by Adam Smith
* * *
After breakfast, I don’t get much of a chance to ponder mysteries before Grandfather and his ever-growing list of demands strikes me down. Even on the weekend I’m not allowed to rest, having to help with the washing, the cooking, the cleaning, and a million other petty things. Clearly it was on his orders that Haruka woke me up at the crack of dawn because she immediately went back to her room for three hours before ducking out to visit her friends. Why me?
After hours of slaving and a quick bowl of chicken and rice for lunch, I somehow come to the end of the list and, not knowing what else to do, I gather up the courage to ask Grandfather for a favour. Knocking on his door, I wait to hear his stern voice before I slide open the door.
Bowing my head, trying my best to emulate the formal manner Haruka always uses around him, I shuffle my socked feet into the room. “Grandfather, I have finished the chore list you gave me this morning. With your permission, is it possible for me to go out for a while?”
“Where do you intend to go?” a hint of suspicion in his voice.
Don’t blow this now.
“I know that I missed a lot when I skipped my Juku class,” I ramble on, thinking on the spot about what I’m going to say next. “And I know that I am behind in my classes. I would like your permission to go to the library and start catching up on those classes while I have the time. That is, if you allow it.” I risk raising my head just enough to see his eyes and see if my spiel is working.
His face remains blank as he regards me. I don’t know whether he’s even thinking about my proposal or not. After a few moments he says, “I’ll give you permission to go to the library, but you must be home before five.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.” I lower my head again before I leave the room, trying hard not to oversell the humbled granddaughter angle, and slide the fusuma closed behind me.
I rush for the exit, but as soon as I grab my shoes I realise I have no idea where the library is. Grabbing my cheap little rental phone from my pocket, I load up some directions on the map and bolt fearful that Grandfather will suddenly appear and change his mind. I’ll have to rush if I expect to find anything before he sends a SWAT team out after me.
* * *
Walking through the sliding glass door, I look around the sprawling aisles of books. I drag my feet along the carpeted floor and head over to one of the shelved rows, grabbing a book down at random. That’s when the full force of my stupidity hits me. I’m a freaking idiot. Of course, everything is going to be written in kanji. This is Japan after all. How the hell am I supposed to do anything when an eight year old can read better than me?
Feeling any hopes for my half-baked plan to solve the mystery of the ashes drizzle away, I look around the room. Private desks that have walls on either side—reminding me of office cubicles—line the walls, most of them filled with people reading and writing. Thankfully, in the centre of the room are banks of computers. That’s exactly what I need.
I log onto a free computer and, after several minutes bumbling through the Japanese font, I find my way to the familiar Google logo. At least the internet won’t judge me for needing English. Maybe I can finally get a straight answer for a change. Considering what I need to search for, I type in the search box, ‘spirit’ and ‘line of ash’ and press enter.
I look through the list of websites that fill the screen and sigh. ‘50 questions Lost really does not need to answer’. ‘Ash creatures.’ ‘List of Alien characters.’ Absolutely no page that is even remotely relevant to what I’m looking for.
Banging my head against the table, I give up. Without more specific terms, I don’t think I’m going to be able to find anything about Misa or whatever Grandmother thinks she is.
“Ara, Rin-san?” a girl’s voice snaps me out of my moping. “Konnichiwa. Do you need help with something?”
I raise my head off the table and see Satomi standing over the table. The class president looks a lot more relaxed and at peace wandering around a library on the weekend—still in her school uniform for some reason—than the handful of times I’ve seen her in class or at music club where she’s usually called upon to try and keep order. Smiling, she leans over, waiting for my answer. “Hai.”
“So, what are you trying to find?” She peers down at me over her wire-rimmed glasses.
“It’s a bit silly, but,” I give a slight shrug hoping she doesn’t think I take this spirit thing too seriously. “My grandmother has been acting strange around me, and I’m trying to find out why. She’s very superstitious, and I think it has something to do with a spirit who can’t pass through a line of ash, one that brings luck into the house.”
She shakes her head, a smile tugging at her lips. “Well, I don’t know if you’re going to find much on the internet.”
“I was afraid of that.” I feel my shoulders slump as I log off the computer. “Any ideas on where I should look?”
“I’d start with the mythology and folklore books over in that section.” She points towards one of the aisles down in the far corner of the room.
I glance in the direction she’s indicating; I don’t need to get closer to see that many of the books are really thick. If I can’t even read kiddie books, how the hell would I manage to read anything like that? There’s no way I’ll ever be able to find anything. That’s just freaking great.
“Just follow me and I’ll point you in the right direction.” Satomi starts walking towards the aisle without waiting to see if I’ll follow.
I finish shutting down the computer and jump up to race after her.
“This is where you might find what you’re looking for.” She runs her hand down the thick spines of the covers. Most of the books in this section look worn and disused.
I just stare at the books, as if deciding which one will do. In the end, I reach over and pick a thick and heavy book with a cracked red cover.
“Not sure that’ll help. Unless you’re looking for folktale remedies and cures.” She shakes her head.
