Far So Far | Georgia Amane

After a middle-aged man who oversaw the class entered his classroom, a student on duty shouted an order. Then, all classmates stood up and bowed to him.

‘Today, I’ll teach you about Japanese ancient history,’ He said.

He opened his textbook and groped for some chalk, although he didn’t touch any chalk. He continued to look for chalk around the blackboard and teacher’s desk, but there was no chalk in the classroom.

‘That’s weird…… I’ve already put the chalks on the desk and the blackboard.’ He muttered.

‘Wait a moment.’ He would go to the staff room, though all teachers gathered to go forward there.

‘What happened?’ He asked a female teacher.

‘There is no chalk in any classrooms!’ She said.

Then, a younger male teacher shouted from downstairs.

‘No chalk in the whole school!’

All the teachers were dumbfounded.

The next day, the class teacher entered with dozens of chalk holders in his suits, even though all the students were dazed and looking forward.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked them. Glancing at what the students were looking at, he uttered a voice of surprise.

This time, the hour and minute hands were lost on a clock in the classroom. The clock just left the numbers on the face. It quit being the clock itself and kept silent.

There was no hour hand and minute hand on all clocks in any classroom, so every teacher went out of the corridor flustered. Students were confused and buzzing about the incidents surrounding them. In this situation, one girl rested her cheek in her hand and chuckled to herself. Besides, another girl handed the paperback and gazed at her quietly from a far seat.

Tomie mounted over a school gateway at midnight and turned on a torch. She touched a doorknob of a school building and noticed it was locked. Therefore, she inserted a hairpin into a keyhole, fumbled for a while, and skillfully wrenched the door open. After that, she shut the door inside and advanced a pitch-dark corridor with only a torch toward a staff room. She arrived there and opened the door in the same way.

She sneaked into the staff room and locked the door inside as well. Moreover, she put the test papers teachers marked into a cloth bag as much as possible, then escaped from a window. Since they were all lost, she knew teachers couldn’t rate student records.

Tomie bore the bag and trotted through a brake behind the school. She climbed over the fence and then discovered there was a half-moon that formed the shape of a ship. She pointed its arc downward, floating onto the night sky. She paused to look up at the sky and took a rest. Suddenly, a light beamed her from her side, and she heard a man say, ‘Who’s that?’ She ran away, holding the bag in her arm, though she stumbled over a stone. The man wasn’t the only one; they gathered several men and ran toward her, shining a torch on her.

‘Did you steal everything in the school?’ A sheriff asked.

Tomie was compelled to sit on a chair surrounded by some men in the police station. There were some police officers, Tomie’s class teacher and Tomie’s adoptive father.

‘Would you trap me? There is a possibility that you will be outraged,’ The teacher clenched his fist and scolded her in a tremble.

‘Please calm down,’ a senior policeman said.

Tomie supposed that the reason this teacher didn’t call her viciously today was that there were policemen and her adoptive father. Otherwise, he might assert she was guilty and hit her.

In her lower secondary high school, teacher violence is nothing unusual. Not only minor offences in school but also the discord with school regulations, some male teachers always hit students. In addition, the other teachers didn’t criticise them since it was the principal’s educational policy. She was offended by such a teacher’s attitude.

‘We kept a lookout around the school since we got the information that there were cases of robbed chalk, hour hand and minutes hand. If you stole test papers, you would be condemned for guilty. I’m afraid that you might be sent to a reformatory. But it can’t be helped.’

Tomie has kept silent.

Surrounding her, some men looked perplexed and irritated, staring at her seriously.

‘What happened?’ Suddenly, they heard a girl’s voice.

The men looked back; a schoolgirl was gazing at them. Her name is Hime. Hime belonged to the same class as Tomie. Hime was the daughter of a village mayor, but she had never been arrogant, behaved modestly, and always read a faded paperback quietly during break time in school. She looked like she had no friends there; it was the same condition as Tomie. Although Hime was of good birth, she made fine records and was considered an ideal student. Then, All the teachers preferred her. Because of such opposite circumstances, Tomie hadn’t spoken to Hime yet.

‘This girl seems to be a criminal who has committed theft at the school,’ The officer said.

‘Do you have any evidence?’

‘She stole test papers from the staff room. The papers are here……’ The policeman pointed at a desk. However, there was nothing.

‘That’s strange. I put them here… You all saw them, didn’t you?’ The sergeant panicked.

All men looked at each other and nodded but were confused.

‘Did you capture the girl without evidence?’

‘I found her first. I saw with my own eyes that she was running away with a sack of cloth,’ said one of the middle-aged policemen.

‘It might be just your imagination. Why don’t you go to the school and find out?’

The men nodded reluctantly.

Hime escorted Tomie, everyone went to the school. As no papers should be missed, several teachers who lived in the neighbourhood were asked to come to the school, knowing they would be inconvenienced. The sergeants and teachers opened the school gate, entered the staff room, switched on the lights, searched all the desks, etc. It seemed that no one robbed anything, — if a robber escaped from the window, he or she couldn’t close it – though all windows were closed, all the tests were put in their original places. The teachers checked tests carefully against the students’ list to ensure they were complete. As a result, they found that none had been tampered with or lost, and everything was exactly as it had been when the teachers left work.

‘It was proved that Tomie was not guilty.’ Hime said.

‘I’m not sure who her real parents are, so people don’t trust her story……,’ said a foster father.

Hime glared at him. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and could say nothing. The other men were abstracted and went home silently, closed their mouths.

After everyone left except Tomie and Hime, Tomie sighed heavily.

‘How come you saved me?’

‘It was so loud near my house; I woke up and went out. Then, I found you were in the police box. So, I was surprised. Besides, I hid and listened to them talking. It was annoying me because all the bullied you are older men!’ Hime answered sincerely.

The next day in the afternoon, Tomie was walking along the footpath between rice fields. Rice paddies surrounded her junior high school; the sunlight was soft, and the green of the rice plants was bright in her eyes.

She passed through a hedge and crossed a hamlet with a watercourse around it. She had boycotted school but had nowhere to go and was wandering outside.

Unexpectedly, she saw a piece of green objects floating in the waterway beside her. She looked closer and found it was a bamboo leaf boat. The small leaf boat glinted in the sunlight and glided slowly over the shimmering currents of the waterway. Tomie followed the leaf boat at a quick pace.

The leaf proceeded into the rice paddy canal. Tomie slowed down and let the leaf boat go.

After a while, there was a small forest. There was a small mountain where Tomie always went. The waterway passed in front of the forest. The leaf boat seemed to be heading for the forest. The forest was thickly covered with trees, and it looked as if untouched nature had been left owing to some accident.

When she reached the forest, the leaf boat suddenly disappeared. It did not flow beyond that point. Somehow, Tomie entered the forest. There, the light faded, and she stepped into a distinctly different silence from her surroundings. She continued and came to an open area. The sunlight shone in here, and a small shrine had been in front of a small hill. The hill was covered with grass. She climbed and sat down on it, looking up at the sky. Small clouds drifted slowly through the azure blue. She closed her eyes and dozed off.

‘Fancy meeting you here!’ Tomie heard a voice unexpectedly.

Tomie woke up surprised, stood up, and looked around. Then, the schoolgirl, wearing the same uniform as her, stood beside Tomie. Tomie found she was Hime.

‘How come you are here?’

‘I don’t know. We are probably thinking of similar things. Yesterday, the teacher shouted at you and almost hit you. In our school, many teachers have behaved more cruelly than yesterday. So, I got quite sick of them, boycotting a school.’

‘Ditto!’

They smiled.

Tomie looked at Hime again. Her eyes were chiselled, her hair was shiny in bunches, and her bronzed skin dazzled in the sun.

‘Do you always come here?’

‘Yes. But I don’t come here to hide the stuff I stole like you. You hid the chalk and the hands of the school clock, didn’t you?’

‘Do you know all the stuff I stole?’

