森のイディル
*** Forest Idyll (Ume POV) ***
Shishi picked another fawn lily growing next to the statue, contemplated it, and handed it to me. “I’m glad you didn’t tell Tomo about Kashami-san. Tomo is pretty strict, but he’s been nice now that he’s forgiven me. He’s kind of like this dandelion.” She touched some young shoots with her booted toe.
“I’m glad I couldn’t call him either,” I said. “It would’ve bothered me. Besides, it sounds like he has his hands full. I’ve caused him enough trouble.”
“You really love him, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” I waited for her to frown. She did that when I talked about my feelings for Tomo. I’d been slow picking up on it, but I had finally gotten the hint. Instead, Shishi wore a serious, contemplative look, and I wondered what was happening.
“What do you think of Kan-chan?” she asked next.
“She’s nice. Why?”
“What do you think of Tomo and Kan-chan?” she asked, ignoring my question.
“What did I think of them? Good question,” I thought. It bothered me sometimes, but he deserved better than what I could give him.
“I think it’s great,” I said.
“He says he’s monogamous. You might lose him.”
I studied the nearby forest and considered her statement. Tomo was the only serious relationship I’d ever had. The thought of losing him scared me, and I didn’t want to think about it. But I could lose him. I’d probably hurt him by how absorbed I’d been with Shishi and how thoughtlessly I’d introduced the dangers associated with her into his life. Things had been better these last few months, but I really hadn’t considered him in those early days. I guess it wasn’t just those early days. I was here with Shishi, not back with him helping with whatever troubles he was having. It was Kan-chan, not me there.
Selfishly, I thought, “Better Kan-chan than someone else. She wouldn’t steal him away.”
I looked back at Shishi. “He’ll have to get used to poly if he hooks up with Kan-chan. She’s not monogamous, and I don’t see her leaving Shiro and Kao. They’re a tight family.”
“You and I are friends, right?”
“What’s with the sudden switch in conversation?” I thought. I wasn’t following it at all.
“Yeah.” There was a questioning tone in my voice.
“Ume and Shishi, that’s us. — I’ve only had one other friend in my life.”
“Tell me about them.” It was an awkward transition, but I didn’t know what else to say.
“Later.”
She fell silent, intently studying a flower she had just picked. She looked uncomfortable, like something was bothering her.
I was missing something in this conversation but didn’t have time to work it out before Shishi stood up, tossed her flower away, and announced, “Shall we go?”
The open fields with scattered groves soon gave way to a pine forest, mixed with stands of oaks, beeches, and maples. Under the trees, dense ferns were visible where the snow had melted. Early lilies, butterbur, and other flowers peeked out along the road in sunbathed swatches. Overhead was an azure sky, so different from anything I’d seen before in Kakuriyo. Combined with the deadly quiet, it gave the place an unearthly feel.
We found a clear path along the cracked asphalt and made good time. Brisk walking kept the early spring chill away. It would have been a lovely walk except for the silence. In that way, it was no different from the rest of Kakuriyo. I especially missed the sound of birds from our world.
After about an hour, the road began following a small stream, overflowing with spring runoff. The water left small sand and gravel deltas on the roadbed in some places. It was in one of these areas, where the water was easy to reach, that Shishi stopped and got a drink. She was behind me, so I didn’t see her stoop until I turned after hearing her slurp.
“You sure we should drink that?” I said.
“It looks clean. What’s the problem? I was thirsty.” A shadow passed over her face.
“In English stories, if you eat or drink things in Fairy you end up stuck there,” I explained. It just made sense to me that you don’t trust anything in this place. I relented seeing Shishi’s face. “I don’t think I’ve read anything like that in Japanese stories, so you’re probably okay,” I added.
“Well, it’s too late now. If I’m cursed and stuck here forever, so be it.” She held out her hands, cupping water for me. Some ran down her arms, wetting her jacket. “If I’m stuck here, I hope you’ll stay with me,” she said.
I took a timid drink. It was refreshing, but so cold it made my teeth hurt. She smiled sadly. “I’m glad you’d stay with me. That would be the worst, being stuck here and having you leave.”
“Poor Tomo, he keeps coming second best,” I thought. “I hope things work out with him and Kan-chan.”
“You must know lots of stories. You study so much. Tell me one about Fairy,” she asked.
I began to tell her what I remembered of “Rip Van Winkle” as we walked. When she interrupted, I’d just reached the part where he woke up after his long sleep. “Look.” She pointed to a place where the trees give way to an open grassy hillock. The mound was dry and free of any remaining snow. Small white windflowers peeked out of the grass alongside purple and yellow violets. A small clump of three large Jizo statues crowned the top of the mound.
I was about to ask Shishi if she saw any spirits up there. But far from being worried, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the top. “Let’s have a picnic. Unless there is a fairy ring, of course,” she laughed.
In moments, we had reached the top and surveyed the glade. The stream and road ran through the north of the clearing, then pierced the beeches that grew on the clearing’s margins, disappearing into dense forest. “Oh,” Shishi said, pointing south toward blossoming trees nestled amid budding sakura. “Plum trees, your namesake.”
The sight stirred memories from my childhood. When I was young, I had spent some of my most pleasant moments playing in a similar grove. It had been an abandoned shrine, and I had escaped my unhappy home life there, living in a fantasy world of my own. At the time, I hadn’t known how dangerous abandoned shrines were.
“See any spirits?” I asked.
“Nay, how could anything unpleasant live in such a place?”
I thought the statement was overly optimistic and made sure the gun I’d picked up was within easy reach. It was a delightful spot though, and I was feeling hungry, so after offering the Jizo statues some of our food, I sat down next to Shishi and leaned against my pack. The sun fell pleasantly on my face. It was hard to believe we weren’t having a picnic doing plum blossom viewing.
We munched on onigiri, Shishi had made, along with wild fiddleheads we had picked along the stream, and chatted. The sun was pleasantly warm, and she leaned against my shoulder after a bit. The fragrance of her hair blended with the meadow’s scent. I hadn’t felt so at peace for a long time. I almost confessed my feelings to her a couple of times, but each time I stopped, afraid of ruining the moment. What if she rebuffed me, or worse, accepted me out of misplaced loyalty? “Soon,” I thought, “but not yet.”
Eventually, I asked another question that had been bothering me. “You said that we should never follow kitsune, but back in the hospital, you followed that one without hesitation.”
“That was my friend, Maiyoi-chan.”
“So she has a guardian as well,” I thought.
She didn’t elaborate, so I asked, “Tell me about her.”
“Later. I want to learn more about you. Fair is fair. I’ve told you a lot, so tell me a story about when you were young.”
I looked down the hill at the blooming trees. They reminded me of things I had forgotten.
“I’ve never told anyone about my childhood. Not even Tomo,” I said.
“If you don’t want to, I understand.”
“No, I want to.”
“I met Hanayome-shin when I was young,” I began.
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Story by Nara Moore
Twitter/X:@nara_moore
Mastodon: sakurajima.moe
WordPress: Josei Yuri and Paranormal Romance
Art by Mai-sensei
Twitter: @Maiisheree
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