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

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　１００

The culprit stood up quietly. Then he descended the hill with
the monk in the light of spring.

(End)

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
*
*
*
*
*
Thank you for reading.
*
*
*
*
*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　９９

“You bloomed here.”said the culprit, gazing the little
cherry flower.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　９８

The culprit kneeled quietly there. The culprit, then, touched
the stump of the mercilessly cut cherry tree with his hands.　
The cherry flower was waving in the wind quietly in front of
the culprit's hands put on the stump.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　９７

Wind came from somewhere. A bird's voice was heard
afar in the wind. The monk felt he and the culprit
have met spring at last.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　９６

It was a small cherry flower that bloomed on the stump.
The flower bloomed on a stump of an old cherry tree cut
by the lord and bloomed there as the only flower of the
stump. It looked like a wild flower and it was moving
in the breeze.
The culprit stopped in front of the stump at the sight
of the little flower on it.
The monk noticed the culprit stopped and also stopped
with the culprit. The monk gazed the culprit but the
culprit did not pay attention to his eyes. The culprit
was only seeing the flower that bloomed on the stump.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　９５

It was then. The culprit noticed there was a small white flower
blooming on a stump of a cut cherry tree beside him.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　９４

The culprit turned back. He saw the monk who watches him
gently there. The monk understood what the culprit wants
to say with his eyes towards him. The monk nodded faintly.
Then he turned back as the culprit suggested with his eyes
to leave this hill. The culprit followed the monk to go back
and began to leave there.

(To be continued)

*

*

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　９３

The culprit was beaten by the deep sense of defeat at this
reality. He had never experienced such sense of defeat in
the dungeon.
While he was imprisoned, he could imagine the scenery of
cherry blossoms on this hill in his dungeon. It was the
scenery that existed certainly out of the dungeon even if
he could not visit there and see it by himself. The culprit
could imagine the scenery from the cherry flower leafs
wind brought to his dungeon. However, when he witnessed
all those cherry trees were lost with his own eyes, the
culprit could not recall nor imagine the scenery any more.
The reality in front of the culprit was so cruel.
And the culprit was convinced his wife and children are
not in this world now at the reality the scenery of cherry
blossoms on this hill was lost. The merciless sight of
the hill was the very proof the culprit was defeated by
the lord.

(To be continued)

*