Yoshiwara

by Eve Kaan

  The princess stood in a cold night performing a fan dance, underneath the white snowflakes in her black hair. The crowd was silent as the intense notes cat through the air filled with smoke. Rin took my hand in hers so she would enjoy this dance joined with me.

  A strong impression of the show whelmed our thoughts all the way till we came to the doorstep of their home - the carriage ride passed in complete silence. Before we went to our rooms for the night, the experiences of the show were exchanged with a cup of tea on a porch where cozy swings are hanged. We all agreed that the show was wonderful.

  The rest of the evening I spent with Rin in her room, or rather her part of the house - just the way I wanted it. With hot water, and on the scented futons with her kisses lasting long into the night. When the late morning awakened us, the rain was falling outside as the sun lay hidden in the clouds.

  Gina and Nori traveled to Ryokan to prepare themselves for the tough life that awaits them in the field without an onsen. They decided it suddenly when Rin last night told them that she would do anything in her leverage to make their departure and staying on the field easier, spearing them the hard work as much as she could.

  The house is tranquil now. While we were both still in bed with hungry stomachs, Rin got up firmly, 'I will cook for us!'

  'You!?'

  'Yes, me. Don't you believe in my abilities? Just because most of my life I'm being served doesn't mean I can't take care of myself when the situation demands it. Besides, I have already convinced you that I'm a great cook, you never complained about my coffee. The woman in my bed is hungry, and I'm determined to get her belly filled.' She dressed in her robe.

  'I didn't say anything, Rin. Your coffee is fantastic, even though it's the only one I ever tried.'

  'What, are you trying to tell me something? Do you doubt my abilities?'

  'No, no. Just, when was the last time you cooked?'

  'When was the last time I cooked? Let's leave it a secret, shall we.' She wrapped her robe firmly, heading for the kitchen. I quickly ran after her.

  'I think you would like to have an assistant.' I said, embracing her from behind. Together we went down the stairs in insecure steps.

  'And where would I find one?'

  'Rin!'

  'I'm just teasing you.' She turned to me. We kissed while walking toward the kitchen. She decided to prepare Sarma, an old Eastern European meal which delighted her so much that she decided to write herself a recipe.

  Her kitchen is not much different from ours, but of course a bit larger and more expensive looking. Rin went to the pantry for sauerkraut, minced meat, rice, and onions, taking the recipe from the drawer in the process. We both looked at it like we're illiterate. It's true that I'm not skillful in the kitchen. Mother always cooks for us, but only because she loves it - the kitchen is a meditation for her - that's her assertion. Actually, in Yoshiwara each household has a maid to do the housework for them, but our's comes only occasionally. 'Well, minced meat should be cooked, so it says.'

  'And then this sauerkraut comes – we should put some raw rice in meat, then wrap the mixture in a leaf.'

  'Yes and the wrapped mix should go into the boiling water,' she turned to me, 'here, you see I know what I'm doing.' She started walking around the kitchen, tossing things and opening the cabinets. 'That fire, how to...' I laughed, she didn't want to admit that she had never lit the fire before. In silence, while she was still turned around, I did the job that I was taught how to do as a child by my grandmother. 'You've got a head start on me with that fire - I knew that too.' She spoke, watching the flame rise above the thin twigs. She started pouring the rice into a bowl. I'm not sure about this, but as far as I've been seeing Mother do it, I'm pretty sure that's way too much rice for us.

  'Rin, that's a lot of rice - it inflates soaking the water, and becomes a lot bigger than that little grain.'

  'I accidentally tossed a little bit further, so it escaped me. Yes, yes... of course, this is too much.' She glanced to me while picking up the grains from the bowl waiting for me to say when it was enough. I adore her because she's trying to impress me with her culinary skills. She doesn't know anything about the kitchen or cooking for that matter, but she is determined. The rice is placed aside, to start with the meat. 'Well, how are you standing with cooking? I know that this is not in the program with arts, and you have never mentioned the maid to me?' I told her how Mother likes to cook, but also that curiosity sometimes brought me in the kitchen. 'So you don't know how to cook?' She showed her satisfaction through the smile.

