Kino no Tabi:Volume7 Chapter5

“A Tale of a Tea Party in a Forest” —Thank You—

This is a story that happened in a certain forest.

Inside a dark forest dense with all kinds of trees, there was a road. It was a perfectly straight, level dirt path that was easy to ride through. The gentle undulations on the earth repeatedly overlap with the terrain, consequently creating repeated undulations on the road itself.

No nearby country’s walls could be seen; it was truly right in the middle of nature.

A river’s gently flowing stream ran inside this forest. Perhaps it was a little small to swim in, but it might be big enough to play in. Its water was so clear that the mud at the bottom of the calm river could be seen very clearly.

The road becomes a bridge where it meets with the river. It was a rather ancient bridge built from stones put together.

Seated on this bridge was an old man who was letting a fishing line dangle down the stream.

It was a thin and tall, and considerably aged old man. Half of his head had graying hair, and half was already bald. He was dressed much like a farmer, wearing a worker’s overalls. Placed beside him was a bucket filled with water, but not a single fish was inside.

The sun was at its highest, leisurely warming the world. Clouds were unlikely to make shadows as they floated about in strips. A person who pays attention to the seasons would say that it’s almost summertime.

The old man who was gripping the short rod suddenly lifted his face. He looked up, trying to peek at the other side of the road. The old man’s ears were not mistaken, and just as he expected, he saw a car leisurely riding towards his direction, raising a thin layer of dust.

It was a small, yellow, and not so clean car. Its body was rusty here and there and it was chipped in places. The old man set aside his rod and waved to the car while being careful not to fall.

The car stopped on top of the bridge with a strange sound.

There were two people aboard. On the right side was the driver’s seat, where a rather short but handsome young man wearing a hand persuader (Note: A persuader is a gun. In this case, a pistol) on his left hip, was seated. On the left side was a youthful woman with lustrous, long black hair, wearing elegant-looking clothes and a high caliber revolver on her right hip. Both of them exchanged glances, as if surprised to find a person in such a place.

“Yo! You’re travelers, aren’t you?” the old man said in delight. The woman bowed in greeting.

“Hello. We were not expecting to meet anyone in a place like this.”

“I am a person who abandoned his country. I live here with my wife, just the two of us,” the old man said. Then he invited the surprised pair to come to his house. With a gentle smile, he told them that he would like to listen to stories of their travels while drinking some tea. And if they so choose, they could stay there for a while to rest their tired bodies.

“Since we’re not in any hurry, we’ll take up your kind offer,” the woman said, and the old man’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s great. It seems that this day will be very enjoyable. My house is there, at the top of the stream. I will walk along the river up to my house. You have to make a little detour though. A little bit ahead of the road, there’s a narrow descending path to the left side. You can pass through that path with your car.”

“Understood,” the woman said. The man asked the old man a question as he returned to the car,

“Did you catch anything?”

“Yeah,” the old man answered with a smile, lifting his rod and the bucket containing nothing but water. Then he skillfully coiled the line around the fishing rod with one hand.

“Then, we’ll be waiting for you.”

Leaving these words, he began to walk along the river.

—

“Master… are we really going?” the man asked the woman.

“Let’s go. Tea from the forest is good stuff, you know,” the woman answered immediately.

“Okay…,” the man only muttered.

—

There was a house.

In one part of the house, there was a big square iron box that might have been originally a car. Its window frames were sealed with planks. Built attached on its side was a log cabin.

The house was built beside a river. The surrounding land was neatly cultivated and lined up with fields. Beside the house was a livestock pen where a few animals were kept.

The shabby yellow car came slowly down from the narrow forest road. It stopped in front of the house where the old man and an old woman were waiting.

The four exchanged greetings and the tiny-figured old woman with an ever-present smile on her face guided them to the log cabin. On the high entrance made of planks put together, lots of pretty flowers were blooming in several plant pots.

They entered the house. There was a huge living room immediately upon entry. It was a spacious house, and there seemed to be several rooms in its interior.

