a€?Where?a€ she inquires, leaning her pliant body against mine. Our faces are almost close enough to touch. The soft breath that emerges from her delicate nostrils brushes my mustache.
a€?Nonemotional, remember!a€? she says sternly as she swiftly straightens herself.
a€?Of course,a€? I promptly reply.
In the aftermath of the little earthquake, the startled water in the hol ow of the garden rock continues to sway gently to and fro; the shock has risen up through the water in a swel ing wave that does not break the surface, creating instead a fine lacework pattern of tiny ripples in irregular curves.
Were it to exist, the expression a€?tranquil motiona€ would describe this perfectly. The wild cherry tree that steeps its calm reflection there wavers in the rocking water, stretching and shrinking, curving and twisting; yet I am fascinated to observe that however its shape changes, it stil preserves the unmistakable form of a cherry tree.
What an enchanting sighta€”so beautiful and shifting. This is how motion should be.
a€?If we humans could only move in that way, we could move al we liked, couldna€™t we?a€? she says.
a€?You have to be nonemotional to move like that, you know.a€?
She gives a laugh. a€?Youa€™re certainly fond of this a€?nonemotional, a€™ arena€™t you!a€?
a€?I wouldna€™t say you were exactly averse to it either. That performance with the wedding kimono yesterday, for instance.a€?
But here she suddenly breaks in coquettishly. a€?Give me a little reward!a€?
a€?What for?a€?
a€?You said you wanted to see me in my wedding kimono, didna€™t you? So I went out of my way to show you.a€?
a€?I did?a€?
a€?I gather that the artist who came over the mountains put in a special request to the old lady up at the teahouse.a€?
I can produce no appropriate response, and she goes on unhesitatingly, a€?Whata€™s the point of throwing my al into trying to please someone so hopelessly forgetful?a€ She speaks in a mocking, bitter tone. This is the second barb that has struck home, hitting me fair in the face, and the tide of battle is turning increasingly against me. Shea€™s somehow managed to ral y, and now that she holds the upper hand, her armor seems to have become impregnable.
a€?So that scene in the bathhouse last night was purely kindness too, was it?a€ I try, scrambling to save myself from the perilous situation. She is silent.
a€?I do apologize,a€ I go on, seizing the moment to advance when I can. a€?What should I give you as reward, then?a€ However, my sal y has no effect. She is gazing with an innocent air at the piece of cal igraphy by Daitetsu that hangs over the door.
After a pause she murmurs softly, a€?a€?Bamboo shadow sweeps the stair, but no dust moves.a€™a€ Then she turns back to me and, as if suddenly recol ecting, studiedly raises her voice. a€?What was that you said?a€? Ia €™m not going to be trapped again, however.
I try taking my cue from the tranquil motion of the water after the earthquake. a€?I met that abbot just a while ago, you know.a€?
a€?The abbot from Kankaiji? Hea€™s fat, isna€™t he?a€?
a€?He asked me to do him a Western painting for his sliding door. These Zen priests say the most peculiar things, dona€™t they?a€?
a€?Thata€™s how come he can get so fat.a€?
a€?I also met someone else there, a young man.a€?
a€?That would be KyA«ichi.a€?
a€?Thata€™s right, yes,a€? I say.
a€?How much you know!a€?
a€?Hardly. I only know Kyuichi. Ia€™m quite ignorant otherwise. He doesna€™t like talking, does he?a€?
a€?Hea€™s just being polite. Hea€™s stil a child.a€?
a€?A child? Hea€™s about the same age as you, surely.a€?
She laughs. a€?You think so? Hea€™s my cousin, and hea€™s off to the war, so hea€™s come to take his leave of the family.a€?
a€?Hea€™s staying here, is he?a€?
a€?No, hea€™s in my older brothera€™s house.a€?
a€?So he came here special y to take tea, then.a€?
a€?He likes plain hot water better than tea, actual y. I do wish Father wouldna€™t invite people to tea like that, but he wil do it. I bet his legs went numb from al that formal sitting. If Ia€™d been there, I would have sent him home early.a€?
a€?Where were you, in fact? The abbot was asking about it, guessing you must have gone off for a walk again.a€?
a€?Yes, I walked down to Mirror Pool and back.a€?