I replace the book and start intently studying the ground, not wanting to see the questioning gaze she’s giving me.
“Rin-san,” I already know where this talk is heading. “Do you know how to read?”
“Of course I do,” I try to keep the warble out of my voice. Give me anything in English and I’ll read the crap out of it. Just not Japanese.
“Fine, then tell me what this says.” She holds out a book under my nose. The book has a blue cover with a picture of a tree on the front and four Japanese characters that only look like fancy squiggles and nothing that makes sense.
“Okay, okay, I can’t read Japanese. Not much, anyway,” my voice drops to a whisper. “Please, don’t tell anyone.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not going to tell. Do you maybe want some help with the kanji?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. There’s just so many, I have no idea where to even start,” I can’t keep the whine out of my voice. “It’s impossible for me to learn all of them.”
“That’s true. I’ll just show you some of the important symbols today; the ones that will help you get by in school. I’m actually impressed you’ve been doing well enough to keep up with everyone as you are. I would never have guessed you were disadvantaged until now.”
“I would really like that. Will you help me find a book that has the information I need?”
“I would start with this one.” She puts the blue book away and grabs a dark green one from the shelf above it. “This one is all about youkai. If it’s got something to do with spirits and superstitions, I’d look here.” She moves over to a vacant table by the window, sets the book down, and tells me she’ll be right back before disappearing into the stacks.
“Thank you.” I pull up a chair and stare at the book. There are pictures, but the thing has got to be five hundred pages long. It all looks like gibberish to me. While Satomi is off getting whatever she went to find, I think back to Grandmother’s crazy behaviour trying to think of any mo
re clues she might have given me. The word she yelled at me while tossing ash in my face comes straight to mind. Now would be the perfect time to find out its meaning. As soon as Satomi returns, I ask her “Ah, Tanaka-san—”
“Please, call me Satomi.”
“Satomi-san, what does ‘norowaretako’ mean?”
She pauses to think about it a little before answering, “It means cursed child. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason, it’s just something I overheard. I was curious about its meaning.”
“Okay, well, this should help you get started, it’s a book on learning the kanji.” She passes me a thin book loaded with diagrams and symbols. “While you work on that I’ll take a look for your mystery monster. What did you say you were looking for?”
“A spirit that can’t cross a line of ash,”
“Anything that could narrow it down any?”
I pause, and reluctantly give her a quick description of Misa. If she asks where I’m getting this information from, I’m totally screwed, but all Satomi does is nod her head and start skimming through the youkai book. Just have to hope that Grandmother’s crazy isn’t completely different to my kind of crazy.
I flip through the kanji book while waiting, seeing some things I recognise and a lot I still have no idea about. Somehow, I doubt I’ll be able to master reading in one afternoon. Satomi quietly flicks through the pages, occasionally mumbling to herself, for what seems like hours, but was probably fifteen minutes before looking up at me, “Ah!”
“Have you found something?”
“You said your grandmother thinks there’s a creature in the house? What exactly does she think is happening?”
“She thinks things are being moved around inside the house, furniture and whatnot, and she keeps placing ash all over the floor.”
“Okay, I think I’ve found it.” Satomi looks up and smiles at me. “Your grandmother believes a house spirit has taken up residence in your house.”
“A what?”
“A zashiki warashi. Nothing dangerous. A harmless spirit that often appears as a small child and loves to play pranks on people. Not sure about the ‘can’t cross a line of ash’ part though, according to this, ash is usually used to make the spirit leave footprints behind as proof.” She shakes her head. “Anyhow, you don’t need to be scared of it. If there is one at your place it is a sign of good fortune.”
“How do you get rid of a zasuke wa-whatever?”
“A zashiki warashi, and you shouldn’t!” Satomi gasps. “You don’t ever want to get rid of one, it says here that if the spirit ever leaves the house, bad luck and destruction will befall the entire family.” She takes a quick glance at her watch and pushes the book over to me. “Here, I’ve got to get going, you should borrow this book if you want to go over it in a bit more detail. Take the kanji book too, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out. If you still need help, I’ll help you work on your reading when I get a chance. It was great seeing you today, I’ll see you at school.”
I nod as I watch Satomi stand up and grab her books before rushing from the library, not giving me a second glance. I turn my attention to the book in front of me and feel a chill run down my spine. Next to the entry on zashiki warashi is a drawing of a small girl wearing a kimono, her black hair framing her face in traditional J-horror style, creepy, but that’s not what frightens me. The girl in the picture looks exactly like Misa.
Chapter 11
After another day of Grandfather working me like a pack mule all I want to do is go to bed. I must have cleaned this house five times over by now. I’ve started to think back on my first two weeks here as if they were a dream. From ignoring me to scheduling my every move. You’d think he’d have run out of ideas by now.
Trudging into the room, I look at Haruka’s bed and consider stealing it, but the five extra steps don’t seem worth it, so I plop down on my mattress. Or at least where it would be if Haruka would stop putting it away every morning.
