The edges of the square hole were slowly undulating.
Watching it, Mitsuhiro pictured a giant jellyfish dancing in the sea. A creature that expanded and contracted as it floated along, following some ancient rhythm. Sucking in the seawater, filtering out the organisms that provided its food, and expelling whatever it didn’t need. But this was more than repeating its primitive life process—occasionally, it followed its survival instincts, using its own intelligence and the toxins it possessed to repel enemies or capture prey.
The hole was the same. And it was more cunning, more ferocious, and more ravenous than any jellyfish. The thing was alive. Not in any metaphorical sense. The hole itself, cut out of the ground, was breathing, expanding as its desires did, calling for the nourishment it needed.
Convinced of this, Mitsuhiro squirmed at the thought of the ground he relied on suddenly disappearing beneath him, his spine being rendered useless. It was similar to the feeling of the moment a roller coaster hurtled downward. The feeling of being pushed off some high place with no hope for survival.
The reality he once believed to be solid under him crumbled away, and his mind was sucked into an unknown darkness. Overcome by this feeling of despair, Mitsuhiro screamed out loud, just like the riders on those roller coasters.
Well done. Look. The hole is happy. His father was next to him.
What is it? What is it, Dad? Why is it alive? Mitsuhiro was crying out, regressing to his childhood.
It’s a throne. What remains after the water god was appeased in a previous ritual. The ashes that the god kept in place came out, and a hole was left in its place. It wasn’t dug up by anyone. It just opened up on its own. Isn’t that amazing?
I’m scared, Dad. I’m really scared. Get it away from me.
Ignoring Mitsuhiro’s cries and pleas, his father continued to explain, smiling the whole while.
Once the hole opened up, various things came to it and became one with it. The ashes kept on coming out, and eventually they started inviting mi-keshi into it. It was born in the remains of a ritual hall, so it knows what to do to appease itself.
“Appease”? What’s that mean? Will it disappear then?
Ha-ha-ha! His father laughed. No, Mitsuhiro. Appeasing means keeping it in place. There are appeasing rituals to keep gods like that from leaving. Mi-keshi, too. And look. This hole is happy. It’s glad that it could invite you to be the mi-keshi.
I’m not a mi-keshi, Dad. Please. Let somebody else do it.
You are the mi-keshi of the hole. You are the one who will obey the hole and the ashes that come out of it. Isn’t that amazing?
No, I don’t want to. I don’t want to.
If you’re disobedient, you know, you’ll be punished for it. Do you want to make your father punish you?
Mitsuhiro was suddenly speechless. He began to cry softly. His father gently stroked his head. Listen. You released the water god’s mi-keshi. Yoshikazu Hara. And the mi-keshi of fire and smoke took the mi-keshi of water and hid him away. He’s gone now.
Fire and smoke? Mitsuhiro had to ask, despite his fear of punishment. Is that me, too?
What, so obeying the hole and the ashes isn’t enough for you? You want to obey the fire and smoke, too?
Mitsuhiro’s tears grew. He couldn’t bear to experience anything more frightening than this. If something like that happened, he would lose his mind.
Don’t worry. His father smiled. The fire and smoke mi-keshi is already here.
It’s not me?
No. He works near the hole. He keeps starting fires at the construction site to delay the water-god ritual.
The water god? If the water god comes again, will that make the hole disappear?
It’ll be filled in, his father muttered. It’s doomed to be filled in eventually. But if we can appease it properly, then even when it’s filled with earth again, what was once the hole will still remain. It will become an aragami, a powerful guardian spirit, together with the water god, and remain there forever.
Dad, I’m scared.
Don’t worry, Mitsuhiro. They’re all scared at first. But once you understand how important a job this is, you won’t be scared anymore. If you keep refusing, I’ll have to punish you, and everything above the hole might collapse.
Collapse?
That big building you’re trying to build. The company you work for. The condo you’re paying off. The daughter and wife who live with you—it’ll all collapse. And then it’ll be gone. If that happens, we’ll both have to live the rest of our lives being constantly mocked by your spiteful in-laws.
No. I don’t want that.
Then you have to understand the importance of this work. Stand proud, Mitsuhiro. If you become an aragami yourself, you’ll feel so brave, so happy. Even your daughter and wife would gladly sacrifice themselves for the hole, maybe. You might even feel like becoming a mi-keshi yourself.
No. Please no.
I’m just trying to help you. I’ll support you, whatever you decide to do. Your old dad is here with you, okay? So don’t sit here crying forever. Just relax and do your best at your work. Do you understand, Mitsuhiro?
“Yeah,” Mitsuhiro sadly replied as he woke up. He sat up in a panic, thinking there might be a large, living, breathing square hole somewhere in the dimly lit bedroom.
But there was no hole. The voice of reason told him there couldn’t be. He yawned, relieved.
