TALES FROM FAR AND BEYOND
When God created the world, he thought that the most beautiful creation of all was human beings. He was so proud of his creation that he gave them mind. But he forgot that beautiful things don't last long, even gods are prone to make mistakes.
Maria: time to go to bed, dear.
Lisa: mom you never tell the whole story, do you? Mom please at least not on my 12th birthday.
Maria: okay.... But don't fall asleep in the middle.
Lisa: I promise mom.
Aside from human beings he had also created some supernatural beings, but they were different from us. They were known as the "ayakashi" or the "yokai". They were very strong, fierce, magical yet beautiful creatures. They were asked to live together in harmony with humans, to which they both obliged. But as they grew stronger humans on the hand were fragile, delicate, beautiful but prone to evil. However, God really loved humans for they were weaker than his other creations. But as it is said that nothing really lasts forever and if there is summer, winter is also inevitable. Soon humans and yokais grew envious of each other. The yokais wanted the form of human beings which was cherished by gods while humans wanted to be the most powerful creatures. The peace within the two worlds vanished and destruction surrounded the world. Mt. Maya was the first to witness such an annihilation. Humans challenged those creatures which were supposed to be worshipped and the ayakashis attacked those beings who were supposed to be guarded and guided by them. Mt. Norikura were won by the ayakashis and the inhabitants were all swept away leaving no trace behind. After such an easy victory the ayakashis became more confident and ruthless. They further extended their territory and took several small mountains and plains under their control. However, the humankinds were blessed with the most essential weapon known as the mind, hence some were able to protect themselves. Those who managed to escape their fate took shelter under Mt. Fujiyama.
Lisa: but mom isn't Mt. Fujiyama a bit cold and covered with snow? How would human beings survive such a dreadful climate?
Maria: Lisa there are many things in this universe that cannot be contemplated with our naked eye and we human beings are the creatures who have survived through evolution.
Lisa: mom are ayakashis real? Do they exist even today?
Maria: well, it depends on how much faith you have in these legends.
Mt. Fujiyama was protected by Yama no Megumi who not only gave them shelter but also nurtured them. The ayakashis now wanted to take control over Mt.Fujiyama but it was not easy for this place had a strong spiritual power which could snatch away all the power of any ayakashi who dared to enter this place. The humans came to understand this fact and built a shrine near the border of the mountain. Thus, keeping the inhabitants safe. However, the ayakashis were such creatures who would not surrender to anyone so easily. All the great and powerful ayakashis came together and formed a powerful weapon which could pierce the strong barrier of the goddess. Doing something was not that easy for they were ayakashis while she was a goddess. There started a great war between the goddess and the ayakashis. The inhabitants were sure that the goddess would protect them, and the goddess promised them so but on one condition. One of the clans from the villager had to sacrifice one of their heirs to the service of the goddess because the goddess knew that the creatures whom she vowed to protect were ungrateful and equally selfish creatures as the ayakashis. The whole villagers were surprised by such a deal, but they also had to protect themselves and sacrificing one of the off springs didn't seem a very bad idea. The villagers agreed to this and thus were saved by the goddess. The ayakashis on the other hand decide not to surrender and fought with the goddess with all of their might. This fight lasted for more than six hundred years but ultimately the goddess became victorious. The ayakashis were not only defeated but they also lost their power. The whole village seized this opportunity and tried to kill all these supernatural beings, but the goddess was so impressed by the showdown of such power that she forbade the humans to harm these creatures. The god also appeared deeply affected by such chaos and created a parallel world for the ayakashis to live. The ayakashi were truly ashamed by their actions, accepted defeat and went to live in the parallel world to live. Out of these ayakashis two yokais, Ginji and Shiroi proposed to serve the goddess by being the guardians of the temple. The goddess was so much pleased that she returned the power of all the ayakashis and ordered the humankind to pray to the guards of the temple before entering the temple. The humans agreed to this but inside they knew that this was a great defeat to them for they had to worship those kinds who not only took their lives but also won the favor of the goddess.
Lisa: does it mean that the human beings only pretended but were still jealous of the ayakashis?
Maria: the human heart is the only place where God resides but always remember my dear that in the same heart resides evil who ones it gains fuel only grows bigger to devour the entire existence.
