NOTE: I wrote this a long time ago and I decided to edit and add more to it. I saw where it could be better. Now, I think it is better. It is all in Hatsumomo's POV. She is one of my favorite characters in the book and especially in the film. I wish there was more depth to her story. Thanks for reading!
The Last Of Hatsumomo
I walked into the dreary fog that swallowed up the figures of passersby just as it was becoming dawn. I could see a few people walking around even at the crack of dawn. Even though it looked like they were walking around aimlessly, they probably weren't. The difference between them and me is that they have a home; they have a purpose, but me? I didn't have one, not anymore. All I had was the pretty silk on my back. I stopped in my tracks and looked back at the burning okiya. My face was covered with soot from the fire inside the okiya. The okiya burned in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. In a way, I was envious of the glowing flames. Why? Simply because they would get the attention. People would stop and stare at the fire that I started with my own hands using the flames from the lamp. It would be seen at the farthest distance even with the fog. But me, I'd just be another person walking down the street. No one would stop to look at me now. Not the men. Not even the envious women that would stare at me in awe and bow or glare as they passed. My own shadow wouldn't even envy me.
From now on Sayuri would indulge in the benefits of being the most popular and incomparably beautiful geisha. But as she gets older and will have to work harder to look young and cover her flaws she is destined to turn into the withering Mameha. And to think that Mameha was once my competition. She is no where near as attractive as she once was. However, since Mameha was so successful she was able to live comfortably once she retired and Sayuri will have the same advantages. That is the difference between us. She will have a place to live out her life, she will have money. And once Sayuri becomes a big sister to a young maiko people will remember the stunning blue-eyed Sayuri and hope that she will live on in her apprentice. Even poor little Pumpkin won't have anything. Sayuri has always gotten everything she wanted and has always taken everything away from others. To think that the blue-eyed little girl named Chiyo would cause me to lose so much. If she would have left when she was looking for her sister, Koichi and I could have been together. If she wouldn't have been there that night I may have been able to spend the rest of my life with him. I loved him more than I ever loved anyone. Out of all the men I ever met and that dull-minded general that I used to entertain, Koichi was the only man that ever gave me any hope in love. How can I accept that she took that away from me and kept her love? Will she get the chairman? Probably. Just because she's so perfect. I used to be that girl and now look what is left of me. I'll grow old, tired, and lonely. No one will care about me. But is that my own fault? Maybe, I suppose. But under the white mask and cherry red lips I guess all I wanted was someone to see pass my anger and crude behavior and see someone whose worthy of a friend. Now, I may not know that it was even possible for me to experience a life of happiness.
I was lost in my thoughts until the pain in my feet brought me back to the frigid morning. I sat on a bench to rest just as the sun was rising. I laid my head back with my eyes closed. I squinted from the bright sunshine. Surely a rush of people were coming out for their days purpose. How could the sun shine on such a depressing day? Maybe it was a way of showing me that there was hope for my future. Sunshine after the storm. I smiled slightly. I loved how it felt, my mouth curving into a crescent moon shape.
I knew that from here I'd start on a lonely path into the next part of my life not as Hatsumomo the prettiest and most popular geisha (next to Mameha or course) but just Hatsumomo. No title but simply me, and in some way, I think I liked that.