Betrayal in the Land of Waves
The Land of Waves:
Ever since Mr. Okajima came to visit her mother Sen had been consumed by worry, on one particularly warm day she and Setsu made their way to the pond near their home, tucked away behind a grove of trees. They came to the pond sometimes when the weather was pleasant, as did the other children nearby. Setsu was wearing a scratchy makeshift bathing suit she fashioned from scraps of their fathers old work clothes, the clothes fitted her poorly and clung to the sides of her and when she bent over revealed far too much. Sen sat upon a rock and watched the children in the pond splashing and screaming with delight. Setsu was there too though she was far too occupied with a boy, the son of one of Mr. Tazuna’s assistants, the boy was older than Setsu and she trailed after him like a lamb would. The rock had grown warm in the rare sun and Sen laid back basking in the heat, her startling eyes twinkling. Sen, just a girl of 9 with no shape or curve to her plodded around the pond with only a large undershirt, as she pushed herself off the rock and made her path to the path to go home she stumbles into none other than Mr. Tazuna and felt incredibly embarrassed at her nakedness.
‘Hello Sen, enjoying the sunshine I see.’ He said as he peered through the gap in the trees and spied Setsu and the boy in the corner of the pond.
‘Walking here I passed by your Squished House and over there with my assistants son who is that girl? They certainly look occupied don’t they.’ He said while squinting in the glare of the sun.
’oh that’s my older sister Setsu sir,’,she explained.
’Well Sen when your sister is home you give her these herbs and tell her to make tea with them to give to your mother. Mr. Okajima told me your mother was very sick. These herbs are important make sure she takes care.’ Sen started to frown and with a sigh she began.
’In that case maybe I should make the tea sir, Setsu isn’t - I’m better at making tea.’ If Sen had told Mr. Tazuna about Setsu’s clumsiness and her difficulties with basic chores maybe he would think she was clumsy too and Sen couldn’t bare to disappoint Mr. Tazuna with his formal clothing and refined manners.
’oh my Sen-chan, you’re poor mother is sick, your father old in his years and now you tell me your sister cannot prepare tea. Whatever shall become of you Sen-chan, who will take care of you and provide for you?’ He said exclaimed, now patting her on the head.
’Well Mr. Tazuna I’ll take care of myself,’ she said, a small yet sad smile on her face.
‘I know of an old man Sen who when he was your age his father died and shortly after his mother went too and he was left all alone in the world. Doesn’t that sound similar to you Sen- chan?’ He said though there was a coldness to his tone that left Sen with no room to argue.
‘Well that man is me young one, yes, I was orphaned at such a young age and then I was taken in by the Tazuna family and married their daughter and adopted and now I help run the company. I managed to make it out all right in the end and maybe you too will be lucky as I was Sen-chan.’ Mr. Tazuna’s grey hair seemed to shine like silver in the sunlight and Sen couldn’t pull her eyes away, for once she was filled with an inkling of hope, that maybe when her parents died that Mr. Tazuna would adopt her and Setsu and they could live in his home in the more prosperous village and be raised as proper women of the Tazuna family.
’Do you really think someone would want to adopt me?’ She began with a small voice, now a slight worry had entered her, what if Mr. Tazuna didn’t want to adopt her?
’Sen-chan you’re a clever girl, anyone would be lucky to have you.’ And after that the seed had been planted.
Despite the comfort that her fantasising about adoption gave her, Sen became racked with plaguing worry, she felt she was betraying her mother and father, especially her father. Even though the man was old in his years he was a healthy and active man and Sen couldn’t imagine leaving him once her mother died, even if it was to go live in the big house Mr. Tazuna lived in, this worry ate at her for days until she came to the conclusion that Mr. Tazuna would adopt her father too. Of course he would! He would never let the girls father waste away alone in the Squished House. Once she had convinced herself of this it eased her worries and she began to feel lighter.
Almost a week after her run in with Mr. Tazuna Sen’s childhood fantasies of adoption has begun to spiral and one afternoon as she made her way to the Squished House she saw Mr. Tazuna and her father in such deep conversation they didn’t notice her presence in the doorway.
’I trust you’ve given thought to my proposal Haruno-san?’ Mr. Tazuna in his formal clothing looked so out of place sat opposite the weathered fisherman with his tattered peasant clothes and unkempt hair.
’I don’t know sir. I can’t imagine the girls living anywhere else with anyone else.’ He said finally after much hesitation.
’I understand. They’ll be so much better off with a whole new life ahead of them and so would you Haruno-san. Make sure they come down to the village tomorrow.’ Mr. Tazuna said, his voice was steady and cold, as though the decision had already been made.
As the two men stood up, no doubt as Mr. Tazuna was making preparations to go home, Sen stumbled back out through the door to avoid being seen and caught eavesdropping. She then walked through the door, her face the picture of innocence and ignorance as she walked through the front door to see the two men.
