The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino

Author:Natsuo Kirino [Kirino, Natsuo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canongate Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

No. I’d thought it was Mikura-sama, but it was Kamikuu. She must have been in her mid-thirties. She looked exactly as Mikura-sama had when we were girls. No, not exactly. She was more beautiful than Mikura-sama. She was majestic. I do not know quite how to describe her womanliness in a way that others will understand.

Her face and arms were as white as snow – nothing short of a miracle on a southern island like ours, which took the full force of the sun. Her lustrous hair hung down her back to just below her hips, and her dark eyes had a commanding look. They were bright and confident as though imbued with the full and perfect happiness of life. And her voice rang like a clear bell that would entrance any who heard it. Her fingers were supple and graceful and she moved her feet in time with the rhythm of her chant. The hem of her white robe fluttered as she spun. It was hardly a prayer: she seemed to be in the midst of a dance. Mikura-sama had awed all who saw her with her dignity. But Kamikuu captured hearts with her beauty and vitality. Even though they were taking part in a funeral procession, everyone followed as though bewitched by Kamikuu’s voice and movements.

I felt as if aeons had passed since I had last seen the island. Flustered, I scoured the surroundings for a familiar face. But other than Kamikuu, I didn’t recognise anyone. Perhaps Yayoi was among the others. There were about ten young women at the end of the procession but none looked as though she might be Yayoi.

What if I had still been alive? I had adored my elder sister, and I was filled with joy at having seen her once more. I circled her, beating my wings. Her voice raised in song, Kamikuu suddenly looked at me.

‘Kamikuu! It is your sister! Namima, Woman-Amid-the-Waves.’

I flew in circles in front of Kamikuu’s face. Kamikuu, while clapping the shells with her right hand and jiggling her strands of pearls with the left, looked at me quizzically. ‘Kamikuu, you are the great Oracle, a shaman, are you not? You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? Please, please . . . it’s Namima!’

I forgot that I had come to her from the underworld, the Realm of the Dead and defilement. I buzzed my wings with all my might. Suddenly the shells in Kamikuu’s hand flew into the air. I did not know what happened next. I fell to the side of the procession and lost consciousness.

When I came to my senses I felt lucky to be alive. I might have been trampled to death – or become a meal for a bird or a spider. I had even escaped being carried off by ants. For some time I had lain in the dirt, half dead. The sun was sinking and all around me it was growing dark. I tried to take flight, only to discover that my left wing was broken and crumpled against my belly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.