“Oh, um…”
Ayako flashed me an understanding smile—one that reminded me of Towada. Although they weren’t blood related, I thought they resembled each other. “So, Haruka. What would you like to know?” she prompted. The swift change of topic and her serene smile felt like a lifeline tugging us away from the complex subject of her late husband.
Let’s see… The most pressing question on my mind would be…
“Do they really look like zashiki warashi to you?”
“Really?” Towada’s elbow slid off the table in his astonishment. Was my question really that surprising? Regaining his composure, he explained to Ayako, “To Kitazawa, the ayakashi look like stoats.”
Ayako blinked once in surprise before glancing at the creature on my lap. “Stoats! Well, isn’t that adorable,” she said. “And yes, zashiki warashi is probably the best way to describe how they appear to me. But that wasn’t always the case.”
“It wasn’t?”
“In the beginning, they looked like brown, fuzzy balls of fur with a pair of googly eyes stuck to them.” Ayako used her hands to suggest a size as big as a basketball. “No arms, no legs—they looked pretty harmless and goofy, all things considered.”
“You mean the way we see them can change?” I asked, trying to process that disclosure.
Ayako nodded. “Yes, it seems so. Those without the sight can’t magically gain the ability, but for those of us who do have it, our perception of them can change, and sometimes it changes because of the company we keep. Kaoru, for instance, saw them as bisque dolls.”
Well, that’s awfully lovely, I thought.
“My uncle was a professor of French literature,” supplied Towada.
“Oh! That explains all the foreign books you guys have,” I exclaimed.
“After I married Kaoru and moved in here, the fur balls gradually took on more humanoid features and, eventually, became zashiki warashi. I guess the traditional kimono is more ‘me’ than the western-style dresses bisque dolls wear.”
How fascinating.
“Kaoru’s perception of them never changed though. I interpreted that to mean a humanoid form might be closer to their true appearance.” Turning to me, she asked, “Has Takumi told you what they look like to him?”
“Yeah. He said they look like, um…goblins.”
Ayako was silent, but her wry smile said all.
Towada seemed to feel the need to defend himself. “What, it’s not like that’s my fault.” I had rarely witnessed him so flustered.
“But a stoat is lovely,” giggled Ayako. “Maybe if Takumi spends a little more time around you, he’ll start seeing them as stoats too.”
I glanced upward, aiming to decipher her remark, and met Towada’s eyes instead. My heart fluttered. I needed to say something, and quickly! “A-Are there are other types of ayakashi?”
Towada averted his gaze. “No. Not here, at least.” His reply was somewhat evasive, yet it suggested that other ayakashi existed, if not in his house. His reluctance piqued my curiosity—had I stumbled upon something I shouldn’t have?
“Haruka,” Ayako said, interrupting my thoughts. “Do you know that Kaoru and Takumi come from a lineage that can see ayakashi?”
“Yes, Towada told me.”
“Then you’ll do well to know that they can see all ayakashi. Me? Not so much. Ayakashi are fairly common, yet they tend to keep to themselves.”
They’re common? “Then why haven’t I seen any before now?” I wondered aloud. I’d never once encountered spirits or ghosts; I was as far removed from the supernatural as they came.
“I only started seeing them after marrying Kaoru,” Ayako said. “There might be a specific trigger, but I’m afraid I don’t know what it is.” She then apologized for her spotty knowledge, recognizing that she had promised to answer all my questions. “Some ayakashi even cause trouble for those like Kaoru or Takumi, so they’re not all harmless.”
“I’m used to it,” interjected Towada.
Ayako cast a sympathetic smile at her nephew.
Goblins… The thought of such malicious little creatures flitted across my mind. If that was how he saw my adorable stoat friends, I couldn’t help but wonder how other types of spirits might appear to him. Just how long had he lived in their presence, all alone?
The sound of the pot boiling over caught Ayako’s attention and she excused herself to tend to it. She opened the lid, and the delicious scent of their evening stew wafted through the air. I managed to reign in my stomach’s growl, and glancing out the window over the sink, I noticed the sky was already dark.
“I would love to have you stay for dinner, Haruka, but your mom responded to me earlier saying she wants you back home,” Ayako said.
Wow, she was efficient. She must have contacted my mother while I was being overrun by stoats. Did the Towadas work fast, or was I just slow?
“I’m sure you have a lot more questions, and I would love to answer them, but it’s getting late. Let’s call it here for today.”
“Okay, sure,” I replied, a little relieved. That was probably for the best—better not to overdo it with the life-changing revelations.
After thanking Ayako for her hospitality, I waited at the door while Towada stepped outside to ready his bike to walk me home. As I slipped on my shoes, Ayako’s voice drifted over my shoulder. “Be honest, dear. How are you taking all this?”
“Um, well, it’s definitely a lot to take in, but they’re cute, so…”
“That’s good,” she said, a knowing, slightly pained smile spreading across her face. She didn’t say more, but that smile told me everything: there had to be people out there—normal people—who couldn’t wrap their heads around her and Towada’s ability to see the supernatural.
“Towada asked me if I was scared or creeped out. But no, I’m not—at all,” I realized. Considering my lifelong fear of ghost stories, haunted houses, and horror movies, that was saying something.
Relief washed over her features. “That’s good to hear. You see, I’d never encountered one of these creatures before meeting Kaoru. I thought that maybe you and I were similar in that way, so I’m glad to hear that from you.”
“I’m ready,” Towada called, peering through the doorway.
“Yeah, um, well, thank you for having me!” I said to Ayako.
“My pleasure, dear. Take care getting home.”
As we distanced ourselves from the door, I thought I heard a soft “thank you” in reply.