  'I know how to cook!' I tried not to let myself fell on her teasing. 'A little bit.' She continued to gaze at me. 'Wery well then, I don't know how to - but I'm interested, I like the idea of feeding a person I had previously exhausted.'

  'A person?' She repeated with a raised eyebrow.

  'Well, I meant you, and only you.' That exclamation earned me a kiss.

  'And now it's time for meat. Take this pot.' She's trying to look as if she knows exactly what to do next, despite the hesitation.

  'Rin?'

  'Yes? Here's where the meat goes - it has to be cooked properly.' She held the pot, studying the meat on the table, not knowing how to cook it.

  'The recipe says it needs to be stewed and then cooked.' I saw that the stew word is unknown to her.

  'And that's that - it needs to be cooked.'

  'And why did you prepare the onions then? The meat will be cooked in the sauerkraut, and onion is for stewing.'

  'Recipe says the onion, we just haven't come to it yet.' She cheerfully continued with the pouring of water in a cooking pot.

  ✽✽✽

  Rin

  'Give me that pot and chop the onion.' Yuna took the initiative, I like it when she's in charge. I didn't protest, being happy to leave her to it. I chopped the onion, but of course, it wasn't small enough. She explained to me how the stewing works, then she did all the cooking. In the end, I was assisting her. Actually more like she cooked while I smoked, drank coffee, and watched her. I'm charmed by her self-confidence, even when she's not sure if she is doing the job right. We wrapped the mixture in leaves of sauerkraut, and of course, she had to mend after me.

  'I like it when you're this firm.'

  'What do you mean, firm? Rin, we're cooking now – get serious, I have to feed you. I don't want you to be famished.' I realized that she thought my last sentence was related to her attributes. I lowered my hand to the curve on her butt. 'Oh Rin. I told you already -'

  'It wasn't about that, but now when you mentioned it...' She held a small sarma roll in palms, and I fondled her. She played along by pretendedly wiggling away from my touch, but actually, she's obviously seducing me more than refusing.

  'I'll drop the roll if you go on like this. Don't make me show you how strong I can be.' She is still determined to prepare the dish for us. Sarma is now in the water-filled cooking pot, placed on the kitchen fire. All that time, my hands stayed on her. Finishing the preparations, she grabbed me in a way I didn't expect.

  To our luck, it turned out that Sarma wasn't overcooked by our lack of attention.

  We ate on the porch while small rain droplets contributed to the romantic atmosphere. Sarma's taste wasn't exactly as I remember it to be, but it still reminded me of a faraway land from my travels I shared with her through the story. I'm not sure if Yuna was just too hungry or she really liked the meal, but judging by her request to share it with me for dinner, I should think it's the latter. She's been complimenting my recipe all day long - after all.

  There's only one room left in the house that I haven't shown her yet. We were standing in front of the closed door.

  'Yuna, this is my relaxation room.' I pointed at the door. 'I never told you, there wasn't a proper moment until now...' I held my hand on a doorknob but haven't slid it open yet.

  'What haven't you told me, what are you doing for relaxation – are you embarrassed?'

  'No, I'm not embarrassed.'

  '
That's not what I would say... Might it be origami in question?'

  'What! Origami, how could you think that?' I think she saw by my shock that her teasing assumption is far from what lies behind these doors.

  'Well, I don't know, you're all meticulous. Somehow you could pass as a person who would enjoy in origami for relaxation. Come on show me, I want to know every part of the being I have fallen in love with.'

  ✽✽✽

  Yuna

  Rin placed her hand on mine.

  'Are you sure, every single part?' I nodded firmly. She closed her eyes and let me be the one to open the door with her hand beneath mine. The room is illuminated only by a dark sky, from which the rain was still pouring. Sun shrouded behind the clouds is already below the horizon. Unlike all the other rooms, this one is small, even though it's still large in comparison to my room at home. One wall is made of transparent panels, while the other is covered with shungas. Rin stayed behind me working on lightening the lamps. There's a wide table beside the window, but I can't see it clearly.