The peaceful era began, and the humans also grew in number. As per the goddesses wish there were two festivals held every year. One was for the human beings to celebrate and worship the goddess which also included offering their respect to the temple ayakashis. The second event was purely for the ayakshis. On this particular day the priest of the temple had to decorate the whole temple and he was allowed to leave the place for one day. In fact, it was the only day when the priest could return to his home. Centuries passed and the tradition continued but the human beings also started growing tired of that place for they had the whole world to explore. Slowly one after the other clan left that place to find another place. Some of the clans returned to their ancestral places. Due to their loss of faith the goddess took refuge in the heart of the mountain and the mountain started losing its greenery. The pleasant climate turned into winter and the mountain was covered with snow. Out of 98 clans only 34 remained who settled on the foothill of the mountain near the temple. The priest had no other choice but had to live a secluded life because of the promise made by his ancestors and for the welfare of the mankind. The two ayakashis also turned into stones and stayed there to protect the temple. As they had served along with the priest "Ginji" became very much close to the priest and the servants. He would occasionally visit the temple priest in the disguise of a young boy and who would be easily recognized by the priest even if others failed to recognize him.
Lisa: so, Ginji had become attached with the priest. Mom, does it mean that the rivalry between the two species had come to an end?
Maria: time is such a mysterious thing, isn't it? All the emotions changes with time. Nothing lasts forever. Baby, it's time for you to go to bed now.
Lisa: mom please just a little more, please.
Maria: have you forgotten? we have a flight to board tomorrow.
Lisa: but mom.
Maria: we'll be visiting your grandfather and you can hear the rest of the story from him.
Lisa: will he remember them? I mean he is already 80 years.
Maria: folk tales are best told by the old school dear, and it seems like I may have forgotten many things so when we reach tomorrow you can ask grandpa to continue. He will be more than happy to tell you. Goodnight sweety.
Lisa: goodnight mom.
Maria kissed her kid and closed the door and went to bed. Maria has been single for more than eleven years. It would be rather fit to say that she doesn't even remember when the last time was, she had a meal together with her daughter. She and her husband never shared a good relation. It was more like an agreement which had been expired. However, she doesn't regret her decision of divorcing her husband, but the strangest thing was that she never hated her husband. After their divorce he got married to his lover and Maria along with her daughter moved to California where no one would know her. Both of their families blamed her for their ending as it is the rule of society to always blame a woman for every failure. She had not been in contact with any of her family members but last year her only sister had found out her whereabouts. Maria though seemed naïve knew very well how the world functions. When she first arrived in California, she was a bit scared, but she had the two greatest weapons. One was that she could understand and form a few English sentences if not fluently and second was that she had a remarkable talent for culinary. Maria had a childhood friend who had been living in California since the age of fifteen when his mom married an American. He became the biggest support for Maria. Not only did he shelter her and her kid but also helped her get a place to start her eatery. At first, she had to face a lot of challenges but Gilbert (a name later baptized by her mother to fit into the American society which he found a little unnecessary) took care of them all. He became a real angle who saved Maria from the greatest tragedies that she could have gone through if not for Gilbert. Maria in return for the favor shown by her friend made him her business partner and to her surprise business took off really well.
The next day she was going to visit her father after such a long time. She was a bit hesitant at first, but Gilbert assured her that he would take care of the eatery which had now turned into a restaurant. Maria was not that scared of leaving business for a few days to Gilbert. What she was really afraid was of how was she going to face her father? She lay in the bed tossing and turning around for her thoughts would not allow her to close her eyes. By 8:45 before she could even think about what she would say to her father, she and her daughter were already on the plane. To her surprise it was her father who had come to receive them in the Narita airport. She had so many things to say, complaint, ask but all she could do was embrace her father and weep. Her father had also been holding back himself but in her embrace, he broke away. This was the first time for Lisa to see her mother being emotional because she had only seen her smile through toughest situations. It is truly said that no one can resist the charm of their grandchildren so was the case with Maria's father. He didn't even waste a second to hold Lisa's hand in his hand. For Lisa all this was like a dream, holding hands with an elderly and getting a sense of belongingness.
It had been so long since Maria last visited Japan. She looked around and saw that everything had changed. "Time surely flies away within a blink of an eye" she thought to herself. Lisa seemed to be quite excited about her first visit to Japan. Though it was winter, yet it felt like spring in their hearts. Maria caught the glimpse of her father in the rear-view mirror smiling at her daughter. He looked very old now. There were lines and wrinkles around his face and his hair was all white. The man who had once been so fierce looking now wore the smile of an innocent child. For the first time in her life, she felt guilty for leaving behind her father alone because she had missed so many years of his life. She thought to herself that she would make the best use of her stay and try to make up for all those years. Maria was not only one who had been regretting her decision, after Maria had left her house Daijo had also regretted his decision of not supporting Maria. In their stubbornness they had both missed out those years of their lives which could have become a beautiful memory.