Indoors, the logs were quite skillfully put together, creating a space that was simple but beautiful. The furniture and tools were all hand-crafted from wood. The walls made of stacked logs were decorated with carved trays and several elegantly framed paintings of flowers. Similar pictures were painted on the dishes neatly lined up on the shelves. Hanging from the thick log pillar were two brooms made from neatly whittled branches.

On two wall surfaces were large windows made from modified glass panes of a car. Presently it was open, letting in the cool wind into the room. Beyond it, the fields, the beautiful forest, and the silently flowing river could be seen.

There was a table rounded from a big log, as well as chairs made from wood carefully put together. The woman and the man expressed their gratitude and sat on the chairs offered to them. The old man sat opposite them and the old woman went towards the cooking stove at one end of the room to prepare tea.

“What a nice house. I was surprised,” the man said.

“I’m really glad to hear that,” the old man said happily.

The old man talked about their circumstances. They were a married couple and had no children. In their youth, they felt bitterness towards their country and left on a journey by trailer. They had nowhere to immigrate in as there were no countries nearby, but the gentle climate of this forest suited them well so they started to live a self-sufficient. They used materials from nature, built a house, raised animals, grew vegetables, and produced various things with their own hands. For several decades, the two lived each day in peace. Their skills were very useful in making a living in such a place. They would invite the occasional traveler out to tea and hold a fun tea party.

“That’s wonderful. I too, would love to settle down in a place like this when I grow old,” the woman said gently. The man beside him became rather surprised.

“I didn’t know you were having such thoughts, Master…”

“It’s not like I wanted to do nothing but to travel my whole life, after all.”

“Well, I see your point, but…”

After this exchange from the pair, the old man asked.

“Until when are you two planning to travel?”

“I guess until I finish my business,” answered the man. He said things like not having any particular place to go to, not having anyone waiting for him in his homeland, and not having plans of setting up some business.

“Well, I’m someone you’d call a wanderer,” the man said as if mocking himself. The woman had nothing to say in particular, and remained seated.

“Is that so…. Finding traveling painful or fun; there are various sides to it too, eh?” the old man said, seemingly moved.

“But, methinks staying in the same place the whole time is a little boring,” the man said.

“There are fun things too. It’s enjoyable to make various things with our hands, using materials from nature. This is our purpose in life.”

“Everyone, tea’s ready.”

The old woman was holding a tray. Placed on it were four empty cups and a big teapot.

The woman expressed her interest in the cups, asked permission and took one in her hands. The cup had an almost perfect shape and was lacquered in a pretty color. It was a lovely cup.

“Did you also make this? It’s very well done.”

The old woman nodded happily. The old man told them that looking for earth suited for pottery was very hard, and after several years of searching inside the forest without any luck, they found it by accident along the nearby riverbank.

“Now, now, the tea will get cold,”

The old woman poured tea in the four cups. She placed them in front of the guests and her husband, and sat down in her own chair.

“Thanks for the tea,” said the woman. She carried the cup to her lips and tasted it after testing the temperature a little. ‘It’s delicious,’ she said after taking a few sips. The old couple also savored their tea.

“……”

After some time, the man finally tasted his tea.

“I would have brought some sweets, but we finished them just yesterday, it’s quite embarrassing…,” the old woman said, and the woman immediately shook her head lightly.

“Please don’t trouble yourself over us.”

“Travelers, if you are not in any hurry, why don’t you stay the night? It’s been quite a while since we have had a meal with other people, and we would like to hear stories from the outside,” the old man said. And then, after one mouthful of tea, the woman shook her head.

“We can’t do that.”

The old couple was slightly taken aback. The woman set her cup on the table and suddenly stood up. Then she lifted her own chair and threw it towards the glass window.

There was a violent sound as the glass shattered. The chair broke as well.

“!”

“Aaaah!”

The old couple was surprised, and at the same time, the man beside them hurled his chair in the same manner. It broke as it hit the log walls.

The woman quickly walked to the dresser at the edge of the wall and kicked it. The thin plank was easily broken, and the small pot ornaments placed on it were shattered irreparably. The man reached for the dishes above the shelves and shoved them to the edge. They fell on the wooden floor with a crash.

“W-what’s this about?”

The old man was only able to say this much. Mixed shock and fear registered on his face, and the hands placed in front of his chest trembled.

