawabashi to Meinohama, so it shouldn't take two hours. I started heading back, worried, at around four-thirty. As I walked along the tram tracks by the national highway, there was a quarry at the foot of a mountain on the coast by the roadside, close to Meinohama. The stone being quarried was a soft, black stone called Meinohama stone, and it was a place one had to pass whether coming from Fukuoka or going to Fukuoka from here.

In the back, where the stones from the quarry stood like a folding screen, bathed in the red glow of the setting sun, I caught a glimpse of a figure in Western clothes wearing a square hat moving. My eyesight is poor, but I thought, "This must be it," and approached. Sure enough, it was the young master, sitting in the shadow of a tall rock, looking at something like a scroll. I climbed over the piled-up cut stones around him and emerged just above the young master's head. When I cautiously stretched my neck and peered down, it seemed to be in the middle of a long scroll, but strangely, it looked like plain white paper, with nothing written on it. However, something seemed visible to the young master's eyes, as he was intently staring at that white part.

I had heard rumors that there was an cursed picture scroll in the Wu family's house, but I thought that was something from a long time ago. I believed such a thing couldn't exist in the present world, or that it was just a rumor if it did, so I never dreamed that this scroll could be it. Thinking my eyesight must still be poor, I cautiously moved my face closer without letting the young master notice, but the white paper was still white paper, and no matter how much I rubbed my eyes, I couldn't see anything written on it.

I became incredibly curious. I decided to ask what the young master was looking at, so I quickly descended the corner of the rock, deliberately took a detour, and appeared before him. When we met face to face, the young master seemed not to notice my approach, holding a half-open scroll in both hands, gazing up at the western sky, lost in thought about something.

So, I cleared my throat and called out, "Excuse me, young master." He looked at my face intently, surprised. "Oh, is that Sengoro? Why are you here?" he said, finally recognizing me with a smile. Then, he re-rolled the scroll he had been holding face down and tied it securely with a string.

At that moment, I thought the young master must have been contemplating something important, so I didn't pay it much mind. I then relayed Mrs. Oyashiro's concerns and pointed, asking, "What kind of scroll is that, anyway?" The young master, who had again, without my noticing, turned to look towards Mount Sefuri and was lost in thought, suddenly snapped to attention, comparing my face and the scroll, and said, "This? This is a scroll I must finish, and once it's done, it's a precious item that must be presented to His Majesty. I cannot show it to anyone." With that, he put it into a pocket under his overcoat.

I became even more confused, but when I asked, "But what is written inside it...?" the young master blushed slightly and, with a wry smile, repeated, "You'll know soon enough. It contains a very interesting story and terrifying pictures. That person said it's something we absolutely must see before we hold our ceremony... You'll know soon... You'll know soon..." I felt a strange mix of understanding and not understanding, but I noticed that the young master's demeanor was different from usual; he seemed distracted.

So, just to be sure, I asked again, "Oh, who gave you such a thing?" The young master stared intently at my face, then his eyes widened as if he had suddenly come to his senses, and he blinked several times. Then, as if pondering something, he became a little tearful and stammered, "The person who gave this to me... that was an acquaintance of my deceased mother, who came to return a scroll that my mother had secretly entrusted to them. That person will surely meet me again someday. They said they would tell me their name then... and then they disappeared somewhere, but I know exactly who that person is. However... I can't say anything yet, I can't. You must not tell anyone about this either. Understand?... Come on, let's go, let's go," the young master said, suddenly becoming restless, and he sprang onto the road as if hopping on stones, and began to walk ahead of me. His pace was so fast, as if he were possessed by something, completely unlike his usual self. Now that I think about it, I feel that there were already some strange signs from that time.

When the young master arrived home, he immediately said to O-Yashiro-san, "I'm home... I'm late." But when O-Yashiro-san asked, "Did you meet Sengoro?" he replied, "Yes. I met him at the stone quarry. He's just returned there now," and pointed to me as I entered from behind him. The young master quickly headed towards the detached house. O-Yashiro-san seemed relieved by this and didn't ask me anything in particular, only saying, "Thank you for your trouble." Then, she signaled with her eyes to Omoyo-san, who was wiping and arranging large bowls on the wooden floor beside her. Omoyo-san, looking embarrassed under the gaze of many, stood up and followed the young master towards the detached house, carrying an iron kettle.

