Chapter 10

After being featured on a variety show, the cherry tree had been regularly cleaned of its petals by the local residents. Every morning and evening, as one passed under the cherry tree, someone could be seen sweeping up the petals with a broom. It seemed that Ray wouldn’t have a chance to help.

The old lady from the house nearby often joined in the cleaning. Ray was worried that she might get tired, but the old lady seemed full of energy. Ray was also happy that his magic had been of some use, so this morning he decided to speak up.

"Good morning. I’ve been enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms every year."

"Good morning. Thank you very much."

"These cherry blossoms are worth seeing. I’ve been enjoying them for many years, so I help with the petal sweeping a little."

A woman who was cleaning joined the conversation. The cherry petals had almost all fallen, and at the feet of the old lady and the neighborhood woman, small pink mounds of swept-up petals had formed. At that moment, a gust of wind blew. The carefully gathered petals were scattered, and the two women, exclaiming "Oh no" and "What a bother," hurried to sweep them up again. Ray bowed his head and headed to work. The wind was strong all day, and he had to keep the windows closed to prevent the documents from flying around.

"I might stop by that shop on the way back."

The shop he had found while walking was located on a side street off the main road, an old, wooden dango shop. Instead of sliding windows, it had wooden-framed glass doors, and the display case inside was lined with dango skewers, each holding three dango. He opened the door with a creak and entered, and a thin old man appeared.

"Welcome."

"Can I buy just one?"

"Of course. Some people buy just one while on a walk."

"That’s good to know. I’ll take one mitarashi, one strained bean paste, one black sesame, and one isobe."

"Spring days are often windy, so be careful on your way back. That will be 400 yen."

He received the dango and paid, the wind rattling the door even as he did so. With the dango in hand, he decided to take a longer route home and started walking through the wind. Ray didn’t dislike rainy or windy days. While he would avoid going out during a storm, a bit of bad weather made him feel more alert and energized.

"Excuse me, miss, your handkerchief seems to have flown out of your bag."

Turning at the sound of the voice, he saw a man in his thirties wearing a black trench coat holding out his handkerchief. The wind blew, messing up the man’s bangs. The man, still holding out the handkerchief with his right hand, used his left to push his bangs back. His face was hidden as he looked down.

"Thank you. A tote bag isn’t suitable for windy days."

He took the handkerchief with a smile, put it securely back in his tote bag, and bowed before continuing on his way. He intended to eat the dango at a resting place in the corner of a small shrine just ahead. He liked the shrine because it was always clean, had a resting place, and was surrounded by large trees, making the air feel fresh. It was perfect for relaxing alone on a day like this.

Ray bought a tea from the vending machine at the resting place, sat on a bench, and opened the dango package from his tote bag. He took a bite of the mitarashi dango, carefully putting it in his mouth without letting the thick, sweet-savory sauce drip. The combination of sweet and soy sauce was initially surprising but had become one of his favorite flavors.

"Next, the bean paste, I guess."

Just as he was about to take the second dango, he saw a priest in hakama walking towards him from the shrine’s office. (Is food not allowed here? But I’ve seen people eating bentos.) He put the strained bean paste dango back in the package and folded the paper neatly. The priest, who looked to be well over seventy, walked straight to the resting place and spoke to Ray.

"Oh, you can eat here. It’s open to those who come to pray. But did you pick up something and put it in your bag?"

"Picked up? Oh, yes, my handkerchief was blown away by the wind, and someone walking behind me picked it up for me."

"Could I see that handkerchief for a moment?"

Ray handed the handkerchief to the priest, wondering what was going on. The priest took it, unfolded it quickly, and slapped it three times, as if straightening out a towel before hanging it.

"Thank you. I’ll be on my way. Please enjoy your time here."

The priest returned the handkerchief and left. Ray was surprised but, not understanding what had happened, finished the strained bean paste dango and drank his tea. After a short rest, he headed home.

Meanwhile, as the priest walked away, he casually stepped on a small black object trying to escape with his geta. The black object let out a faint "Gieeee" and disappeared. He glanced at the woman, but she didn’t seem to notice the black object or hear the sound. That was normal.

"The wind is humid, so it’s good to be careful. After the spring equinox, one can’t let their guard down."

The humid south wind of spring sometimes brings bad things from the distant south. If one unknowingly ingests these bad things, it can cause trouble. The priest had seen these bad things many times before but didn’t know exactly what they were.

"I should purify the area."

He took the coarse salt and sake always kept in the office and sprinkled a little of each at every corner of the shrine grounds.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Well, well. I was noticed, huh? That human had such a good smell."

A crow perched on a utility pole, having watched the entire scene, spread its wings and flew away. The crow was actually a "Yaku" (a malevolent spirit). It had noticed a human with an exceptionally good smell in the morning and followed them from their workplace, unable to resist making the handkerchief fly away and setting up its plan. The Yaku couldn’t enter the shrine grounds, so it had watched from above in the form of a crow, but its plan had failed. The Yaku, which enters through the mouth of its target and feeds on their mental and physical energy, was frustrated.

"Basically, there are too many shrines in this country."

The Yaku grumbled and rode the wind to search for its next victim.