‘Of course.’

‘You should spoil me for the other guys.’

‘We’re both boycotting school. If I tell them, I’ll be called into the staff room too.’

They both laughed.

‘I won’t spoil it for teachers. But I’d like to ask you one thing: Please don’t hide them here because it would be defiling.’

‘Is it anything to do with you?’

‘That’s right. Because this is my place.’

‘Your place? Are you priest’s daughter?’

‘Here is the small shrine, but there is nothing in it. Moreover, no one in my family is a priest. Anyway, Tomie, is this inviting you?’

Hime picked up the leaf boat from her pocket and put it on her palm.

‘Is that yours?’

Hime nodded at Tomie.

Hime raised the boat in front of her face. Tomie gazed at Hime’s hand; the leaf boat shone brightly under the sun. The boat had a halo, and Tomie unconsciously closed her eyelids halfway. Then, Hime shook it slightly, and the wind blew suddenly. The boat was unravelled, blown, and swallowed up in the sky. The forest was rustling for a while. Tomie held her hair, trying not to tumble.

The wind stopped shortly, and the surroundings became silent again. Tomie perceived Hime as a prodigy.

‘By the way, after you got home, what was going on? Did your father punish you?’

‘No, he was just dazed the whole day.’

‘That’s good.’

Tomie stared at Hime.

‘Hey. Who the hell are you? Did you put all the exams as before and get the guys to be quiet?’

‘That’s right. And, as you can imagine, I’m not a normal student,’ Hime smiled and looked forward silently.

Tomie looked for the one Hime was gazing at. The sea stretched out beyond the countryside, its surface sleeping with a deep blue colour.

‘Things have changed a lot since my era, except for the ocean — it’s still the same,’ Hime said.

‘What did you mumble about? You talked about your place and your era. Are you a girl who came from ancient times?’

‘Yes, I’ve been here since long before you were born.’

Tomie smiled wryly.

‘No kidding! You’re overwhelmed by reading plenty of books, aren’t you?’

‘That’s right. Certainly, I’m exhausted because I must be here almost eternally.’

Tomie thought Hime was bizarre and stepped back. However, Hime stood seriously without making any jokes.

‘If you can’t believe me, I will let you see what I’ve seen. Look and see my eyes.’

Hime opened her eyes. While looking at Hime’s eyes, Tomie felt she was about to be absorbed by the light and darkness in Hime’s pupil. Tomie closed her eyes temporarily……

*

Tomie opened her eyes and recognised that it was the same forest. Then, something touched her shoulder, so she looked back in surprise and found it was Hime. However, Hime wasn’t wearing the school uniform but in a long linen cloth of slightly dusky white. She wore ornaments made of shells and bright glass on her head and neck, which dazzled in the sunlight. Tomie couldn’t believe her eyes.

‘It’s me,’ Hime said.

‘How come you’re dressing like this, Hime?’

‘Because I’m a real princess. No, I was a princess once upon a time.’

Tomie couldn’t believe her ears. She knew that the name — Hime — means ‘princess’ in Japanese. Despite that, she was surprised to hear that Hime was a genuine princess.

‘It looks good on you. That costume is very well made. Where did you borrow it from?’

‘You still can’t accept where you are in the other world, can you?’

Tomie looked around. The forest was almost the same as before, but there was no shrine or small mountain. Looking towards the sea, the surface was much more transparent than before, perhaps having been spared the pollution of civilisation. And there were no asphalt roads in sight, just deep forests and a few pieces of rice fields.

Tomie suspected where she was right now. Hime led her by the hand and began to walk.

‘Are you gonna continue to pilfer in the future?’

Tomie was angered and answered nothing to her. Hime chuckled.

‘I’m sorry that I said so. But I was hoping you could do something bigger, Tomie. You can do something great that could change my life.’

‘Are you telling me what to do? How arrogant you are!’

Tomie sensed that Hime wanted something from her, but she didn’t understand what it was.

When they left the forest, there were rice paddies. The seedlings in the paddy fields rustled in the wind, and the sky reflected on the water’s surface. Then, the smell of manure greeted her nose, and she realised that the landscape in front of her wasn’t an illusion.

Smoke could be seen in the distance, and dozens of thatched houses were lined up. Tomie was astonished to realise that she had arrived in another world. She stopped and looked around.

‘Did you finally realise? This is not the same world as the modern world where you belong,’ Hime said to Tomie.

‘Where are we?

‘It’s our village in the distant past. Moreover, it was an independent country.

‘The distant past?’

‘Yes, more than two thousand years ago.’

Tomie couldn’t believe her ears.

‘I’ve lived here for more than 2000 years. So, I can speak your language now and words in the dim and distant past.’

Hime let go of Tomie’s hand and took a few steps to face her. And then she crooned something.

Para pra……

So far, so far from now

I am killed and make me live.

I cannot run away for a thousand years.

Avalam tirkkum maruntu piritu illai……

No medicine can cure the sorrow

that I have had.

Ival avalam……

Who recognises and saves my misery.

Tomie totally couldn’t understand the language Hime spoke.

‘What stuff?’

‘It’s the original language I was used to speak in my country.’

‘Where is your country?’

‘We came from the place so far from here — India to search for another beautiful land. Eventually, we found and arrived here — Japan. Then, we spread out to various places in this country and told native people how to produce crops, including rice, metal, fabrics, new earthenware, and graves. We also transmitted our religion and the method of ceremony. While we had communicated with the native residents, they began to use the new language mixed with our language — Tamil. The variant one is the Japanese language you are speaking now.’

Tomie perceived Hime’s appearance as somehow like a foreigner. However, the brilliance in her eyes represented the most honest to Tomie among every person she had met. In addition, she listened to her original language for the first time; she experienced a sense of nostalgia.

Hime walked along the ridged road with Tomie’s hand in tow again. After a while, they arrived at a village. There were triple-circled moats. Beyond the moats, a turret was built, and a soldier with a bow and arrow stood. They crossed a wooden bridge over the moat. The bridge had no parapets and was made of several logs.

‘Wow, you’re going all out with your security measures. I always thought things were more peaceful back in the day. You’re breaking my old-school imagination here,’ Tomie said.

‘Can you believe it? Things used to be so peaceful in our village back then, but now we’re at war. It’s unbelievable to think this only started happening recently.’

‘Nowadays and in the old days, all people are stupid.’

‘Yes, yes! Stupid, stupid, and stupid! But I can’t escape. As chief, I must protect this village.’

Tomie took one look at Hime. Hime seemed to have an air of fixed determination but also looked to feel deep sorrow.

Two men with spears were standing guard at the gate. When they recognised Hime, they backed away, fell to their knee, and hung their faces with reverence. One of the men told Hime with the unfamiliar words Tomie had just heard and kept the gate closed. Hime explained something to them, and then they got up, opened the gate, shouted, and nodded.

When they entered the village, they saw many people walking around. The villagers wore linen clothes stained with dust, all with tanned skin. They were surprised to see Tomie and whispered to each other. But as soon as they saw that Hime was by their side, they ran towards them, knelt along the path, and put their heads and hands on the ground. Nevertheless, the parents made their children hold their heads to the ground; the kids glanced repeatedly at Tomie whenever their parents released their hands. The adults also looked at Tomie suspiciously with upturned eyes. Tomie now realised the extent of Hime’s power.

Several men with metal spears approached them quickly and kneeled in front of Hime. One of them, a middle-aged man who appeared to be of the highest rank, looked up and blatantly stared at Tomie. He then stood up and spoke to Hime with a firm tone while glaring at Tomie. Even though Tomie couldn’t understand the language, she realised that he seemed to be accusing her of why she was dressing in odd clothes and why she came there. In response, Hime appeared to admonish the man in a dignified and general attitude.

Eventually, the middle-aged man fell silent and showed his reverence to Hime with a kneeling salute again. Hime moved forward, leading Tomie by the hand. But Tomie did not miss the man glaring at her standing by Hime.

