Shinkei by Gillian Rubinstein

Author:Gillian Rubinstein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ligature Pty Limited
Published: 2018-10-24T04:48:17+00:00

15

‘Do you think there’s a McDonald’s nearby?’ Ben whispered to Andrew at breakfast. He was looking in some dismay at the low table which held bowls of rice and pickled vegetables. Professor Ito’s mother put a steaming bowl of miso shiru in front of him. ‘I think I’m going to puke.’ He was only half joking. The unusual smell turned his stomach. He thought wistfully of cornflakes and Milo, doughnuts and French fries. He shivered. The house was freezing. He felt as if he needed a big hot breakfast to warm himself up.

Elaine was gazing out of the window. The light in the room was clear and unearthly. ‘Look, Ben,’ she called to him.

Snow had fallen heavily during the night. The shrubs and trees in the garden were coated in white, and snow lay in a crisp neat layer on the stone lanterns and the roofs.

‘Isn’t it magic?’ Elaine said in delight. Ben joined her by the window. Despite his bad temper he couldn’t help being moved by the scene before his eyes.

The snow expanded the landscape, stretching it away across the rice paddies towards the hills. The pine trees on the steep slopes were bowed under its weight. In between the house and the hills, on a slight knoll in the middle of the rice paddies, was a grove of trees. The pattern of the rows of rice stalks was visible under the snow, swirling round the trees like the sea round an island.

‘Why do you think they left those trees there?’ Ben murmured.

Midori came in from the kitchen where she had been helping her grandmother. She put a plate of toast on the table and came and joined them at the window. Ben sniffed the air. ‘Oh, toast!’ he said gratefully and turned back to the table.

‘What’s that clump of trees?’ Elaine asked Midori.

‘It’s a shrine. I think it’s probably a fox shrine. I’ll ask my grandmother.’

‘A shrine? Is that like a church?’ Elaine squinted across the bright white fields. She couldn’t see any buildings, just the clump of trees—and things that looked like tags of paper tied to the branches, as white as the snow.

‘Not exactly,’ Midori said. ‘There isn’t a temple there or anything. Local people go there and make offerings, tie good luck predictions to the trees and so on. It’s probably very old.’

She and Elaine both saw the movement at once. A dark shadow against the white, it flitted elusively, furtively, behind the trees.

The two girls drew back from the window.

‘Someone’s there,’ Elaine whispered.

‘Maybe one of the local people,’ Midori said.

‘They’re hiding,’ Elaine said.

Midori ran to the bathroom and knocked on the door. ‘Otōsan, otōsan!’

Her father came out, electric shaver in his hand, his hair standing on end.

‘There’s someone in the trees over there,’ Midori gasped. ‘Someone hiding, watching the house.’

‘So they’ve tracked us down,’ the professor said softly. ‘So quickly! I had hoped for a little more time.’ He called out in Japanese, and Toshi came in from the adjoining room where he had been going through his morning exercises.

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