[Pirika Library] The Spring Monster

Spring break. It is a period where endings and beginnings coexist.

The "Monster of Time" lives during spring break.

That was a rumor whispered by the children of the quiet mountain village.

Spring break of fourth grade. Kota was spirited away.

That day, he went to play at a shrine on the outskirts of the village by himself.
He wanted to see the cherry blossoms.

When he passed through the old torii gate, he heard the sound of an instrument. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the worship hall.

When he went to look, someone was sitting on top of the offertory box. It was a very beautiful person with long black hair.
That person was playing an instrument that looked like a guitar.

As Kota watched in fascination, the person noticed him and stopped playing.

"Oh, this is rare."

Hearing that voice, Kota realized that this person was a man.

The beautiful person leaped up and landed softly right in front of Kota.

At the same time, a man with a dog-like face appeared from somewhere and said, "Lord Hijiri. You must not."

The person called Lord Hijiri raised one hand to silence the dog-faced man and said this to Kota.

"You must not be here."

Before he could even reply, Kota was scooped up by Lord Hijiri and returned to the front of the torii gate.

"Now, go home at once."

Kota became frightened and ran out of the shrine as if fleeing.
When he left the shrine and looked back, Lord Hijiri was already gone.

Had he seen a dream...? Kota held his dazed head and returned home.

When Kota returned, his house was in an uproar.
Apparently, Kota had been missing for a week.

Kota told them about his experience, but none of the adults believed him, and only the children's rumors remained behind.

Years passed since then, and Kota became a third-year high school student.
During his final spring break, Kota suddenly decided to head to that shrine for the first time in a while.
It had been decided that he would leave the village in April to attend university.

Depopulation was progressing in the village, and all the young people had left for the city.

As he approached the shrine, he heard the sound of a musical instrument.

Kota ran.
He passed through the torii gate, ran along the approach, and headed toward the worship hall.

And then he saw that person.

...Lord Hijiri!

Lord Hijiri was sitting on top of the offertory box, looking exactly as he had when he saw him before.
He was holding his instrument and plucking the strings, but his expression was vacant.

As Kota approached, a man with a dog's face suddenly appeared.

"I have been waiting for you, child of man."

"What? Me?"

The dog-faced man took a hand towel from his pocket and continued speaking as he handed it to Kota.

"Lord Hijiri has fallen ill. He was cursed by touching you back then."

When he opened the hand towel he had received, there were five large nails and a hammer inside.

"Can you see a shadow beneath Lord Hijiri?"

When he looked in the direction the dog-faced man pointed, he could indeed see a pitch-black shadow.
When Kota nodded, the dog-faced man continued his story.

"If things continue like this, Lord Hijiri will become a vengeful god. He is desperately resisting, but he is near his limit. You can pin the curse down with those nails. It will have no effect unless you, the source of the problem, do it."

Kota gulped.

"Well? Will you do it?"

There was no need to ask.

"Of course, but can I really do it?"

Dog-Face nodded silently.

Kota gripped the nail and hammer and stepped forward. Dog-Face followed behind him.

When they went behind the offertory box, a shadow was cast on the floor.
It was a truly ominous shadow.

"Where should I drive them in?"

"Into the shadow, evenly and uniformly."

Kota took out a nail and drove it into the center of the shadow.
The nail went in perfectly, but there was no resistance at all.

Feeling let down, he turned back to look at Dog-Face, who was nodding in approval.

Kota drove the remaining nails into the shadow one after another.

Once all five nails were driven in, Hijiri-sama slowly slid off the offertory box.
Dog-Face supported Hijiri-sama's body and moved him away from the offertory box.

Looking down, the shadow was still there.

"Did it work?"

"Better than expected."

Contrary to those words, Hijiri-sama lay limp and motionless.
Dog-Face was trying to carry Hijiri-sama into the main hall.

"Oh, wait, what about the shadow?"

"It has already peeled away. It is harmless."

Hearing that, Kota also entered the main hall.

Hijiri-sama was laid down inside the main hall.
He was so beautiful that Kota wanted to reach out and touch him, but he held himself back.

"There is nothing more to worry about. You should go now."

Dog-Face said, as if rushing him.

Kota remembered that when he had come here before, a week had passed in the outside world.

"Oh crap, how long have I been here?"

The dog-faced one remained silent and bowed deeply.
Kota suddenly felt afraid.

"Well, I'm going home now."

He wanted to stay until Hijiri-sama woke up, but he also wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Kota ran through the approach to the shrine and out of the grounds.
When he looked back, the shrine was quiet. Both Hijiri-sama and the dog-faced one had vanished.

Now, the only question was how much time had passed.
Praying that he had only lost his spring break, Kota headed home.

As he headed toward the village, Kota felt a sense of unease.
The trees looked different.

The Yoshida house, which was closest to the shrine, was gone.

Kota ran, trembling with fear.
He finally reached the center of the village, but the village was gone.

Not long after, Kota learned that a hundred years had passed in the outside world.

He would go on to live a strange life due to that fate, but that is another story.
For another time.

I was invited by Pirika-san to write a story for the "Pirika Library".
I had fun writing it! Thank you!

The theme this time was "Spring Break."

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