“Those are big claims.”
“Yes.”
Still glaring straight ahead, Tomihime shifted her legs and tucked them up beside her into a slightly neater arrangement. “So how come you can see me, anyway?”
The New Himekawa scratched his head. “Well, actually, my mother died not too long ago, and then for a time all kinds of strange things happened, then finally my mother started appearing to me.”
“That’s cool!”
The New Himekawa nodded seriously. “She said that in the beginning, she just wanted to avenge my father. But then, apparently, as she was figuring out how to perform scary stunts and practicing them, she realized what fun it was. She came to me because she wanted someone to whom she could show all her tricks to. Kind of like a magician.”
“And that’s how you came to see us?”
“At first I could only see my mother, actually. But she was always a really sociable person, a bit too sociable if you ask me, so it was only a matter of time before she started bringing along all these friends of hers from the ghost world. I told her a bunch of times not to bother because I couldn’t see them, but she wasn’t having any of it. She kept bringing them along and introducing them to me, totally convinced that I’d be able to see them, and then, sure enough, I started to be able to.”
“Like a special education for a gifted child!”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“And did Mr. Tei know about your gifts from the beginning?”
“No. Actually, all of this happened after I had started work at the company. I asked him the other day why he’d agreed to take me on. He said he just had a good feeling about me.”
“Huh.”
“Oh, and he also told me I seemed kind of dazed, which meant I wouldn’t be overly affected by what was going on around me. He said he doesn’t take on people who ‘acclimatize too well to the age in which they’re living.’”
“Right . . .” Tomihime stared at the New Himekawa with an expression that made no secret of what a weirdo she thought him to be, but he didn’t recoil in the slightest.
Instead he said, “Well, I should get going. It’s nearly closing time, and I just dropped by to make your acquaintance. But I’ll be back.”
As the New Himekawa lifted his skinny backside from the floor, Tomihime found herself getting to her feet too.
“Oh, come to think of it . . .” He glanced toward the south window, and then moved closer to it. “I was planning to drop by and say hello to Okiku too.”
Standing side by side, Tomihime and the young man peered down. The Okiku Well, situated in the ni-no-maru, instantly entered their visual field. A number of people were crowded around it, peering down into its depths. Not too far off stood a security guard.
“She’s not there, you know,” Tomihime said, casually.
“What! Are you serious?” The New Himekawa’s voice was a shrill cry. Tomihime plugged her fingers in her ears, feigning a wince. “Yeah, she left ages and ages ago. I guess it must have been sometime in the eighties? We discussed it all, before she left. You know what she’s like—she’s always been such a worrier. So she dropped by and asked me if I thought she’d stayed long enough. I reassured her that she’d done her time, and said I didn’t mind at all, that she should go for it. Told her I’d take care of everything.”
“I see! Still, that comes a bit of a disappointment, I must say.”
“But you hadn’t noticed, right? That’s how it is with wells. And knowing that, I started to think that maybe the same goes for me. Maybe the castle would be perfectly fine without me being here. You know this idea that the dead will stay attached to this world, and be here forever? That’s more or less just human arrogance. Okiku transmigrated, and now she’s over there, doing very well for herself with that fine young man of hers.”
Tomihime indicated a spot a little to the west of the station. Although there was no hope of him ever seeing where she was pointing, the New Himekawa squinted politely in the direction of Tomihime’s finger.
“But the funny thing is, even after transmigrating, she’s still there counting plates! I guess she’s bound to them by destiny or whatever. Tomihime grinned, but the New Himekawa wasn’t looking at her. He was looking between the well and the spot to the west, over and over, as if entranced. Finally, with a pained look on his face, he returned his gaze to Tomihime.
Tomihime opened her mouth and to her surprise found herself saying, without a smidgen of irony, “I mean, I’m fine to carry on for the time being.”
The young man’s face broke into a look of such intense joy that Tomihime felt spite resurfacing in her immediately. “But don’t go thinking I’m going to hold out for your sake when I get really sick of it.”
“No, of course,” said the New Himekawa. “If and when that happens, let’s get together and discuss our options.” He nodded gravely several times.
A couple of hours after the young man disappeared down the stairs, night fell on the castle. Before going to sleep, it was time for Tomihime to carry out her end-of-day ritual.
She made a leisurely tour of the castle keep, surveying the scenery outside its windows. In the quietude of the deserted castle, the floorboards creaked distinctly beneath her feet. Deep down, Tomihime knew. This town, now sinking into darkness, glinting with the lights from the people’s houses and the neon of down-town, belonged to her. This radiant white castle where she was now standing was who she was. This place was hers—indisputably, sickeningly, hers.
Inspiration for the Stories
“Smartening Up”: Musume Dōjōji (The Maid of Dōjō Temple)—kabuki
For years Dōjō Temple has been without a bell. Legend has it that this was the doing
