Chapter 3.2

The Gotouda home was in Kami-Sotoba. Kami-Sotoba ran parallel to the village road along the river bank, extending north, a complex mingling with the community of Monzen which stretched out at the southern region of the temple. While Gotouda's house was in the middle of Kami-Sotoba, far further north of that was the northern mountain the temple was on. It stood as if to whittle away the eastern bank.

"Somehow, he seemed so sluggish," Fuki said, wiping at the corner of her eye. "At first I wondered if it was heat stroke, that's what I said. He must have eaten something bad, I thought, and then he was bedridden. He wasn't ever one to get sick, so I let my guard down, and he himself said if he just slept, he'd get better... That was..."

Seishin watched helplessly, waiting in the corner of the tatami room as Fuki burst out crying, on her knees before her condolence caller. It was tragic when a child lost a parent but when a parent lost a child something about it seemed wrong, he thought of it as all the more of a tragedy.

"I should have had a doctor examine him!" Fuki cried out. "Even if Shuuji was against it, I should have had the Junior Doctor come!"

The old man Koike patted Fuki's back. Of those gathered to help, the old women gathered around Fuki seemed to have found her crying contagious. In the tatami room, separated off, were those watching Fuki, their eyes filled with pity.

"But Shuuji-kun was always so healthy."

"They say the healthier a person is, the more sudden their death is."

"The people around him and he himself, nobody thought much of it."

And then, hearing voices of another group, Seishin faintly knitted his brows.

"...a surprise, a gated wall with such an elegant roof."

"Something like that was built? By who?"

"I just said, by the Maebara's Obaa-chan."

"But that woman doesn't have anyone to even pass it on to."

"That's right. Living on a pension like she is, spending so much money, what does she think she's doing?"

"Oh, but doesn't that woman have mountains of money?"

"Mountains you say, but isn't it on the Yamairi, Mountain Entrance, village road? Even if it's dirt cheap, there certainly won't be any buyers!"

Seishin breathed a low sigh. The village was small. Extended family, meet ups, youth groups, and all sorts of organizations made a complicated web of interpersonal relationships. That said, it didn't mean that all relationships would necessarily be deep ones. Even if there was enough of a connection to hurry to a funeral service, they didn't necessarily care enough for the dead to mourn them; there were countless such relationships throughout the village.

"I'm so sorry," a small voice said. Seishin turned back. An old woman who had come to help refilled Seishin's tea cup. "If you could please continue waiting a little longer, until the guests stop coming in."

With a nod, Seishin exhaled lightly. In such a scene as this, he had to keep a cool, refined expression---.

Death wasn't a rare thing for the village. There were many elderly in the village or rather, many deaths. To the villagers, a senior's death was no tragedy. It was an unavoidable part of man's work; the elderly had finished the pilgrimage called life and returned to the mountains. Those born in the village fulfilled their works as man and soon returned off to the mount.

But, Shuuji had not finished his work. From time to time in the village, there was something unusual that happened. For the one who had passed on and for the ones left behind, it was sheer tragedy, but the dead would at times, unable to wait for a person's homecoming, appear from out of the fir trees and carry someone off. Shuuji was carried off by such demons.

--A Shiki.

As Seishin sat silent with his thoughts, the manager old man Koike spoke, telling him to go on. Seishin moved to Shuuji's bedside to read the sutras.

Seishin finished chanting the sutras and Shuuji's body was placed in the coffin. Seeing that for the moment, there was nobody at Fuki's side, Seishin approached her.

"Then for now I will depart. Please accept my deepest condolences. He will be dearly missed."

Fuki nodded. The retired former head monk was also a gentle man but his son was even more of a gentle, soft spoken one. In an instant she was seized by an urge to spit out everything.

(It's not as if I didn't pay attention!)

There was no way she could not be worried about her bedridden son. She thought about calling the doctor, she thought about it so many times. She was only afraid, what if calling the doctor lead to something even worse than not calling him? It was because she was worried about her son.