“T-travelers! P-please stop! Please stop…”

Whether they heard it or not, the two visitors continued to diligently wreck the house. The man kicked and shattered the other glass window to smithereens. The woman dropped the paintings and stamped on the frames.

The old woman cried out.

“I beg you! Travelers! Don’t break them! These are full of our memories! We apologize if we did something that did not please you! Please! Please…”

The pair was not yet finished. They continued to wreck the place.

“Ah! We are just feeble old folks. You can take anything you want; it doesn’t matter. But please, our house… the only place that shields us from rain and wind… I’m begging you, please stop!”

The two still did not stop. There was no particular indication of hatred on their faces. They had normal expressions and a look of indifference, as if to say that they were only ‘doing today’s exercises’. They destroyed everything that caught their eyes. Almost everything hanging from the wall was broken.

“So cruel… Have we done anything that rubbed you the wrong way…? The house the two of us protected up to now… the memorable things…”

The old woman broke down crying on the floor while the old man’s face became red with anger. He grabbed the broom hanging by the pillar, and holding the grip with both hands, brandished it towards the man trampling on the dishes near the wall. The old man couldn’t possibly reach the man in at least five more steps, but he swung his weapon, raising overhead the narrow grip instead of the wide end.

“G-get out of here! Stop harassing us old people!”

‘My, my,’ thought the man, who simply ignored the old man who was confronting him aggressively. He grasped a nearby shelf with both hands, and put his weight on it to break it.

‘My, my,’ thought the woman as she saw this. She reached for her hip and pulled out the high caliber revolver from its holster.

Bang.

A terrible sound was heard.

Both the old woman crying on the floor and the man who was dangling from the shelf were extremely surprised at the thunderous sound which suddenly resonated in the room.

The old man brandishing the broom was killed before he had the time to be surprised. The .44 bullet struck the side of his head, and his tall and thin body collapsed on his side. Fresh blood flowed out from his head and stained the floor.

The woman stood, as expressionless as ever, still holding in her right hand the revolver from which she fired the single shot.

“Fuyaa,” the old woman let out a strange sound, and crawled noisily towards the corpse. She lifted and hugged the body while being bathed with the blood flowing non-stop from its head. She shook her husband.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

When she realized that no amount of thrashing would return her husband’s life, the old woman raised a long and high-pitched scream. To one’s ears, it sounded like a flute blowing through the forest.

The man, who has stopped wrecking the shelf, stood next to the woman who even now, still did not return the revolver to its place. He was about to speak with a puzzled face when,

“Ah!”

The old woman quickly stood up. Both of her hands and her chest were stained deep red, and a gentle smile graced her face.

“With this everything will be a mess. I have to clean up.” As she said this, she took the other broom from the pillar.

“I have to clea——”

Bang.

The woman released a second bullet which hit the old woman’s chest. Her small body blew up in a bizarre manner, hitting the pillar with a twirl before falling down on top of the old man’s corpse.

“……”

The woman said nothing, and returned the revolver in its holster. Silence came back inside the log cabin.

The man who exaggeratedly covered his ears spoke, still shocked. “Master…. This is not like you.”

The woman faced him. “What do you mean by ‘not like me’?”

“Whatever the circumstances may have been, wasn’t it too early to open fire? There’s no merit in shooting down an opponent holding just a stick, you know.”

The woman looked at the broom the old man was holding, which now lay on the floor.

“Look well at the tip of that broom without picking it up.”

“……”

The man took a few steps and looked closely at the broom.

“There’s a small hole.”

“Now, lift it up slowly and carefully, and swing it down the wall on the other side,” said the woman. The man, who was puzzled all the more, swung the broom down with a whiff using his left hand.

Whoosh. Thump.

Something was released with full force from the tip and stuck to the wall. The surprised man approached the wall and saw a big fish hook piercing it.

“Eh?” He let out a surprised voice. The man turned around and the woman spoke to him,

“It’s probably poisoned so be careful not to touch it.”

—

“……”

The man’s expression hardened for a while. He looked at the two corpses on the dust cloth ruined with blood stains. Then suddenly, he put his left hand’s fingers inside his mouth. The woman saw this and spoke.

