The Great Lie Temple ①

The full moon the day before yesterday this month was the last cold moon of the year. I wonder if I am destined to grow another year older just like this. When I think back, there was a time when men from all over the capital would crowd before my gate, clamoring to see me or win my favor. Eventually, rumors spread that even a person of noble birth was sending messengers, and both my father and mother were in a great panic, rushing to clean the house from top to bottom, saying this was a serious matter. I had nowhere to hide, so I decided to make an excuse and visit a temple instead. My mother was dumbfounded and pressed me, asking if I truly intended to shave my head. She even started crying, asking what temple would ever take me in and reminding me who it was that had raised me all these years. That was not it at all; I simply hated the house cleaning and headed toward the pachinko parlor, but it was overflowing with people of the same mind, much like a crowded train. In the midst of the noise, the same men as always were facing the machines with desperate expressions. Perhaps I should really go to Terra—to that blue Earth, like bamboo?

410 characters

I am participating here.