Hime guided Tomie through her village. At first, Hime led Tomie to the hill, a bit far from the housing. They climbed it and overlooked the settlement from the peak. Hime pointed at a shrine. It occupied a large site and was surrounded by a square wooden wall. Inside was a warehouse on stilts, a large temple, and a tower in the middle of the sanctuary.

‘That’s where I usually live because I’m a princess and a priestess.

‘So, are you kinda pope?’

‘That’s what I mean. This village has many gods, but they are formless and can descend to various places. I prepare the area to receive them and take their holy words. Then, God gives us the meaning of our existence.’

Tomie only uttered a ‘hmm’ and looked at Hime suspiciously as she said this.

‘Aren’t you interested in my talk?’

‘Yeah, cuz I don’t get it.’

‘I like your honesty. You never sugarcoat things.’ Hime smiled.

‘So, how come you are the princess?’

‘Because I was appointed the princess by the former princess. The princess in my village isn’t hereditary. It has been selected among various families. Before I became a princess, I was the daughter of a glassmaker.’

‘Glass? I didn’t know there was such a thing in ancient times.

‘It’s a technique from our distant homeland; only my family can make it. Our glass is very precious and is a treasure of our village.’

When Tomie heard the word ‘treasure’, she was suddenly curious. She asked where the treasure was, and Hime replied that it was in a storeroom at the back of the temple.

‘We keep a glass necklace and sword in our warehouse. That’s where our god lives. The sword makes us unbeatable, and the necklace gives our princesses special powers that normal people don’t have. It also decides their destiny.’

‘I see. So, you have supernatural powers because of this necklace.’

‘It’s our secret.’

‘You know, I don’t understand what you’re saying anyway. So, I have no way to tell the other guys.’

They giggled.

‘Tomie, you don’t like me, do you? I know you hate any authorities.’

‘That’s right. I remember the fucking history teacher telling us that many slaves were buried alive in the tombs of such ancient princesses. Well, are you gonna do so for yourself?’

Hime shut her mouth with downcast eyes.

‘No. I don’t do so,’ Hime murmured. ‘They did so to us.’

Tomie couldn’t understand what she said.

‘So, this country called ‘Ine State’ wants our treasure. They learned their civilisation from us originally, but they became more powerful than us and pushed us out. This village is now the last place where our folks from a faraway land live. But now, the old chief of Ine State has declared that we’re shady strangers, and he wants to take us over. There were always wars over water, land, and people in the past, so it wasn’t peaceful at all. But I swear, we’re friends with every country and haven’t had any wars since our village was founded. However, some people in our village have connections with Ine State.’

‘Is it that the middle-aged dude who talks to your enemy?’

Hime looked at Tomie in surprise.

‘I can see through by his attitude. I’m confident in my ability to spot such wicked guys.’

Hime cast her eyes down with a bitter expression.

‘His name is Pikomiso. An army from the Ine State is approaching, and Pikomiso wants to go along with them. Tonight, our village is holding its last festival. After the festival, they’ll capture us and take us to the forest where you and I were at first and make the villagers dig a hole for themselves. Then they push us into the hole and throw all the stones they can find into it and bury us alive. So today is the last day of life for the residents and me.

Before I came to this world, I told you not to hide stolen goods in a small mountain. That’s because the villagers are buried under that hill. Initially, there was no small mountain; it was just a pile of earth from the graves we dug.’

Tomie was astounded.

‘But how come you are still alive after that?’

‘Well, that’s because I can never die. I have been given eternal life by the power of the necklace of glass beads in the warehouse. And I’m doomed to repeat this day forever with that power.’

‘However, you are at school during the day. When are you repeating this day?’

‘When I sleep at home, I go back to the ancient world I’m in now. So, this world becomes my reality while I’m asleep.’

‘In your dreams, are you killed every day along with the villagers? That’s absolute hell, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. After being killed, I wake up with the same memories and go back to my daily routine, going to school and so on. Then I go to bed, and in my dreams, I am massacred again. I’ve lived in this village as the daughter of different families until your modern times, looking like when I died. At one point, I had been a rich man’s daughter. At one point, I had been a peasant’s daughter. And at one point, I had been an enslaved person’s daughter. Now, I happen to be here as the village chief’s daughter. And when my house changes, everyone in the village forgets me. So, I’ve been in a different position, but I repeat the same thing a million times without being able to die. But there is only one good thing if the same day is repeated: the people from the old village who were with me when I was a princess will live again and again until forever.’

‘I bet you never think so!’

Hime turned to Tomie with a surprised look. Tomie looked at Hime with a stern face.

‘Why are you so convinced that you’re suffering? Don’t talk about things that haven’t even crossed your mind.’

‘I’m not convinced,’ Hime fumed. ‘No matter how hard I try, it’s a fate I can’t escape…’

Hime drooped her head and shut her mouth, but no tears were visible in her eyes. It appears her tears and sadness had dried up with resignation.

‘You can use psychic power, can’t you? Can’t you do something with it?’

‘My power can’t be used to hurt people. I can bend spoons and even move the moon if I want to. But I can’t defeat people, let alone kill them.’

Tomie looked around at the village spread out in front of her. In the distance, she could see what seemed to be a marketplace where people laughed and whispered and exchanged goods. But soon, Hime and the villagers would be killed – Tomie could not contain herself.

‘Yes, a precious glass necklace is in the temple storeroom, right? You told me it controls your destiny a little while ago, didn’t you?’

‘Right, but…… what does it matter?’

‘I know what you’re asking of me, Hime. That’s why you called me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Don’t play dumb. I’ll prove I’m not a shabby sneak thief.’

Hime looked at Tomie seriously. Tomie smiled at Hime.

After looking around the village for a while, Tomie asked Hime to take her to Hime’s family’s glass factory. She wanted to see the glass for herself.

The family’s house was an old pit-house with only a crude roof over the fireplace and a chimney outside. When they arrived, two couples, an older man and a woman and an older man and a woman, were sitting by the fireplace. When they saw Hime coming, they knelt and bowed. Tomie did not miss the sad look on Hime’s face.

‘Ain’t they your family? They’re like your servant!’

‘Yes, they are. But it’s strange to be greeted by your family.’

Hime had introduced Tomie to his father, and the father saluted with a bit of bow. Next to him was a piece of cloth, and many coloured glass beads were queued. Tomie greeted him, went over to the glass beads, and looked at them. They were all small and dull in colour.

‘Is this the treasure?’ Tomie asked Hime.

‘Don’t be silly. The best thing your grandfather and father ever made beats diamonds.’

Tomie suddenly found it hard to believe. Then, her father took a small glass ball out of his clothes and showed it to Tomie. It was a deep blue like sapphire, seven colours in the sunlight. He handed it to her. She took it and looked through it at the sky. Then she saw a silent sea filled in the glass, so vivid that it was as if he had taken its blue from a natural ocean field and solidified it.

‘My grandpa and dad are the only ones in the village, even the whole country, who can make such amazing beads. They can only make these on this cloth at my house because good materials are hard to come by around here. But back in our homeland, India, there are the best raw materials. The one you’re holding now is one my grandpa and dad made of precious material from India. It’s a real beauty, isn’t it?’

Tomie gave the glass bead back to Hime’s father. Hime’s father put it back in his clothes, proud that he could make something so good.

‘You won’t believe it, but the stuff in the temple storeroom is so good that not even my father or grandfather could make it. It’s the hidden treasure of our homeland, and our God had created it.’