I think I’ll just lie here and hope that Grandfather doesn’t suddenly appear with a new set of chores for me to do. Is a little rest time too much to ask?
The cold floor helps wake me up a bit, and after staring at the ceiling for a mind-numbingly long time, I lean over to retrieve my drumsticks from my bag. May as well try and do something with my down time, what little there is. Before I can do that though, I spot something hidden under Haruka’s bed. The manga.
I’d forgotten I’d tossed it under there the other day. Wouldn’t Matt love that, I go and lose his precious book the day he hands it to me. Dragging it out, I immediately flip to the last page. The picture’s still the same. Me standing over a body, with my imaginary friend looking on.
The door bangs open, and Haruka barges in. “Come on, Rin-chan,”
Before I can blink Haruka is dragging me downstairs and towards the front door. I don’t even know what’s going on. The doorbell buzzes several times and through the glass I can see Miki waiting outside.
“You know I’m not allowed out,” I try to argue with her, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to extend my arm further than it’s willing to go.
“Actually, I got you released for the afternoon.” She smiles, letting go of my arm and grabbing her shoes from their little cupboard.
“How’d you manage that?”
“It really wasn’t hard. You asking to go to the library to study yesterday really impressed Grandfather. I promised him we’d be home by seven.”
“So, where are we going?” Haruka’s chipper and secretive behaviour is starting to make me a bit worried.
“Just out,” she says smiling before dashing out the door to stop Miki from breaking the doorbell.
I sigh, at least I won’t be roped into anymore chores, and reach for my shoes. I freeze when I realise I still have the manga in my hand. One glance outside is enough to tell me I won’t have time to take it back upstairs, so I tuck it into my jacket for safe keeping. Haruka gives me an impatient look while Miki edges ever closer to the doorbell again.
I rush out and follow the two girls in the direction of the train station. Freedom! Not even a day in captivity, and I’m already acting like I might never see the sun again. Just have to hope Grandfather doesn’t declare this little field trip a prison break.
Haruka leads me to the Chuo-line, still refusing to say where we’re headed. Could be heading all the way back to the airport for all I know. When the train pulls up, I squeeze into the already crowded carriage and grab onto the swinging handle dangling from the roof, making sure to keep Haruka and Miki in sight at all times. I don’t need them getting off the train and leaving me stranded on a train to Tokyo. I have no idea how to get back to the house if I did get lost. Probably put myself on the line to Disneyland for all I know.
After switching to another equally packed train, we finally emerge at Akihabara station. Half-stumbling, half-pushed out of the carriage, I try not to fall over as the passengers pour out over the platform with the girls ducking and weaving through the bustling crowds like seasoned pros.
“We’re here.” Haruka gestures around the station full of busy people moving in a bizarre form of organised chaos.
“What? The station?” Oh goody, Haruka’s probably going to drag me to another dingy arcade. The thought of all those loud, colourful gaming machines makes the back of my head pound and stomach swirl. I don’t think I can handle that much excitement today.
“No silly.” She laughs and grabs my arm once more.
I decide not to fight it. One, I don’t think I’ll be able to talk her out of it. And two, she’s probably going to just yank at my arm until she gets me to the destination she wants anyway. That, or until my arm pops off like a broken twig.
“So are you finally going to tell me what we are doing?” I try to feign curiosity in the hopes she’ll at least ease up on the pulling.
“We’re almost there.” She drags me towards the counter. “I thought it would be fun for you to try some karaoke.�
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My feet lock up at the thought of singing in public, but Haruka either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. She just continues pulling my tortured and strained arm while Miki reaches out to give me a helpful push from behind.
Thick grey clouds hang over the station when we get outside. People in heavy winter coats and scarves scurry about, trying to get out of this weather. Despite this, a perplexing number of the girls still walk around in short skirts covered only with leg warmers or long socks. Some don’t even bother covering their legs. I’ll never understand how these people don’t freeze to death. I’m close to freezing as is, and I’m wrapped in five layers plus a set of thick tights beneath my jeans.
We dash past multiple stores lined with bright, colourful banners advertising God knows what. Even the dead of winter and the oncoming storm doesn’t seem enough to stop people from running around in ridiculous outfits and costumes. We pass dozens of maids and assorted anime characters. I think I even saw someone wearing a full-on cat costume.
We duck into a building with a large glass front, the doors sliding silently open in front of us. The whole lobby is carefully decorated to give the feeling of a high-class establishment with plush carpet and white pillars lining the entry. Behind the main counter, written in giant-sized English and Japanese is the word ‘karaoke’. Okay, this doesn’t look like the dingy corner of some pub or whatever where you’d expect to find karaoke being done in Australia.
Haruka approaches a desk and starts filling out a form in neat graphical kanji. I can’t understand a word of it, so I just decide to look around. Even though it’s not a big place, the bright lights glaring off of the white marble textured walls makes it feel like I’ve wandered into some strange parallel universe of Japanese-speaking ancient Greece.