So, I was lying down on my bed today, looking at my computer screen, when I decided I wanted to write a one shot.
I'm not really sure how I got the idea, or especially how I got THIS idea, but this is what appeared on my screen after four and a half hours of work. The tone is somewhat serious, but considering the subject content, that wasn't particularly difficult to accomplish.
Anyways, I'm going to stop with my inane ramblings and go eat dinner or something, so I hope you enjoy this short peak into the somewhat melancholic side of a certain ferryman's life.
PS Just for the sake of sharing, this is the song I listened to while I was writing this;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUVdl2qCAEU
Riverside View
The girl sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes with her hands.
Looking around in a daze, it didn’t take her long to figure out she had no idea where she was. She was sitting down on the side of a hill covered with grass, and she could hear the sound of water flowing. Sure enough, not twenty feet in front of her, what looked like a riverbank broke the constant waves of grass.
While the steel grey water gently lapped against the side of the bank, she couldn’t really call it a river. The water stretched out into the distance, as far as she could see. Though, that wasn’t particularly far – a thick haze hung over the water, so she could only perhaps see ten or fifteen feet out. At that distance, she supposed it could be a river, but since the water all seemed to be flowing towards the land, rather than to the sides, it seemed unlikely.
In bright contrast to the steel grey water and dense white fog, small clumps of bright red flowers grew on the riverbank. They were strange flowers, ones she had never seen before in her life. Excited to see such a novelty, the girl quickly stood up and trotted over towards the flowers. They were strange, spindly little flowers, with long thin petals that curved outwards from the head of the flower. Though they looked completely different from any flower she had seen before, and though they looked incredibly strange, she couldn’t help but feel like they had a rare beauty to them that she had never witnessed before.
Leaving the strange flowers where they were, the girl took another look around. There weren’t any lakes or large rivers around where she lived, so she truly had no idea where she was. Despite the dark clouds passing overhead, it seemed to be early morning. The air held a cool breeze, though despite being beside the river, didn’t seem to hold much moisture.
This was of course all strange to her. The last thing she remembered was going to bed the night before, so she supposed it wasn’t that strange that it was morning. But she definitely remembered curling up in bed, and she definitely remembered having a lot of trouble falling asleep, partly because of the intensely hot and humid weather. No traces of that weather remained, however. In addition, she had felt incredibly hungry before going to bed, as she typically did every night, but now she didn’t feel hungry at all.
As the sleepiness passed from her mind, it was replaced by a growing sense of panic. Where was she? How did she get here? How was she going to get home? She couldn’t understand anything, and had no way to figure anything out. She quickly made her way to the top of the hill she was sleeping on, but thanks to the thick fog that had settled all around her, she couldn’t see more than twenty feet in any direction.
As she continued to panic, she started wandering around. Her fear of being lost, on top of her inability to really see anything around her was starting to put a lot of pressure on her. As she walked up to the side of the river, her vision became blurry with tears, which she futilely tried to wipe away with the backs of her hands.
Feeling completely helpless, the girl fell to her knees. She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t see anywhere. She missed her parents, and her little brother, and all the people in the village. She was alone and afraid, and she had no idea how to solve either. Just as she was about to break down crying, however…
“Hey! What’s a kid like you doing here?!” A rough voice called out to her.
The girl lifted her head, tears already pouring down her face. Looking to see the direction where the rough voice had come from, she finally saw a figure walking nonchalantly from the fog.
It was a woman. She was tall, wearing what looked like a vibrant blue kimono-dress, over top of which was a white knee-length skirt that almost looked like an apron. She had short, pink hair tied into two ponytails, and carried a bizarre scythe that bent weirdly near the tip.
Of course, the girl didn’t recognize her at all, but despite the rough voice and the fact she was being yelled at, she couldn’t help but feel a little relieved at the sight of another person. Standing up quickly she made her way over to the stranger, and tried her best not to cry.
“Um…excuse me…umm…I’m lost, and I don’t know where I am, and I want to go home, but I don’t know where this is, so-“
“Easy, easy,” the woman replied with a carefree voice, a wry smile appearing on her face. “So your lost and need help getting home, huh? Well, what way did you come from?”