Soon, the children were running towards Hime’s parents’ house. When they recognised Hime, they became meek as a lamb and saluted her, but only the youngest, who looked about three years old, smiled at her innocently. Hime approached the children and patted them gently on the head. Hime’s grandmother and mother then took the fruit from the pantry and shared it with the children. The boys dug into the fruit. The girl looked at the glass beads lined up on the cloth with a twinkle in her eyes with Hime’s grandfather. Another young girl looked at Tomie’s sailor suit with curiosity, touching it here and there, then pulled Tomie’s hand and played with the glass balls with the other girls. Tomie couldn’t speak anything, but the girls and boys were so friendly that she soon blended in. She and the boys laughed and whispered to each other as they played tag with the boys and played with a partially chipped glass ball given to them by Hime’s father with the girls.

Hime seemed to be the supreme authority in the village and untouchable. Still, she seemed to revert to her original friendly self in her parents’ home. Despite the language difference and being in a completely foreign country, Tomie felt nostalgic when she played with them. Tomie felt quite uneasy at the prospect that Hime and the others would soon meet with a tragic end.

Tomie suddenly turned to Hime when the boys surrounded her. Hime looked at her family and children from a distance with a sad expression. Tomie was also filled with sadness, but beyond that, she had the will to fight against Hime and the villagers’ fate burning in her heart.

After the children left, Tomie relied on her bird’s eye view of the village from the hill to plan her future strategy.

Hime mentioned that after sunset, all the villagers would gather for the biggest festival in the village. Tomie asked Hime what is considered the most inauspicious thing in the village and the hostile country. Hime replied that there would be a solar eclipse during the day and a lunar eclipse at night. If that happens, all people in all countries, including the soldiers, will be so afraid that they will usually stay indoors. The soldiers on an expedition will withdraw from the front line.

Tomie thought for a moment and then said,

‘Well, what about this idea,’

‘What’s the plan?’ Hime asked.

‘I’m gonna save you and all the guys in this village.’

‘It’s useless to try.’

Tomie grabbed Hime by both shoulders and shook her.

‘You said your destiny repeats forever. That’s fucking eternity, isn’t it? Well, listen to me.’

Tomie looked at the sun. The sun was already setting, and this village’s last night was approaching. She asked Hime if she could use her psychic powers to make their place look like a lunar eclipse for a short time during the festival. Hime was startled to hear Tomie’s idea and told Tomie that if she used her maximum power, it would be possible to make it look like a lunar eclipse, but only on this occasion. During the fake eclipse, Tomie told Hime about her plan to escape from Hime and the villagers.

‘But if they fail, You will be captured and killed. Unlike me, you will die, which will be its end.’

‘Got it. I might bite the dust, but it’s all good cuz you will live on. You’ve been around for thousands of years, so getting killed and revived again and again in the future is no biggie.’ Tomie pretended to shrug.

‘You don’t understand anything about me…… You can’t understand the pain of having your loved ones killed a million times over……’ Hime stared at Tomie, sure of herself, and mumbled as if she was sighing from the bottom of her heart.

Tomie smiled at Hime.

‘That’s the way to go. If you had dragged me into this long ago and only complained, I would have punched you in the face! But you’re genuinely looking for a way out of this mess. So, I’ll do everything I can to protect you and this village. And then I’ll set you free from this damn curse.’

‘Aren’t you afraid to lose everything?’

‘I’ve already lost almost everything except my life from the beginning, so what do I have to lose now? I’d rather be reckless than do nothing and rush to any horrible places. So, my princess, you gotta do as I say for now.’

Tomie held Hime’s hand. Hime opened her clear eyes and shivered slightly.

Soon after, Pikomiso and his soldiers came and spoke to Hime when they recognised Tomie. Hime nodded with resignation and went towards Pikomiso.

‘What did the guy say?’ Tomie grabbed Hime’s wrist and held her back.

‘The chief of the Ine State is telling our village to surrender. He says the Ine State is ready to take over our land. So, we should surrender. And he wants us to give our village’s treasures and power to Pikomiso.’

‘What will happen if you surrender?’

‘The soldiers and I will get preferential treatment. The rest of the villagers will be spared their lives, but they will become slaves.’

‘What are you gonna do with yourself?’

‘It’s been decided, and we must obey…’

‘You wanna change that in this day, don’t you? Tell your thoughts honestly!’

‘As we already know, all this talk about saving lives is a lie. Pikomiso and his fellows will take the treasure and ditch us for the Ine state. Let’s be real: Ine state never planned to let us survive in the first place. So…… I want to protect the village, and everyone else here feels the same way. The villagers don’t want to surrender either.’

‘Then let’s do it.’

Hime nodded decisively. Pikomiso cast a suspicious glance at Tomie, perhaps wary of her. Then he spoke to Hime in a firm tone.

‘What?’

‘He said I must go because the village festival is coming soon.’

Tomie looked at Pikomiso, then chuckled and gave them a thumbs down.

‘Just you wait.’

Hime looked uncomfortable but smiled at Tomie. She followed the Pikomiso and moved away from Tomie.

When the soldiers were out of sight, Tomie went to Hime’s parent’s house and led them outside. She used a fallen wooden stick to draw a picture of Hime, the villagers and the soldiers on the ground as stick figures with only circles and dots, like a child’s drawing. She tried to tell Hime’s parents with some gestures that they would be killed tonight. Then, after drawing a summary of the operation, she shook them with her hands.

‘Work with me to save your kid and your fellow villagers!’ Tomie said so, even if she couldn’t speak their language.

They looked at each other in confusion.

As the sun was setting, the festival bells rang through the village. Since all the villagers had to go to the temple, the village was empty, and all that could be heard was the barking of dogs howling at the moon.

Tomie stood on a hill, holding a plough, a stone axe, and a rope borrowed from Hime’s parents. She looked around and noticed that the village was surrounded by countless soldiers who appeared to be wearing armour, and the dust made the distance hazy. The soldiers belonged to Ine State, and their numbers were so large that it made Tomie shudder.

When she reached the wooden fence in the village, Tomie carefully jumped over it so as not to tear her clothes, and she was all a sweat digging at the base with a plough and felled the logs that made up the fence one by one with a stone axe. They prepared a heap of straw on the ground toward the fall so there would be no noise from the falling logs. She was ready to do action after tying several logs together with rope.

Tomie looked at the sky. The afterglow was fading and disappearing. If she didn’t hurry, she would miss the right moment. She wiped a bead of sweat from her sleeve and ran to the temple.

A great bonfire blazed in front of the temple, and torches illuminated other areas. The villagers assembled in groups at the temple while soldiers formed a cordon around it. Pikomiso waited for Hime at the bottom of the temple steps, pretending to be respectful.

Moments later, as the daylight faded and darkness covered the ground, the temple doors opened, and Hime appeared. She was dressed in pure white silk and wore a bronze ornament on her head and a bronze necklace with tiny blue glass beads around her neck. A long white cloth was sewn to her back. Hime quietly descends the stairs, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting. All the people, including the soldiers, lay face down.

As Hime descended the stairs and approached the fire, she slowly spread her arms. Then, a piece of cloth stretched from her armpit to the fingertips, and the front was dyed vermilion with a feather pattern. Soon after, the musicians gathered around the fire and were sitting on the floor, tapping and ringing the small bronze bells. The zither was played, and a clear tone was heard. Hime danced around the fire, fluttering her clothes in the shape of wings and circling the fire like a bird. She stood on tiptoe and flapped her wings as if she were flying, then suddenly closed them, curled up, and repeatedly moved her neck in front of the fire, showing some reverence. As if staggering to her feet, she jumped up high, spreading her legs several times and flapping her wings insanely. The bells pulsed faster and faster, the strings of the zither were stirred, and the melody became chaos. And when the music reached its climax, Hime turned her chest and spread her arms as wide as she could before collapsing.

Tomie watched the scene through the fence. She was overwhelmed by Hime’s dance and watched for a long time. Tomie thought: Hime performs these rituals every day, dances madly every day, then is forced to dig her own grave every day and is killed every day. She has done it a million times. Are the other villagers also aware that they are dying repeatedly like Hime? If they are unaware, there is still salvation. But if they are aware, like Hime, …… Tomie shuddered at the thought.

