Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [183]
Having agreed upon a plan at their seaside council of war, they now stood up, brushed the sand off their kimonos and moved into action.
A short distance away, Akemi, bare-legged, had been playing at the edge of the water, picking up seashells one by one, then discarding them almost immediately. Even though it was winter, the sun was shining warmly, and the smell of the sea rose from the froth of the breakers, which stretched out like chains of white roses as far as the eye could see.
Akemi, wide-eyed with curiosity, watched the Yoshioka men as they all ran off in different directions, the tips of their scabbards in the air. When the last of them passed her, she called out to him, “Where are you all going?”
“Oh, it’s you!” he said. “Why don’t you come search with me? Everybody’s been assigned a territory to cover.”
“What are you looking for?”
“A young samurai with a long forelock. He’s carrying a monkey.” “What did he do?”
“Something that will disgrace the Young Master’s name unless we act fast.” He told her what had happened, but failed to raise even a spark of interest.
“You people are always looking for a fight!” she said disapprovingly.
“It’s not that we like to fight, but if we let him get away with this, it’ll bring
shame on the school, the greatest center of the martial arts in the country.” “Oh, what if it does?”
“Are you crazy?”
“You men spend all your time running after the silliest things.”
“Huh?” He squinted at her suspiciously. “And what have you been doing out here all this time?”
“Me?” She dropped her eyes to the beautiful sand around her feet and said, “I’m looking for seashells.”
“Why look for them? There are millions of them all over the place. It just goes to show you—women waste their time in crazier ways than men.”
“I’m looking for a very particular type of shell. It’s called the seashell of forgetfulness.”
“Oh? And is there really such a shell?”
“Yes, but they say you can only find it here on the shore at Sumiyoshi.” “Well, I’ll bet there’s no such thing!”
“There is too! If you don’t believe it, come with me. I’ll show you.”
She pulled the reluctant youth over to a row of pine trees and pointed to a stone on which an ancient poem was carved.
Had I but the time
I’d find it on the Sumiyoshi shore.
They say it comes there—
The shell that brings
Oblivion to love.
Proudly, Akemi said, “See? What more proof do you need?”
“Aw, that’s only a myth, one of those useless lies they tell in poetry.”
“But in Sumiyoshi they also have flowers that make you forget, and water too.”
“Well, suppose it does exist. What magic will it work for you?”
“It’s simple. If you put one in your obi or sleeve, you can forget everything.”
The samurai laughed. “You mean you want to be more absentminded than you already are?”
“Yes. I’d like to forget everything. Some things I can’t forget, so I’m unhappy in the daytime and lie awake nights. That’s why I’m looking for it. Why don’t you stay and help me look?”
“This is no time for child’s play!” the samurai said scornfully, then suddenly remembering his duty, flew off at full speed.
When she was sad, Akemi often thought her problems would be solved if she could only forget the past and enjoy the present. Right now she was hugging herself and wavering between holding on to the few memories she cherished and wanting to cast them out to sea. If there really were such a thing as a seashell of forgetfulness, she decided, she wouldn’t carry it herself, but instead sneak it into Seijūrō’s sleeve. She sighed, imagining how lovely life would be if he would just forget all about her.
The very thought of him turned her heart cold. She was tempted to believe he existed for the sole purpose of ruining her youth. When