Then there was another thing, which I only realized later, but something a little strange happened before dusk. Afterwards, I spread a mat in the shade of the gardenia by the back door, put a pipe in my mouth, and continued mending the remaining parts of the steamer basket from earlier. From there, through the gardenia branches, I could see directly into the detached house's parlor. As I watched without really looking, the young master seemed to be changing his clothes in front of the desk in the detached house's parlor, drinking tea that Omoyo-san had prepared, and talking to Omoyo-san about something. I couldn't hear their voices because they were behind the glass sliding doors, but the young master's complexion was different from usual, pale, and his eyebrows twitched, making it look as if he was scolding someone. However, upon closer inspection, that wasn't the case. Omoyo-san was folding clothes in front of him, laughing with a red face, and shaking her head from side to side as if saying "no, no," creating a truly strange atmosphere.

However, seeing that, the young master's face grew even paler, and he moved closer to Omoyo-san. Then, pointing in the direction of the three storehouses visible from here, he placed one hand on Omoyo-san's shoulder and shook her two or three times. Omoyo-san, who had been fiery red and hunched over from the start, finally raised her head and looked towards the storehouses with the young master. Soon, with an expression that was hard to tell if it was happy or sad, she gave a slight nod of her fresh Shimada hairstyle, and then, turning red all the way to the nape of her neck, she slumped her head... It was a scene like something out of a Shinpa play...

The young master remained half-crouched with his hand on Omoyo-san's shoulder, gazing intently around through the glass sliding doors. Presently, he looked up at the evening sky, and as if remembering something, he showed his white teeth and smirked. His smile was pale and eerie, and it sent shivers down my spine. However, I never dreamed that such a thing would be a premonition of anything. I never imagined that an educated person would behave in such a strange manner.

Last night, it must have been around two in the morning when everyone in the house was fast asleep. The bride, Omoyo, and her mother, Oyashiro, were in the

innermost room of the main house. Meanwhile, the groom, the young master, and I slept in the detached house. I went to bed later than the young master, after taking a bath past midnight, locking up, and then sleeping in the living room next to the young master. As is my habit in old age, I woke up early this morning while it was still dim and decided to go to the toilet. Relying on the faint light, I reached the veranda in front of the young master's room, where one of the new shoji screens was open, and one of the glass storm shutters in front of it was also open. Peering inside, I couldn't see the young master in his bed.

“Oh, that’s strange,” I thought, feeling a slight unease. However, it was drizzling outside, so I brought my clogs from the entrance of the new kitchen and followed the stepping stones towards the main house. Then, I saw that one of the sliding door pockets of the innermost room was open, and faint traces of clogs with a little sand on them were visible in the dim light. I pondered there for a moment, but then I resolutely took off my clogs and crept along the corridor. Peeking through the glass shoji screen of the innermost room, I saw Oyashiro sleeping with one arm flung out under a dim light. Omoyo’s bed laid out beside her was like an empty shell, with the bedding pushed towards the foot and a crimson-embroidered high pillow placed in the middle of the floor.

At that moment, I finally remembered what I had seen the previous evening. "Ah, so that's what it was. I shouldn't have worried then," I thought, feeling relieved. However, upon reconsideration, I realized that, even if this path was an exception, there was something a little strange about the young master's behavior, and a sense of unease began to stir in me again. Perhaps it was indeed a premonition. In any case, thinking I shouldn't be negligent, I woke up O-Yayo-san. Pointing to O-Moyo-san's futon, I said, "Look, look." O-Yayo-san, rubbing her eyes, looked startled and I suddenly asked, "Have you seen Ichiro with anything like a scroll recently?" Since I hadn't noticed anything until then, I replied, "Yes, yesterday, when I met him at the quarry, he seemed to be reading a long scroll of white paper." However, I can still vividly recall the change in O-Yayo-san's complexion at that moment. "It's appeared again!" she said in a hoarse voice, biting her lip, clenching her fists, trembling, and rolling her eyes upwards, looking somewhat distraught. I didn't know what was happening and watched her, still sitting on the floor. O-Yayo-san then composed herself, wiping away her flowing tears with her sleeve, and said, "No, it might be my misunderstanding. It might be your mistake. Anyway, please go find out where he is," and stood up. By then, she seemed back to her usual self, and walked ahead, descending from the veranda. However, she was actually quite agitated, and I followed her, putting on my geta, as she headed barefoot towards the front entrance.

The light rain had already stopped by then, but when we arrived in front of the detached house a little later, specifically in front of the third earthen storehouse on the far right, I noticed that its north-facing copper-clad door was left open. I stopped O-Yashiro-san, who was walking ahead, and pointed it out to her. O-Yashiro-san also nodded and went around to the front of the storehouse door. However, the earthen door didn't budge an inch, as if something was latched from the inside. Then, O-Yashiro-san nodded again, brought a one-and-a-half-ken ladder that was hanging on the wainscoting of the main house nearby, and gently propped it against the wall under the storehouse window. She said, "I'll climb up and take a look, so tell me with hand gestures." Her expression was not normal. Moreover, when I looked up at the window, I thought I could see some flickering light.

