sinnesspiel | Shiki Novel Translations 3.16.4

Shimizu Hiroko left the house with the neighborhood circulation flyers. It held a notices that the government office was establishing night time service window hours.

(It's not like we're the city...)

Was there anyone in this village so busy that they wouldn't be able to go to the government office unless it was at night? On its face, taking the trouble to go out at night was silly.

(It feels strange.)

While thinking that, she pushed on the doorbell of the neighbor's house. It wasn't that long ago that a person could just open the door and call for someone without needing to do anything like ringing the doorbell, but lately the neighbor had taken to locking their doors even in the daytime. It's not that she was particularly influenced by her neighbor, but Hiroko had noticed herself doing that more and more lately. Even though it wasn't as if anything all that suspicious was happening in the daytime.

There were soon footsteps heard in the entryway, and Oota Michiyo poked her face out. When Michiyo saw Hiroko's face, she mumbled 'Aa!' in recognition and a smile rose up. Hiroko looked down. When did this start? Why couldn't she help but feel that Michiyo was faking her smile? In that brief instant before she had realized it was Hiroko. Even now her brows still seemed to be drawing together, and a deliberate smile rose up as if trying to hide that.

She wasn't welcomed. Hiroko could feel it. At first she had thought that was just her imagination, but now it was confirmed.

"Uhm, there's a circulation notice for you."

When Hiroko held out the clipboard, just for a moment, Michiyo looked between Hiroko and that clipboard.

"Oh, is there. So sorry for the trouble. You would have been fine just leaving it in the mailbox, you know."

Saying this was a plastered on smile, Michiyo made no move to reach out to take it. Hiroko felt as if there were something utterly filthy about herself in that moment.

(What is this about?)

Hiroko pushed the circulation towards Michiyo. Michiyo was hesitant when she did take it. The hand that did receive it took it as if touching something utterly putrid. All the the while, the same smile stayed on Michiyo's face.

Hiroko averted her eyes from that smile. When she did turn her eyes back, her eyes skimmed over the entryway window.

"Oh, you've changed your curtains."

"Yes, yes... The ones we had before were quite filthy."

The light flower pattern curtains were replaced by ones made of much thicker cloth. And beneath that, the glass itself had a lace pattered sheet sealed onto it.

"My, how fashionable."

"Is it?" Michiyo turned her eyes to the window. "You know, until now we've just left everything so wide open all the time, but I started to think that that was really quite careless these days."

"Is there something that made you think you have to be more cautious?" Hiroko asked Michiyo. Was it us, she wanted to ask, but couldn't.

"Oh not necessarily, but. You see, unlike you, ma'am, I'm a bit of a slob. If you could see the inside of my house, it's long due for a decent cleaning, and I'd feel just awful if somebody outside could just look in and see that plain as day."

"Is that right?" Hiroko said gesturing to a length of growth on the eaves of the house. "Say, isn't that mugwort?"

"Yes, it is. ....Right, I thought I would dry it out and maybe make kusamochi with it."

Hiroko tilted her head. She had heard of picking the sprouts to make kusamochi but storing it until it dried didn't make sense.

"Oh, dearest me," Michiyo cried out, her voice sounding forced. "I was just in the middle of running the water for the bath."

Really, Hiroko said with a strained smile. "I'm sorry. I've intruded."

"It's nothing. ---Well then."

Hiroko saw the door close at the tip of her nose and then heard the lock slide in place. For a time, Hiroko gazed at the closed door, and thought about herself, there, locked out.

(What on earth is this about?)

She felt like crying. This village is the worst, she thought. The village resented itself for their own inability to head out when they wished. Turning to leave, she took one last glance at the door. Above the door she noticed that the lighting windows were densely packed with stuck on paper.

Hiroko tilted her head. Those were paper charms. At regular intervals and with their writing facing the outside were stuck several mamorifuda. Even though until now she had never even once seen them hang up anything of the sort.