The girl stopped and looked around timidly. “Umm….I don’t know…I just woke up, and I was here, and I don’t know how I got here, and I want to go home…” Doing her best to explain herself through her sniffles, she felt a little embarrassed that she had gotten somewhere without even knowing how.
The woman raised an eyebrow at the response, but otherwise said nothing more on the topic. Kneeling down in front of the girl so that they were eye-level, in a much more gentle voice than before, she spoke again.
“So, what’s your name, kid?”
“My name is…uh…” The girl was stumped. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t remember her name. She had never forgotten her name before, why would she forget it now?
Seeing that she was starting to get flustered, the woman put a calming hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, relax, relax. If you can’t remember, it’s okay.” For some reason, even though she was still smiling, the girl thought that the woman had a really sad expression on her face.
“But…isn’t it weird that I don’t remember my name…?” Rubbing the last of the tears from her eyes, the girl sniffled her way through one more question.
“What are you talking about? The people I meet forget their own names all the time!” The woman responded with a wink, all traces of unhappiness vanishing from her face entirely. “If you don’t remember, it’s no big deal.”
“R-really?” The girl asked timidly. She felt like she should really remember her name, but she lost confidence in her position as she saw the woman nodding cheerfully to her question.
With a hum, the woman continued. “Well, if you don’t remember your name, can you at least tell me how old you are?”
At that, the girl perked up. Puffing out her chest with pride and holding out her right hand, she stretched all five fingers as far as she could. The woman looked at her with an expression of surprise, and she thought she saw a pained expression cross her face, but it was quickly replaced by another gentle smile.
“You’re way too young to be here kid. This is no place for someone like you…” The woman spoke quietly, as if she was talking to herself. Taking her hand off the girl’s shoulder, she stood up and looked out over the water briefly, before turning back to her with a much more cheerful smile.
“You said you were lost, and wanted to go home, right?” At the girl’s vigorous nod, the woman continued. “My name is Komachi. My job is to take people who…have forgotten their names, just like you, and take them home. Would you like me to give you a hand?”
As Komachi spoke, the girl’s face brightened. She was going to take her home! She could feel all her anxiety melt away. She felt really lucky to have met this woman. Without her, who knows how she would have gotten home?
“Please, please take me home! Please!” With a smile and a nod, Komachi beckoned the girl to follow her, and she turned and started heading back into the fog. Trotting along behind her, the girl watched Komachi with a sense of awe. She was really nice, taking her back home like this, and she was really pretty too.
“Um…Miss Komachi, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Komachi responded without turning to look.
“Umm, how old are you, Miss Komachi?” At that, Komachi stopped walking. She turned and regarded the girl with a serious expression, remaining silent. Thinking she had done something wrong, the girl quickly tried to come up with an excuse. “O-oh, I’m sorry, if you don’t want to tell me that’s okay. I-I just thought that, since you were really pretty, I wondered how long it would take until I was pretty like you…”
Komachi’s expression softened, and after a sly smile she gave the girl a wink. “Ah, is that how it is. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t really remember my age.”
“What! You don’t remember your age?!” The girl was incredulous. She was so proud when she turned five, so she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not know.
Seeing the girl’s expression, Komachi burst out laughing and started walking again. “Just like how you forgot your name, I forgot my age. These things happen, unfortunately.”
“Oh. I guess it can’t be helped then…”
“Nope, can’t be helped. But you know, it’s not all that bad. If I don’t remember my age, I get to be whatever age I want, right?” The girl couldn’t see her face, but she could tell Komachi had a big smile on her face, like it was a good thing she had forgotten her age. She thought it was a little odd though. Just because you don’t remember how old you are, doesn’t mean you get to pick a new age…
As they kept walking, the girl carefully picked her way around the red flowers that dotted the riverbank. Suddenly, she was beset upon by a flash of inspiration.
“Miss Komachi, do you come here a lot?”
“Eh, I guess you could say that. This is where I do most of my work, after all.”
“Then, do you know what these red flowers are called?”
Komachi turned to look at the red flowers growing in clumps on the riverbank. “Around where I live we call them Higanbana. Though you might prefer the name Red Spider Lilies.”