’Sen-chan!’ He started with incredible enthusiasm, ‘I was just speaking to your father about you, I don’t live here in Nishimoya, no I live in the neighbourhood town of Ike, my house is there it’s much larger than this one and my wife and daughter are there, my daughter is only a bit younger than you. Oh Sen-chan wouldn’t you like to come visit, maybe even sleep over. Just for one night of course, then I’d bring you home. How would that be?’ Sen did her best to bite down her happiness, this was finally happening, everything she had dreamed of! Mr. Tazuna would take care of her family. She nodded and smiled innocently though inside she couldn’t have been happier for this was the beginning of her adoption. Suddenly that same pant of guilt washed over her, she felt an incredible sadness at the thought of leaving her squished house, and for rejoicing in her mother’s sickness as it resulted in Mr. Tazuna’s interest in her family.
She moved into their dingy kitchen to try and busy herself, free her mind if thought's but she felt rather like Setsu, stumbling everywhere with hardly any control over herself, though she couldn’t miss the unmistakable sound of her fathers tears. Forcing herself to look away from the pans and look at her father, she found him mending another fishing net in front of her mothers bedroom. The door was open and the darkness of the bedroom surrounded her mothers body like an omen of doom.
The next day the two girls woke up earlier than normal, they bathed and scrubbed every inch of their body raw before getting into the findest clothes they own which were nothing more than simple brown robes made of a rough fabric. Setsu wasn’t as keen as Sen was, she had no desire to leave to go to Mr. Tazuna’s house even after Sen tried to reason with her the older girl, Setsu still was sceptical though she wouldn’t disobey instruction. The two girls made their way down to the Tazuna Coastal Company with extra care to not get themselves dirty. Outside the building was Mr. Tazuna in another men’s kimono of rich green, who was stood next to a wagon that he ushered the girls into and sat by them while the driver began their journey. Sen was sat so close to him she could feel the soft and smooth fabric of his kimono and not for the first time imagined herself wearing something fine.
She couldn’t begin to imagine the dresses and kimonos her and Setsu would have in their new life in the Tazuna household, maybe they would even be able to wear matching kimonos!
The journey to Ike wasn’t a particularly long one but Mr. Tazuna’s kept the girl entertained, he pointed out the names of the other villages they passed and once they were a distance away from Nishimoya he pointed at the blob on the horizon and the girls craned their necks to catch a glimpse of their home village, one which they would never step foot in again, not that they knew of course.
After a short while the prosperous town of Ike came into view, it wasn’t that much different to Nishimoya, if anything Sen thought it was worse. The sky was grey here and the water was a foul colour, the stench of rotting fish coated the coast and her dreams of Ike were beginning to shatter. Setsu fiddled with the hem of her robes while staring off into the distance, her eyes not focused on anything in particular. They were waiting outside the Tazuna Coastal Company building in Ike, Mr. Tazuna’s had gone in first and told them to wait for him, before the sky grew dark he called the girls in and led them to what Sen presumed to be an office. It was the most beautiful room her young eyes had ever seen, the dark glossy wooden floor panels, the scent of pine and matcha and the hand stitched leather furniture was breathtaking. Now looking back on it all she would laugh as it had been nothing more than a regional company managers office but to her untrained eyes it was more than she could ever wish for.
Inside the room though was an old woman with a peculiar habit of tapping her foot, Sen resorted to calling her the Tapping Woman for how regularly she did it in the short span of being in the office. Her kimono was far more lavish that anything the women of her village wore, it was a blend of brilliant orange and gold and sat crease free. The Tapping Woman wore a kind smile but it was unlike any sort of smile the girls had ever seen before, it was an awkward lopsided sort of smile that left Setsu uneasy and shuffling while Sen tried to put on a brave face but even she was growing worried. This wasn’t Mr. Tazuna’s house.
’Now these girls here are Setsu-chan and Sen-chan, her younger sister.’ He introduced, ushering the girls closer to the Tapping Woman so she could properly inspect them. The old woman’s eyes never once left Sen, even as her bony old hand grabbed Setsu and started to quiz her.
’Ne Setsu, what year were you born?’ The Tapping Woman snapped, her foot dragging along the floor. It was confusing, she was addressing Setsu yet she was transfixed on Sen. When Setsu didn’t answer the younger girl came to her aid.
’Setsu-chan is the year of the cow,’ the Tapping Woman released her grip on Setsu and then her hand came for Sen.
’What a pretty one this is, and those eyes and the hair, I’ve never quite seen anything like it. Are you sure they’re sisters?’ She cackled to Mr. Tazuna who had begun to look slightly uncomfortable.
