Ghost Train by Natalie Jacobsen

Author:Natalie Jacobsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SelectBooks
Published: 2024-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

With her sleeves rolled up, Maru scrubbed the dishes furiously to remove the stench of wine. Her mind was spinning. The conversation was ripe with information.

Allies fighting to restore our capital. Oh, what exactly did he say? Maru heard the words over and over, neglecting her sleeves, which kept dipping into the water. She rolled them impatiently, wiping her brow. The humidity and deep scrubbing were wearing her out.

Who was an ally of the old daimyo? She tried to think. They weren’t names she recognized, but they could have ruled from a northern prefecture, meaning their information from Tokyo would make more sense.

Her father couldn’t be an ally of the daimyo who had become his enemy. He was from Kyoto, the west, not the north. These allies of Tokugawa would look down on him. Unless he had a change of heart toward the emperor. Then he would say, “They have awakened to the atrocities of this emperor.”

“It is best not to dwell on this. The work will be done faster if the mind is clear,” Adakichi told her. “How about my sending in Mitsu.”

But I’m still scared of her, Maru wanted to say.

Mitsu appeared and began polishing in silence. She heard soft chirps of singing outside. Maru used the shadows of night to excuse herself from catching Mitsu’s eyes.

“Do you think it’s true?” Mitsu whispered when Adakichi was out of earshot.

Maru jumped.

“About the girls,” Mitsu whispered more urgently.

“Oh! I’m … I’m not sure,” Maru said, trying to conceal her deep fears. The cries and screams, the ghostly girls … Mitsu and Fujiwara … shadows of yokai, straight out of fairytales.

“That’s what I thought. His insistence made me doubt what he told us.”

“You’ve been downtown. Have you smelled or seen what he says exists?” Maru tip-toed around the subject.

“The construction areas smell … but it must just be turned dirt.”

She sensed Mitsu was more afraid than she let on.

Maru agreed with her, saying, “It smells like the soil my father used to dig in our garden. It was earthy, with odors of clay and worms or moss. He said it was rich in nutrients from lives lost, buried, and reborn in the flora. When it was shifted to make room for new vegetables, we could smell the freshly turned soil for days. But there was nothing ominous about it.”

Mitsu polished the porcelain slowly, fixated on a spot that didn’t exist; rubbing it over and over. “Suppose they’re making a big deal out of it just because they are trying to negate the emperor.”

“Adakichi won’t let anything happen to us,” said Maru quietly.

“For the rest of our lives we might fear for the safety of maidens, and if the emperor was behind it, who would protect them? Or us? We wear their hairstyles, too.”

Bumps rose on her arms. Maybe Mitsu was telling the truth. Maybe Maru hadn’t seen her the other night but saw a demon disguised as her. Should she say something about this?

She longed for her father to return, and to feel intrinsically safe.

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