Sixteen to eighteen

by Mizukami Kyouka

"Indeed, from what I see, unlike when she's clothed, her skin is plump and full-bodied."

"Earlier, when I went into the hut to tend to the horse, its slimy breath got all over me, which was unpleasant. This is a good opportunity, so I'll wipe myself down too."

The siblings spoke in a familiar tone, and as she raised her hands to hold back her black hair, she vigorously wiped her armpits with a towel, then stood squeezing it with both hands, looking as if she had been purified by snow-like sacred water. The sweat of such a woman flowed down in a faint pink hue.

Combing her hair casually, she said,

"Oh dear, what if a woman, being so tomboyish, were to fall into the river? If she floated downstream, what would the villagers say when they saw her?"

"I think it would be a white peach blossom," I said, a thought suddenly coming to mind, and our eyes met.

Then, she smiled happily, and for that moment, as if she had become seven or eight years younger, she lowered her gaze with a maiden's shyness.

I looked away, but the woman's figure, illuminated by the moonlight and enveloped in thin smoke, seemed to be reflected with a bluish tint on the large, black, smooth stone on the opposite bank.

Then, though not clearly visible in the night, there seemed to be some kind of cave on the ground. Fluttering, and fluttering from this side too, a bat the size of a bird blocked my view.

"Hey, that's not good. We have a guest, don't we?"

It was the woman who cried out as if taken by surprise and twisted her body.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, now properly dressed in my monastic robes, feeling more composed.

"No,"

she replied, then turned around awkwardly.

At that moment, a small, mouse-colored acolyte, about the size of a puppy, scurried over, and before I knew it, he suddenly leaped sideways from the cliff into the air and clung tightly to the woman's back from behind.

Her standing naked body seemed to disappear from the waist down, with something clinging to her.

"Beast, can't you see we have a guest?"

Her voice was tinged with anger, but

“You are impudent!” she said fiercely, and turning around, struck the animal’s skylight, which was trying to peek out from under its armpit.

The little monk, who had let out a shrill cry, leaped backward, flew through the air, and just as he seemed to grasp the tip of a branch where his robes were hung with his long hands, he spun around like a well bucket, climbed onto it, and rustled up the tree. It was, surprisingly, a monkey.

It seemed to move from branch to branch, and when I looked up, I could hear rustling all the way to the high treetop.

The moon, through sparse leaves, illuminated the edge of the mountain and the area around the treetop.

The woman seemed to be sulking about something; this prank, no, it was the third time, with the toad, the bat, and the monkey, every time.

She seemed quite displeased with the pranks, and when children get too boisterous, it's troublesome for a young mother.

She was putting on her clothes with a look of annoyance, as if she was truly about to get angry, so I said nothing, made myself small, and quietly held back.

“A woman with strength in her gentleness, a certain composure despite her casual appearance, approachable yet unassailable in her elegance. If such a woman, whose demeanor suggests she would not be easily surprised in a crisis, were to show jealousy like this, it would surely lead to no good. If I were to be treated harshly by this woman now, I would be like a monkey fallen from a tree,” I thought, holding back timidly and fearfully, but then I realized, “No, it’s easier to give birth than to worry.”

“You must have found it quite amusing, Reverend,” he said, smiling pleasantly as if recalling it himself,

“It couldn’t be helped.”

Feeling as comfortable as before, and having quickly tied her obi, she said,

“Well then, let’s go home.” She tucked the rice-polishing tub under her arm, slipped on her sandals, and swiftly climbed the cliff.

“It’s dangerous.”

“No, I’ve gotten quite used to it now.”

She had always known it, but when she looked up while climbing, it was unexpectedly high.

Soon, I had to cross that log again, but as I said earlier, the fallen tree trunk in the grass looked exactly like scales, and while pine trees are said to resemble vipers, the way it wound its way up the cliff, just right, was perfect for something terrible. Thinking of a long snake of that size, with its head and tail hidden in the grass, it was clearly visible in the moonlight.

Recalling the mountain path, my own feet trembled.

The woman kindly showed concern for me from behind.

“When you cross that, don’t look down. The valley is quite deep right in the middle, so it would be bad if you got dizzy.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t dither, so I laughed at myself and got on first. Since there were notches to catch on, I could even walk in geta if I kept my wits about me.

