The Moai Island Puzzle

by Alice Arisugawa

  ‘If you’re so afraid of snakes, you’re probably not a fan of spiders either.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I forced myself to say. ‘Not a problem at all. I might jump if I saw it crawling on the wall of my bedroom, but I’m fine seeing it here outside. They belong here.’

  ‘Oh good, you’re not as big a scaredy-cat as I thought. Well then, take a good look. This is the giant golden orb weaver, Japan’s largest spider. Don’t worry, they live outdoors.’

  A giant golden orb weaver? That didn’t sound very cute. True, I wasn’t good with any insects or spiders. “Something in the insect seems alien to the habits, morals and psychology of this world as if it had come from some other planet, more monstrous, more infernal than our own,” a Belgian poet had once stated fearfully about insects, and I was in complete agreement.

  We continued up the hill. It rose gently, following a round shape, like a tumulus. The top was completely free of trees—even though there were no signs of any having been cut down—and it offered a near-360-degree view.

  Turning towards the direction we’d come from, we could basically overlook the complete island. A gigantic pair of arms was hugging the bay, which stretched from High Tide Cape on the right (east), to Low Tide Cape on the left (west). Happy Fish Villa and Panorama Villa sitting on top of those capes looked like pieces of a Monopoly game I could simply pick up. Happy Fish Villa, built in a lodge style, was buried in the nature around it, but the white-walled Panorama Villa stood out from the surrounding greenery. I followed the road that had brought us to the foot of the hill with my eyes and, between the trees, I could see fragments of the road leading all the way back to Panorama Villa.

  I fell in love with this view, which made me feel like I myself was a piece inside a scale-model of an island. But it would clearly be impossible for us to check the direction each of the moai statues was facing from here. Near the edge of the island I could recognise two or three figures which appeared to be statues, but I couldn’t make out which way they were facing.

  ‘Let’s rest a bit,’ said Maria, and she pointed to an arbour built on the sea side of the plateau. A roof of coconut palm leaves gave it a south sea island feeling and beneath that were a lauan table and four chairs made to look like tree stumps. Absolutely perfect.

  Looking down at the sea to the south, I spotted the strange rock formations Maria had mentioned, all in a row, being washed by the waves. There was one rock that looked like the diamond mark of a playing card, only with the lower half extended down. It was about ten metres high. Slightly away from that, two other rocks stuck out from the sea, half the size of the first rock, but wider. It was an amazing view, enough to put all those something-something-rocks at second-rate tourist traps to shame.

  ‘The left one, the tall one with the large head is the Candle Rock. Those on the right are the Twin Rocks.’

  ‘These rocks in the middle of nowhere have names?’ laughed Egami. ‘But I’m rather disappointed by your naming sense.’

  ‘My grandfather named them. He knew they were unoriginal names, but he probably wanted to give them the kind of common names you’d hear anywhere.’

  The hill dropped steeply down to the sea. There was a rocky stretch right below. If you were careful, you could make your way down, but climbing back up looked very daunting, so we just looked.

  It was a great island, I had to admit. Drifting in the middle of the deep blue sea, richly filled like a miniature garden, not only did it offer the beauty of Mother Nature, but it was also one gigantic puzzle, harbouring a man-made mystery. I could only describe the island as a universe of its own. The opportunity to enjoy all of this was a true pleasure for us mystery fiction fans.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Egami asked Maria, while he was using his left hand to shield the fire of his lighter from the sea breeze. His cigarette finally caught fire and smoke blew in the wind.

  ‘Was I looking sad again? I often came here with Hideto.’

  Once again I looked down at the sea with its high waves. It wasn’t as if she’d told me that this was the place where he’d lost his life, but the rumbling of the waves breaking on the rocky stretch below felt threateningly brutal.

  ‘I’d just started in middle school, I think. He taught me to play guitar here. For some reason I wanted to learn that summer. I asked him to give me some special tuition, so he brought his guitar to the island for me. And I didn’t feel like practicing in the house, because Kazuto would come and make fun of me. So we came all the way out here and practiced for hours. Even when blood was coming out of my fingers, I never said I wanted to quit, and Hideto didn’t tell me to stop either. We were all alone here, playing simple chords like C or Am towards the sea, singing out loud. Oh, but I’m not sad, you know.’