“Red Spider Lilies…” the girl repeated the name after Komachi, her voice tinged with wonder.
“Weird flowers, don’t you think?” Komachi said, her voice as cheerful as always.
“Yeah, but I think they’re really pretty too…”
Komachi turned to look at the girl as she walked. “You know, not many people appreciate these flowers. They always say they are a bad omen.”
“That’s too bad. I really like these flowers.”
“Well, in that case…” Komachi trailed off as she stopped walking, kneeling down in front of a small clump of Spider Lilies. Walking up next to her, the girl did the same.
With a gentle yet firm motion, Komachi reached out and pulled one of the Spider Lilies from the bunch, deftly snapping the stem. Without any warning, she turned and slipped the flower into the girl’s hair, resting its stem just over her right ear.
“There you go. A Spider Lily for the road.” Komachi said, straightening the flower with a few gentle tugs.
The girl’s face brightened immediately once she realized what Komachi had done. Standing up and taking a few steps away from Komachi, she turned back to face her, holding her hands behind her back.
“Do I look pretty?” She said, with just a hint of timidity in her voice.
Komachi stood from where she was kneeling and smiled. Taking a step over to the very edge of the riverbank, she beckoned the girl to come over. “Come see for yourself.”
Trotting happily up to where Komachi was standing, she looked over the bank and into the water. There, the gently flowing water gave her an almost perfect reflection of herself. The stark contrast between the bright red flower and her dark black hair stunned her. With only a single flower added to her hair, she had suddenly become prettier than she could have ever imagined. Turning back to Komachi the two shared a quick smile before Komachi started walking off again.
“Come on, we’re almost there.”
The next few minutes passed in relative quiet. Komachi walked forward, soundlessly leading the girl through the fog, while she walked along the edge of the riverbank happily watching her reflection in the water. Eventually, Komachi came to a stop and turned to face the girl.
“Alright, here’s our ride.” Looking where Komachi was pointing, the girl saw a small wooden boat, maybe big enough for two grown-ups to ride. But although they were standing right in front of it, Komachi made no move to get in.
“Um…is something wrong?” The girl asked after a few moments of nothing happening.
Komachi, who had a faraway look on her face, turned back to look at the girl. “The truth is, it’s my job to take you home but...I’m not allowed to do it for free. Me and my boss have to eat, you know?”
The girl was reminded how, for the first time in weeks, she didn’t feel hungry at all. After which, she realized what Komachi was saying. With a downcast expression, she mumbled back her reply. “But…I don’t have any money that I can give you…”
The girl was at a loss. She had been so sure that Komachi would take her home, but it made sense that she couldn’t do it for free. After all, this was her job, and no one would want to work without being paid. Even so, if she had no money, there was nothing she could do.
“Oh? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” The girl looked up at Komachi’s voice, seeing a mischievous smile on her face. “Why don’t you check your pockets?”
The girl looked down at her dress. It was a simple, boringly coloured one piece dress, but strangely enough, it did seem to have pockets. She had never remembered wearing any clothes with pockets in them, they would have been way more expensive than her family could afford. Hesitantly, she dug her hands into her pockets, and pulled out two small, shiny coins.
Startled at the fact that she had found money that shouldn’t have existed in pockets that shouldn’t have been there, she closely inspected the two small coins with wonder. They were bright, shiny, and incredibly clean, as if someone had washed and polished them before putting them in her pockets. Looking at the back of the coins, she could see something was written on them.
The girl was fairly young, so she couldn’t read that well, but she knew a little bit, so she took a closer look at what was written. On the back of the first coin, written, in bold, thick strokes was one word.
Papa. And written on the other, in thinner, more gentle strokes,
Mama.
The girl’s wonder was lost to confusion. Had her parents given these to her? When? It must have been while she was asleep, which would at least explain why she had them. It didn’t really explain where the pockets came from though.
Komachi knelt down in front of the girl, pulling her from her own little world. “Looks like your parents loved you a lot, huh?” Komachi spoke gently, almost whispering. Again, it seemed like she was talking to herself more than to the girl, but that didn’t bother her as much as what Komachi had said.
