[Creative Fiction] The Hermitage at the Mountain Pass: Repaying Kindness - Extra Edition 6

Previous part, here ⬇

From the beginning, here ⬇

The villagers, in a crowd, head toward the dilapidated shack where they are 'kidnapping and confining' the raccoon dog mother and child.
Grandpas and grandmas, children and adults—all the villagers who missed the raccoon dog mother and child headed toward the shack in a group.

('Perhaps we were wrong. Because we were so afraid of letting the raccoon dogs escape, we forced them into the shack without even talking to them, and kept them from coming to the festival.')

Some headed toward the shack with tears, sweat, and regret.

Let's talk properly with the raccoon dogs.

'We were afraid that the sound of the fireworks and such would startle you and you would run away from the village,' we will say.

Somehow, thinking of that makes me feel sad.
The villagers loved that raccoon dog mother and child, who lived modestly in the hermitage with the spirits of the old man and the landlady. They loved the mother and child who cooked rice over the fragrant straw fire of the old man's spirit, boiled water for baths, and sang raccoon dog songs together.

On sunny days, they loved the raccoon dog mother and child who would climb the hill, eat their fill of rice balls under the sunlight, and bask in the sun lazily with the spirits of the old man and the landlady.

They also loved how, from time to time, the child raccoon dog would secretly transform into a village child to go shopping, hoping for some extra tofu.

They loved how the raccoon dog mother would gaze enchantedly at hairpins at the village hairpin shop,

and they loved how the child raccoon dog would run around the meadow mixed in with the other children.

Everyone, everyone loved the raccoon dogs...

'Raccoon dog... raccoon dog...'

The villagers head toward the dilapidated shack.

At the dilapidated shack...

The raccoon dog mother and child and the villagers wearing triangular hats were wondering why the festival music had stopped.
'What happened...?'
'What happened...?'
Some of the villagers in triangular hats left the shack to go outside and see what was happening.

The raccoon dog mother...

tried to speak to the remaining triangular hats. However, the ropes were in the way, and she could not transform into human form to speak human language.

Kyu, kyu... kyu, kyu...

At that moment, the group of villagers who had come from the village arrived at the dilapidated shack!

'Raccoon dog!!'
It was the tofu seller.
'Tanu-chan, Tanu-chan!'
The children.

The raccoon dog mother and child, on the contrary, were startled by this commotion and began to tremble...!

Kyu...!!

The children, filled with joy, and the tofu seller untie the ropes from the mother tanuki and her cub.

"Tanuki!!"

As the ropes were untied...

The mother tanuki and her cub dashed out of the shed all at once!! Then, standing there, was Gohei with his bulging eyes, having taken off his triangular hat!!

To be continued

The top image is from Maple Kaede-san's
"Everyone's Photo Gallery."
Thank you as always 🍁

©2024.9.17. Emiko Yamada