Sayuri was executing her fixed-point observation duties in the mountains— setting up machines at designated points, and observing the terrain and vegetation of the area, according to instructions. Be that as it may, it’s not like this was her life’s calling. She’s never learned the details of doing this, only mimicking what she saw from others, and she did what seemed right.
“Aahhhh—” With a cigarette in her mouth, she recorded all the observed data by hand, and then, carrying the machinery, she moved to the next observation point. Her legs, hips, and arms have become well-trained, probably from all the daily farm work; this much weight is nothing for her.
Under the scorching rays of the sun, Sayuri wiped off her sweat with a towel she had draped across her neck. That movement almost caused her towel to light on fire because of the cigarette, and she panicked a little.
“Whoah!” If she caused a mountain fire, she’d instantly be fired. The original manager of this mountain, with his legs and hips weakened with age, allowed her to take over his job as a favor. As a reward, she was able to live in the mountain cabin that was the foundation of her livelihood. There’s no way she could allow herself to cause him trouble.
At least, not until her daughter was able to live on her own. I want to protect this lifestyle she thought, after that, no matter what happens, I don’t care. Her own life was already over— the present was just a dream she was having in her last moments, a dream of her remaining years.
This mountain is not well maintained; there are no real hiking paths. Sayuri forced her way through an animal trail that you could just barely say wasn’t not a path. The lingering summer heat seeped through to her bones and stole away her stamina; Sayuri staggered, nearly falling over. The unhealthy lifestyle of her youth was coming back to haunt her. She’s gained muscle, but her bones, innards, and meat were in tatters. Sayuri was a living corpse, and she used up all of her vitality long ago.
“I’m going to have to be more careful...” Sayuri grumbled to herself, and used a nearby tree that could support her weight to regain her balance. She was in the middle of a fairly tall mountain. If she inadvertently stepped wrong and fell off a cliff or something, she’d die. Sayuri didn’t really feel like she was living, but she also didn’t really want to die, either.
Today, her daughter was waiting at home. Sayuri still had to cook for her daughter, and she had laundry to do as well. Her daughter was still at an age to need her protection. At least, until she became a proper adult, Sayuri had a responsibility to continue repeating these days.
“Hm?” Sayuri became suspicious. Normally, she wouldn’t stop in this kind of place— when doing her fixed-point observations, she would just move from point to point without looking around. That’s why, up until now, she’d passed by without noticing anything...but now, she’d found something strange: the entrance was hidden behind some thickets and trees so it was hard to notice, but there seemed to be a cave or something there.
There stood a dark hole or cave, leading right into the middle of the mountain. Sayuri’s first thought was that it might be a bear’s den, but the only wild animals that should be living around here would be stuff like dogs, of both the regular stray and raccoon variety. Bears don’t exist here, Sayuri thought. But then, what is this hole? Is it just a naturally formed hole?
No, she realized, there’s an animal trail that goes into the cave. It was more like a well-worn trail in the vegetation than an actual path, though. Something, or someone, had passed through here many times.
The trail was slightly different from the one Sayuri always took to do her fixed-point observations. Leaning the machine against a nearby tree, Sayuri stared fixedly at the new trail.
There were footprints, different from the ones Sayuri left behind with her own boots. They seemed to be left behind by running shoes— even though this was a mountain trail, the person who made these tracks must be a novice at hiking. Did one of the children from town climb the mountain to play on a lark? she wondered. Children these days are all indoorsy types, would any of them bother to come this deep into the mountains?
“Hrm,” Sayuri thought out loud. “If it really is a child, it would be bad if they’re stuck...I have to scold them and send them home.” Sayuri was rather unwilling, but she couldn’t have people damaging the mountain on a whim. And if there was an accident, there could be injuries, so she’d have to deal with that, too. Thinking these things, Sayuri proceeded into the trail towards the cave. It wasn’t far away, and she reached it quickly.
Sayuri tried to peek inside the cave, but it was too dark to see into from the outside. She remembered that she had a flashlight, so she turned it on before stepping inside, fumbling around (but nevertheless careful in her motions).
Apparently, this cave was not naturally formed. At first there were bumps and divots in the ground, but it quickly became flat, and then it was eventually paved over with concrete. Her footsteps echoed in the empty cave. Stooping slightly as she moved forward, Sayuri eventually came upon an open space.
“What’s this—?” The cigarette she had in her mouth had finally burned to its base. Feeling the heat, Sayuri hastily spat it out, and stomped out the embers with the sole of her shoe. Once again, she raised her head to observe her surroundings.
A small building stood there, in the open space within the cave. Surrounded by tall cliffs on every side, there was also a tree growing which cut off the light from the ceiling, rendering the area dim and gloomy. The sunlight that did shine through those branches gave the area a magical feel.
But really, Sayuri wondered, what is this building doing here? It looked like a log house. The building was a shack, made by stacking wood into a cube shape. It was shaped like a giant CRT TV.
The building was partially buried by the surrounding greenery, so it looked like a ruin, and the inside would be one room, six tatami mats wide at best.
“It’s a bit too well-made to be a secret base built by a child...” Sayuri had no idea that there was such an enigmatic thing built here while she was managing the mountain (even though she was just standing in for the real manager). She hadn’t heard anything about it from her predecessor, either.
Could it be the house of an apparition, or something? Thinking such thoughts, Sayuri ended up making herself chuckle. She should no longer be at an age to enjoy such fantasies.
Just in case, she took a picture of the building. She would report it to the proper authorities later; it should probably be investigated. In the worst case, it could be some criminal’s hideout.
“Or I could just pretend I never found this place,” she mused. “That would be nice.” Hanging the camera by a string around her neck, Sayuri stepped up to the shack— she should probably investigate a little more. There was still time in the day, and she was in no rush to finish her fixed-point observation duties.
It was just simple curiosity. Sayuri was surprised that she still had such feelings inside of her.