[One-shot Short Story] Small Miracles at Kototohi-an (7): The Day I Saw an Orb

Sometimes, round lights appear in photographs. They are called orbs.
"It's just light reflection."
"It's water vapor."
"They're spirits."
People say all sorts of things.
The orbs Mayu Asai saw were like this.

Chirin.
At the entrance of the fortune-telling shop Kototohi-an, a wind chime hung with an iron crescent moon made a clear sound.
Mayu Asai, who is turning thirty-five this year, walked through the noren curtain with a slightly nervous expression.

She works in the customer service department of a long-established Japanese confectionery company headquartered in Kyoto.
"Quickly, accurately, and politely."
That was the motto she was taught at her workplace.

Even though her job is to listen to people in trouble, before she knew it, she had started thinking more about providing the correct response than about the other person's feelings. By the time she finished work, she felt as if her heart had become rigid and rule-bound.

That is why, on her days off, she walks alone through the nearby streets of Kyoto.
Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Sannenzaka, the alleys of Gion...
Only during the time she spends walking through the townscape, taking pictures with her digital camera or smartphone, does her heart feel calm.

One day, while looking back at photos she had taken at Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine, she gasped. It wasn't just one. Five, ten... pale golden and white round lights were captured everywhere.

They appeared even after she wiped the lens or switched from her camera to her smartphone.
"Could it be... a ghost photo?"
Feeling anxious, Mayu visited Kototohi-an, which she had heard about from an acquaintance.

"Welcome."
The female fortune teller in the back booth welcomed her calmly.
"I'd like you to take a look at these photos."

Mayu held out her smartphone. The fortune teller slowly scrolled through the screen, looking at them, and then gave a soft smile.
"Were you scared?"
"Yes..."
"You don't need to be afraid."
"Eh?"
"These lights don't look like anything bad."
She said that and returned the smartphone.

Mayu felt a little tension leave her shoulders.
"Do orbs really exist?"
The fortune teller thought for a moment before answering.
"You could say they do, and you could say they don't. Some people call them spirits, others call them energy."
"What is the truth?"
"Because the world we see is different for everyone."

That was when it happened.
A transparent white fox quietly crossed in front of the shop. The cobblestones of Pontocho were faintly visible through its body. Only its tail was moving slowly up and down, as if swaying in the wind.

Noticing it, Mayu hurriedly pointed her smartphone. She pressed the shutter. No one was captured on the screen.
"Again..."
The fortune teller smiled.
"That child doesn't like to be photographed."

"Sensei..."
Mayu asked hesitantly.
"Did you see that fox just now?"
The fortune teller nodded quietly.
"I couldn't see it in the past."
"Is that so?"
"I had trouble with my right eye."
She continued slowly, as if talking about it for the first time.

"About ten years ago, I developed a retinal disease called epiretinal membrane."
"My right eye started seeing things as distorted."

Mayu listened in silence.
"At that time, I cried every day, wondering if I could continue this job. I thought that if my eyes went bad, my life as a fortune teller was over."
"That's..."
"But my mentor told me:"
" 'Instead of lamenting what you cannot see, try cultivating what you can.' "
"Since then, I meditated every day."
"I kept training to calm my mind and be conscious of the center of my forehead, my third eye."

Mayu instinctively placed her hand on her forehead.
"After continuing for months, something strange happened."
"I became able to understand things that cannot be seen with the eyes."
"Like auras?"
"Some people become able to see auras, yes."
The fortune teller smiled gently.

"My right eye is still bad even now."
She said that and pointed to her forehead.
"But you know, I see more with this."
Mayu got goosebumps.
"That's why I've become better at understanding people's moods and states of mind than before."
"Because of an eye disease..."
"Yes."
"Life is mysterious, isn't it?"
"Sometimes what you think you've lost becomes a new gift."

On her way home, Mayu was walking along the banks of the Kamo River. The sunset was dyeing the water surface red.
She suddenly stopped. A little further ahead, that transparent white fox was there.
The river surface was visible through its body. Its tail was swaying quietly.
Around it, several small golden lights were floating.

It wasn't a photograph. She was seeing the orbs with her own eyes.
Mayu hurriedly pointed her smartphone.
The fox was not captured.
However, several golden round lights remained in the photo.

The next morning, Mayu headed to the company as usual.
Asami, a senior colleague who was always cheerful and smiling, had a fleeting moment of sadness in the breakroom.
The Mayu of the past would have overlooked it.
"Asami-san, are you okay?"
With those words, tears welled up in Asami's eyes.
"I thought no one had noticed."

She had been pushing herself to the limit while balancing work and caring for her mother.
Mayu couldn't solve anything.
She just sat next to her and listened.
As she was leaving, Asami said with a smile,
"Just having you listen makes me feel like I can keep going."

Watching her walk away, Mayu suddenly thought.
The golden light she saw at the Kamo River that day. The orbs in the photo.
Were they spirits?
Or were they just reflections of light?

It didn't matter anymore.
Everyone has a small orb deep within their heart. Even when they are tired. Even when they are carrying sadness.
Even when they are in a loneliness they can't tell anyone about.

That light never disappears. It's just that sometimes, we lose sight of it ourselves.

And just by having one person who notices that light, people can start walking forward again.

It wasn't that she changed because she could see orbs.
She realized that the world looked different because she had become able to notice the small lights in people's hearts.

After closing time at Kototohi-an, the fortune teller was closing the windows.
A transparent white fox walked quietly down the alley.
The townhouses across the way were faintly visible through it. There were no footsteps. There was no wind. Only its tail swayed gently.

The fortune teller smiled slightly.
"Thank you for showing yourself to me again today."
The fox melted into the moonlight.
Around it, small golden lights were dancing quietly.

Was it a reflection of light? Was it a spirit?
Or perhaps it was a gentle heart watching over someone. I do not know the answer.

There is only one thing I do know.
The things that are truly important cannot be seen with the eyes alone.
When the heart becomes still, there are things that finally become visible. Things that can be felt.

Chirin.
The wind chime, which hung an iron crescent moon, rang softly.

#ShortStory
#SerialStory
#Novel
#FortuneTelling
#FortuneTellingParlor
#Spiritual
#Fantasy
#Kyoto