“It’s too late to throw it up, but don’t worry.”

“But…” The man removed his fingers from his mouth and turned around.

“There was nothing especially strange in the cups. If the antidotes were ineffective, both of us… no, all four of us would be dead from poisoning by now,” the woman explained nonchalantly. The man dropped his tense shoulders.

“…. I knew it. I have lost to you again, Master,” the man said with a smile. The woman only replied in a tone neither amused nor angry,

“Women are brave.”

—

“Well, let’s start,” the woman said.

The two soon began to search for something inside the room. They opened and investigated inside the ruined furniture, boxes and dresser. They searched underneath and on the lining of the table, inside the kitchen shelves, and checked for openings in the floorboards. They also investigated the blood-stained floor beneath the corpses.

When they finished probing the room, the two separated and started to search the other rooms of the log cabin.

Some time has passed since they began to search.

The woman was carefully inspecting all of the clothes in the bedroom dresser when she suddenly heard the man’s voice.

“Master! Master!”

The woman went out of the bedroom and headed towards the direction of the voice.

She joined up with the man who was in the corridor between the log cabin and the box that used to be a car. The man was a little excited.

“Master!”

“Did you find something?”

“Yes… but…”

“But?”

“I found something completely different from what we were looking for. Besides that, I feel like throwing up again…”

The woman let out a curious expression, and asked where the place is.

The man silently proceeded through the corridor and opened a wooden door.

The door of the box, that is.

—

“I see… Indeed, this is completely different from what we were looking for,” said the woman. ‘Isn’t it?’ said the man behind her said in a small voice.

The square box was like a long and narrow corridor. Light came in as the man opened the window in the roof. Inside were the ‘various things’ the old couple made — the ‘things they made using ingredients from nature’.

The first noticeable thing was a leg dangling from the ceiling. It was the smoked leg of a human, suspended with a hook from the thigh. Two pieces were dangling from the ceiling, neatly and equally spaced.

Skin was stretched over one surface of the wall without leaving a single gap. One can ascertain that it was a human’s, judging from the form of the navel and the nipples. It was stretched from the wrists, and circular patterns were drawn on it.

Pierced on the tip of an upright pole was a dried head with the eyes and mouth stitched up, reminiscent of the practice of old tribes that existed a long time ago. The head has shrunk very much compared to its original size. The hair on its head was carefully braided.

There was a sofa. It was a sofa for two, with wooden legs. However, human bones were glued all around it as decoration. The seat and the back of the sofa were all made from human hide. Above the back seat, four stuffed heads of humans were lined up — heads of two men and two women, alternating with each other. They were positioned in a way so that if two people were to sit on the sofa, all of their cheeks would touch together. From behind, it would look as if six people who get along well with each other were sitting side by side.

There was a pelt on the floor right in front of the sofa. The skin of the head and the entire body was peeled off all at once, and it looked much like a tiger or a bear pelt. But it was undeniably a human’s. It seemed as if it belonged to a big man.

There was a small round table. Its four legs were human legs. Lined up on top of it were two bowls cut up from skulls and forks made of finger bones.

There was a wooden shelf in the interior, above which were several important-looking big glass jars. Inside was some fluid and small heads. All were children’s. They were looking at the woman with their clouded, gaping eyes. The mouths were open and their tongues were sticking out. Thick fish hooks were piercing the tips. In another bottle, there were only the eyeballs of several people. There were so many that there was not enough space in between them. Upon closer inspection, ears were attached to the edge of the shelf.

“‘Fun’, eh…?” The man behind the woman remembered the old man’s words, and said this, looking like he was about to throw up.

“I see.”

The woman then started to investigate the room. She moved the furniture, peeling off the skin in the process. The man watched from the entrance with a disgusted expression as she explored the room with much enthusiasm.

She came back to the entrance when she was done.

“In any case, it seems like there are only corpses in this room,” the woman said without delay.

“Master… Don’t you find this sickening at all?”

“Corpses can’t attack, you know.”

“Well, that’s true but….”

The woman looked towards the room once more. “They killed a number of travelers. They must have collected the precious gold and silver they were holding somewhere. Look thoroughly. We came here for that.”

