【Good Leaf】Eclipse of the Crimson Moon

【Wu Ke】

Since when did Oki Island become a gathering place for ominous and evil thoughts, it has long been unknown.Whether it was before it became the Exiled Lands, or since, no one knows.But the people who live here are convinced that on this isolated island, all kinds of forces that ordinary people can't compete with are gathered.In order to continue to survive here, there have been various sacrificial activities since ancient times, offering sacrifices to the heavens to pray for blessings, pulling out wedges to eliminate disasters, and persisting for many years to this day, so that future generations can reproduce.Even in today's rapid discovery of modern civilization, this small island still maintains its own pace, as if sealed in the enchantment of time.

Priests are priests who serve in shrines and preside over ritual activities in festivals. I am no stranger to this.But I was surprised that there were trainee priests among Tsukimi's students.According to Huo Luo, here, the great priests are basically hereditary, and they are held by members of the five families, while those in charge of general affairs are recruited from among the townspeople.Everyone regards it as a great honor, so being an apprentice or alternate is very respected.

Their duty is to follow the instructions of the great priest and maintain the Shinto spirit and order handed down by Tsukimi since ancient times.From shrine affairs to mission inspections, there are many divisions of labor.And what I encountered should be the patrol team responsible for cleaning up "impurity".

"Not clean?...Does it mean that I have something bad on me?" I was a little surprised, the reason was indeed something I had never thought of.If this is the case, I will become the party of the perpetrator instead.

"I don't know about that, it's already a taboo category that won't tell us." Holo held his chin, still frowning: "Although they are hateful, they don't take action casually, and not all outsiders will When something like this happened to you..."

"...This...Then if I stay here, will I cause trouble for everyone..." My heart suddenly became depressed, and the previous resoluteness was immediately shaken.

He looked at me, was silent for a moment, and said, "If the answer is yes, will you leave?"

"……I…"

"I've heard about the 'Shenyin' a few times since I came here, but there are also people from the Yuwu family..."

"Won't the police intervene?"

"This is a matter of seeing each other. It's not the police's turn to come forward. People from Wujia will take care of everything."

"This...is this okay?...this island...in the end..."

Now, in October of the first year of Heisei (Note), I came here from the bustling Tokyo. In less than a month, too many things happened that I couldn't understand.

Hollow asked me, why didn't I leave?

I asked him back, why do people who live in such a closed and weird town as Yuejian refuse to leave?The so-called people have things they must stick to in order to find the meaning of existence.The people who see the moon have held that belief for thousands of years, and I do the same, because there is something I want to pursue.

You idiot, you might die!I'm not scaring you!

Holo Holo was in a hurry again.It turns out that his real purpose of coming today is to persuade me to leave, right?I smiled and shook my head.

He was the first friend I made here and risked it all to tell me, so I can no longer hide it from him.

"Holo Holo, look here." I lifted the broken hair that fell on my forehead, and showed him the pupils I deliberately covered.

"...that... the color seems to be... a bit darker?" He looked at it for a while and replied, apparently still not understanding why I let him see it. "That's albinism, right? In severe cases, people's hair will turn white and their eyes will be red. Although it looks a bit strange, there is nothing weird about you."

I smiled gratefully, not everyone can face my face so calmly.

"Yeah, although there is no mirror here, but when the eyes hurt, the color is always changing slowly. It's been like this every night recently... Maybe it's more red now?" I put down my bangs, and the eyes are now slightly red If you are afraid of light, this hairstyle is more suitable for you.

"To be honest, I think I'm a bit strange." When he calmly said this, he was a little stunned again.

"I lived here before I was 9 years old, and my family is not local, because my father's job is to do logistics business here. Later, I moved to Tokyo because of the job transfer."

He nodded, motioning for me to continue.

"Since then, my pigmentation has become lighter. I heard from my parents that it was caused by an illness when I was 9 years old. I was hospitalized for a long time due to sudden encephalitis. It seems that I have forgotten a lot of things. Now my memory is still there. There’s a lot of gaps, and the older I get, the more I feel like I don’t fit in with the normal crowd.”

"...Is it? I don't think your personality is so difficult to get along with..."

"Ha, is it?" I lay back a little bit, staring at an unknown point on the ceiling and murmured, "But I don't have the real sense of being alive."

Since then, nothing important has happened.Although I can face everything with a flat smile, but at the same time I am not interested in everything.Even if you have something you care about, you feel far away from it.Even if you cherish and maintain it, there are still widening cracks in your heart, and you still subconsciously choose to keep your distance.

I don't know how to describe that feeling, as if someone is constantly suggesting to me: everything here has nothing to do with you, you don't exist here.

"It's just a loss of memory? I don't think you are such a weak person?" The straightforward boy's tone suddenly rushed. Sure enough, my thinking like this is still very weird, right?