As you know, I am a great coward, so I was quite reluctant. However, O-Yashiro-san's expression was not gentle, so I reluctantly took off my geta, braced myself, and began to climb the ladder. I placed both hands on the window ledge and quietly peered inside, but at that moment, the strength left my legs, and I couldn't get down from the ladder. The strength also left my hands, and I tumbled down with a thud. I hit my lower back hard and couldn't stand up or run away.

The scene I saw through the window at that time is something I will never forget for the rest of my life. In a corner of the second floor of the storehouse, empty straw bags were piled up, and in the middle of the wooden floor, something like a square bed had been made. On top of it, Omoyo-san's flashy nightgown and red underskirt were spread out, and on top of that, Omoyo-san's naked corpse, with her hair tied in a Takashimada style as if dripping with water, was lying face up. In front of her, an old sutra desk from the main house's parlor was placed, and to its left, a brass candlestick for the family Buddha stood, with a single 100-monme candle lit. To her right, I think there were things like paints and brushes from school supplies, but I don't remember the details very well. And in the middle of it all, the scroll I had seen at the quarry yesterday was neatly spread out... There was no mistake. It was certainly the scroll I had seen yesterday; I recognized the gold brocade pattern on the edge and the color of the core. It was nothing but plain white paper... The young master was sitting directly opposite the scroll, neatly dressed in a white kasuri nightgown, but when I peeked in, for some reason, he calmly turned to me, smiled, and waved his hands from side to side, saying, "Don't look." Of course, what I'm telling you now is something I remembered later; at the time, I was so startled, as if I had been electrocuted, and I was completely absorbed in whatever sound I made.

At that time, O-Yashiro-san seemed to be asking me something as she helped me up, but I don't clearly remember if I answered. I also seem to recall her pointing at the window of the storehouse and saying something... Then, O-Yashiro-san seemed to understand something, re-positioned the fallen ladder, and climbed up it herself. I tried to stop her, but my legs wouldn't stand, my teeth chattered uncontrollably, and I couldn't make a sound. As I looked up, propped on my hands on the cold earth, O-Yashiro-san quickly climbed the ladder with her kimono hem tucked up, placed her hands on the window sill, and peeked in just as I had... The courage O-Yashiro-san displayed at that moment still makes my hair stand on end when I recall it now.

O-Yashiro-san quietly surveyed the inside from the window, then asked in a calm voice, "What are you doing in there?" From inside, the young master's voice, as calm as ever, replied, "Mother... please wait a moment. It will start to decompose a little more soon..." The surroundings were completely silent... O-Yashiro-san seemed to ponder for a moment, then said, "It's not going to decompose yet. More importantly, dawn has broken, so come down and eat." Then, a "Yes" was heard from inside, and the young master seemed to stand up, as the firelight reflected by the window suddenly dimmed... Could this be what a mother would say in front of her daughter's corpse now...? After that, O-Yashiro-san quickly descended the ladder and, saying "Doctor, doctor" to me, ran towards the door of the storehouse... Shamefully, at that time, I completely failed to understand what was happening, so I could only tremble, unable even to stand, out of sheer terror.

When the door of the earthen storehouse opened, the young master came out, holding a key in one hand and wearing garden clogs. He smiled at us, but his eyes were already completely different from usual. O-Yashiro, who had been waiting impatiently, gently took the key from his hand, whispered something into his ear for a few words, and then quickly led the young master away from the house to put him to bed, which I could see clearly from where I was.

After that, O-Yashiro returned and went up to the second floor of the earthen storehouse, seemingly doing something stealthily. During that time, I was all alone and so terrified that I felt there was no living air, so I crawled to the back gate of the earthen storehouse. I clung to the shaddock tree standing there and finally managed to straighten my aching back and stand up. Then, from the shadows of the leaves above, I heard the sound of the copper-plated door of the storehouse window closing with a thud. Startled again, I turned around, and this time I heard the sound of a key being firmly locked on the door of the earthen storehouse. Soon after, O-Yashiro, holding a scroll tightly in her left hand, ran towards the house barefoot with her hair disheveled. She then rushed up from the veranda with muddy feet, pulled up the young master who had just gone to bed, and, with a terrifying expression, questioned him with a few words while offering him the scroll. I could see all of this clearly through the now bright glass door.