  Egami had been holding his cigarette in his hand while Maria was speaking and hadn’t taken a puff. The long stick of ash scattered in the wind.

  She’d said she wasn’t sad, but ever since coming to this island, Maria hadn’t completely been her usual self. I imagined that Hideto Arima might possibly have been Maria’s first love. But the wind that was blowing over the hill now did not carry the sound of a guitar or singing voices.

  ‘I didn’t know you played the guitar,’ said Egami as he lit another cigarette.

  ‘I do. That summer I learned to play Estudio – Moonlight and Jeux interdits in one week. I don’t think it’s because I learned it in secret, but I never really play in front of other people. I only play by myself in my own room.’

  Maria started to hum a low Moonlight. Egami, too, participated with a harmonising whistle and I listened to them in silence. Their harmony lasted for one chorus.

  ‘Mr. Egami, you’re good at whistling.’

  ‘Was Hideto good at that too?’

  Egami grinned as he asked that, but Maria shook her head.

  ‘Not at all. He was good with the guitar, but he couldn’t whistle or sing either.’

  I was perhaps empathising more than necessary with Maria, but I started to like this Hideto Arima, even though I’d never met him or even seen his photograph.

  As I realised how strange that was, I turned my head to face the view to the north. It was a complete contrast to the wild waves to the south: a peaceful bay. I noticed a little boat floating there.

  ‘There’s a little rowing boat over there. Look, it’s going from Panorama Villa to Happy Fish Villa.’

  Egami and Maria turned to look.

  ‘Oh, you’re right,’ reacted Maria. ‘Who could it be? Looks like a man.’

  ‘Not the doc. And that person’s head is all black, so it can’t be your uncle Kango either. Perhaps it’s Junji who got all upset yesterday, or perhaps Kazuto?’

  ‘We’re heading to Happy Fish Villa anyway, so we’ll find out when we’re there. Oh, I almost forgot. You also need to see the moai statue on this hill first.’

  The statue was at the very top of the hill, so it stood at the highest point of all of Kashikijima. As we approached, I noticed several points about it that made it different from the five other statues we’d already checked. It was about thirty centimetres taller and also wider. It had been chiselled out more carefully and had been completely coated with varnish, giving it a lustrous sheen. I couldn’t help but think it held the key to something important. At some point in the process of solving the code, there would come a moment when this moai would dramatically show the way, I was sure of that. Or perhaps this moai was the starting point of everything.

  ‘Alice, get your instrument out.’

  As instructed by Egami, I took the compass out of my pocket. I stood behind the statue and checked the direction it was facing.

  ‘Almost north-west. About ten degrees closer to the north. Now, Maria, get your map out.’

  ‘Ah, I left it on the carrier of my bicycle. I’ll write it down when we get there.’

  What was the moai looking at from the top of this hill? I followed its line of sight and lined up Panorama Villa.

  ‘Panorama
Villa? It’s looking over there?’

  ‘No, I think you’re wrong. Isn’t it facing too much to the north for that? It’s only off a bit, but it seems a bit sloppy if this moai was really intended to be looking at Panorama Villa.’

  Now that Maria mentioned it, she was right. But even if he had been looking at Panorama Villa, I still wouldn’t know what that meant.

  ‘I’ll write down that it’s facing slightly north of north-west. Let’s go down.’

  We descended the hill. The spider hadn’t moved an inch, still hanging there in its web.

  2

  The artist Hirakawa’s lodge, Happy Fish Villa, came into view. It was a cabin constructed with large logs. A rocking chair on the oak terrace was bathing in the summer morning sun, giving off the scent of wood.

  A red bicycle stood in front of the house, as if the mailman had arrived. This probably belonged to maestro Hirakawa himself. Its colour was different, but the model was the same as the three at Panorama Villa. We parked our bicycles next to the red one.

