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A dead secret by Leafkatio Herne.
A long time ago, in the province

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of Tamba, there lived a rich
merchant named Inamuriya Gensuke. He had a

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daughter called Osuno. As she was
very clever and pretty, he thought it

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would be a pity to let her
grow up with only such teaching as the

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country teachers could give her, so
he sent her in care of some trusty

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attendants to Kiyoto, that she might
be trained in the polite accomplishments taught to

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the ladies of the capital. After
she had thus been educated, she was

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married to a friend of her father's
family, a merchant named Nagaraya, and

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she lived happily with him for nearly
four years. They had one child,

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a boy, but Osno fell ill
and died in the fourth year after her

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marriage. On the night after the
funeral of O Sono, her little son

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said that his mamma had come back
and was in the room upstairs. She

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had smiled him, but would not
talk to him, so he became afraid

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and ran away. Then some of
the family went upstairs to the room which

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had been O Sono's, and they
were startled to see by the light of

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a small lamp which had been kindled
before a shrine. In that room the

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figure of the dead mother. She
appeared as if standing in front of a

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tansu or chest of drawers that still
contained her ornaments and her wearing apparel.

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Her head and shoulders could very distinctly
be seen, but from the waist downwards

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the figure thinned into invisibility. It
was like an imperfect reflection of her,

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and transparent as a shadow on water. Then the folk were afraid and left

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the room below. They consulted together, and the mother of o Sono's husband

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said, a woman is fond of
her small things, and o Sono was

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much attached to her belongings. Perhaps
she has come back to look at them.

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Many dead persons will do that unless
the things be given to the parish

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temple. If we present Osno's robes
and girdles to the temple, her spirit

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will probably find rest. It was
agreed that this should be done as soon

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as possible, so on the following
morning, the drawers were emptied and all

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of Osuna's ornaments and dresses were taken
to the temple. But she came back

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the next night and looked at the
tansu as before, and she came back

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also on the night following, and
the night after that, and every night,

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and the house became a house of
fear. The mother of Osuno's husband

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then went to the parish temple and
told the chief priest all that had happened,

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and asked for ghostly counsel. The
temple was a zen temple and the

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head priest was a learned old man
known as daigen oshoal he said, there

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must be something about which she is
anxious in or near that tansu, but

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we emptied all the drawers, replied
the woman, there is nothing in the

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tansu. Well, said daigen Osho. To night, I shall go to

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your house and keep watch in that
room and see what can be done.

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You must give orders that no person
shall enter the room while I am watching

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unless I call after sundown. Dagon
Osho went to the house and found the

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room made ready for him. He
remained there alone reading the sutras, and

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nothing happened until after the hour of
the rat. Then the figure of O

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Sono suddenly outlined itself in front of
the tansu. Her face had a wistful

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look, and she kept her eyes
fixed upon the tansu. The priest uttered

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the holy formula prescribed in such cases, and then, addressing the figure by

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the kind yo of O Sono,
said, I have come here in order

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to help you. Perhaps in that
tansu there is something about which you have

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reason to feel anxious. Shall I
try to find it for you? The

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shadow appeared to give consent by a
slight mane of the head, and the

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priest rising opened the top drawer.
It was empty. Successively he opened the

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second, the third, and the
fourth drawer. He searched carefully behind them,

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and beneath them, he carefully examined
the interior of the chest. He

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found nothing, but the figure remained
gazing as wistfully as before. What can

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she want? Thought the priest.
Suddenly it occurred to him that there might

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be something hidden under the paper with
which the drawers were lined. He removed

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the lining of the first drawer.
Nothing. He removed the lining of the

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second and third drawers, still nothing. But unto the lining of the lowermost

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drawer he found a letter. Is
this the thing about which you have been

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troubled? He asked? The shadow
of the woman turned toward him, her

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faint gaze fixed upon the letter.
Shall I burn it? For you,

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he asked. She bowed before him. It shall be burned in the temple

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this very morning, he promised,
and no one shall read it except myself.

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The figure smiled and vanished. Dawn
was breaking as the priest descended the

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stairs to find the family waiting anxiously
below. Do not be anxious, he

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said to them. She will not
appear again, and she never did.

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The letter was burned. It was
a love letter written to O Sono in

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the time of her studies at Kuiyoto. But the priest alone knew what was

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in it, and the secret died
with him. And of a dead secret,