“Why loved? Mama and Papa still love me, don’t they?”
Seeing the girl’s mind race forward to places it had no business going, Komachi quickly apologized. “Sorry, sorry, your right. Of course they still love you. They wouldn’t have given you their best two coins otherwise, would they?”
The girl, seemingly pacified, went back to studying the two coins. After thinking carefully for a few moments, she squeezed the two coins tightly into a fist, and held her hand out to Komachi.
“Umm…I don’t know how much it costs to take me in your boat, Miss Komachi, but this is all I have so…”
Komachi watched the girl in silence, her face expressionless for a few moments, then she looked down at her outstretched hand. After a long pause, she held out her hand palm up under the girl’s fist.
With only the slightest traces of hesitation, the girl opened her hand and allowed to two bright coins to fall into Komachi’s hand. Standing up, Komachi made to put the coins into the coin purse tied at her hip, but paused. After thinking for a few moments, she instead slipped them into one of the folds on her dress.
Without a word, Komachi walked away from the girl and stepped into her boat. Standing at the head of the boat and dipping her enormous scythe into the water, she turned back to look at the girl with a gloomy smile.
“Come on, let’s go.”
----------
The following boat ride passed slowly. The girl sat in the back of the boat, watching the steel grey water flow by, mostly because there was very little else to look at. At the front of the boat stood Komachi, holding her scythe in one hand and a small lantern in the other. The fog was much thicker over the water than it was on the shore, so even with the lantern they could only see perhaps a few feet past the edge of the boat.
“Umm, Miss Komachi…” The girl hesitantly rose her voice.
Without turning around, Komachi replied. “What’s up?”
“Umm…are you sure this is the right way to get home? There wasn’t any water like this around the village so…”
After a few moments of silence, Komachi spoke up again. “Yeah, I’m sure. It’s probably confusing, but that’s because we have to take a different way to get back. The way you came from won’t work anymore.”
With a thoughtful hum, the girl continued. “Is it because I forgot my name?”
Silence again. Finally, Komachi spoke again, her voice quiet. “Yeah, that’s why. We need to go get it back for you, right?”
Wordlessly, the girl turned back to watching the water. For some reason, Komachi seemed really…gloomy. It was as if she was really sad about something, but she couldn’t tell what.
“Miss Komachi, why are you so sad?”
Komachi visibly stiffened when she heard the question. “W-w-what makes you think I’m sad?” With a bit of a forced laugh, she managed to relax a little bit, but she still seemed very tense.
“Is it because of me?” The girl asked timidly. She didn’t know what she had done wrong, but Komachi was so happy and cheerful before they got in the boat, so she couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault that she was sad.
“No no no no no! It’s not because of you! It’s uhh…uhh….umm…” Komachi trailed off, unable to find the words to finish her sentence. “Oh, that’s it! It’s cause of where we’re going. To get your name back, we have to go to where my boss is, and she’s really mean to me, so I’m just a little…you know,” Komachi trailed off with a much less forced sounding laugh.
“What? But you’re so nice! Why would she be mean to you?!”
“I know, right!” Komachi picked up the conversation, vigor returning to her voice.
“Are we going to see her where we’re going?”
“Hmm…possibly. I can’t tell you for sure though, sometimes she’s really busy, and sometimes she has nothing to do but come bother me. Could go either way really.”
“Well, if we see her, I’ll tell her to stop being mean to you. After all, without you, I would still be stuck on the other side of the river, with no idea what to do.”
“Heheh, please do. That’ll help me out a lot.” Komachi replied with a small laugh, as if at some private joke. “But, that’s enough talking about me. How about you? Tell me about your family.”
And so she did.
Apparently, her family was a small family of farmers living just an hour or so outside the village. Her mother, father, herself, and her younger brother all lived together, and she was quite proud that once she turned five she was allowed to start helping with the chores.
They were not a particularly rich family, nor were they particularly poor, but for some reason, that year the winter lasted ridiculously long. The crops that were supposed to grow in the spring didn’t come up, and the ground was frozen so long that, by the time they could plant again, the seeds wouldn’t grow until the following winter, which would kill them before they could be harvested.