  My eyes remained sealed on sensual scenes.

  Just like the ones she held on the wall in the Great House, those too, are made in a specific style. They must be very expensive because of a distinct difference in quality, in comparison to what Mother keeps for clients in our home.

  I slowly moved towards the wall.

  I've never seen a more beautiful shungas. What could be the reason for embarrassment? I don't understand, collecting shungas is a usual thing - at least from Yoshiwara habitant's perspective, and she hasn't met me at the temple after all.

  I was very impressed with those scenes, yet she remained silent. The last lamp was lighted, the one on the table, and I turned around her to ask why she hasn't said anything yet, but then I realized. Paper and ink stood on the table. Everything was surrounded by futons around tatami mat flooring. This is also the only room that seems to be touched by the human hand. She lit the cigar while leaning on the table's edge. I was astonished, not because I thought her interest was vulgar, but because of her talent to create something so wonderful.

  'Rin, this is -.' My sentence stayed unfinished.

  'Inappropriate?' Her eyes were directed to the window.

  'Amazing.' And it actually seemed like she saw that I really think what I said. I see the room in another light.

  'Well, I wouldn't say, I mean, you don't have to now – because of me...'

  'Rin, if I had seen enough of something in my life - that would be shungas.' I felt myself blushing, then swiftly continued, 'Yours are really exceptional, I admired them before I even knew your hand had created them.'

  'I've been making them a little bit over eight annual cycles.' She resumed explaining the story of sensuality on shungas, paper preparations, compositions, and colours. She enjoyed my art analysis. The story ended with a woman who introduced her with that secret world. 'At the Azure coast, I met that one lady from our country. She was already an elderly woman. I saw my first shunga in her house and immediately felt the passion. Aunt Etsu sent me to her so I could learn about Yoshiwara's dances, but instead, she educated me about shungas - as you know already, dance is not exactly my area.'

  'That's why you have the dance as a common motive of the scenes.' I commented with a significant smile while approaching her.

  'You're a great dancer.' She exhaled the smoke.

  'Those in the Great House,' I was confident, 'and who's on all the others?'

  'Only my imagination existed before you, and some volunteer lady here and there. I had to learn anatomy.'

  'I see that you have mastered it very well.'

  'There is always space for progress.' She unfolded my yukata, leaning me at the futon. 'Can I? I would love to -.' She lowered the lamp so that only one side of me would be illuminated. I started to shiver under her gaze. She pressed a hand to the inner side of my thigh to slowly spread my legs. Her touch giving me endless delight. I twitched in shudder under her hands for a few times, as she gently traced her fingers from my groin all the way to my knees. She bent to kiss the place I exposed by spreading my legs. My beloved one raised her head towards me, showing her gaze filled with deep emotions.

  She rose beneath the yellow light of the lamp and walked through the dark toward the table. After lighting her cigarette without a wooden extension, she took the ink bowl and started to create the scene she was watching in front of her. I'm completely surrendered to her thoughts. She didn't look at me through the eyes of a woman, this gaze belongs to a being who longs to transmit her own impressions.

  That night she made shunga like nothing I've seen on her wall yet.

  The first plan was dominated by the passion of a woman, mesmerized by love. Somewhat vulgar passion is transmitted through the sheet, and in the background, she placed herself, giving me everything she felt inside. It was shunga created by our love, in the night when the sky showed an intense flash accompanied by the murmur of raindrops.

  At dawn, we ran from the cold morning to her room where our bodies warmed in love passion and a golden embroidered blanket over us. This time I fell asleep on her chest, dreaming of the life I wish to have with her in the future.

  ✽✽✽

  Rin

  Yuna was sleeping embraced in the protection of my arms. I watched her content expression while I lightly kissed her skin. She opened those beautiful eyes when I touched her lips. We stayed in bed for a while, absorbing the moment, getting up later in the day that encircled around our parting. Noticing her quietness - not that I differ, my mind began to engross in thoughts about our life, love, and inevitable separation. I couldn't help myself not to tell her how much I would miss her.