  The front entrance was open. Maria knocked on the door and called out to Hirakawa inside.

  ‘Hey, Maria.’

  It was Kazuto who stepped out. It was he who had come here to Happy Fish Palace by rowing boat.

  ‘Come inside. Coffee has just been made. The maestro’s looking forward to your visit.’

  He looked at Egami and me and invited us inside as well.

  The wooden floor creaked. An old lamp was hanging from the low ceiling. A man dressed in a white hemp shirt was sitting at the table beneath the lamp. This must be Itaru Hirakawa. The white oak chairs, which looked as if they featured inlaid lacquer, fitted the style of the lodge perfectly. But the table was like the one in Panorama Villa, with a cold glass top. The floor around it was covered by a surprisingly large carpet with of arabesque design, possibly Persian. On top of the glass table were the scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. No kidding.

  ‘It’s been so long. You’re in college now, I assume?’

  The artist looked up from his puzzle and smiled at Maria. He was probably in his fifties. His face was wrinkled, but he had a healthy complexion. This was the first time I’d met anyone from the artistic community, but my first impression of the man made me think of an understanding high school teacher (subject: English). Based on nothing at all, of course, except I seem to remember having a teacher like him in high school.

  ‘And here are the talk of the town, your two friends. Welcome. My name is Itaru Hirakawa.’

  Each of his words was perfectly formed and his enunciation was also clear. As if he was about to ask us to repeat after him.

  We introduced ourselves and were offered chairs. Kazuto appeared from the kitchen with a tray bearing coffee cups. Hirakawa pushed the puzzle pieces on the table to the side to make room for the cups.

  ‘Have a drink. It’s just instant coffee, though.’

  ‘Kazuto, you didn’t have to say that.’

  Hirakawa grinned. Because all of the chairs around the table were taken, he brought over a chair from the desk near the window and sat down on it.

  ‘Maria, I haven’t seen you for three years, but you’ve grown up to be a perfect young lady. I’m thrilled to see you. What’s your major at university?’

  ‘I’m in the law faculty. With Alice. Sumako studied there, too.’

  ‘Ah, Sumako also studied law, indeed. I’m just from an art university, so to me the words “law faculty” have a dark, stiff image. I think lately more women have been studying law, but you’re probably still in the minority among all those men?’

  ‘We’re about ten percent. There are a lot of girls there who are daughters of lawyers. I know two girls, both of them called Noriko. One of them you write with the characters for “law” and “child”, the other with “rule” and “child.”’ Maria wrote the characters down on her palm with her fingers to show Hirakawa which characters she meant. ‘I’d understand if their parents wanted their daughters to take over the business after them, but they actually hope their daughters will find some intelligent man at university who can take over their business. Don’t you just think that’s pathetic?’

  ‘Oh, I thought it was the same for you, Maria?’

  Maria gave Kazuto a dirty look, but continued:

  ‘I entered the law faculty because I know nothing about how the world works. I want to grasp the structure of our society through the study of law. You know that, here in Japan, all the laws are found within the Complete Book of The Six Major Legal Codes? While the interpretation might change with the times, everything starts and ends with that one book. I find that fascinating.’

  ‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,’ Hirakawa laughed. ‘But anyway, study as hard as you can. At your age, you still have the time.’

  I’ll just mention it here, but Maria’s grades are, in a word, excellent. It’s because her own interests line up perfectly with the law. I, on the other hand, have a very wide range of interests and can readily become immersed in a topic, so sometimes I come up with masterpieces like reports on the influence of sociocultural evolution on social thought for History of Sciences, or on the word-building capacity of the Japanese language for Language Studies, even if I’m rather awful with my major. I might be using my talents in the wrong way.

  ‘Mr. Hirakawa, what are you working on now?’

  To answer her question, the artist pointed towards an easel in the back of the room. The leaning painting was facing towards us, and on the canvas I could make out the sea and a cape.

  ‘It’s Panorama Villa. Low Tide Cape basking in the morning sun. Some years ago I made one of the night view, so I intend this one to form a pair with it. When it’s finished, you’ll need to take a picture and make a jigsaw puzzle of it, Kazuto.’