He got out of bed, careful not to wake Miyoko, but when he looked back, no one was there. Then he remembered that Miyoko was in the hospital. Barring unforeseen complications, she’d be back home today. Talking to her over the phone yesterday, it didn’t sound like anything serious.
Besides, he’d be able to get the amulet today. There was nothing to worry about.
So he went to wash his face in the bathroom. He saw his reflection in the mirror, and it looked like something hard had collided with his face. The cuts and bruises from Yoshikazu Hara’s helmet were still there. He sighed, wondering if it would scare Sae, as he washed his face and brushed his teeth. He was in his clothes and cooking up a breakfast of fried eggs, toast, and vegetable juice when Sae woke up, seeming a little dazed.
“Daddy, did you fall?”
Sure enough, Sae’s first words were tinged with worried surprise.
“Yeah,” he replied, as cheerfully as he could. “I fell down the stairs while I was at work. But I’ll be okay.”
“Work?”
“I had some work to do last night, when you were asleep. Sorry I left you alone like that. I got back as soon as I could.”
“Oh… Um, I called you.” Sae seemed to have just remembered.
“Yes, Mom told me on the phone. Were you lonely? I’m sorry.”
“Um, when you came home, was Grandpa here?” She looked up, trying to remember.
“Yes, he was.”
“Mommy’s daddy?”
“Huh?”
“I think there was a man here. I didn’t know him.”
“Right, Mom’s dad. We talked for a bit, and he left right after that.”
“Oh, okay. I was scared when I called Mommy, and he told me he came so I wouldn’t be scared. But it was weird, and I got even more scared.”
Sae suddenly tilted her head. This sequence of events must have stopped adding up for her. She had made a phone call, and then her grandfather showed up…but there was someone else here before that. It didn’t make sense to her, but it seemed natural enough to Mitsuhiro. He had asked his father to watch Sae, after all.
So he decided to ask.
“Was your other grandpa there with you?”
“No, I only heard his voice. Wait…but he rang the doorbell, and then I opened the door? Hmm… Maybe I had a dream?”
Sae stewed over this a bit, anxiety flashing across her eyes. Even a first grader could see that this was odd.
“Well, I’m sure your other grandpa was worried about you. He was watching over you.”
Sae’s eyes widened with even greater anxiety. She had never met her grandfather, so this encounter probably seemed unwelcome to her.
“In your dream, I mean.”
When he added that, Sae slumped, looking uncomfortable. “Really?”
“I think so. He was trying to cheer you up because you had a scary dream.”
“Hmm. Did I have a scary dream?”
“That’s what Mommy told me.”
“Oh. I guess I forgot it. I don’t remember.”
Sae looked at Mitsuhiro with frightened eyes, as if she didn’t want to try to remember.
“That’s fine. It’s okay to forget about scary dreams. They don’t mean anything anyway.” Mitsuhiro compassionately stroked his daughter’s head. “Ready for some breakfast real soon?”
“I wanna wash my face. Come on, Daddy.”
Sae grabbed Mitsuhiro’s wrist, and her grip was surprisingly strong. As if she was clinging to him in fear.
“Okay. I’ll make sure you get all clean.”
Mitsuhiro took Sae to the bathroom, holding her by the shoulders. She said she was afraid to change her clothes by herself, so he helped her with that, and then they finally set the table for breakfast.
“Hey, can we call Mommy?” Sae asked at the table.
Mitsuhiro pulled out his phone and dialed. There were ten or so calls made to him last night alone, so he reminded himself to delete them from the log later.
“Hello?”
Sae’s face lit up when she heard Miyoko’s voice. “Hi, Mommy! It’s Sae!”
“Good morning, Sae. Is Daddy there?”
“Yeah! We just finished breakfast. Daddy fell and hurt himself!”
“He fell… Yes, I heard. Daddy is so clumsy, isn’t he?”
Sae giggled loudly. “Are you coming home today, Mommy?”
“I should be able to, yes. So go ahead and go to school, okay, Sae?”
“Okay!”
Sae wanted to talk to Miyoko, so Mitsuhiro left his phone on the table while he put the dishes in the sink. He didn’t have time to wash them, so he just put them in the water for now. He got Sae ready for school, said goodbye to Miyoko, ended the call, and put the phone in his bag.
Then he noticed the other phone in there. He frowned, unsure who it belonged to at first, but then he remembered. It was from the man at the bottom of the hole. Yesterday’s sense of accomplishment at stopping all those negative rumors on Twitter had long faded; instead, the unpleasant problem of what to do with the phone now arose.
He had taken it from a man collapsed on the ground. If he were accused of theft, he couldn’t plausibly deny it. He had even deleted the man’s Twitter posts without permission. Why did he do that? Because his father told him to, of course…but he hadn’t considered the consequences. Should he tell Araki that he found it near the hole and give it to him? And be honest about the deleted posts, too?