Participating in the Universe Cup! ~Under the Cherry Blossom Tree~
"Under this cherry blossom tree, a corpse is buried. By absorbing the blood of the corpse, the flowers take on a beautiful color and attract people."
She was a beautiful woman wrapped in dancing cherry blossom petals.
"Traveler, do not stay too long. It is a very, very old cherry tree. The color of the flowers has been gradually fading, and it would not be strange if it were seeking a new prey."
Saying this, the woman smiled and walked away.
—What?
What does that mean?
***
Upon arriving at the inn, the maid apologized for the landlady's absence, guided me to my room, and prepared some tea snacks.
"You are lucky, guest. The cherry blossoms just reached full bloom today. Since it is an old tree, they won't last even three days before falling. They bloomed early this year, and even though this is our busy season, it looks like we might have no customers at all. Well, this is just the way of nature. I hope you can enjoy it as a bit of charm and atmosphere."
Perhaps because there are no other guests, or perhaps it is just her personality, the maid talks a lot. She offers me tea, asking if I would like to keep her company to kill time if I have any. The maid happily pours her own tea, saying that if it is the guest's request, then it cannot be helped.
"It was a magnificent, or rather, splendid cherry tree, beyond what words can describe. However, I also heard a strange story. That a corpse is buried under this cherry tree."
I tell the maid what happened earlier.
"There are some unscrupulous people who spread rumors about corpses being buried just to attract customers. It is a splendid tree even without spreading such rumors. But that is strange. Even the young people now only know that a corpse is buried there, and they don't even talk about it. Hmm, I wonder who that woman could be."
The maid frowns.
"You are young, too. Yet you seem to know a lot."
"Oh my, guest, you have a silver tongue."
"The reason the landlady is absent right now is also because of that cherry tree. Even in this day and age of civilization and enlightenment, the old people still believe in such superstitions. The flowers are paler than usual this year. But if you think about it normally, it is just because they bloomed early. Yet they are saying foolish things like the cherry tree will wither if a new corpse isn't buried, or that a curse will occur. It is troublesome because they are seriously talking about such nonsense."
The maid's tone is becoming somewhat familiar. She must have wanted to talk to someone. However, she cannot talk to the people in the village.
"Burying a corpse, you mean a living person?"
The maid burst out laughing.
"Ahaha, it seems you haven't been civilized and enlightened yet either, guest. When they say corpse, it seems they mean burying someone who has already passed away. Even in a small village, if you killed someone because of a curse in this day and age, the law would catch up with you."
The maid poured herself more tea, and while laughing, she took a sip, then put on a serious face.
"But guest, if there really is a corpse under the tree, burying a new one there would be nothing but a nuisance to the person who was sleeping there originally. It is like a stranger suddenly entering the same grave, isn't it? Don't you think that is more sacrilegious and likely to bring a curse? I find it strange that no one else thinks so."
This maid is intelligent. She does not easily dismiss superstitions or curses, and the idea of coexistence—this must be the good, new wind of civilization and enlightenment.
"Have you told the old people or the landlady about that?"
"The old people won't listen to my words or the landlady's words, calling them a woman's prattle. They are so stubborn. I would like to knock some sense into them once, but I would be in trouble if they just dropped dead."
As the maid said this and laughed, a voice called her from downstairs.
"Oops, I have stayed too long. Please keep what I just said a secret; it will be troublesome if it reaches the ears of the old people."
I inwardly find the maid's contradictory behavior—talking about something while calling it troublesome—to be endearing.
"Yes, of course. Thank you for keeping me company while you were busy."
The man looked at the cherry blossoms from the window.
At the hour of the ox, the man puts on a black kimono and stands under the cherry tree.
"I have been waiting for you."
Without a sound, the woman from the daytime approaches from behind. As always, she is wrapped in cherry blossom petals.
"Why did you lie during the day? You are not seeking prey."
"Are you going to make me say it? I thought you were a kind person, but you are a cruel one."
"You are mistaken. I did not come here to exorcise you."
The woman had a sad look on her face.
"I was buried alive here, and for hundreds of years since, I have been used for human greed, and I am tired. Please exorcise me. That is my wish."
"Why don't you stop staying here? You have no reason to be here anymore. You are no longer resentful, are you? I came here to take you away."
"If you truly know how to take me away, I cannot believe such a ridiculous story."
"So you really do not remember. When I was a child, you saved me. I decided then because of that encounter. Twenty years have passed since then. I researched you and looked for a way to save you. Let us spend time together in the new world."
"Could it be that you are the child from back then who could only use simple spells and was teased by yokai?"
"Yes, that is right. Back then, I was captivated by you. Oh, and this is a different matter. I want to be with you of my own free will. And humans are scarier than yokai."
The man smiles and reaches out his hand to the woman. The woman takes the man's hand, though she is a little bewildered.
As the man chanted a spell, the cherry blossom petals danced even more violently, but the man walked forward with the woman with steady, unwavering steps.
The next day, the cherry blossoms had finished falling,
"A curse upon those who interfere with me"
was written on a piece of paper left at the base of the cherry tree. People followed it, and from the following year on, it continued to bloom even more magnificently than ever, continuing to captivate people.
Cherry blossoms dance, a path connecting the spirit world and the present
Cherry blossoms fall, is it sentiment or giving up? Which is it?
Cherry blossoms fall, overlapping with the way of living in a hurry
[Afterword]
I had decided to participate in the Universe Cup, but I finally had some free time starting this afternoon, so I went into 'serious mode' (lol) on my PC, which is unusual since I usually use my smartphone. But the story has a lot of waste, and the foreshadowing wasn't laid out well (crying).
I had been planning to write a story including 'Under this cherry blossom tree, a corpse is buried' for a long time, and I thought, 'Cherry blossoms = spring season word = that's all I can think of!' I originally intended to be very particular about this story, but it ended up thin... even if I wanted to delve deeper, I didn't want to make it any longer for the Universe Cup, and I couldn't decide on the ending while writing, so I just went with this for now. I thought, 'I'll just get revenge next time,' so I spent 3 hours on the story and 4 hours on the haiku, and my concentration is completely gone, and I'm just like, 'Whatever, I'm done' lol.
I decide on a theme every time, but this time I told myself, 'I can't do anything elaborate! Just sticking to three cherry blossom haikus is fine!' Haiku is difficult after all. My self-score is 3 points... There is meaning in participating! I'll do better next time! I feel good with that mindset! I'll definitely say the same thing next time (lol).