Nori's blog----Novels, Poems, Essays, from Japan

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　９２

“Was I dreaming?”wondered the culprit to himself.
“Wasn't it that I have been staying here actually?”
wondering to himself, the culprit looked around
the hill.
The culprit wondered he might be actually standing
in the cherry blossoms that are in full bloom as
they were on the day he was caught here. The culprit,
however, could not see such sight he imagined in
his mind around him. No scene of full bloomed cherry
blossoms wasthere. There was only the merciless scene
of the hill the culprit has seen just now of the hill.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　９１

The wind stopped. Then, the grass at his foot stopped to
wave. The culprit felt as if time has stopped on the hill.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　９０

The wind embraced the culprit silently. And the wind
made the withered grass at his foot wave quietly without
breaking the silence on the hill. The culprit gazed the
withered grass waving there without sound as if to see
a miracle.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　８９

Then, it blew silently around the culprit, as if to
respond to the culprit who ponders there.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　８８

The culprit kept watching the landscape silently and kept
pondering something.

(To be continued)

Written in Japanese and translated
into English by NISHIOKA Masanori
http://norinishioka.blog.co.uk/

http://nishiokamasanori.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/
(Original Japanese version is on this web-page.)

All Rights Reserved

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　８７

At the first glance, it looked nothing but a desolate winter
landscape.
Both fields and woods remained wintry with their view of
withered grass and branches without leafs in the faint light
of winter.
And the sight of a temple far away that has a roof of black
tiles gleaming black in the faint light was mysteriously
distinct among such landscape of wintry nature. It attracted
the eyes of the culprit who looks down the landscape from
the hill.　
The culprit, however, found cherry trees that began to bloom
white flowers on their branches among the wintry landscape
of this country.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　８６

The culprit gazed the landscape that has appeared in front
of him. The culprit was attracted by the landscape that
spread beneath the hill he was standing.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　８５

The monk followed the culprit. But he could not speak to
the culprit.　The monk could not ask the culprit where he
is going. Nor could he tell the culprit where to go or not
to go. The monk could just follow the culprit. That was the
only way for the monk to know where the culprit was going.
The culprit, then, encountered the landscape of this country
that spreads beyond the ridge of the hill he headed.　
The culprit stopped his walk when he reached the point he
can watch the fields beaneth the hill like a scroll of painting.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　８４

The culprit looked around the hill. Then he took a step
forward with his thin leg. He began to walk ahead slowly
from his place.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　８３

The culprit opened his eyes. Then he turned his eyes from
the blue sky above to the earth, where the culprit saw
the miserable scene of the numerous stumps of cherry trees
as he has seen. And the culprit certified he is there--
he is standing in the midst of the stumps as he was just
a moment ago. The culprit certified that the reality has
not changed there while he was looking up the blue sky.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　８２

The monk watched the culprit's back. And he prayed with his
hands clasped to his back silently.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　８１

　　　　　　　The sky was just blue and silent.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　８０

The culprit closed his eyes. He, then, looked up the
blue sky quietly with his eyes kept closed. The culprit
looked as if he was waiting for something to be heard
from the silent blue sky. But he could hear nothing
after all from the sky.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 ７９

Looking up the sky, the culprit shed tears for the first time.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　７８

From nowhere in the sky, one could hear birds' voice.
The quiet sky was just blue and endless.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　７７

The sky was silent. One could hear no sound there. Although
there was wind, there was nothing that makes sounds on the hill,
where the cherry trees were cut. The wind did not make any sound
and only passed over the stumps of cut cherry trees.
And there was no figure of a bird over the hill.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　 　　 　 　　　　　７６

　　　　　　 　The culprit gazed the white cloud.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　 　　　　　　　 (To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　７５

The sky was clear. There was only a piece of white cloud
floating in the sky.

(To be continued)

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