“Okay… But would we continue to search even in the night?”

The woman headed to the log cabin.

“Yeah. Let’s stay here for tonight.”

“Ugh…”

The man who was left behind took one more look inside the box. He met the eyes of a girl inside the glass jar. After waving his hand lightly towards the child, he turned away,

“Hmm?”

And looked back once more.

—

“You search over there.”

The woman was searching the bedroom with about as much sense of shame as a burglar, and spoke to the man as he came in. As he was told, the man started to inspect the shelf beside the bed. The bed and the shelves were neatly crafted from wood, and would probably fetch good prices if sold but,

“Of course, we can’t take this with us,” the man said.

The two silently continued to search the bedroom. The man tapped the floorboards to see if there was space underneath, and when there was a portion that seemed hollow, he put his head in and looked underneath the floor. He lifted his face and shook his head.

“Let’s go to the next room,” the woman said.

When she was about to go out into the corridor with the man,

‘Thank you.’

She heard a voice. The woman asked, “Did you say something?”

“Hmm? Nope.”

‘Thank you.’

Again, the voice came, and the woman stopped in her tracks.

‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’ ‘Thank you.’

The voices were heard one after the other.

It was like the rubbing sound made by leaves when a slightly strong wind blows through a forest. One would not be able to tell where specifically in the surrounding area the voices — the overlapping sounds of various people’s ‘Thank you’s —were coming from.

“What was that? A phonograph?” the woman turned around and asked the man, but the man only shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah—, the ‘mata’…? That sound is not from a phonograph. It’s a ‘mata’. I felt it earlier too, you know.”

“What do you mean by ‘mata’?” the woman asked the man, slightly confused.

The man became hesitant for a moment, then finally spoke awkwardly, “Apparitions. Spirits. Ghosts. I’ve often heard and seen them since I was a child. I’m sure that the murdered travelers were expressing their gratitude. Ah, but that’s rare. You can hear them too, Master——, Master?”

In the middle of his explanation, the woman turned towards the other direction. He called out to the woman whose back quickly got smaller as she walked away.

“Hey?”

With quick strides, the woman passed through the living room containing the corpses, came out of the entrance lined up with the pretty potted flowers, and went outside, where the early summer sun was shining brightly.

“Master…?”

The man followed her out in confusion, and with a puzzled expression, faced the woman who was now sitting in the driver’s seat of the car.

The woman looked at the man sternly. “We’re leaving.”

“Eh? Eeeh? ——What about the treasure?”

“With this, travelers will no longer be attacked. That’s good enough. Moreover, we may not be able to find anything when it’s already night. Their purpose was probably to play with the dead bodies, so they might have thrown away the valuables.”

The man had a curious expression as he sat in the passenger’s seat. The small car shook.

“Well, that’s fine but… Master, don’t tell me you’re——”

“It’s nothing like that at all!”

The man asked, and the woman, with a cold face, declared with finality. She started the engine.

“Okay but…,” the man muttered and thought for a moment. “But, what are we going to do with this fellow who attached himself on my back?” the man asked. The woman, without changing expression, extracted the revolver from her right hip. The man did not see her do this and continued to speak.

“This guy probably wants to go with us——”

Bang.

The woman shot the space behind the man without warning, shattering the rear glass of the car in an instant.

“Eek!” The man’s right ear received the full thunderous echo of the shot, and twisted his body.

“……”

With eyes wide open, the woman in the driver’s seat asked the man who was staring at her, “Where is he?”

“Ah…, he d-disappeared… I think…”

“I see. Then, let’s go.”

The woman hit the gears, and set the car off. The car climbed the slope and disappeared from view in no time.

—

Inside a forest, a small river was flowing.

Near this river was a house.

It was a well-made log cabin surrounded by fields and greenery. On its high entrance made of planks, pretty flowers were blooming inside a number of plant pots. One of the pots received a direct hit from a .44 caliber bullet, and the pot fragments and soil were scattered about.

There was something glittering amidst the brown splinters and black soil.

Lots of pretty jewels rolled down from the entrance of the deserted house, glittering as the early summer sun bathed them with light.

Translator’s Notes

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