spooky love

"The Love of Monsters (Published Edition)" Author: [Japan] Kihara Yinase

Copywriting

Ryoichiro, who works as a teaching assistant at the university, secretly fell in love with the silent servant Dema, but he couldn't express his heart.Dema has been by his side since childhood, and is an irreplaceable existence for the quick-tempered and willful Ryoichiro.

Just when Ryoichiro was planning to "instead of destroying the relationship, even if the two maintain the status of master and servant, they should keep Dema by his side", Dema suddenly resigned.Ryoichiro couldn't accept it, he was very angry, and his attitude towards Dema began to appear indifferent...

cattle thief

Overture

Although the sun shines like a fire during the day, the heat gradually eases as the day goes west.It's just that the cicadas are still chirping endlessly in front of the court.

Since dusk, the whole house has become even more flustered.The owner of the sake brewery (Note 1) Satake Sonroku originally planned to stay in the inn street outside Bali (Note 2) due to business negotiations, but he hurried back when he heard that his six-year-old only son Ryoichiro was in critical condition.Since the daytime, doctors and maids have frequently entered and exited the patient's room, but the faces of the people who came and went were solemn, implying that the child's condition was not as expected.

Tokuma, the son of Tomie Tanaka, Ryoichiro's nurse, was not allowed to approach the patient's room, but could only hug his knees and squat beside the orange lilies planted in the garden.The noise was getting louder in the corner, and he saw his mother running along the corridor that circled the courtyard.

Dema knows that even if all methods are exhausted, Ryoichiro's life is still very limited.

He looked up, as if about to thrust his chin forward.There is a big white snake on the roof of the house, coiling up its body, and spitting out its red tongue towards the sky.About five days ago, he discovered the existence of the snake, which was originally about the size of a dog.Once upon a time, there was a white snake coiled on the roof. At that time, the mother-in-law of the Satake family died.Once the mother-in-law died, the snake disappeared, and Dema thought the white snake was a monster that devoured people's lives.

When he saw the snake, he felt that someone was going to die again this time.Immediately after that night, Ryoichiro was bedridden with a fever. As his illness became more and more serious, the snake gradually became thicker.

Ryoichiro's health is not very good. Once a cold catches on, he will be infected, and he will be ill for a long time.His mother, Ami, was very nervous about the only child. As soon as she heard that it would make the child better, she immediately boiled bitter herbs and gave him to eat worms.But even though she tried as much as she could to keep the child in the room, Ryoichiro remained the same and refused to listen.

"Ade, Ade, come and play."

As soon as the fever subsided, he would slightly open the paper door and call for Dema who was drying rags in the corridor.Even if De Ma told him: "Young master, Madam will scold you." The naughty only son turned a deaf ear and sneaked out of the house through the back door, but De Ma had no choice but to follow, shouting: "Running so fast is not good for your health." !" "You'll catch a cold if you jump into the river!" It's not uncommon for them to run after them until sunset.Whenever Ryoichiro was so selfless playing like this the day before, he would definitely be bedridden with a fever the next day.

Ami was extremely annoyed, and thought, "It's because someone was playing with him that Ryoichiro would act like this." So he once sent Dema to work in another house.As a result, Ryoichiro cried for three days and three nights, desperately calling for Dema, and in the end he didn't even eat, so she hurriedly called Dema back.

Dema doesn't dislike the unrestrained and self-willedness unique to children from well-off families. He loves this Ryoichiro who is closer than anyone else and admires him like a younger brother.When Dema knew that the monster was about to devour Ryoichiro, he began to think about whether there was a way to drive the snake away—picking up a small stone and throwing it, but the stone passed directly through the white snake and rolled down to the roof tile opposite to the side facing the courtyard; Thinking that snakes seem to hate cats, so he tried to use bait to lure the cat to the roof, but the cat ignored the bait and just kept raising its hair upside down to show threats; Visiting the shrine, praying for the blessings of gods and Buddhas wholeheartedly, but Ryoichiro did not get better.Not only did Dema know what was causing the trouble, but he could see it himself. Even so, there was nothing he could do, which made him anxious and frustrated.

He saw Ami walking in the corridor, with his head bowed and disheveled, his footsteps were staggering and unstable like a sick person.For about two days, Dema couldn't see Ami, because she stayed in Ryoichiro's room and never left.Ami noticed De Ma, put on straw sandals (Note 3) and walked down the courtyard, came to the side of the child sitting on the ground, looked up at the roof, and shed pea-sized tears.

"Can you see 'that' too?"

Ami pointed to the roof and asked Dema, who nodded vigorously.

"I saw a white snake."