"I used to think that too. But after coming here, I found my purpose."

"Aha?"

"I dreamed about something, it was the past that I left behind here, and I wanted to know about those things. I have always had a feeling that it must be very important and must not be forgotten. And this kind of change in the body is also coming here What happened after that was like a reminder that the answers I needed were here."

Hollow sighed, lowering his eyes.

"Since you insist, I have nothing to say. However, judging from what you said, it might be best to forget those things..."

Indeed, what I want to retrieve may also be part of the taboo.But just because of this speculation, I really can't do it.

The sin of the gods and the expulsion of outsiders who brought turmoil and shadow to the town, or someone else secretly manipulating and deceiving the world, are two completely opposite theories.To prove which side is right, it only needs to present facts and arguments, but in this closed town, it is impossible to do so.

I am reminded of a story I heard somewhere.Is the crated cat alive or dead?To know the answer to this question, you can only open the box and take a look.Before opening, both statements "the cat is alive" and "the cat is dead" can exist (Note).Behind the current Oki Island is a huge cat box, but I am alone, and I have no ability to open it.

Trying to uncover the secrets of Yuejian is not what I want to do.I just hope to go back to the torii under the moon and find my lost past.

I finally understand that the source of the huge void that has haunted my heart for many years is at the end of this journey of exploration.

★★★

After weeks of boredom in the hospital, with only magazines and leaves falling from the window to pass the time, I finally got completely tired of being in a daze.

When the doctor announced that the cast could be removed and I could get out of bed and move a little bit, my heart cheered.

It's good to be young, and the fractured bone has roughly healed in only four weeks. The nurses couldn't help laughing when they saw my eyes filled with tears.

"Discharged? Of course not, it's just that the plaster cast on the foot has been removed, and the arm is still early. Stay in the hospital for at least another two weeks."

I, who had already flown into the sky, was immediately knocked back to the original place by the doctor's words, and fell heavily.Couldn't you leave the hospital?well……

If I can be discharged from the hospital a week earlier, maybe I can still catch up with the festival!No matter from which angle, I would like to see it.

During this period of time, relatives in Tokyo called to inquire about my situation, and Manta also called several times.I was grateful, but the doctor didn't allow me to sit in the reception room for too long, and I didn't talk too much in the end.

I didn't tell them the truth, I just said that I didn't see my feet clearly when I went home at night.

Strange to say, after this incident, my heart did not become panic and fear, but was unusually calm, full of unprecedented fighting spirit.

More than ever, I was sure of my feelings, determined the direction to go, and all these obstacles became signposts on the way, guiding me.

At the same time, I also decided that once my wish is fulfilled, I will leave Yuejian and stop causing troubles to the people here.Therefore, I must expedite my plans to find that place as soon as possible.

So in this anxious waiting, a week passed.I was granted early release because I was recovering fairly well.

★★★

The first thing I did when I got home was not to tidy up the room already full of dust mites, but to go straight to the study and drag out a box from the bottom of the cabinet.

In addition to atlases and tourist guidebooks, I need more unofficial sources.Some old books and sundries that I thought I would never use are put here.In a flash of inspiration before, I remembered that some newspaper clippings of Yuejian's climate diary collected by my father seemed to be still preserved, and perhaps the needed clues could be found in them.

The bandage is still hanging on the right arm, and it is very difficult to search for it.I moved out several pieces of sundries and piled them around me. I almost buried my body in the depths of the box and found some objects one after another. Yellowed old diaries, photo albums that I didn’t have time to sort out...

Suddenly, something caught my eye, and I struggled to pull it out from the bottom of the box.

It was an old earphone.The orange-yellow soft surface and the metal buckle form a sharp contrast, but it is not against the harmony.It can be seen that the owner of the headset actually cherishes it very much. There are no sharp and abrupt scratches on the surface. Only the traces of uniform wear can be seen on the soft-touch leather edge, which adds a bit of intimacy.

While holding it, a wonderful feeling came into being, and I couldn't help but look at it carefully again.He looked over his head to look at every corner, but there was nothing noteworthy left on the surface.

I also like to listen to music, but never with these type of big headphones.

I thought about whether I used it but forgot, but I got a negative answer when I put it on my head.

The size of the headset is not right for me now.Careful inspection of the movable slide buckle will reveal that the current tooth buckle has the most wear and tear marks, and if I say it, I will put another one in.In other words, the usage habits of the headphone owner are indeed different from mine, so this is not something I have used, is it?

As hard as I can recall, I don't recall anyone else in the family using this thing.So, whose stuff could it be?Why did I put it in my luggage then?

I thought about this question for a long time afterwards, just as I tried to recall the shrine that appeared in the dream, but neither answer emerged.The things I worry about gradually increase, but I firmly believe that they are the cornerstones that bring me closer to my goal.