When Hime fell, and the dancing stopped, Tomie was indeed worried. But after she had made sure that Hime staggered to her feet, Tomie hid behind the fence and made her way to the warehouse behind the temple by the light of the torches.

Listening carefully, she heard soldiers’ footsteps. Breathlessly, Tomie looked up at the sky. The full moon shed a soft light on the sky and the ground. Thinking of what was to come, the soft moonlight was almost hateful. But she calmed down and waited for the moon to change.

A few moments later, the moon started to cast shadows as Hime began to use her power to create a lunar eclipse. Suddenly, a groan was heard from inside the temple. The soldiers were heard running away, and the area around the temple became silent. Tomie climbed over the wall and made sure that no one was there. She then jumped over the wall and headed towards the warehouse. She needed to enter the warehouse while there was still moonlight.

The door was tied with layers of rope instead of a key. I dunno how it’s tied; it’s too complicated. Oh, Well, I’ll just have to do it like this! She took out a match and lit it. She also whipped a clasp knife out and released the blade; she undid the rope with a deft cut.

Hime, what you want to say is that: ……. Tomie thought in front of the warehouse door. You want me to steal the Glass Treasure and free yourself from your bonds, right? Tomie opened the door. Then I’m gonna do it. I’ll change your life……

She put the knife away, lit the match again and groped her way through the pitch-black warehouse. A breeze blew in as she walked along the wall, running her hand along the edge. It was a window. When she looked out, the moon was half gone, floating like a boat in the deep black void. It reminded her of when she tried stealing the test paper from the staff room. I hate the moment cuz a tiny mistake can be fatal…… Suddenly, she felt something in her hand – a small box. She opened it with the light of a small fire and found a sword inside. As she held it over the fire, the sword shone dimly and looked like it was made of iron. She swung it and thought that only a skilled warrior could handle it. Still, Hime, I’m all about living in the moment, not worrying about eternity like you. I just want to save you from an endless hell……

Tomie searched further into the warehouse and touched something with her hand again. It was also a box which, when opened, reflected the light of a match and produced a dazzling stream of light. It looked like a necklace of glass beads strung together. The glass beads were blue, red, yellow, green, light blue and white, much larger and more colourful than Hime had seen in her parents’ house. She put a glass necklace around her neck, hidden by the collar of her sailor suit. Okay, there’s more to do. I’ve only just begun…… Tomie left the warehouse and made her way to the temple.

The bonfire in front of the temple was still burning, but the villagers were so frightened by the lunar eclipse that they crawled to the temple wall and prayed desperately not to be exposed to the moonlight. Meanwhile, the soldiers, including Pikomiso, had taken refuge in the barracks near the temple. A few soldiers gathered around Hime to protect her, but security was thin. After the dance, Hime prayed to the heavens and used her powers to cause a lunar eclipse. She was tired, however, having done this after the intense dance.

Tomie was hiding in the shadows of the temple and watching the soldiers. Then Hime said something, and the soldiers moved away. Tomie rushed to Hime, took her hand, and pointed her sword at the soldiers to check them. The villagers gasped, and the soldiers startled by Tomie’s sudden appearance, pointed their swords at her.

‘Wait a moment,’ Hime said, releasing Tomie’s hand and addressing the people and soldiers in a commanding voice that appeared to invigorate her frail body. As she spoke, the people grew agitated and descended into panic.

‘Did you let them know?’ Tomie inquired.

‘Yes, there’s this big army from Ine State that tried to attack us without even talking to us. They’re quite close now. I also said that soldiers from our village, led by Pikomiso and his fellows, are also working with the Ine State.’

‘Got it. And tell them: Humans are way scarier than a lunar eclipse. I’ve got some news for you — the Ine State and Pikomiso are in cahoots and planning to wipe out everyone in the village. If you don’t want to end up dead, we gotta leave the village together. Oh, and don’t forget to ask the soldiers here to escort us to protect Hime and the rest of the folks. And one more thing, tell them not to treat me like a kid.’

Hime solemnly interpreted Tomie’s words and convinced a small group of soldiers and villagers. The villagers were stunned and hesitated to go to Hime. The soldiers slowly approached Tomie with their swords pointed in her direction. Tomie, however, handed her sword to Hime and stepped towards the soldiers.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Hime.

However, Tomie got close to the tip of the soldier’s sword. The troops sieged her. Nevertheless, she wasn’t afraid and glared at the soldiers around her.

‘Whether you guard the entire village or take the side of old man Pikomiso and his fellows, it’s up to you. But if you wanna betray the village, cut me down first!’ Tomie voiced out boldly.

Although the soldiers were not supposed to understand her language, they looked intimidated by Tomie and hesitated to swing their swords. Hime rushed to Tomie with the village’s treasured sword and told the soldiers what Tomie had said. Then, some soldiers trembled, lowered their swords, and pointed at Tomie. No one showed any sign of sneaking out and going to Pikomiso to accuse her.

But one of the villagers shouted, and everyone began to be noisy. Tomie asked Hime what was going on. Hime replied that the villagers were repulsed, wondering why they had to follow the advice of a stranger like Tomie, where they were going after they escaped, and whether they would abandon their carefully cultivated fields and village. Tomie was at a loss for an answer, especially as she had thought only of escaping and not of what lay ahead. However, Hime answered the villagers without hesitation. The villagers then had a secret discussion with each other, knelt, bowed respectfully to Hime, and gradually gathered around her.

‘What did you say?’

‘I told them you are an angel who came to deliver God’s message, just like me. It proves that you’re wearing special clothes different from everyone else’s. Then, I also urged them to return to our homeland –India, the place far across the sea that was our cradle.’

‘I can’t stand these sailor suits the school made us wear. Ironically, they think I’m an angel when I’m wearing it. But I bet they wouldn’t believe that for a second.’ Tomie said with a bitter smile.

Tomie first demanded that the villagers bring enough food, household items, and a bunch of straws from their homes. When Hime interpreted, the villagers rushed into their houses. After a while, everyone returned, one after another, with jars of food, clothes, and straws. Some of them had houses near higher ground, and they pointed around the village and made a big fuss. Hime told Tomie that they had seen soldiers from the Ine State lighting torches and surrounding the village with fire so thick that not a single person could get through. Upon hearing this, Tomie shouted at them.

‘Hey, just a heads up — no soldiers are coming during the lunar eclipse. Also, Pikomiso is scared of it and won’t leave the barracks. So, we plan on making it look like something sinister happened in the village so the enemy won’t try to attack it. First, I want you to scatter as much straw as you can on the temple and the bridge at the entrance to the village and set it on fire. Then dash in the direction I tell you to go. In the meantime, hold your children’s and your wife’s hands tightly and don’t let go.’

When Hime told them what Tomie had said, they all looked surprised but only nodded, perhaps because they feared the enemy soldiers, and ran towards the temple and the entrance to the village, scattering straw. Then they took the torches surrounding the temple and the wood from the bonfires that the Hime danced around and threw them at the bridge and the temple. After a while, Tomie ran between the temple and the gate to see how the fire was turning. However, as the village was situated by the sea and the sea wind had been blowing at all hours, many straws were damp, and the fire did not go on for a long time. Meanwhile, the villagers informed Hime that the soldiers in the barracks who heard the commotion had noticed something unusual and that some of the Pikomiso’s soldiers had gone outside the barracks with their swords. Hime shared the information about the Pikomiso with Tomie. Tomie became impatient and continued to throw several torches of her own at the temple in a gruelling manner.

‘Calm down, Tomie! I’ll handle the fire on the temple and bridge and distract the soldiers while you take everyone in the village and run away.’ Hime told Tomie.

Hime clasped her hands together and raised her arms vigorously to the sky. Suddenly, the fire gained momentum and gradually engulfed the temple—smoke billowed from the other side of the entrance bridge, indicating that Hime had gathered her strength. In the meantime, soldiers rushed towards the temple and the gate, scurrying about. Tomie took Hime’s exhausted hand and led the villagers on a run.