’This one is the year of the monkey, I can tell just by looking at her. And what a great amount of water she has, clearly a girl of spring.’ She said to nobody in particular while poking and prodding various parts of Sen’s face. With a sharp turn of her neck she gestured for Mr. Tazuna to leave the room and suddenly the two girls were all alone with the old woman, the Tapping Woman wasted no time in disrobing Setsu and Sen and inspecting their bodies like one might inspect a piece of meat at the butchers. She lifted their arms to check for blemishes and scarring and once she was satisfied both girls hurried to clothe themselves. Neither girl could understand what had just happened, Setsu was sobbing away but Sen steeled herself, she would not cry infront of Mr. Tazuna and have him think lesser of her. While they were dressing the old woman made her way out of the office to the hallways where Mr. Tazuna stood.
’That younger one, she is rather beautiful, her sister looks like a peasant next to year. Both are healthy and suitable, the younger has so much water in her too.’ she chimed, feeling rather pleased with herself.
’Saying unkind things about children is unbecoming of you.’ He said, not pleased with her words. The old woman regarded him cooly before making her exit.
Setsu was still in a flood of tears and showed no sign of stopping.
’What an awful woman, oh why would she do such a thing Sen-chan,’ she wailed.
’Setsu-Chan can’t you see, she must be a fortune teller or something, Mr. Tazuna just wants to make sure we will be ok. He wants to take care of us!’ Sen began, this seemed to calm Setsu as her tears dried up and a hopeful glimmer shone in her eyes.
The Tazuna family house was a rather large one, nestled on the end of a street with similarly sized houses. Immediately Sen and Setsu were enthralled by it, from the large garden with well manicured plants and flowers to the charming interior. They even had electricity in the house, it was a nibbelt y to the girls who had never had the luxury of it before. The warm golden light left glossy shadows on the wooden floor, tatami mats covered some rooms and where the Squished House smelled of death and sickness, Mr. Tazuna’s home smelt of freshly prepared food, pine and incense.
Their dinner was far grander than Sen could ever imagine. After a short break for the girls to freshen and change into spare robes they were led to a charming dining room where Mrs. Tazuna and her daughter sat. Mrs. Tazuna was a plain looking woman, plump and red though she had the warmest brown eyes Sen had ever seen and a calming manner, their daughter tsunami had a beaming smile and tightly hugged Sen as she entered, clearly happy to have a play buddy her own age. Dishes of steaming rice, grilled fish, picked, miso soup and vegetables started to come to the table as the maids began to serve dinner. Both the Haruno girls couldn’t imagine the sight before them, for their dinners at home were nothing more than soup or rice and pickles.
Once everyone had eaten their fill Mr. Tazuna sat back drinking a beer watching Setsu and Mrs. Tazuna play a card game. Tsunami and Sen put their shoes on and began to make their way out to the garden where they ran around the gras chasing each other for what felt like hours but couldn’t have been much longer than one. At some stage during the evening Mr. Tazuna had donned his coat and shoes and made his way out of the house and onto the street. Tsunami led Sen by the hand to an opening in the wall of trees surrounding their home and peered through the gap.
‘’I always follow my father when he goes on an evening, it’s a secret, are you coming too?’ She asked, Sen could do nothing but nod, fully engaged in following the older man as sneakily as she could. The girls didn’t have to go too far for there was a tea house a few minutes walk from the Tazuna home. They perched themselves on a grassy hill just behind the main reception room of the tea house who had left their sliding doors open to let the cool fresh summer air enter. A group of men sat around a low table, drinks and cards sprawled upon it, Mr. Tazuna was sat next to the most stunning woman Sen had ever seen though she looked unlike any woman she had seen before, the woman had glossy black hair in an elaborate style, her face was painted with a ghostly white pain that complemented the cherry rouge on her lips. Her kimono, oh her kimono Sen had never seen something so elaborate, not even the Tapping Woman could compare to the sheer detail in the kimono.
‘That’s a geisha Sen-chan, my father comes here every evening, or most evenings. They go to teahouses where they entertain, I don’t know why he like sit so much, they sing and drink and dance and everyone gets so drunk!’
The woman, the geisha, poured a drink into his empty cup as she laughed at something he had said. When Sen looked closer she realised the face of the geisha truly wasn’t all that pretty but she had been too caught up in the glamour of the kimono and her makeup to even notice the protruding teeth and too-narrow eyes.
After some time had passed Tsunami started to fidget and the girls made the shirt walk back home, they sat in the bath together after in silence, Tsunami had the look of exhaustion all over her face, the hot water usually had a similar effect but Sen was buzzing, she couldn’t wait for her new life to truly begin. When they made their way to the bedroom Setsu was already fast asleep, resting deeply, the moment Tsunami got into her futon she too drifted away but Sen couldn’t help but turn to her.
’Did you know we’re going to be sisters Tsunami? Im coming to live with you.’ She asked, but the other girl had already fallen asleep, blissfully unaware. Sen too was unaware, for she had been feeding herself delusions and reality was about to come down on her with an iron fist.