"Good afternoon," she chirped. It was then that I began to feel what seemed like lead weights tugging on my eyelids - I had not slept for a good, long while.
"Afternoon to you too, Miss Hakurei." I gestured towards the shrine. "May I?"
Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "Please do."
I rummaged in my pocket as I approached the little altar, roofed by a thin oaken fringe that barely shielded the entrance from the sun's glare. Surprisingly, I managed to find my wallet, slightly battered, but still intact. Judging by the amount of money inside, it seems that whoever had sent me here to Gensokyo had tried to ensure that I had enough to eat for at least a year or so. I couldn't recall ever withdrawing this much from the bank, at least...
I fished out a note and slipped it inside the donation box perched on the altar, hoping the gods would accept a form of yen from two hundred years into the future. Reimu's eyes followed my hand's progress towards the box closely.
Clapping my hands together and bowing to the little statue gazing up at me from the ground, I smiled at the expectant Reimu. "May I stay for a while longer? I'm in need of a little rest."
"Of course." Reimu beckoned for me to follow her, then darted into the side entrance of the shrine. When I reached the doorway and peered in, I found her bustling about the place, pulling a table and cushions into the center of the room, a kettle already humming quietly on the miniature stove above the fireplace. Taking off my shoes, I stepped into the room, feeling the floor, completely covered in straw matting, rustle underneath my feet. A small coating of dust also matted the ground, but the straw was still cool and refreshing to the touch.
The contrast between this place and the Scarlet Devil Mansion could not have been more stark, more clear. The Mansion was a cold, large, empty place, and every whisper echoed in and out of the corridors, shimmering through the halls with an almost aetheric quality. No wind ever penetrated the walls of its chambers, and yet there was no denying the harsh, dark, and wholly disquieting veil that was cast over everything, an all-encompassing frostiness pooling into every corner, every niche, seeping into your bones. Even in the day, there was little comfort to be found from the sunlight, so tinted and warped by the windows that it became nothing but a mellow glow, a husk of dull illumination. (The Mansion's size in itself warrants a second visit, though probably, and hopefully, not any time soon.)
The Hakurei Shrine, however, clung tightly to its humble roots, and never seemed to tire of them. The interior was as dilapidated as the exterior, and yet it was so homely, so comforting, and so warm. Unbelievably warm. Still, the breeze coursing through the open doorway cooled the sweat on my back, and the smell of sweet tea permeated the slightly dank air inside. Only my deep-seated sense of courtesy prevented me from laying on the straw mattress and falling asleep immediately in the shadow of the lazy midday sun.
Reimu took a cushion and sat on it, adopting the knees-forward seating position I still had yet to master. I opted instead, as she patted the table and motioned for me to sit down, to cross my legs and use the cushion as a foot-stool of sorts, so refreshing was the feeling of the cold straw beneath me. We spent the next few minutes making small talk, letting the breezy chirping ubiquitous in all summers calm our ears as we chatted. And as the kettle pouted, and Reimu brought it along with some teacups to the table, she popped the question.
"Your travels carry much color, traveler, though I'm surprised you haven't encountered any, well, more hostile entities on your way here." After hearing a summary of my experience in Gensokyo so far, she seemed eager to talk. "I'm sure you'll find some way of returning some day." She paused, and, slightly apologetically, she continued. "But you see, the process of returning to the outside world is as arbitrary as it is complicated. I'm afraid some source of great power, or at least someone acquainted with the process, may be required. Outside the youkai, I don't know of anyone living here who's managed to leave yet."
"That's a little unfortunate." I took a sip of the tea she offered me. Unlike Sakuya Izayoi's tea, it was more herbal in nature, with a distinct citrous aftertaste that carried away the mild bitterness that brought it forward in the first place.
"It is. But enough about that. We should make your stay in Gensokyo as comfortable as possible, while we can. I'm not the greatest tour guide, but I can tell you a little about everything. Is there anything you have in mind, or anywhere you'd like to go next?"
I raised my eyebrows, and thought about it for a moment. "I guess so."
"Let's hear it then."
No comments:
Post a Comment