Strange Light Afar by Rui Umezawa Page A

small black pools. His nose curves into a beak.
    When the metamorphosis is complete, I am aghast to realize that he is not at all the Enlightened One but the same tengu who offered to grant me my one wish.
    He looks at me angrily, sobbing.
    â€œYou fool! I told you not to speak! Did I not tell you to be absolutely quiet? Didn’t I?”
    â€œSilence!”
    Both the tengu and I shrink into ourselves when Indra speaks. He looks down upon us, taller than the tallest pine.
    â€œFoolish demon. How dare you assume the form of our Lord Buddha? Is there no limit to your insolence?”
    The tengu remains on his knees, kowtowing wildly. He talks about me as if I cannot hear him.
    â€œForgive me, Master! I only wanted to teach this fool a lesson! He is the same idiot who put me in a cage half my size years ago. He kept vermin and other creatures in similar cages outside in all kinds of weather, often forgetting to feed us for days!”
    What is this tengu going on about? I often marvel at how some people’s memories are so unreliable.
    Indra shakes his head, which is as large as a house, and extends his immense hand.
    â€œVengeance is far from a worthy cause, and certainly no excuse for your blasphemous behavior. Come with me and accept your punishment.”
    â€œNo!”
    The tengu suddenly jumps to his feet, and before I can even blink, flies into a crack running down the face of an immense cliff.
    I am dumbfounded. The crowd has dispersed, and now only rocks and boulders remain, scattered across the ridge. The sun reappears from behind the clouds. Indra stares for a while at the spot where the tengu disappeared, but finally shakes his head before turning to me.
    â€œAnd what do you have to say for yourself, foolish mortal?”
    I resent his presumption. I tell him I am an innocent victim who should be returned to his homeland in Japan.
    â€œYou are in Japan.”
    â€œThis isn’t India?”
    Indra throws his head back and laughs.
    â€œNo, my friend. I am afraid you are in Satsuma.”
    I realize the stifling heat is due to the fact that I am now much farther south than where the tengu first spotted me.
    â€œI still need help getting home. I am after all just an innocent victim duped by a misguided demon.”
    â€œYou are no innocent,” Indra laughs again. “You consider yourself selfless, but vanity is your greatest sin.”
    The words tumbling from his mouth are completely meaningless to me. What is he going on about when he should be helping me to get home?
    â€œI should reprimand you severely as well for not knowing your place, but your presumption amuses me. And your intentions, as misguided as they are, seem virtuous. I shall leave you here on this mountain and consider that adequate punishment.”
    He bids me farewell and summons the funnel cloud that lifts him back into the heavens.
    When the air stills again, I find the heat suffocating. Nothing but rock all around, and for the first time I fear dying of hunger and thirst. The mountain ridges stand against the scorching rays of the sun, defiant.
    I consider Indra’s words for a moment but then see a distant village across the valley below. If I am lucky, I shall reach it by nightfall. I shall ask for food and water and, in return, I shall impart to the villagers the story of how I encountered supernatural creatures who envied me for my capacity to love.
    My legs find renewed strength when I consider how much this will be appreciated. I make my way down the mountain, humming as if I were once again a small boy.

◊
    SEVEN
    PARADISE
    â—Š

M y village is at the foot of a mountain, by the seashore. The meltwater flowing from the snow-capped peaks in springtime is perfect for brewing rice wine fit for gods. Where the mouth of the river meets the ocean is bed to a constellation of shellfish.
    And the fish! Every season brings a bounty. Fatty yellowtail in winter. The barracuda are fine in the summer, raw