But you see, it was just one thing, and I couldn't bear it. When I got on, it wobbled and felt soft, as if it would slide, so I let out a cry, straddled it, and plopped down.

“Oh, you’re so timid. Geta won’t work, will they? Change into these. I’m telling you something proper.”

From that moment, I somehow felt a sense of awe towards this woman, and whether for good or ill, I understood that I was to obey her commands, so I put on the zori as she told me.

Then, listen, the woman, wearing geta, took my hand.

I immediately felt as if my body had become lighter, and without knowing why, I followed her, and suddenly we emerged at the edge of the back gate of that isolated house.

Someone called out as we met.

“Oh, I thought it would take quite a while, but the monk has returned in his old form, hasn’t he?”

“What are you saying, Uncle? What about guarding the house?”

“It’s about time. I, too, don’t want the road to be difficult if I get too late, so I’m thinking of pulling out Aoi soon and getting ready.”

“I apologize for the wait.”

“What is it? Go ahead. Your husband is safe. No, it’s because I wasn’t seduced by his hands, hahahahaha.” The old man burst into meaningless laughter and trudged towards the stable.

The idiot still remains in the same spot. It seems the jellyfish won’t dissolve unless exposed to the sun.”

“Hee-haw! Shh, the sound of hooves circling the back door echoed on the veranda, and the old man led a horse out to the gate.

He took the bridle and stood in the way,

“Young lady, in that case, I will go as I am. Yes, please treat the young master to a lot of food.”

The woman pulled the lamp closer to the hearth and, while looking down, was smoking under the pot, but then she looked up, placed her hand holding the iron tongs on her knee, and said,

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“No, there’s no need for such concern,” he said, pulling on the rope made of coarse straw. It was a sturdy, bare horse with a blue coat, but it was a stallion with a thin mane.

As I watched the horse, it wasn't that horses were particularly rare to me, but I was idle behind the idiot, so when I tried to lead it away, it suddenly appeared on the veranda.

“Where is that horse going?”

“Oh, it’s going to the horse market by Lake Suwa. Tomorrow morning, it will cross the mountain path where the monk walks.”

“Are you not planning to ride that horse and escape right now?”

The woman called out in a hurry.

“No, that would be a waste. I wouldn’t think of resting my feet on a horse while I’m still in training.”

“Isn’t that a horse that can carry any human? Since the monk has been saved, he should behave and let the young lady help him tonight in her sleeves. Now, I’ll be going for a bit.”

“Yes.”

“Beast,” he muttered, but the horse didn’t move. It turned its large nose towards us, staring intently.

“Hey, hey, beast, it’s just an animal, go!”

He pulled the rope left and right, but the horse stood rooted to the spot as if its legs had grown roots, not moving an inch.

Oya-ji, irritated, circled the horse's body two or three times, hitting and striking it, but it wouldn't move at all. When he pressed his body against its flank as if bumping it with his shoulder, it finally lifted a foreleg, but immediately stiffened all four legs again.

"Young mistress, young mistress."

As Oya-ji shouted, the woman stood up, hid her white toes behind a sooty, thick pillar, and concealed herself where the horse couldn't see her.

Meanwhile, Oya-ji took out a dark-stained towel he had tucked into his waist, wiped the wrinkles on his forehead, and dabbed away the sweat. Thinking "that's better," he went back to the front. However, the horse still didn't move. He put both hands on the rope, stood with his feet together, and pulled with all his might.

At that moment, the horse neighed terribly and flung both forelegs into the air. The small Oya-ji was pulled backward, falling with a thud, and a cloud of dust rose into the moonlit night.

Even the idiot must have found this amusing. For once, he held his neck straight, opened his thick lips to reveal his large teeth, and swayed his hands, which hung in the air, as if they were being fanned by the wind, gently, gently.

"What a bother."

The woman said dismissively and stepped out onto the dirt floor, slipping on her zori sandals.

"Young mistress, you mustn't misunderstand. This isn't you. From the very beginning, I had my eye on that monk, so, damn it, to say there's a worldly connection..."

The worldly connection was surprised.

Then the woman said,

"Venerable monk, did you meet anyone on your way here?"