Wantai congratulated me on my recovery and discharge from the hospital on the phone. We chatted and laughed together for a while, and also mentioned Holo Holo.I briefly explained the recent situation to Wan Tai, omitting the thrilling parts, which were too exciting for him.But even so, Manta was still so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time, and when he finally came to his senses, he still asked me a little uneasy if I wanted to go back to Tokyo.He said he could help me, whether it was housing or tuition.

Wantai's father was a prestigious entrepreneur, so his family was very rich.I fully believe what he says, and I accept his intentions with great gratitude, but I cannot yet end my quest.

According to the new information sent back by Wantai and the map of Yuejian, I finally confirmed some of the things I wanted to know.

There are three shrines in total behind Oki Island.Among them, Kokubun Shrine is located in the center of Tsukimi, which is the largest one, and I have already visited it.Sadly, that's not where I was looking.The other two, one is the Burning Fire Shrine at the foot of the mountain in the western suburbs of Tsukimi City, and the other is the Mizuwakasu Shrine built near the sea on the westernmost side of the island.

The scale of these two shrines is not large. The main building is only the main hall and a few side halls around it, and there is no imperial garden (Note).And from the perspective of terrain, one is located in the only concave corner of the mountain wall with few trees in Yuejian, and the other stands on a cliff with a wide view around it and is not surrounded by trees.So these two places are far from what I saw in my dream.

After careful checking, I was greatly disappointed by the conclusion I came to. At that moment, my mind seemed to be emptied again, and I was at a loss.

Is the information wrong?Or am I simply taking my delusions for reality?End the investigation and return to Tokyo?

no...it must be here...

somewhere in the moon...

Unanswered questions tossed and turned in my mind, and I lost sleep again.

★★★

Because I was discharged from the hospital early, I was very lucky to be able to catch up with the Siyue Festival two days later.

Most of the adults in the town held ceremonies at the shrines and intersections in the town, and the school will be closed for three days after school today, but all kinds of decorations and promotional items have been hung in places where the crowds are concentrated.Such a large-scale construction project for just one festival is indeed a grand event that cannot be seen in Tokyo.

Stepping into the classroom that has been away for more than a month, everything is as usual. No one came to congratulate me on my recovery. I still walked to my seat silently and spent the first day after returning to school in a trance.

Then, it was time to leave school.Packing up his schoolbag, he walked out of the teaching building in a somewhat dejected manner.However, when I was less than ten meters away from the school gate, I encountered another major turning point in my life that I was caught off guard.

The dim yellow mixed with rose-red light falls on the street scene in the evening, and the bright gold edge and the dark purple shadow in the backlight form a sharp and gorgeous contrast.As for the girl in school uniform in front of her, she was immersed in this gorgeous and slightly sad atmosphere, forming a very beautiful picture.

She was standing leaning against the outside of the fence, her skin was very fair, and her light golden mid-length straight hair was elegantly draped over her shoulders, shining thinly in the sunset.Viewed from the side, the thin and warped long eyelashes on the drooping eyelids are particularly conspicuous, and the dark brown eyes are looming under them, and after a short blink, they suddenly turned to me——

When she suddenly realized her gaffe, she had already stared at me and walked over.Turning around in a hurry, there was no one behind him, and the blood rushed to the top of his head.While panicking about how to apologize, she stopped in front of her.

"...Uh...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..." I clearly felt my cheeks and ears burning, and I felt that I would definitely be regarded as a pervert or a weirdo for such an excuse.I really didn't mean to stare at her just now, but I did act impolitely...

"Why are you still here?"

The voice in my ears was clear and ethereal, without too many ups and downs, and I couldn't feel any emotion, but the content really surprised me. For a while, I didn't understand what she was referring to.

"Eh?"

That pair of beautiful brown eyes stared straight at me, but there was only an incomparably piercing chill in the eyes, which pierced my heart.Her voice raised a little, and she still asked in an indifferent questioning tone:

"Are you an idiot? Masumi Nishikujo. Don't you know that you're an eyesore to come to school like this?"

My lips moved, and finally I couldn't say a word.Is she really talking to me?We really... just met for the first time!I don't understand why she accuses me like that.

While I was standing still on the spot, she had already lightly brushed past my side, not forgetting to leave the last sentence that made my heart palpitate.

"Disappear!"

Note 1: In the early years of Heisei, that is, 1989.

Note 2: The cat box, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, Schrödinger’s thinking experiment in 1935, constructed a cat box through mechanisms, because the decay of radioactive elements is an uncertain superposition state, so the cat in the box is in a superposition of life and death The state of the box can only be determined by opening the box.

Note 3: Mien, the larger open space in the shrine, here refers to the open space with huge stones and torii that Masumi saw at the time.