A dead secret by Leafkatio Herne. A long time ago, in the province
of Tamba, there lived a rich merchant named Inamuriya Gensuke. He had a
daughter called Osuno. As she was very clever and pretty, he thought it
would be a pity to let her grow up with only such teaching as the
country teachers could give her, so he sent her in care of some trusty
attendants to Kiyoto, that she might be trained in the polite accomplishments taught to
the ladies of the capital. After she had thus been educated, she was
married to a friend of her father's family, a merchant named Nagaraya, and
she lived happily with him for nearly four years. They had one child,
a boy, but Osno fell ill and died in the fourth year after her
marriage. On the night after the funeral of O Sono, her little son
said that his mamma had come back and was in the room upstairs. She
had smiled him, but would not talk to him, so he became afraid
and ran away. Then some of the family went upstairs to the room which
had been O Sono's, and they were startled to see by the light of
a small lamp which had been kindled before a shrine. In that room the
figure of the dead mother. She appeared as if standing in front of a
tansu or chest of drawers that still contained her ornaments and her wearing apparel.
Her head and shoulders could very distinctly be seen, but from the waist downwards
the figure thinned into invisibility. It was like an imperfect reflection of her,
and transparent as a shadow on water. Then the folk were afraid and left
the room below. They consulted together, and the mother of o Sono's husband
said, a woman is fond of her small things, and o Sono was
much attached to her belongings. Perhaps she has come back to look at them.
Many dead persons will do that unless the things be given to the parish
temple. If we present Osno's robes and girdles to the temple, her spirit
will probably find rest. It was agreed that this should be done as soon
as possible, so on the following morning, the drawers were emptied and all
of Osuna's ornaments and dresses were taken to the temple. But she came back
the next night and looked at the tansu as before, and she came back
also on the night following, and the night after that, and every night,
and the house became a house of fear. The mother of Osuno's husband
then went to the parish temple and told the chief priest all that had happened,
and asked for ghostly counsel. The temple was a zen temple and the
head priest was a learned old man known as daigen oshoal he said, there
must be something about which she is anxious in or near that tansu, but
we emptied all the drawers, replied the woman, there is nothing in the
tansu. Well, said daigen Osho. To night, I shall go to
your house and keep watch in that room and see what can be done.
You must give orders that no person shall enter the room while I am watching
unless I call after sundown. Dagon Osho went to the house and found the
room made ready for him. He remained there alone reading the sutras, and
nothing happened until after the hour of the rat. Then the figure of O
Sono suddenly outlined itself in front of the tansu. Her face had a wistful
look, and she kept her eyes fixed upon the tansu. The priest uttered
the holy formula prescribed in such cases, and then, addressing the figure by
the kind yo of O Sono, said, I have come here in order
to help you. Perhaps in that tansu there is something about which you have
reason to feel anxious. Shall I try to find it for you? The
shadow appeared to give consent by a slight mane of the head, and the
priest rising opened the top drawer. It was empty. Successively he opened the
second, the third, and the fourth drawer. He searched carefully behind them,
and beneath them, he carefully examined the interior of the chest. He
found nothing, but the figure remained gazing as wistfully as before. What can
she want? Thought the priest. Suddenly it occurred to him that there might
be something hidden under the paper with which the drawers were lined. He removed
the lining of the first drawer. Nothing. He removed the lining of the
second and third drawers, still nothing. But unto the lining of the lowermost
drawer he found a letter. Is this the thing about which you have been
troubled? He asked? The shadow of the woman turned toward him, her
faint gaze fixed upon the letter. Shall I burn it? For you,
he asked. She bowed before him. It shall be burned in the temple
this very morning, he promised, and no one shall read it except myself.
The figure smiled and vanished. Dawn was breaking as the priest descended the
stairs to find the family waiting anxiously below. Do not be anxious, he
said to them. She will not appear again, and she never did.
The letter was burned. It was a love letter written to O Sono in
the time of her studies at Kuiyoto. But the priest alone knew what was
in it, and the secret died with him. And of a dead secret,