  ‘Do you like jigsaw puzzles too?’ I asked him and he waved “no, no” with the hand that was not clutching the cup of coffee.

  ‘Even if I said I liked them, I’m not crazy about them. Well, I was slightly influenced by the previous head of the Arima family, so I spend my days here on the island elegantly playing with jigsaw and sliding puzzles. Anyway, I just like passing the time at my own leisure here.’

  The puzzle on the table was also one of about 2,000 pieces and of a famous painting. Unbefitting this artist of Western-style paintings, the puzzle was of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

  ‘You’re coming over tonight, aren’t you?’ Kazuto asked. ‘Doctor Sonobe also arrived with Maria yesterday, so that’s everyone this summer. Come and have dinner with us. The doctor also brought some Scotch. That’ll keep us company until late. You can stay for the night.’

  ‘That sounds good. I haven’t been over to your place for five days now. I don’t mind the thirty minute bicycle ride, but all of you have been paying me visits the last few days.’

  ‘Have you enough food left?’

  ‘Yes, yesterday morning Reiko brought supplies with the boat. She looked much better than I’d expected.’

  ‘It’s been three years.’

  Hirakawa hesitated for a moment, then turned to us.

  ‘I hear you’re trying to solve the moai puzzle?’

  ‘Yes,’ answered Egami. ‘Maria’s asked us to do so.’

  ‘I guess it’s still early, but what do you think? What’s your starting point?’

  ‘The direction the statues are facing. Maria’s cousin Hideto had mentioned that he was closing in on the answer before he died. With that hint, we’re now checking the direction each statue is facing.’

  ‘Poor Hideto. He may well have had the correct answer in his head. He was smart. I’m not sure whether he got it from his grandfather, but he’d been good with puzzles and that kind of thing ever since he was a child. I think it was when he was in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school that he asked me: “Maestro, what is the Golden Mean?” So I explained it to him briefly, but he didn’t look satisfied. His next question was: “Who discovered it?” and he followed up with: �
��Why is it like that?” And I had no answers to offer him.’

  He stopped talking and sipped the last drop of coffee remaining in the bottom of his cup.

  ‘I wish you good luck. It’s a fact that a priceless treasure is hidden here on the island. Long ago, I got all serious and tried to find it myself, but I didn’t manage to get even one step closer to the treasure and gave up. It’s impossible for someone as inflexible as me. I’m only good with something like a jigsaw puzzle, which you can eventually solve if you just take your time and keep up with one simple job. I’ll take a seat in the audience, and expect to see something come out from the flexible, imaginative minds of you young people.’

  Maria looked at the clock and mumbled: ‘It’s eleven.’

  ‘What happens at eleven?’ asked Kazuto.

  ‘I need to go back and help Reiko. I told her I’d help prepare lunch.’ She turned to Hirakawa. ‘We’ll leave now. I hope to see you tonight.’

  ‘I’ll drop by. And you puzzlers, do your best. We’ll talk another time.’

  We said goodbye and left the lodge. Happy Fish Villa stood at the very edge of the cape, so the sea was right behind the house. There was a small sand beach below, with stone steps leading down. A wooden post to fasten a rowing boat was right beside the steps, and the little boat Kazuto had used to cross the bay was moored there, bobbing up and down in the waves.

  Thirty minutes later, we’d gone around the island once again and returned to Panorama Villa.

  3

  As planned, the afternoon consisted of bathing in the sea. We went down to the beach together with Toshiyuki and Satomi Inukai. Undressed, I could see Toshiyuki had the body of a sportsman, with a broad, muscular chest. Egami had an odd preference for part time jobs consisting of manual labour, so he also had a fine build. I was the scrawniest of the bunch. Satomi appeared to have little interest in swimming, as she avoided the sea, sitting on a towel hidden away in the shadow of a parasol. She’d only come down to the beach to accompany her husband. Meanwhile, swimming was all Maria had in mind, carefully doing warming-up exercises in her blue one-piece swimsuit.