.post p { margin:0 0 .75em; line-height:2em; text-indent:1em; } Beyond the Werefox Whistle Written by Uehashi Nahoko Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai Part 1: A Seal is Broken Chapter 1: A New Year at the Market A temporary market to celebrate the new year was erected at the intersection of the Yamasashi River and the main road. When Sayo descended the narrow path down the mountain and emerged onto the main road, foot traffic became heavier. Sayo walked slower and more carefully so that she wouldn’t run into anyone. She carried a large basket on her back as she wove through the crowd.Sayo would soon be sixteen years old. She came to this market every year, but this would be her first time coming alone. Walking down the main road now reminded her of how her grandmother had always walked in front of her, carrying the basket that she now carried. Her cheeks heated and she looked down.Since her grandmother had passed away the previous autumn, Sayo had been living alone, working in the fields and collecting medicinal herbs to use and sell. Her grandmother had anticipated that Sayo would one day be left on her own and had done her best to prepare her for this eventuality. Whenever she went into the village as a midwife, Sayo would accompany her and learn what her grandmother did. One time, after the birth of a healthy baby boy, the family gave her grandmother a small amount of extra money and some salt. Sayo thought to buy thread with the money so that she could weave it into cloth and make a greater profit. As Sayo gained more experience, her grandmother permitted her more and more responsibility until she was eventually handling many births on her own. The people of the village came to trust Sayo like they trusted her grandmother.Her grandmother also told Sayo everything she knew about medicinal herbs and blessings to ward off misfortune and disease. She did everything in her power to help Sayo to survive on her own.Sayo sighed as she walked along the side of the road, dodging a fish seller who staggered past with a bucket full of his freshest catch.Sayo’s friend Oharu had recently become a bride and was taking the management of her new household very seriously. Sayo was alone at the market and alone in life. At moments like these, she felt sorry for herself even though she knew that was foolish.The people of the village said that on the night of New Year’s Eve, the souls of the dead would return. Sayo didn’t know if that was true, but she did know she’d have to make it to the next new year on her own. That meant she needed money, and supplies, and skills. She kept her head down and walked.There were some days yet before the New Year’s Eve festival. Until then, Sayo would sell herbs and do her best. People came and went all around her along with their horses. Street vendors grilled and steamed food along the side of the road; the smells made her mouth water.The closer Sayo got to the village proper, the more people and horses she saw. The sights and smells overpowered her senses. There was a lot of noise and bustle. People built temporary housing along the street: just crude huts lined up next to one another all in a line. Sellers and buyers shouted at each other over the din. A barge fully loaded with cargo was moored on the riverbank. The river shore was usually empty, so seeing the barge was a rare and wondrous sight.It was still winter, but several men were walking around in only their undergarments. These were porters, luggage-handlers and shippers. They ran up and down the street, sweating profusely under the heavy loads they carried. The New Years’ Eve festival required participants to buy certain goods to offer to the dead, so those items were being continually restocked. Dogs ran around excitedly, guarding merchandise and the porters from would-be thieves. Children who were playing in the fields caught sight of the dogs and chased after them with shouts of excitement.Amid the chaos, Sayo heard the sweet sound of a lute being played, accompanied by bells. People danced in the market, their feet beating a consistent rhythm on the ground. The appetizing scent of roasted rice cakes wafted through the air.Most of the time, the market was set up similarly from year to year, so last year’s shops should be in the same places. Sayo headed toward where the pharmacy had conducted business for the past few years, staying aware of her surroundings and checking to see if anything had changed about the market this year. She clamped down on her superior sense of hearing; she didn’t want to hear people’s thoughts in this whirlpool of a crowd. The pharmacy should be just beyond the oil seller, if she was remembering right.Sayo came to the side of a shop with many colorful braids hanging down as a curtain in front of it. She heard a dog growling nearby and stopped still. The dog was growling at a man.The man stood under the eaves of the shop and didn’t seem particularly bothered. The dog growled louder, then whimpered in fear. Its tail was tucked between its legs and its legs trembled.How frightening, Sayo thought. She’d never seen a dog behave this way. She took a closer look at the man and identified him as a warrior from the castle. He wore a navy blue belt and carried a sword at his hip. His face was deeply tanned. He was of average height and approaching middle age. Nothing in his outward appearance was intimidating or imposing, but the dog had not stopped shaking.As Sayo wondered what it was about this man that frightened the dog so much, the man looked down at Sayo as if he’d sensed her observing him.When Sayo met his eyes, a lancing pain ran through the middle of her forehead, radiating down to her eyebrows. Her sense of hearing overwhelmed her full-force along with the strong smells of work animals and people. She stumbled back a step, dizzy and disoriented. In moments, the market faded from her senses, and she remembered…Remembered… what?