Karuta #2: A Funeral [Part 3]
There was an audible screech that resonated from the rusty metal wheels that pressed against the metal tracks as the train stopped. The echo disappeared in the vast mountainous terrain that covered rural Kyoto. It was now silent. No hustling footsteps or faint voices of numerous passengers coming in and out of the train. No cars with their loud horns. No planes. Just nature. Akane was now in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rice paddy plantations and bamboo fields visible through the window of her seat. After the train stopped she stayed for a couple of minutes reflecting on the event that had been her train ride. She grabbed Tarou-kun and looked straight at his beady eyes;
“You plush dog, you’re supposed to keep the creepy things away.”
There was no answer from the plush, (thank god), so she put him back in his spot atop of her bag, put the crumpled piece of paper in her pocket and composed herself as she left her seat. She headed towards the exit, and stopped in front of the mother and son duo. They hadn’t said a word to her since the beginning of the ride. Nonetheless she decided to be cordial and at least say goodbye.
“Good-bye, mam” Akane said as she bowed, “I hope the rest of your ride is good and well lit.”
The woman just kept flipping through her magazine and the child was still asleep on his mother’s lap. An ‘are you serious’ linegred in Akane’s thoughts as she trotted to the exit. The train had arrived in a station mostly built out of wood. It had been built back in the 1920s, serving as the travel hub for all farmers in the area. It was easy to tell there had been a recent cement layering done over the old rundown hardwood of the original structure nearest to the tracks.
Everything was still, only the fresh smell of dewey leaves and branches that came through the open doors kept her grounded in the reality of her situation. As she stepped outside she took a deep breath and took a little jump forward…
//CrUnCh!!//
The sole of her heavy black boots had just crunched the life out of something just under it. Lifting her foot from the cement of the old station the inner juices and entrails of whatever she had just stepped on stretched and stuck to her boot and floor.
She shook her foot in disgust and desperation, scared that it would stick permanently to her boot.
It was miniscule, but the cries of the small parasitic-like worm ran through the bodies of his thousands of brothers. The rest of them were all still together, waiting. It was still not their turn to take part. The crushed little one was just one sacrificed, fallen, for the greater purpose they served.
“Hmph. This morning has been so bad… Now I gotta scrape the shit out of this damn boot.” Akane scraped -as she said- the hell out of her boot against the pavement. The smell that came from the crushed creature was foul, like the corpse of roadkill rotting in the hot California sun.
She shivered just thinking of how this might be what her grandma smells like now. She still had to get to that funeral, she had no time to repent stepping on a damn bug with gigantism. Taking out her phone and looking at the map her mom had sent her to the house, Akane started her 1 hour walk to the location. The path she would have to take looked virtually untouched by the hands of industrialization. Tall green trees rustling, the hush of the morning breeze and the subtle sound of streams breaking through rocks and soil nearby made up the peaceful atmosphere. Her whole life had been spent in the cement forest. Full of houses and people. A life that was always rushing, always busy. No time to enjoy the small details that decorate our daily lives.
This girl with the spoiled boots and the tired looking eyes had become quite unassuming. She kept walking, wanting to reach the place where she would have to say goodbye to her grandma. This goal captured her attention so much so that she did not notice the peering faces through the train windows. Thousands of small little eyes followed her step, with foaming mouths and saliva running through loose teeth. The mom and the son that had accompanied her on the train were among these creatures. They shed their human-like appearance as they had already fulfilled their mission; ensure the arrival of the newest soul.
The train’s horn rang through the forest scaring off birds from faraway trees. It’s wheels started whirring, slowly perpetuating its take-off. The creatures’ faces pressed against the window pane as Akane also picked up her pace towards the station exit. Slight whispers could be heard coming from these sorrowful beings. ~You need uuuuusssss…~ Akaneeee…~ ~Coomeeeee to usssssss…..~ These were all carried away by the wind as the soul they called out for trekked farther and farther away.
She jumped from the top of the small flight of stairs onto gravel and jogged into the clearing.
