Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [604]
“Oh, no, not that,” Otsū said quickly.
“Well, why are you here?”
“I felt so sorry for you I couldn’t stand it.”
“And now you want to put me under obligation to you. That’s what you’re trying to do, isn’t it?”
Otsū was too shocked to say a word.
“Who asked you to come to my rescue? Not me! And I don’t need your help now. If you think by doing me a favor you can stop me from hating you, you’re mistaken. I don’t care how badly off I am; I’d rather die than lose my pride.”
“But, Granny, how can you expect me to leave a person your age in a terrible place like this?”
“There you go, talking nice and sweet. Do you think I don’t know what you and Jōtarō are up to? You two plotted to put me in this cave to make fun of me, and when I get out, I’m going to get even. You can be sure of that.”
“I’m sure the day will come very soon when you’ll understand how I really feel. Anyway, you can’t stay in there. You’ll get sick.”
“Hmph. I’m tired of this nonsense.”
Otsū stood up, and the obstacle that she had been unable to budge by force was dislodged as if by her tears. After the topmost rock rolled to the ground, she had surprisingly little difficulty rolling the one below it aside.
But it hadn’t been Otsū’s tears alone that had opened the cave. Osugi had been pushing from inside. She burst forth, her face a fiery red.
Still staggering from the exertion, Otsū uttered a cry of joy, but no sooner was Osugi in the open than she seized Otsū by the collar. From the fierceness of the attack, it looked as though her sole purpose in wanting to stay alive was to attack her benefactor.
“Oh! What are you doing? Ow!”
“Shut up!”
“Wh-wh-why—”
“What did you expect?” cried Osugi, forcing Otsū to the ground with the fury of a wild woman. Otsū was horrified beyond belief.
“Now let’s go,” snorted Osugi, as she started to drag the girl across the sodden ground.
Clasping her hands together, Otsū said, “Please, please. Punish me if you want, but you mustn’t stay out in this rain.”
“What idiocy! Have you no shame? Do you think you can make me feel sorry for you?”
“I won’t run away. I won’t— Oh! That hurts!”
“Of course it hurts.”
“Let me—” In a sudden burst of strength, Otsū wrenched herself free and sprang to her feet.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Instantly renewing the attack, Osugi clutched a fistful of Otsū’s hair. Otsū’s white face turned skyward; rain poured down it. She closed her eyes.
“You tramp! How I’ve suffered all these years because of you!”
Each time Otsū opened her mouth to speak or made an effort to wriggle free, the old woman gave a vicious tug at her hair. Without letting go of it, she threw Otsū to the ground, trampled on her and kicked her.
Then a startled look flashed across Osugi’s face and she let go of the hair. “Oh, what have I done?” she gasped in consternation. “Otsū?” she called anxiously as she looked at the limp form lying at her feet.
“Otsū!” Bending down, she stared intently at the rain-soaked face, as cold to the touch as a dead fish. As far as she could tell, the girl wasn’t breathing. “She’s … she’s dead.”
Osugi was aghast. Though unwilling to forgive Otsū, she had not intended to kill her. She straightened up, moaning and backing away.
Gradually she quieted down, and it was not long before she was saying, “Well, I suppose there’s nothing to be done but go for help.” She started to walk away, hesitated, turned and came back. Taking Otsū’s cold body in her arms, she carried it into the cave.
Though the entrance was small, the inside was roomy. Near one wall was a place where, in the distant past, religious pilgrims seeking the Way had sat for long hours in meditation.
When the rain let up, she went to the entrance and was about to crawl out, when the clouds opened again. From the stream sluicing over the mouth, water splashed nearly to the innermost part of the cave.
“It won’t be long until morning,” she thought. Nonchalantly she squatted and waited