She wore a human's body
She was dragged from the world of dreams by the sudden failure of her body to secure itself. Her mind, still drugged with sleep, couldn't come to terms the situation her body was in. The first thing she could interpret was a voice in her ear. Saying "Sh..."
The voice, its tone, pitch and timber, electrified her to wakefulness. She flung open her eyes and strained to look her lost relative in the face, even as she doubtfully touched the wrist whose hand clenched her mouth and nostrils.
His shadow moved against the house's interior shadow, and he again whispered, "Sh..."
She nodded her head in assent. Only then did he take his hand away and draw back from her side. She staggered up from the mat she had slept upon and reached for a wrap to keep herself warm in the cool springtime night. He led the way to the door. Driven by a sibling need for privacy and companionship, they ran as stealthily as they hoped was save out of the town's compound and into the forest.
In the shadow of a maple tree their inhibitions and fears lifted, and they embraced tightly. It was an action he had shown few times before...times long since passed.
"Big brother!"
"Kaya, little sister, I'm so happy to see you again."
"I never thought I -_would_ see you again, Ashitaka-sama! You were sent away, you were sent away forever..."
"I'm no harm to anyone now, little sister. Look and see." He rolled the sleeve of his jersey halfway up his arm, and she looked at it in the moonlight. His words had been true--though there was a slight redness along the arm, there was none of the foulness that had scarred his body on his last day at home.
"Big brother, this is wonderful...so you can come back home to us now?"
Wistfully, he shook his head. "Even if I were allowed to return, I'm a man now. The circumstances have changed. Come, I'll show you. They're right by here."
He turned and walked off into the forest, trying to find his way through the shadow. Kaya followed, impertinently at his shoulder. "Who's 'they'? Dear old Yakkuru? And why did you come to see me? Why now?"
"To see you, well..."
He touched his breast. There was no sign of the kogatana she had given him. He slowed his step and said, "I knew you'd see me, even if no-one else in the town did." He bolstered his spirit and continued. "And I wanted to see someone now. Travel like this, for the next few years, will be difficult. I wanted to find you while I still knew where you lived."
"Before I took a husband, you mean. I see. But why can't you--Yakkuru!"
The girl squealed with joy and ran up to the dun beast, giving him a grand hug. He turned his head and snuffled the scent that clung to her head and neck.
"I think you're happier to see him then you were to see me," Ashitaka said.
"Don't be silly, big brother! He's Yakkuru, he's different." She gave him a pat on his shaggy flank and faced her brother. "Where are we going now?"
"We're all here...San?"
Kaya followed his gaze...and rather than _start to see_ , instead her _perception changed_. There was an entity before her, a chimera. She wore a human's body, a body that vibrated with the pure animal spirit it contained. Her eyes were a beast's, fashioned for hunting, for seeing at night. Her shoulders, arms, hips and legs were muscular and sinewy, like a young boy's. She dressed like a woman: she wore a dress and an apron, fashioned from tough plant fiber, with a bulky cloth bundle across her front. Her face was hidden behind tattooed marks and strange jewelry, and framed by an animal skin, held from a mask atop her head. One hand held her bundle to her chest, the other clutched a spear.
The girl had been shocked speechless by the sight of the newcomer, San, and drew closer to her brother for support; but a moment had passed, and she saw that San presented no danger. She did not look at her with outright hostility, only a resigned canker of contempt.
San drove her spear into the ground and, looking to the boy for assurance, bowed awkwardly. "My name is San. You are...my sister. Please, think highly of me, and welcome us into your family." Her voice was not gruff, only unrefined.
Kaya gazed dumbly from one to the other; then she understood what he had meant by 'they'. She bowed and said, "I'm very pleased to meet you, San. I'm Kaya...er...Ashitaka-sama! This is such a surprise! Who is she?"
He did not reply. He gazed over San's shoulder. The girl saw other shapes in motion in the darkness, as large as bears. She could almost make one out, a pale canine shape that wagged its tails in the air and padded slowly towards her. Tails...
"YAMA-INU?"
"Sh! Little sister, be courageous and meet them." He put an arm around her, and San stood by her other shoulder, as the gigantic mountain dog bitch and her brother came. Yakkuru stood fearless, almost nonchalant; the girl found courage in his example, and forced a smile of greeting for them. She could feel the warm breath from their nostrils as they smelled her human scent. Their eyes darted around her body, from her hands to her face to her legs and back again.
In unison, they lay themselves on the ground. The bitch spoke in an ethereal growl that sounded in the girl's head: "Please regard us well, sister. We have come to be your in-laws."
"Eh?"
The girl was dumbstruck again, and looked to her brother for more explanation. He said, "San is the princess of the Mononoke. She, and Buta, are our links to the world of the gods. Little sister, although you don't know it, these are times of trouble across our world. I've come to ask a favor. I need you to tell everyone in our village, tell everyone you meet, what you see here tonight. We can live with the Mononoke, we _must_ live with the Mononoke. The evil in our own hearts, that you saw tear me away from you, can do more harm than the will of the gods. Do you hear me?"
"Yes...yes..."
"We must preserve, and where we cannot preserve for our own well-being, we must honor. If we do not honor, we will lose all reverence we have for our world. If we lose reverence, we will not hesitate to kill, and that is why we have the capacity in ourselves to be so terrible. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I do."
"Kaya...there is a blackness in the world that can kill even gods. In time, the gods will die, our town will disappear, and living things will be gone forever. We cannot avert this with one battle, we may never ever avert it. But we must try, and in between our trials we can find happiness in our hearts. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear everything you say. And I believe you."
"Then, pray, remember what I've told you; thank you, little sister."
He embraced her again. The girl pulled away from him, aware that San still kept her distance. She pointed to the bundle on her sister's front and said, "Is that...Buta?"
San nodded; then, resentful of her own eager reply, she swung the bundle around towards Kaya, who looked with wide eyes. The moonlight showed a tiny child, perhaps weeks old, serene and asleep. San gently touched the child's face and, half-withdrawing her, murmured maternal words to her ears. The baby's breathing changed tempo to a faster, lighter rhythm.
Kaya took half a step forward, caught herself, and then looked to her new 'relatives' for permission. Dam and bitch raised themselves, but San took an acquiescent step forward, turning the babe to catch the light better. Kaya was enraptured by the child, with ruddy brown skin and the adorable caricature face.
Mindful of whom she spoke to, Kaya said, "She looks exactly like you."
"Oh!" said San. She blushed, then stammered, "Of course, I mean, thank you, I think...do you really think so?"
"Of course I do."
Ashitaka came in to further close the circle. "Little sister, do you think you have the strength for a long night?"
"Eh? Yes, I think so."
"Well, come then!" He led her to Yakkuru's side and helped her up. "We often ride through these hills in the night. Come along with us!"
"I'd love to!"
"Then you may...for tonight, my sister," said San. "I'm not sure I like you, but I'll give you a chance to make me be at peace with you."
Soon, the septet was running at full gait across the hills of the northeast. In the night air all the cares of the world and their nations seemed irrelevant: all that mattered was the singe of the night's wind, and caroling laughter from new family.
--
Copyright 1999 Daniel Snyder. Permission granted to duplicate in any digital/binary/e-mail form; however, any physical printout is strictly prohibited. Mononoke Hime/The Princess Mononoke is the intellectual property of Animagico and Hayao Miyazaki. Any resemblance between characters and persons living or deceased is purely coincidental.
Daniel Snyder
Please direct all mail to dsnydder@gunnm-seraphim.org
If I wasn't such a strange person, this would all seem so confusing.