The family had a small amount of food stocked up from the previous year, and they had a little money, but their situation was not unique - the price of food skyrocketed as people from all over the countryside were starving. It took only three weeks of heavily rationed eating to burn through their stock of supplies and all the money they had saved up, and things weren’t looking up for them.
They had a small number of chickens, however without being able to afford food for even themselves, the chickens had to either be butchered or starved. Butchering them – the saddest event the girl had ever experienced – bought them another week of food. As soon as the snow had melted and the ground had thawed, her father had planted some fast growing plants, expecting they would be hard pressed for food. And it worked – though it was painfully little, the family had enough food to barely subsist on for the weeks that came until a real crop sprouted.
Even though they had food to eat every day or two, the hunger never stopped. Their meals consisted of so little that even a small girl wasn’t satisfied. As painfully aware of her own hunger as she was, however, she was just as aware of the hunger of her little brother.
Every morning after waking up, and every night before going to bed, he would cry. He would cry and cry and cry, and she wanted to join him. The hunger was just too much for him, and being only two years old, he had nothing he could do about it but cry.
Unable to stand seeing her little brother suffering so much, the girl resolved herself to help him. After all, he was a boy, so he had to grow up big and strong. Because she was a girl, it was okay if she was small. With that line of thinking, the girl started saving her food from her meals and hiding it from her parents. Whenever she heard her brother cry, she would take some of the food she had hidden and would give it to him, and he would calm down.
Little by little, the girl started saving more and more of her food, until she had eventually reduced herself to eating nothing but water. Of course, the hunger she felt was unbearable, but realistically speaking it wasn’t any worse than before, and she was helping her precious little brother, so in her mind, it was worth it.
A week had passed since she had stopped eating altogether. The temperature was blazing hot, which she hoped would encourage the plants to grow so that they could have enough food again. As they went to lie down for bed, her brother started crying again, so she gave him the food she had hidden away for him. Satisfied that he had stopped crying, she lay down to sleep, hunger gnawing away at her as badly as it ever had.
And when she woke up the next morning, she was on that grassy hill, beside the water, and the hunger was completely gone.
As she finished telling her story, silence descended back upon the pair. Komachi, of course, was just expecting something superfluous, like a description of her family, where she lived, what her favourite games were, but instead she was given a full rundown on her family’s situation. Though the girl didn’t seem particularly unhappy while telling the story, and indeed even began to bubble up with pride when telling of how she shared her food with her little brother, Komachi had no words she could give to the girl.
And so, the rest of the boat ride passed in silence.
---------------------
After what felt like the longest boat ride across the Sanzu of her life, Komachi finally docked her boat up against the other side of the river. Setting her lantern back down inside her boat, she stepped up and onto the shore, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.
“Well, I hope that ride wasn’t too long for you!”
Without a word, the nameless girl, Spider Lily still in her hair, stepped out of the small boat and looked around timidly. Of course, Komachi understood her apprehension.
The place they had arrived at seemed dull and lifeless. The dark grey of the sky perfectly complimented the steel grey of the water and the lifeless grey of the stones and rocks scattered across the shore. There was no plant life to be seen, and even the soil itself was a dull shade of grey. It was as if these two vibrantly coloured individuals had stepped into a monochrome world.
Turning around and giving the girl the first genuine smile she was able to muster since getting in the boat, she called out to her. “Come on, there’s something interesting I want to show you.”
Nodding, the small girl pattered over to Komachi’s side, and as if it was completely natural took hold of her hand. Startled briefly by the action, Komachi shook her head with a smile and started walking up the path, scythe in one hand and five-year-old in the other.
The path was just as dull and lifeless as the rest of the shore, but it was at least lined with stones and the odd guide post so one could tell where it led. The path led up to the top of a nearby hill, which was large enough that it completely obscured any view of the inland that one might have been hoping for. Surprisingly, the girl remained silent for the entire walk up the hill. Maybe she had talked herself out with her story earlier, but she didn’t seem to be particularly upset, so Komachi didn’t pay it much mind.
As they crested the hill, Komachi could hear the girl gasp in amazement. Komachi could help but smile as she saw the girl’s eyes go wide.