When they reached the spot where Tomie had pulled the logs out of the fence, Hime’s father and mother stepped forward and spoke to Tomie through Hime.

‘Hold on a minute. My dad said he would bring you what you need,’ Hime interpreted.

Tomie nodded dubiously, and Hime’s father and his friends rushed towards the house of Hime’s parents. Not long after, they arrived carrying several rafts and two wooden boats. While waiting, Tomie had planned to make rafts with the villagers on the spot, as the rafts she had made alone would not be enough, but she could not believe her eyes when she saw that Hime’s parents had conveniently prepared them.

‘My parents had prepared them based on the picture of the escape plan you drew before they came to the festival.’ Hime said.

Tomie was rather impressed that such a poor drawing could be understood.

Hime’s parents indicated the raft with their jaws and then looked Tomie in the eye. Tomie smiled at them.

She asked Hime to instruct the villagers to get thorough the chasm which had pulled the logs out of the fence, cross the moat on these rafts and, as soon as they were sure they had all left the village, sink all the rafts to prevent them from being used by the soldiers. She ordered the few soldiers who followed the villagers to take the rafts out to the moat, and the villagers took many people on each raft, mostly men at the oars. There were three moats, and the arrangement was that after crossing one moat, they would all lift the raft and float it to the next moat, then get on and paddle again to reach the other bank.

There were eight rafts, but they were makeshift and could barely accommodate one rower plus three or four villagers per raft. The two wooden boats prepared by Hime’s family could take eight people, but they were heavy and required two men to row them. The rafts and boats had to be rowed repeatedly to quickly evacuate the approximately 400 villagers.

At this time, Tomie had asked the fastest runner in the village to go up the hill and scout what had happened to the Ine State army’s torches. The man returned and told her that the torches were far away. The Ine soldiers were apparently in awe of the sight of the lunar eclipse and the burning temples.

The temple was burning even more, spreading to other houses and illuminating the villagers, who were paddling desperately through the moat in a red glow. Soon, something was heard crumbling in the distance, thought to be the bridge at the entrance to the village. Now, there was no danger of the Pikomiso’s soldiers crossing the bridge and attacking villagers. The most likely scenario is that they would arrive at the villagers through the moat from inside the village. However, as long as the temples and other buildings are burning, they would probably sit on their hands. Still, in this case, Tomie ordered her soldiers through Hime to take swords with her and protect the villagers. The soldiers did not rebel but held their swords ready for the attack of the Pikomiso.

Almost all the villagers finished crossing the moat by raft. Tomie, Hime, and the soldiers who sided with them could cross the moat on a wooden boat rowed back by the male villagers and leave the village.

Looking up to the heavens, the moon had turned into a crescent. It seemed that Hime had made it so that the lunar eclipse would take its time, but Hime was overwhelmed and walking tiredly for that. Tomie carried Hime, sword in hand, and led the villagers to the sea, where there was a ship to take them to their homeland–India.

At that moment, Tomie heard the wild voices of men coming from the side. She looked and saw that they were the troops of Pikomiso. They were far fewer than the villagers here, less than 30. They were soaking wet and had swum through the moat where the bridge had fallen to the bottom to avoid being pierced by the thorns, and quite a few had either dropped out or deserted due to low morale. Even in the darkness, the fire that now engulfed the village showed that Pikomiso, the leader of the soldiers, was red-faced with exhaustion and anger.

Pikomiso shouted something out. Hime then whispered in Tomie’s ear:

‘Pikomiso is trying to kill you. It’s dangerous, so run away quickly!’

However, Tomie left the weakened Hime to Hime’s father, and she grabbed the sword and tried to head in the opposite direction towards Pikomiso.

‘Don’t go!’ Hime shouted.

‘This is exactly what I want. ‘Don’t worry about me; it’s alright. While I’m dealing with him, you get out of here!’ Tomie shouted as she turned to the villagers.

Hime could see tears in her eyes. Tomie’s heart was shaken, but she urged Hime and the villagers to leave quickly. However, none of the villagers seemed to be running away. On the contrary, Hime’s mother stood behind Tomie with a wooden mallet beating a fulling block. The other young and older women also took up their hammers and pestles and formed up for battle. The men either tried to stop them behind their wives, mothers, and daughters or hesitated.

Tomie couldn’t believe her eyes. Pikomiso was breathing like he was about to attack her, so she took up her sword and confronted him. Pikomiso yelled and charged at Tomie. She repeatedly dodged his sword, but he persisted and tried to slash at her from the front. Tomie took up the village’s treasured sword, gritted her teeth, and held her ground against his gradual push and blows.

At that moment, Tomie’s mother shouted, and the women raised their voices in unison and hit the Pikomiso’s troops. The soldiers were caught by surprise and flinched, even though they had far more deadly weapons than the women. Pikomiso looked at the women in surprise. In the meantime, Tomie pushed back Pikomiso’s sword with force.

The women beat the soldiers with mallets and pestles, and the soldiers — perhaps because they were also women’s compatriots — did not raise their swords and were left to be beaten. Possibly encouraged by the women’s good fight, the men joined them, raising their boat oars and fists at the soldiers. On the other hand, Tomie was a junior high school girl and was far inferior to Pikomiso, a professional soldier, physically and in swordsmanship. While the villagers were knocking down the soldiers around her, Pikomiso was striking Tomie wildly and driving her back. He knocked Tomie to the ground and raised his sword to finish her off. Just then, there was a dull thud as he was knocked out, and Pikomiso collapsed in front of her with his eyes wide open. Behind him stood Hime’s father, clenching his fists. Tomie became muddy, smiled at Hime’s father, and gave him a thumbs-up. He couldn’t recognise her modern gesture, but he smiled at her.

The villagers had already won. Tomie approached Hime, who was with his allied royal guards and grandparents, and demanded that the villagers cease fighting. Tomie instructed them to disarm the soldiers, tie them up and take them along. Hime shared Tomie’s instruction with the villagers; they quickly disposed of the soldier’s swords and tied them up with ropes, including Pikomiso, who was beaten and stunned.

Not long after the soldiers had been disarmed, the loudest sound was heard. When they turned around, their entire village was engulfed in flames, and the village temple collapsed into a pillar of fire. All villagers and soldiers alike looked towards the village and screamed. The men dropped to their knees and wailed to the earth, and the women cried to the heavens.

Witnessing the villagers’ grief, Tomie now felt the gravity of what she had done. Thinking back, she was just a stranger to the village. However, exploiting Hime’s power and authority, she deceived the villagers into thinking she was the heavenly messenger by wearing a sailor suit, a strange garment for the ancients. Furthermore, she took advantage of the fact that this village was a world apart from her own, disregarded sacrifice and tried to save the villagers under the guise of Jeanne d’Arc. Indeed, she was able to save Hime and the villagers. However, as a result, the villagers’ daily life, which they had probably built up over hundreds of years, was destroyed in a single night.

No! What I did was right. – Tomie wanted to believe so. But in the face of the villagers’ grief, she was afraid to justify everything she had done.

It would have been better for them, at least in peace, if I had not meddled to save Hime and let the villagers carry on with their everyday lives, letting them repeat forever the day when they were killed by the soldiers of Pikomiso and Ine State without knowing what was going on……

Tomie thought so and became so desperate. She thrust her sword to the ground and leaned on it, drooping and weeping.

Then, someone gently hugged her from behind. She looked and saw that it was Hime.

‘Tomie, you don’t have to suffer. It had to be done. We’d all be dead by now if you hadn’t done this. But listen, I’ve got good news. The torches around the village are out, and the Ine soldiers have fled the scene in fear. We were saved. Thank you so much, thank you……’ Hime said softly, looking at Tomie. Her eyes were also filled with tears. Tomie hugged Hime, and they both felt deeply sad.