  'I don't want to let you go Yuna, these three days have been like a spell for me.' After the deaf silence that dwelled the whole morning between us, I finally, with the coffee, spoke first.

  'We need to be just a little patient until the situation with Yoshiwara stabilizes, and I will be yours whenever you want.'

  'I want to wake up with you every day.' I took her hands, gazing at her with a piercing look.

  'And you will, I wouldn't change these three days for anything in the world. I've never been happier.'

  'Don't leave, stay for another day.' I whispered.

  'Tonight's the event, we need that list of girls.' Yuna was trying to comfort us both, but Yoshiwara is no longer of any importance at this moment, especially if I can't have her in my arms.

  'Only you are important to me.'

  'And you are important to Yoshiwara. I can't, although I want to be selfish.'

  'Be selfish.' Persistence in my tone prevailed.

  'You want me to be selfish?' She looked at me with a smile.

  'Please...'

  'Hmm... there's only coffee on the table, no tea or fruit, and I'm hungry, I know the kitchen is really far away -.' She was trying to sound cheerful.

  'Oh, Yuna.' Finally, the smile replaced that sour expression on my face.

  'Well, you said to be selfish.' I went to get up. 'Stop, I wasn't serious. I want to spend every moment before leaving with you.'

  'I can't allow you to be hungry, and Nori will be mad if the fruits, she prepared for today, were to be spoiled.' We went into the kitchen to take the fruit and tea. On the way, we agreed that this morning makes no sense, and we decided to pretend that she actually just arrived. In my room, we set up and served everything to look like the day she entered this house for the first time. We were dressed in yukatas, of course, I already prepared one for her in the closed, a yukata in which I wanted to see her. I must admit that our method was successful, our faces became cheerful very soon. After all, we will spend this night together like we did so many times before when an event would occur. We sat at the table where our fruit platters are served. 'And Yuna, how do you like the house ?' She significantly emphasized the last three words.

  'I must admit it's very interesting. Especially that small room, you know, the one you showed me last.'

  'Ah.., th
at impressed you the most, hmm?'

  'Well, somehow it's mysterious. Anything can happen in it, I presume.' She looked at me under the eyebrows, causing a pleasant tingle in my belly.

  'And onsen on the terrace? You keep looking at it.' I mischievously released the question.

  'I suppose that entering in yukatas is more than forbidden, the water has to stay clean.' That was as if she has spoken my thoughts out loud. 'But first, I want to have some tea and peek into this plate to check what you've prepared for me.' She leaned over the table and carefully packed the fruit with a smile underneath which she concealed her intent. 'There are no strawberries, and I love them so much Rin - I always have a drop slip to my neck, and it's impossible to wipe it out.' She pointed on her cleavage, her veins swollen from stretching.

  'If strawberries were here, you would have to watch for your yukata - how would you wash that red juice.' From the small glimpse, she could see last slowly awakening inside of me.

  'In that case, I think I'd be forced to eat the strawberries completely naked. It would be a shame to ruin the yukata for a couple of tasty bites.' She seduces me, and I enjoy it.

  'Perhaps these grapes could be a decent substitute?' I pointed to a plate on the side of the table. She got up, leaning above me, to get it. I took her neck in my lips.

  'Not yet Rin, can't you see I'm hungry.' Through a smile, she commented in a low voice. She leaned between my legs to fetch the grape, pulling her hand over my inner thigh as she returned to her futon. Passion bloomed in me because of our closeness. Her palm stayed for a while on my skin, I stopped listening to her, only enjoying the tension. She is slightly pulling her fingers toward herself, I feel tingles. 'I could drink some tea, but how would I, now – my hands are full of these delicious, round, and moist berries. You washed them now? You know that the grapes have to be dried before serving, well - this way the water will drip down my chin.' Yuna was the one who washed them, which means that she had already planned all of this. She pressed the berry on her lips and deliciously bite into it. The heat consumes me. I watched her as she traced the berry membrane with her tongue, enjoying its sweetness. I started pouring the tea for her.