On the other side of the hill, spread out before them, as far as the eye could see, was a field of countless Spider Lilies. Normally, considering the reputation of the flowers, this was a somewhat melancholic sight for those she brought her, but she had hoped it would be different for this girl who had taken such a liking to the flowers. She wasn’t disappointed with the reaction she got.
Tugging slightly on the girl’s hand, Komachi started walking towards the field of Higanbana. The girl quickly moved to keep pace with her, eyes still wide in amazement. The path they walked took them through the very center of the field, and by looking at the girl, you would have thought it was a path straight through the center of heaven.
Not wanting to spoil the moment, Komachi remained silent as they walked through the massive field. Similarly, the girl was so entranced by the flowers that she had lost all thought as to where they were going or why.
After fifteen minutes of walking through the endless field of flowers, they reached a place where the path expanded into a small park-looking area. There were no benches of any sort, but the path had widened to accommodate two small gardens of flowers, as well as a lamp post that shone with a gentle blue light.
Reaching the lamp post, Komachi stopped walking. Noticing her pause, the girl looked up at her questioningly.
“Well, it’s been a lot of fun,” Komachi said, trying to keep the sadness from her voice, “but this is as far as I’m allowed to go. After all, I have to make sure no one else is lost like you were.”
Though a sad expression passed over her face, the little girl nodded and slowly let go of Komachi’s hand. Looking forward, she could see the path continued out of the small park up onto another hill in the distance.
“Across that hill is someone who’ll take you back where you belong. You already paid me the fare, so they should send you off with no problems.”
The girl nodded again, as if she was only barely paying attention to what Komachi was saying. Just before it looked like she was about to start walking forward, she turned around and walked up to Komachi again. Looking up at her with calm eyes, she tugged slightly on Komachi’s dress.
With a playful sigh, Komachi knelt down in front of the girl, bringing them to eye level. “What’s up?”
Without a word, the girl wrapped her arms around Komachi and gave her the tightest hug she imagined was possible. Komachi was initially startled, but soon her expression gave way to a sad smile and she returned the hug, rubbing the girl’s head as she did so.
“Thank you for helping me when I was lost, Miss Komachi.” The girl spoke without the slightest trace of sadness or fear. Seperating, Komachi put her hands on the girl’s shoulders.
“My pleasure. If you ever get lost again, just call my name and I’ll come running, got it?”
With a bright smile and a nod, the girl finally turned and walked down the path leading out of the park without hesitation. Komachi stood to watch her go, planting her scythe on the ground and leaning on it.
The girl walked onwards. Five steps out of the park, her colour started fading. Ten steps, and her body started to lose its form. Fifteen steps, and she started to dissolve into the same kind of formless ghost the dead always ended up becoming. She lost her feet a while ago, but at about twenty steps worth of distance, without having looked back a single time, the last vestige of the small, nameless girl vanished, and a small white wisp gently floated up into the sky, where the Throne of Judgement waited.
Falling from the spot where the small girl had finally lost her form, a single, small flower silently floated to the ground. Without a word, Komachi walked up and gently picked up the fallen flower. She paused for a minute as she looked at the bright crimson Spider Lily in her hand.
Rest in peace, little one.After saying her silent farewell, she heaved her scythe up onto her shoulder and started the long walk back to her boat.
-----------------------------
Lying down near the bank of the Sanzu river, Komachi sighed. It wasn’t a sigh of exasperation, or exhaustion. It was a satisfied sigh. As she lay there, relaxing on the soft grass, her face caressed by the gentle breeze, being lulled to sleep by the sound of water gently lapping against the shore, she couldn’t help but feel completely at peace.
Somewhat lazily, Komachi reached into her pocket. Fishing around for a bit, she finally found what she was looking for – a piece of long, plain string, cut just long enough that she could wear it as a, admittedly rather plain, necklace. That string, tied into a loop, was threaded through two small coins, worth practically nothing, but cleaned and polished as if they were made of solid gold.
On the back of one of the coins, in bold, thick letters, was the word ‘Papa.’ On the other, in thinner, gentler strokes, was the word ‘Mama.’ She hadn’t worn this necklace in a while – probably because it didn’t really fit very well with her sense of style – but even so, she always had it with her. Without really thinking about it, she put the necklace on with one hand and then, using both hands as a pillow, closed her eyes a let herself drift off to sleep.