The fire gradually died as the village ran out of things to burn. Tomie got up and urged the villagers through Hime to go towards the sea. The villagers were motionless for a while, but after a while, they stood up one by one and started walking again, led by Tomie and Hime’s father, who was carrying Hime.

When they arrived at the sea, the ocean was pitch black, but the sea breeze and the sound of the waves greeted Tomie and the villagers. It was as if they were waiting for Hime and the others to start their journey.

Tomie looked at the sky. The lunar eclipse caused by Hime’s power had just about covered the entire moon with darkness, and countless stars had taken advantage of the opportunity to spread across the sky. Even the galaxies were visible in the sky. Tomie had never seen such a spectacular sight before and couldn’t help but admire it. The village was burnt to the ground, and the fire was almost invisible from afar while the heavens were alive with starlight. However, perhaps the power of the Hime had weakened; the moon then rapidly filled up, and the stars quietly faded away.

Just to be sure, they sent several men to scout for soldiers from the Ine State. When they were sure there were no torches or counterintelligence nearby, Tomie and his men made a bonfire to get some light. They then had Pikomiso and his men sit on the beach, but Pikomiso was ranting something to Hime. Tomie asked Hime what he was talking about.

‘He admitted that he was connected to the Ine State. He also said that he was a traitor to the village and that if he lived, he would later be killed by us or the Ine State chief. So, rather than live and suffer the shame of captivity, he demands that we kill him in one fell swoop.’

‘You have kinda village code for punishment, don’t you? I’m leaving it to you to dispose of them.’

Hime gathered the villagers to discuss what to do with the Pikomiso and the other troops. The villagers sometimes appealed to Hime with solid tones, but she seemed to appease them. After Hime consulted her grandmother, she told the villagers the whole story. The villagers then seemed to understand. Apparently, Hime’s grandmother’s power is also vital in this village.

A short time later, Hime finished the discussion and came to Tomie.

‘We will release Pikomiso and all the soldiers. Then we will urge them to go to India with us.’

Hime then spoke to the Pikomiso and the troops. After a while, Hime’s grandfather also spoke to the soldiers and villagers, leaving the soldiers in tears and Pikomiso drooping.

Tomie asked Hime what she and her grandfather told the soldiers.

‘We would never kill the Pikomiso and soldiers. All people mustn’t kill others easily and mustn’t try to kill all the villagers with strange logic, as Ine State has done. Don’t follow such people. I told them we all live in our homeland together……’ Hime explained.

Hime’s grandfather also told the villagers that Pikomiso was initially trained as a glassmaker with his father but did not continue and joined the army. He told Pikomiso that he would not use a sword but make a living by not hurting people from now on. The soldiers were grateful for Hime’s special pardon, and Pikomiso agreed with his grandfather’s words.

‘Are you sure to forgive this guy who has killed you a million times?’ Tomie whispered to Hime.

Hime nodded with a determined expression.

‘I agree with you,’ Tomie chuckled.

The villagers untied Pikomiso and the soldiers. The soldiers saluted Hime, including Pikomiso. Then, they helped pack the boats together with male villagers. By moonlight and campfires, several boats were hoisted up, loaded with food, water, and cargo that the villagers had brought, and oars were set. Tomie and Hime sat on the beach and watched the scene shoulder to shoulder.

The sun began to rise, indicating that it was time to leave. Hime asked Tomie to say something to the villagers at the end, as she would be their interpreter.

‘Giving them a speech?’ Tomie stood next to the fire and faced the villagers, saying, ‘I ain’t in a position to do that.’

The villagers responded to Hime’s call and waited with trusting eyes for Tomie’s words.

Tomie first explains Hime’s fate to the villagers and tells them that Hime and the villagers were punished for their eternal return because of this purported treasure. She then confessed that she had stolen the treasure, a glass necklace, and a sword and that the sword had been worn out during a battle with Pikomiso but was too heavy for a sword and dull to use. She also said that the necklace was here and showed it to them, pulling it out of the collar of his sailor suit. The villagers were astonished, perhaps because they had never seen the treasure before and were all looking at it and murmuring. Tomie calmed them down and spoke.

‘The treasure is safe. Thanks to me, the thief. But I don’t need this. Who needs this stuff? Cuz of this stuff, Hime suffered endless pain instead of being able to use her psychic powers. You probably didn’t realise it, but just like Hime, you were killed millions of times, too. So, live your only once short life intensely instead of living such a fucking eternity!’

The villagers hung back, unable to say anything. Tomie told them to throw away the sword and the glass necklace. She told Hime to break the necklace by herself, especially as it had caused Hime so much pain. Hime and the villagers nodded. Hime’s father took his treasured sword and smashed the blade against a stone, breaking it. Hime also smashed a glass necklace to pieces by repeatedly and forcefully striking it with a stone. The shards of glass caught the dawn light and sparkled with an empty light.

‘You strive to steal the treasures in my village, though; it’s all for nothing,’ Hime said.

‘Do you wanna die every day again?’

Hime smiled and shook her head.

‘But Tomie is not a thief. You became a hero to me and the villagers.’

‘That’s an honour. But I can’t say I’m the great thief I aim to be cuz I smash up what I steal.’

‘Why do you want to be a thief, Tomie? Why have you been stealing all sorts of things at school?’

‘I wanna revenge. I don’t have parents, and I’ve been discriminated against in town for that. My foster parents are nice to me on the outside, but behind my back, they call me a kinda beast. In the end, nothing good happened to me in my life…… So, I want to steal from all the guys who hate me one day and push them to despair. But……’

‘Your kindness won’t allow it,’ Hime quickly interrupted.

Tomie was unable to say anything.

‘Here’s a girl who has had our treasures stolen by you and is thanking you for it,’ Hime pointed to herself.

‘I’m no longer a thief,’ Tomie muttered to herself.

Hime shook her head.

‘Tomie, be a great thief. Take back the kindness of people from great hatred and evil in the world. Be a greater thief than any thief.’

‘Is that the kinda treasure that even the greatest thieves find hard to steal?’

‘I believe so,’ Hime smiled and nodded vigorously.

The sky had brightened considerably, and it was time for everyone to board the boat. Hime told the villagers something. The villagers cheered in adoration of Hime. When Tomie asked what she had said, Hime told them that she was no longer the princess and called for everyone to be equal and build a new society together.

‘So you’re retiring as a princess now? Are you sure?

‘This is fine. Because that’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing. Thanks to Tomie, now I’m finally free. Once I arrive safely back home, I will lead a normal life and die, not as a princess. You taught me the importance of that life; you are my teacher more than anyone else.’

‘Don’t call me a teacher; I hate it the most. Well, if you’re better, all is fine.’ Tomie said embarrassedly.

‘By the way, let me ask you one last question. Why do you hate eternal life so much? Eternity in the form of me is the worst, of course. But to be able to die and come back to life again and again, that’s immortality, isn’t it? Don’t you long for that?

‘No way. Having just one life is bad enough, and having to live forever is the most terrifying thing imaginable. I don’t know who cursed you with this eternal life, but it sucks that you have to endure it. Also, I appreciated that you stood up for me when the cops gave me a hard time. That’s why I wanted to help you out.’

‘I’m glad Tomie saved my life…… But still, life sucks at your age, you have been in pain for a long time, haven’t you?’ Hime came to Tomie’s side and gently rubbed her back.

‘I can’t hurt people with my superpower and also can’t heal their broken hearts with it. I can only do things like this. It’s not useful at all. I’m sorry.’

‘No, this is good enough for me……’

‘Tomie, the best thing for me is that you were born and are alive.’

‘You said so good,’ said Tomie, her voice deep and serious.

The villagers were concerned about them and let them stay for a while. However, Hime’s father came to her side and gently urged her to go by hand.

‘Well, let me know.’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘What about me?’

‘Don’t worry. When I leave, you will return to your modern time.’

‘I see…… Well, then, could you take me with you to your home country?’