Akane needed to get there quickly if she wanted to spare herself a scolding from her mother. That woman is stubborn. Even without the help of her siblings she raised the funds for the funeral and maintenance of the old house (semi mansion). In a way, Akane was just like her mother. A stubborn dumbass that had always been good at not taking advice and avoiding any sort of activity that involved coordination with other human beings; a.k.a teamwork. The vain of her existence. Teamwork involves something she still has to work on; communication. It was always so tiring for her that she just opted for the easiest option of not even bothering. She avoided this problem, like many others she might have, probably because of laziness or just the fear of facing her own failures.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Her mom had sent Akane a shortcut to the house after her dear daughter had the audacity to be so late.
25%
24%
23%
.
.
.
.
.
.
10%
Akane’s tired eyes squinted at the cracked phone screen trying to make out the directions on the map. It already felt like hours since she had last seen the train and now her phone was dying.
“Everything looks the same!!!” She shook around Tarou-kun in a choke hold. “I hate it when Yuzu’s right.” She pressed her back against a tree and dragged her back on the trunk as she sat down on the grass wearing a look of defeat. Yuzu Nakata had been her friend as long as she could remember.
Yuzu’s mom and dad owned the convenience store closest to Mrs. Kamiya’s (Akane’s mom) apartment. Every week after school Akane would pass by to get the latest issue of Weekly Shounen Jump and discuss the latest chapter of HunterxHunter (one of Akane’s favorites) with Yuzu. Akane sat there on the forest floor reminiscing about the conversation she had had with her friend the day before…
“Dude, you’re gonna get so lost,” Yuzu laughed while restocking the waters on the top shelf of the fridge in the convenience store,”and trust I won’t be there to hear you complain. I have a date tomorrow.”
Akane took off the hoodie that covered her post all-nighter face, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll try not to be a dumbass again and actually do something useful.”
“You mean like get there early?” Yuzu snickered as she placed the tags on the rack.
....
The tree branches and bamboo all leaned on Akane from the weight of their own bodies, creating an evergreen cage. She couldn’t shake off this weird feeling she had. The shadows and figures she had learned to ignore over the years were as active as ever and the missing chirp of birds was making her uneasy. Now that she thought about it, there weren’t ants, lizards or raccoons either. Her thoughts were all she had. Looking up at the specks of light that got through the thick foliage she closed her eyes.
“Unfinished drafts, incomplete and empty stories, nothing to stand out with… what are you even working for?” A shrill, high and shaky voice seemed to peer through her ears. She assumed it was another one of her own self reflections.
“I don’t know… I just know that I want to do something, for me, for someone. But I suck ass right now.”
“Well, are you gonna do anything about it little lady?”
“I don’t know if I have time. Everyday seems to go by and I feel like I haven't done shit.”
“Chikikikikikikikikikikiki,” the voice snickered,”well poor ol’ you!” The last words sunk into deep and violent gurgle. Akane then realized the voice wasn’t her mind’s creation.
She opened her eyes and whipped her head towards the polyester creature she held;
“Wha-?”
Just then, Tarou-kun’s former black bead eyes blinked and morphed into an organic form. The eyeballs whirled and shifted in the socket as the irises jolted around until they focused on Akane.
“I sSsEeEeE YoOoUuUuU…”
The plush started to pulsate in her hands. She could feel a thousand (or even millions) of ants, no, worms inside of him. They urged to get out, the more time passed the more this became a violent search for freedom from the confinements of the plush’s body, distorting and stretching it in the process.
“Ugh!” Akane exclaimed as she threw the plush into the faraway woodland.
Her chest oscillated with her heavy breathing, she was shocked. What the heck was that?! Having the creature close made her head hurt, all her senses became agitated and her vision blurry. Did she actually spend 1600 yen on that demonic thing?!
//BOOM//
A tree fell down in the distance.
//BOOM//
Another.
Akane stood just from the sheer adrenaline that now ran through her body. The ground under her feet shook and rattled the trees and bamboo that surrounded her. Something was telling her to run (probably her instincts) and needless to say, she answered the call.
A giant wave of pure black towered over the meter long trees and arched covering the sun in the horizon. Millions upon millions of small parasitic worms composed this giant wave, wiggling and squirming searching for their prey. Akane sprinted through the woods occasionally knocking her shoulders on the protruding branches. She was running down a hill that ended in the calm stream of water she had heard before. The more she ran her heavy black boots became even heavier causing her to lose her footing. A flat rock with sharp edges served as the landing spot for her head as she tumbled down the rest of the path.