“Excuse me, miss…” A creaky, withered voice stole Komachi’s chance at a nap. Opening one eye to regard the person speaking to her, Komachi saw what must have been a man in his late eighties. It wasn’t often a human got that old around here, but judging by his gaudy clothing and multiple coin purses stitched about his person, it was easy to tell how he managed it. Sitting up, Komachi responded in her favourite gruff voice.
“Who are you? You’re way too young to be here!”
The old man replied with a wheezing laugh. “I appreciate your courtesy, but the days when one could describe me as ‘young’ have long since passed…” the man trailed off, as if he had forgotten what he was about to say. “Well, that’s strange. I was going to introduce myself, but I can’t quite remember my name…”
Standing up, Komachi gave the man a big smile. “Well, wouldn’t you know, people who forget their names just happen to be my best customers!”
Glancing at the scythe Komachi was now holding beside her, the old man looked confused for a few moments, then suddenly his eyes showed a deep understanding.
“Ah, so that’s how it is…” the man’s voice trailed off into laughter. “Well, I suppose I can’t say I have any regrets. I’ll put myself in your care then, Miss Shinigami.”
“Please, call me Komachi,” she said with a wink before heading over to her boat. As she turned to remind him about the fare, she was startled to see he was already untying the various coin purses he had about his person. Once he got the last one off, he handed them over to Komachi.
“I guess I won’t need these where I’m going. Hopefully it’ll be of some use to you though!” Another laugh shook the man’s admittedly shaky frame, but even as unsteady as he looked, she couldn’t help but feel he was just having a good time. With an overdramatic curtsy, Komachi took the coin pouches from the man and placed them into her boat.
As she stepped in, she turned around and saw the old man had stopped at the edge of the river. With his shaky legs, he knelt down – well, more like fell down – and started inspecting something. Stepping back over the edge of the boat, Komachi walked up beside him to see what he was doing.
Cradled between his two age-addled hands was a single Red Spider Lily. Tilting her head to the side in confusion, Komachi watched in silence. After a few moments of nothing, the old man finally broke out into a smile.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Komachi. You see, a long time ago, I had an older sister. She passed away when she was only five years old, so I don’t remember her very much, but every year we went to visit her grave. And every year, up until not just three months ago, a single one of these brilliant flowers was growing beside it.”
“Oh really?” Komachi replied, trying her best to contain a smile. “That’s kind of odd. These flowers don’t grow many places outside of here.”
“Exactly. We were confused for the longest time. After all, there were no other flowers like that growing in the area, and yet every year, whether we picked the flower or it died to the winter frost, another one took its place every Spring without fail.”
A long pause followed. Finally, after what felt like minutes of silence, the old man burst into his wheezing laugh once again. “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Komachi. It seems not even death can keep me from my inane ramblings!”
Komachi laughed with the old man as she gently helped him back to his feet and into the boat. Moving back to the head of the boat, Komachi lit her lantern and held it up in front of her to help part the fog that was bound to come. Dipping her scythe into the water, the boat gently moved from the shore and out to the depths of the river.
“So,” Komachi called behind her to the old man sitting relaxedly in the back of the boat, “this is not going to be a short ride, so how about you keep me company with some conversation?”
The old man laughed again as he watched the shore disappear into the fog with bright eyes. “Oh, I’m not sure how an old man like me will keep a young lady like you entertained with conversation. I fear I’m not as adept at keeping the ladies happy as I used to be.”
Komachi laughed half-heartedly, not quite sure whether he was trying to make a dirty joke or not. Shaking her head, she kept talking. “Oh, that’s okay. I’m fairly easy to please. After all, in my line of work, talking to people like you is as good as my day gets!”
Another wheezing laugh sounded behind her. “Alright, alright. What would you like to talk with this old geezer about then?”
Komachi paused as she smiled to herself, then shot the man a look charged with meaning that he didn’t quite catch. Then, with a bright and cheerful smile, she spoke again.
“Why don’t you just start by telling me about yourself?”
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