***When Sayo regained her senses, she was no longer in the market. It was a dark night. She squatted on a mattress in the shadow of a bamboo screen. Hiding. There was a red splash on the mattress. She stood up and saw a tall man kicking her mother in the head, hard.Her mother didn’t move.The man looked toward Sayo. She could sense all his feelings and thoughts. They pierced her mind with the sharpness of a blade. Sayo curled around herself like a newborn puppy, wishing with all her heart and mind to escape the man’s eyes and his horrible thoughts.When was she? Could she remember that?And then Sayo was back in the market again. A boy tugged at one of the handles of her basket. He was trying to steal from her!Sayo tried to pull the basket back, digging her sandaled feet into the ground. The boy pulled against her so hard that she slipped and fell.“Stop it, you brat! Let go, or I’ll beat you bloody!”Who was that?There was a yelp, and then Sayo’s basket was free; she clutched it to herself. Someone grabbed Sayo’s arm and pulled her up.“Are you all right, miss? It looks like you had a fainting spell.” It was the man that the dog had growled at—the warrior from the castle. This close, he stank of horses. He spoke politely, even solicitously, but his grip on her arm was as solid as an iron shackle. His voice was incongruously light and cheerful.Sayo tried to twist out of the man’s grip, but he kept holding on to her.“Oh! Hi, Sayo. Is something wrong?”Sayo turned her head and saw a young woman, perhaps twenty years old. She stood a little distance away with a small boy carried on her hip. Sayo didn’t recognize her.How does she know my name? Sayo thought.⟡ If you want to live, pretend that you know her. ⟡Sayo flinched. She had heard the words clearly in her mind, just like she could hear all thoughts, but this was clearly directed and deliberate. It sounded more like mind-speech than thoughts—like someone was trying to talk to her mind-to-mind.⟡ If they find out what you can do, they’ll kill you. So do what I tell you. Say, ‘Suzu!’ ⟡“Oh…” Sayo faced the woman squarely. “Is that you, Suzu?” Her voice was quiet, little louder than a husky whisper.Suzu came running over to Sayo, her face pinched with concern. “Are you hurt? You’re safe now. Come along with me, and I’ll take you to my mother. She’ll take care of you.” She gave Sayo a weak smile, then turned and bowed to the warrior. “Thank you for assisting her, sir. I’m sorry if it was any inconvenience.”Sayo still felt a vague aura of threat from the man’s thoughts, but it didn’t seem to be directed at her specifically, or at Suzu. He returned Suzu’s bow.Suzu took Sayo’s hand and led her away.⟡ Don’t look back. You’re still being watched. ⟡Sayo shivered as the man’s words touched her mind. She looked straight ahead, allowing Suzu to lead her. Walking through the crowd was chaotic and exhausting. She felt as if she were walking through a nightmare.Her mother’s blood splashing on the mattress. Her mother dying. She couldn’t remember her mother’s face, but the face of her killer was etched in memory. She saw it before her waking eyes, over and over again like the afterimage of a mirage. Faces and thoughts roiled around her in a whirling gyre.Her memories and her present moment were a jumble of confusion. Sayo couldn’t make sense of it all. She fainted again.***When Sayo regained consciousness, her forehead was cold and wet, which wasn’t entirely unpleasant. She lay flat on her back on the ground inside a small hut. There was a brazier burning in a corner, shedding faint light.“You’re all right now,” Suzu said. “Just stay still.”Suzu cleaned Sayo’s sweaty face with a damp cloth. Her little boy climbed onto Sayo’s lap, trying to get into her arms.Sayo glanced around the room and identified it as a shop of some kind. Various medicines, charms, blessings, curses, combs and cosmetics lined shelves to either side of her. Suzu blocked part of her view so she couldn’t see everything for sale, but it looked like quite an eclectic collection. Sayo had never been inside this shop before. She didn’t even remember ever seeing it from the outside.She heard voices: a customer and a clerk were haggling over price in front of the shop where the door to the hut was.Sayo looked up at Suzu.“Um… Thank you very much for helping me.”Suzu smiled. “You’re welcome. It was nothing.”Sayo had never seen Suzu before today, either. Of that, she was absolutely certain.Suzu took in Sayo’s expression, then shook her head. “You don’t need to pretend, you know. I understand that all this has to be surprising, having someone you’ve never met call out to you as a friend. But I know who you are.”Sayo frowned. “How?”Suzu patted her on the head. “Later. We’ll talk this evening. We’ve sold everything we planned to. After my brother and I finish cleaning up, we’ll tell you anything you want to know.”Her brother? Sayo’s gaze drifted to the front of the shop.“Yes, that’s him working over there,” Suzu said. “His name’s Dairou. You know my name already. The little rascal climbing on you is my son, Ichita. He’ll be two years old soon.”Suzu picked up a squirming Ichita and rocked him gently in her lap. Ichita had huge, curious eyes and a beaming smile. This place was quiet and not packed with too many people, so the sensations that Sayo got from people were clearer. The warrior’s voice didn’t reach into her mind again, perhaps because he was out of range. Sayo got the impression of strength from Suzu—strength and light, like the midsummer sun at noon.Sayo sat up and touched the basket on her back. The day’s misadventures meant that she hadn’t managed to sell any herbs. If she didn’t sell anything she’d have no money to buy offerings for the festival or supplies for the new year. She struggled to rise, but her feet wouldn’t stay under her; the room spun. She sat again, frowning.“You shouldn’t move yet,” Suzu said. “Take your time. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your herbs for you. I’m sure we can get a good price for them at the alchemist’s, and then I can go do your shopping for you. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll get it.”Sayo looked up at her with wary eyes. Suzu just kept smiling.“You’re not used to strangers being kind to you,” Suzu said. ⟡ You think there’s an ulterior motive. You’re not entirely wrong, but I’m not going to hurt you and neither is my family. I promise. ⟡The last part was spoken mind-to-mind.
Mar 14, 2024 • Subscribe
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