1st person Noroi:
"Shit," I say without knowing its meaning. "My body hurts, and the bandages are all dirty," I say, annoyed. The events of the other night were fresh in my mind, and I could still remember the taste of blood in my mouth and the deep hatred of the man who attacked me.
"School… friends," I repeat the words that I learned from Aoi. "Where is that school she talked about?" I mumble while walking toward the torii gate. I notice a carved path untouched by grass. "I suppose this is the only way to go," I say, walking toward the path that leads somewhere.
While going along the path, I come across a deer. "So beautiful," the words escape my lips as I am mesmerized by the colors of its fur: a deep brown covering its entire body, even its face and belly. After a minute of staring at the deer, I start walking again.
"What is this?" I say in confusion when I see a wooden post with arrows pointing in multiple directions. "What are those symbols?" The post has strange symbols that are unintelligible to me.
"Well, it doesn't matter," I say as I continue forward.
As I advance, I notice a person walking along the same path, so I approach him. The traveler is an old man with gray hair and a walking cane.
"Oi!" I shout as I approach.
The man turns at the noise. When he sees me, his expression changes instantly, and horror fills his face.
"A DEMON!" he shouts, pointing his cane at me.
A vein pops on my forehead. "Oi, old man, who are you calling a demon?" I say, my voice full of irritation.
The old man widens his eyes even more and starts shouting, "THE DEMON SPOKE! HELP! HELP!"
"I WAS ONLY GOING TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!" I shout back.
The old man continues screaming for help tirelessly. I sigh, and tired of his antics, I continue on my path without looking back at him.
Ever since I used that strange energy , my emotions have been unstable. I feel anger, and I can't control it like I did so many times in the shrine.
As I continue walking, I see another traveler ahead of me. Remembering the failed conversation with the old man, I try a gentler approach.
"Excuse me," I say softly so as not to scare the traveler.
The traveler is an old woman carrying a bag on her back and a walking stick in her hand.
"Who is there?" she asks cautiously.
After staring at her in confusion, I ask, "Don't you see me?"
The woman gestures toward her white eyes and speaks.
"I'm blind, little child," she says gently after recognizing the voice of a young boy.
"That means you can't see?" I ask, confused. I had heard that word in the monk's prayers before, but I didn't know what it meant.
"Yes, little one," she says gently. "Could you help me with my bag? I'm getting quite tired."
"Of course," I agree. Unlike the old man and the monk, this lady doesn't show any disgust or terror when i speak to her. The feeling is quite refreshing.
As I grab her bag, she asks, "What are you doing traveling alone, little one?" There is worry in her voice. The feeling of someone caring about my well-being warms my heart.
"I left the shrine where I lived. I wanted to find the school," I say, a little excited.
"The school?" she asks, surprised.
"Yes, that big place where I can make friends," I say, with childlike excitement. "Do you know where it is?" I ask curiously.
The woman, still surprised, explains, "A school is a big building in town where children study and learn how to write and speak," she says, giggling slightly at my excitement. "It's rare to see a child wanting to go to school these days. Have you been so isolated that you don't know what a school is?" she asks, worried.
"I only learned what a school was yesterday," I say, frowning. That bastard never talked about anything other than the gods or punishment.
"Well, let me tell you, there are schools but you need to be six years old to enter little one" she says gently.
I frown as i hear that "im only three years old".
She giggles a little before talking "but you know what is more impressive my child. The city".
Confused i ask the lady "what is a city?"
The old lady giggles and starts explaining all the wonders of the city. My mind wanders as she talks. It takes us over an hour to arrive at the town.
"We are arriving," I say as we walk toward it, the old woman following me.
What I see leaves me stunned. There are so many people, with so many expressions I have never seen before. But all that is cut short by the stares directed at me—horror etched on their faces. Screams ring out in the middle of the street, and people avoid us.
"Is something wrong, little one? I hear screams, and the loud chatter of the people has stopped," she asks, worried.
I stand frozen for a moment. "It's nothing. We can continue," I say, as people shout again upon realizing I can speak.
Even though worry is etched on her wrinkled face, Akari continues walking beside me.
After a while, an old lady greets her.
"Akari, you returned," she says tiredly, her gaze filled with kindness and a bit of pity. But when her eyes land on me, her expression changes, and she takes a step back. "Akari, who is this child?" she asks in fear.
The blind lady, now known as Akari, seems confused. "What happened?" she asks.
With what must look like a menacing glare because of my four eyes, I put a finger to my lips, signaling the woman to be quiet. She takes a step back and stares at me in fear.
"Don't worry, Akari-san. She just left because she had an emergency," I say, watching as the old woman runs toward her house.
Akari seems confused but shrugs it off. "Let's go home. I want to make food for you for helping me," she says kindly as we walk toward her house, which is next to the other woman's.
After entering, Akari starts preparing the ingredients. Seeing how she can cut vegetables and remember the position of the pan surprises me. With mastery, she cooks, and soon the food is served. As night falls, we begin chatting.
"Akari-san," I say nervously, "would you let me stay at your house for a while?" I ask shyly.
She smiles gently and responds warmly, "Of course, little one."
All my worries vanish. Such warmth fills my heart with joy.
"Thank you, Akari-san." I smile for the first time in my life.
She turns toward the sound of my voice. "What is your name, little one?"
"My name is Noroi," I say, imitating her gentleness.
She smiles. "Okay, Noroi-kun, let me show you your room," she says calmly as she probes with her walking stick until she finds it. "This is where you will be staying."
"Thank you again for your kindness, Akari-san," I say with a smile.
"There is a futon over there that you can use, Noroi-kun," she says kindly.
"Good night, Akari-san," I say as I step inside the room to prepare the futon.
"Good night, Noroi-kun," she says as she leaves.
After much trial and error, I manage to lay the futon on the floor. I cover myself with its warmth and think about Akari's kindness. My eyes begin to shed small tears that fall onto the futon.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't crying from sadness.
I was crying from joy as I fell asleep.