‘How come?’

‘I’m fed up with the world I’ve been living in. I wish I could live with you.’

Hime looked at Tomie sadly for a moment but then smiled at her.

‘It’s not like you. You’ve never complained before. Listen, you are like a real angel to us. Angel is too good for us, and we don’t deserve to be around you. Besides, Tomie, even though you’re a thief, you still managed to steal the greatest treasure of my homeland. So, if you steal around there, you won’t get anything better. Instead, I want you to be the great thief I told you about– In the modern world, thousands of years from now, I was with you.’

‘All right,’ Tomie replied demurely. Then, regaining her strength, she said: ‘So now, we gotta say bye.’

Hime nodded.

‘Yes, that’s right. We will all return to our homeland; no trace of us is left in Japan. But our language has spread to other parts of this country, and others use it. The language has been passed down and will be passed on to your era. That’s why our language has remained the language you speak now. I’m showing one proof. There is the Japanese word “AWARE(It means pathos and pity)”. That was originally our language, which we called “Avalam” in Tamil. Tomie, you inherit me. So, we will be apart, but we will still be together. Thank you …… Good-bye ……’

Hime embraced Tomie and kissed her on the mouth. Hime’s silent, passionate words touched Tomie; her heart shook, and she embraced Hime.

Hime got on board and the boat sailed away. Hime and all the villagers waved to Tomie. The children who played together in the village had big smiles. Tomie continued to wave in response.

Tomie did not understand why Hime left her with the words “AWARE” when they parted; all she could understand was “pity.” However, as the boat pulled away, she felt a sense of sorrow and love, and her heart trembled.

??????

When Tomie woke up, she was lying face down in the grass. She got up, cleared the grass and dust, and looked around. It was an empty clearing with no shrine, knoll, or forest. She walked away from the clearing, not knowing where she was, but it was the original village where Tomie had been, and nothing had changed except that the knoll and forest were gone. She was unconvinced and asked every villager on the street what had happened to the shrine, the small mountain and the forest. But everyone told her there were no such things and asked her suspiciously why she didn’t go to school. Each time, she became embarrassed and ran away.

When she came to school the next day, Hime was not in class, and when the history teacher, a middle-aged man, took attendance, her name was not called. Tomie was stunned, and during the first period, she just gazed blankly at the seat where Hime had been sitting. There was a completely different student sitting there. The teacher scolded Tomie repeatedly, but she couldn’t regard him any longer.

Since then, Tomie went around the school during recess and pulled other students aside randomly to ask whether Hime was there. But she got no clues. She was so concerned about Hime during class that she stayed in a daze the whole time, not caring if the teachers warned her.

Even in her Japanese class after lunchtime, she kept her eyes closed. However, she instantly opened her eyes when the young female teacher in the class said something to her.

‘…… Nowadays, the Japanese word “AWARE” generally means ‘pity’, right? But this is not the only way it was originally used; in the classics, it had a deeper meaning of pathos, the emotion moved from the bottom of one’s heart, and was used in many ways……’

Tomie felt as if she had met Hime’s words again, thousands of years after she had been there yesterday. The feelings she had felt when she and Hime had parted came back to her, and she burst into tears. The tears flowed unstoppably down her cheeks, and she could no longer hide them. She opened her eyes and let her face get wet.

‘What’s wrong…… Do you have a sad affair?’ The teacher came to her side and asked softly as if to console her.

Surrounding students also noticed something unusual about Tomie and looked at her suspiciously. However, without hearing the teacher’s voice or reaching the gazes of the surrounding students, Tomie was left to her own devices. She had discovered the meaning of ‘AWARE’, a gift from Hime.

After class, she was summoned by her history teacher. He blamed her for her absence without permission yesterday in the staff room and questioned why she did not try to do anything during classes. However, Tomie did not answer the question,

‘You had a student called Hime. Where did she go? Did she change school?’ Tomie asked.

‘There isn’t Hime in my class.’

‘Another class?’

‘What are you saying? There’s no such student in this school so far.’

‘I see……’ Tomie got absentminded but eventually began to giggle, turned her face to the heavens, and laughed hysterically. She was happy to know that she had saved Hime and the villagers, that no corpses had been buried, and that no small mountains had been built from the soil of the graves. Unaware of this, the male teachers around her shouted at Tomie not to laugh at them, but Tomie laughed even harder,

‘What are you teaching history for? Look at me. I could change history,’ She stared at the history teacher, her body trembling and eyes wide open.

‘Are you out of your mind?’ The teacher muttered, but he was so overwhelmed by her that he finally shut up. The other teachers seemed to think she had gone insane and looked at Tomie in stunned silence. However, only the young Japanese-language female teacher looked at Tomie with concern from afar.

Tomie got out of the staff room by the teachers and ran out of school again. As she wandered around the area where the forest used to be, she thought about her school life with Hime. She had never spoken to Hime in a classroom but remembered the night Hime saved her. Tomie then reminisced about the day she spent with Hime and the villagers, where she was taken back in time. She wondered if it had all been a dream and how long her existence also had been a dream. The thought made her feel dizzy.

After that, Tomie spent her days stealing and misbehaving as usual. Due to her poor behaviour, her foster father gave her up as hopeless and told her that she should be as independent as possible after the lower secondary school. Tomie was prepared for this to some extent and calmly accepted his pronouncement.

One day before the graduation ceremony, Tomie stood in a clearing where there used to be a small mountain, looking out at the sea far beyond.

‘I’m back to being a trivial thief after all. Without you, I don’t know what to do with myself……’ Tomie muttered to Hime, who was no longer here.

As Tomie left the clearing and passed through the village shopping street, she noticed a bright green bamboo leaf boat on the ground. It looked familiar to her, as if she had seen it before. Curious, she picked it up, and the bamboo leaf boat started to glow in her hand. Then, the wind blew and slowly carried it away; the bamboo boat vanished into the blue sky.

Tomie paused and gazed at the sky, unconcerned about the passersby who might view her as peculiar. Despite what others may argue, she firmly believed that the moments spent with Hime and the world with Hime were genuine for her.

At that time, a street-level television in an electronics shop beside her was loudly reporting the news. Tomie looked at the screen casually. It was reported that several ships had been excavated from the ruin in India, that many glass beads had been unearthed nearby, and that the glass was the same as in Japan. Tomie was happy as if it were her own life, knowing that Hime had escaped safely to India and had lived out the rest of her life.

The news later showed footage of elderly men in positions of power preaching about righteousness, asserting their own beliefs, and starting wars. Similar reports continued to come in from different countries over a period of time. The leaders of all nations, including Japan, were mostly middle-aged or elderly men, all in suits or military uniforms, who were arrogantly reclined on chairs in palatial places.

Oh, not again…… The guys in Ine State were the same as now, but at least Hime’s village was better cuz Hime, her mom, and her grandma were powerful. Now, they are much worse than when Hime was there…… Now, Tomie listened with righteous indignation to what she had paid no attention to before.

We’ve been losing our world to pompous middle-aged and older men. They’ll eventually destroy the world. We must take the world back from them before they do……

‘Hime, I’ve made up my mind. Imma take it back.’ Tomie muttered and walked down the road with a vow in her heart.

Notice? This novel is based on a hypothesis for an ancient link between the Japanese and Tamil languages, put forward by Susumu Ohno, the most famous and essential Japanese linguist.

References:

Susumu Ohno “The Formation of the Japanese Language” Iwanami Shoten, 2000.

Susumu Ohno “The Yayoi Civilisation and South India” Iwanami Shoten, 2004.

Akira Seike “Himiko and the Female Chiefs (new edition)” Yoshikawa Kohbunkan, 2020.

Georgia Amane is a Japanese national born in Japan. Georgia studied history and taught the Japanese language abroad for several years. Georgia is working as a language teacher in Japan and has published a few novels and poetry in various Japanese Literature magazines. Georgia also has published poems in Muse India