Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima

Author:Yukio Mishima [Mishima, Yukio]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2020-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

29

“Where to begin?”

As the first man started to speak, Hanio noticed the creases around his eyes, testament to both hardship and a heart of gold.

“Neither our names nor our occupations can be divulged. You will understand, of course, given the nature of what we are asking you to do. In any case, as you see, we are Japanese. But in fact our story has nothing to do with Japan. Rather, it concerns the embassies of two other, quite different countries. Let’s call them Country A and Country B.

“Now, the wife of the ambassador of Country A is a renowned beauty, and one evening she held a party at the embassy to which she and her husband had invited ambassadors from various nations around the world.

“For an embassy, such an event is no more extraordinary than if you and I were to invite guests round to play mahjong. That evening, the ambassador’s wife greeted the guests wearing an elaborate emerald green evening dress with a long train. An imperial prince was in attendance, so it was a black-tie party with everyone in full regalia. I am not at liberty to disclose the nature of our connection to this particular event at the embassy.

“Now, as you will appreciate, an evening dress embroidered in emerald green requires accessories in exactly the same color. The wife of the ambassador of Country A was in possession of an exquisite necklace—a most wonderful piece that comprised thirty-five magnificent emeralds interspersed with small diamonds. The dancing began, the lights in the banqueting hall were dimmed, and the guests were swept up in the flow of things. But as the party drew to a close, the ambassador’s wife suddenly noticed that the necklace was no longer draped around her neck. She kept her composure, and hardly any of the guests realized what had happened. Those who did notice merely assumed she had removed it at some point.

“Half the guests had left early while the dancing was still in progress, so the ballroom was already quieting down as the party came to a formal end. Slightly pale, she nevertheless saw each person off with a brave smile. When the last guest had left, she fell sobbing into her husband’s arms.

“ ‘Oh, this is terrible! Just terrible! My emerald necklace has been stolen.’

“The necklace had cost an absolute fortune, so this was a serious theft. But, she explained, she could hardly have created an embarrassing scene over its sudden loss right there in the middle of the party when she was entertaining all those guests.

“The ambassador himself turned white at this news, stunned. This man was by no means a stingy person. Indeed it was said that he had a considerable fortune back home, and had only taken up the role of ambassador as a hobby. There was no reason he should get upset over just a necklace. But the truth was, the ambassador had a serious problem that he had kept even from his wife.

“To clarify what I mean by this, let me explain a little about the emerald as a precious stone.

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