Ami bit her lip and said, "What I saw was a giant spider."

She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her kimono, stared at the roof, and whispered resentfully, "It is impossible to hand over the child to you." Then she turned around, walked across the courtyard, and walked outside through the wicket door.

The sun had already set, but she didn't bring any attendants or lanterns with her.Seeing her unusual appearance, Dema looked around with agitated heart, but everyone should focus on Ryoichiro, right?There was no one around, so Dema followed Ami alone.

Ami walked quickly on the dry gravel road, his steps making a rustling sound.On the small road with continuous houses, every household emits lights, and the road is not lonely, but when you reach the bridge, the surroundings quickly darken.

When crossing the bridge, she saw a lantern flickering on the opposite side—it was a traveling merchant who lived in the next village, and was walking with an arabesque (Note 4) pattern on his back.The man had been to Satake's house before, and when he saw Ami, he grinned kindly:

"Isn't this the wife of the Satake family? It's so late at night, what are you going to do?"

Ami who saw the traveling merchant nodded slightly, but he neither answered nor stopped.After crossing the bridge and crossing the earth embankment, she came to the vast fields stretching endlessly on both sides. The lights of the lights disappeared, and the only moonlight that illuminated the road also flickered and faintly appeared between the clouds.

The lukewarm wind blew, rustling the grass on both sides of the road.Suddenly, a bright light flashed across the eyes, disappeared and reappeared.When he came back to his senses, Dema found himself walking among countless bluish-white light spots of fireflies, which were obviously very beautiful, but he felt an indescribable ominous feeling, and a shudder shivered down his spine.Ami suddenly stopped and stood still, and turned around. Behind her, the road forked into two, one leading to the next village, and the other extending into the mountains.The wind was blowing, and the hem of Ami's kimono flapped.

"You go back."

Dema shook his head.

"No, go back. You can't go any further, understand?"

Hearing Ami's voice was harsher than ever, Dema lowered his head, but heard the sound of his feet stepping on the grass, and Ami's straw shoes came into view immediately.She touched Dema's head with her soft hands, stroking his hair gently.

"You are a smart and gentle child. From now on, you will love Ryoichiro as well as me."

Ami walked into the road leading to the mountain.Even though she could no longer see her back, De Ma still stood there for a long while.He thought about what to do, and in the end, Dema took steps towards the road leading to the mountains.Even if Ami told him not to follow, he still felt that he couldn't leave Ami alone.

Even though the road is dark at night, Dema still knows that he can follow Ami.If there is a strong desire to "walk to her", a ghost about the size of a mouse will appear from the palm of his right hand and tell him how to go on the road ahead.

Ever since De Ma was sensible, he had ghosts in his hands.It's not the kind of scary ghost that can eat people in general legends, but an obedient little ghost.But the little ghost sometimes calls out to Dema with "hey-hey--", if you follow the little ghost's call, you will probably meet a bigger ghost.He knows that little ghosts can do limited things, and big ghosts can do more things, but Dema doesn't want to raise big ghosts because he thinks it's not possible to do so.Occasionally, he saw people raising big ghosts, but those who owned big ghosts often encountered misfortune, and most of them didn't know that they were raising ghosts.

De Ma was led by the kid, although he couldn't see Ami's figure, but if he walked down, he should be able to catch up with her.As he winds up the hill, the grass grows thickly on both sides of the unmade road, cutting his legs.

After passing the charcoal kiln and the charcoal-burning hut next to it, the road becomes narrower and becomes a beast path that only hunters can walk.He didn't know if it was a dog or a wolf barking in the distance, so he could only move forward in fear.Unaccustomed to walking in the mountains, Dema's legs gradually became tired; when they began to creak like old trees, the scenery in front of him suddenly unfolded.

There is a small swamp, and Ami stands on the edge of the swamp.Dema hastily took the kid leading the way into his hands, because he thought that if Ami saw him, he might be scolded.

There is a big willow tree by the side of a small swamp that is as big as five ponds, and the shape of the moon in the sky clearly floats on the water.

"Master Swamp God, Mr. Swamp God... Please show up."

Ami prayed intently.The moon on the water in front of her began to shake, and with the sound of "pasha", something about the size of a cow jumped out-a toad with a horn on its forehead and a bright red belly was seen shaking by the water's edge.Because the toad was so scary, even De Ma, who was used to seeing ghosts on weekdays, almost couldn't help crying out, and he hurriedly covered his mouth.However, facing the monster's ugly appearance, Ami showed no fear at all.

"Lord Marsh God, I have something to ask. My child is on the brink of death due to illness. I beg Lord Marsh God to save his life."

giant toad hair