(The blood in his futon...)

Fuki looked up at Seishin, and then in one motion returned her gaze to the string of Juzu prayer beads in her lap.

[TL/N:- Juzu -

Prayer Beads used in Japanese Buddhism, their use is similar to a Catholic rosary with beads meant to keep track of counting the sutras while they are chanted. There is also the belief that the good karma leaking off from the chanting of sutras may reside in the juzu. Sutras are typically chanted 108 times as there are believed to be 108 attachments or afflictions that plague man. If more than 108 are to be chanted, some sects start going backwards around the ring of beads to signify breaking the cycle of death and rebirth. The shapes vary between sects as do the appropriate ways of holding them when in use. The formal, larger ones with 108 beads are typically two-ringed, with or without two to four smaller beads dispersed between them. Informal ones may have fewer than 108, are a single ring, and have between 18 and 45 beads usually in some number that divides evenly into 108. Men's informal juzu tend to have larger but fewer beads, women more but smaller. The tassels also come in forms ranging from loose to braided to balled; the tassel style is largely a matter of taste. The appropriate way to hold them between the hands, over one hand, over both, beneath the thumbs, etc. varies by sect.]

(It's all over now.)

It was far too late to be asking what had happened to Shuuji now.

"Thank you very much. ...I will be depending on you again this evening as well."

That was all that Fuki said. Seishin nodded.

"It is a troubling time but please do take care of yourself. It is painful for us to lose Shuuji-san but, if Fuki-san were to similarly fall ill, please know that there would be many similarly hurt for your sake."

Fuki nodded.

(But, there was blood in my boy's futon...)

Giving his greetings to the people gathered as he sought out Koike, Seishin found him in the living room talking on the phone.

"Koike-san, I will be taking my leave."

At Seishin's voice, with the receiver silent at his ear, Koike nodded back at him:

"Aa. Thank you for today. We'll be counting on you for the wake as well," he said to Seishin, hanging up the receiver and then mumbling to himself. "....Where did he go off to?"

"The Murasako's Hidemasa-san, you mean?"

To Seishin's question, old man Koike gave a perplexed nod. "I'd think he'd either have to be in the fields or in the mountains but. ---That's right, Junior Monk, you know Hidemasa-san's and that mountain area, don't you?"

"I believe I do. It is near the graveyard. If you'd like, should I go out there? I do not have any other plans for a while today, either way."

A relieved half-smile rose over old man Koike's face. "If you don't mind me asking. It's a sorry shame to have to ask this much of you but. At any rate, there's nobody who knows both Hidemasa-san and those mountains. If we looked I'm sure we'd find someone who knew them but, we've got to get to digging that grave in a bit here."

"I'll go. If I try looking in the mountains and am not able to find him, I will leave a note at his house."

Seishin departed from the Gotouda house and returned briefly to the temple to tell Mitsuo the situation. He changed into western style clothes more appropriate for entering the mountains and left the temple.

Driving along the private road beside the belfry, he came to the bottom of stone steps before the mountain gate. At the bottom of the stone steps was a short, steep hill road with traditional stone paving which continued for about two hundred meters, all sculpting a backdrop of a town once built around the temple. The old general store where candles and incense were, the flower shop in the grotto, and the assorted Buddhist altar equipment which included the sotoba and coffins used in the village were akin the three treasures of Buddhism: the Buddha, the sutras and the priesthood. The shrine's Otabisho's in this once very small temple town was a remnant of the time when the temple and the shrine were one entity.

The car drove on slowly, shop keeps and others coming out the front to see him. He saw in the rear view mirror as they bowed their heads, seeing him off.

There was a seemingly endless flow of people walking past the turn at the Otabisho onto the asphalt road, likely going towards Gotouda's house. Most were walking the village road along the riverbank. Of each and every person he passed, they all turned when they noticed the car approaching, bowing their heads to him as they realized it was Seishin at the wheel.

---That, there, was Seishin's burden.