"...Come in."
The visitor sighed deeply. She was a young woman, sylphlike and beautiful, dressed in a simple floor-length kimono, her ink-black hair cascading down her back.
The voice beyond the door was deep, raspy yet soothing, one that exuded a deep understanding of life, yet at the same time, seemed to be shaken with illness. Holding all these thoughts in her very uncertain heart, she gently, cautiously slid the screen door aside.
The room smelled of incense and cherry blossoms. Moonlight streamed through the sole window beside the door, targeting the hem of the visitor's long kimono.
Two lit candles beside the window aided her eyes in making out other paraphernalia in the fairly spacious room: a sleeping mat on the tatami floor, some antique furniture here and there, the typical set-up in Nippon. Minimalist, she thought, until she spotted a very conspicuous statue of a majestic horse, most likely Kazegami, god of wind.
"...Do sit down before me."
His words, though they were inviting, held no warmth. The young woman nodded quietly, and obediently knelt before the man. Silence reigned in the dark room. An uncomfortable feeling washed over the visitor. The man before her sat quietly, facing away from her. Moonlight and candlelight both failed to reach his position, and the girl felt as though she spoke to a shadow.
"So, you are to join me in marriage..."
The visitor's gaze fell to the floor. Her reply was no more than a whisper. "Yes...that was the arrangement."
"What name do you go by?"
"I am Fuse." Her voice was shaking; from fear, cold, or what, she knew not, but one thing was clear to her: she was to be married off to this hostile, frigid man, that and happiness in her life was now merely a dream.
Fuse fell silent. She knew not what to say or even think. The man before her seemed to sense her discomfort.
"...Forgive me."
"It's alright."
"If I may inquire," the man said, "what misfortune befell your family? ...Of course, if you'd rather not..."
"It's alright." Fuse responded. "My family used to reside in a humble abode in Taka Pass. But there came a time when my father left for Agata Forest to meet with an old friend.
By nightfall, he had not yet returned, so mother instructed me to search for him in the forest. When I found him by Hitoshio spring, he was wounded and bloody. He had heard lute music and encountered a Red Imp, and though it injured him, he managed to cut the strings on its shamisen, and it vanished.
I helped him walk home, but it was midnight when we returned, and mother..." Fuse tried to stifle her inevitable sobs, but resumed anyway.
"A pair of Crow Tengu had ravaged our house and murdered my mother. So father and I ran away, far, far away, stumbling through the darkness, trying to find a new home.
We ended up in a small, abandoned hut in Ryoshima Coast, but all we had was either left behind or destroyed, so we lived in poverty, with little money or food, for father possessed no knowledge of hunting or fishing, and all his attempts ended in failure.
One day, a strange illness overtook his body. He was burning with fever and coughed relentlessly. It was then that he told me about you, and his plan to marry me off, and his voice shook with such pain that refusal was just plain heartless.
He mustered all his strength to travel here, and that is when you met him."
"...It seems as though he did not inform me of all this. All he said was to consider you as a marriage prospect. I guess he had his dignity.", the man said. "I apologize for reawakening such sadness within your memory. You have been through much, Fuse."
A few moments of silence, and the man suddenly rose to his feet. Fuse observed that he was dressed in the garb of a Shinto priest: a loose, ridiculously oversized olive-green shirt with detached sleeves, very comfortable-looking teal hakama, and a white belt positioned below his waist. In an instant, however, he had left the room, and she could discern no more.
As quickly as he had left, he returned, holding a small paper lantern hanging on a stick. He knelt before the confused girl, this time, noticeably closer than before, and held the lantern to his own face.
"I sense your anxiety. Perhaps conversing with shadow has frightened you. I apologize." His words were pleasant now. Indeed, Fuse had strained her eyes trying to find his face in the darkness. Now she could see it, she was surprised.
Their formal conversation had misled her on the man's age: he was more youthful than his mature composure and his deep voice would portray. He was thin and bony; his body's framework was so delicate that even the slightest movement seemed quite consuming. Though he looked almost emaciated, Fuse found him quite beautiful: his face was structured, defined, hollow-cheeked but still handsome, almost ravishing. Oh, what the hell...
She eyed him from top to bottom, twice, but shifted her focus to his eyes. Something was not right about them, but she could barely discern what it was when he suddenly moved even closer and placed his hand on her face.
She didn't move, not even blink, as the man touched her cheeks and ran his spindly fingers through her long, jet-black, silky hair. His touch was warm, comforting, even, but he suddenly went lower, and this comfort quickly turned to humiliation.
"...Ah!"
Suddenly, she yelped, slapped his hand away, and pushed him back with what little force her frail arms could muster. She herself began breathing heavily, anger and disbelief clouding her reasoning. She let loose a chain of obscenities, unrelenting and furious, when she noticed the man's beyond bewildered expression, as if a tree had fallen inches away from him.
This dumbfounded reaction seemed to quiet her down, and her insults trailed off until only huffs and heavy, choppy breaths left her mouth. The man, rooted to his spot, could only stare at her in silence, when he finally spoke.
"...What...What did I do?" His tone was innocent, almost frightened. Unfitting for he situation, but Fuse would have none of that.
"You...You!" Fuse's anger rose again. She decided she would have no more of this pervert, and she stood up, thinking that maybe she'd just run away to some far-off place and live there, alone.
She had an inkling, a strong feeling, that this man would only bring her sorrow. Well, what do you know, they had barely just met, and he had already violated her! "You felt my breasts! You touched me! And you have the nerve to act all innocent?! I'm leaving!"
Fuse made her way to the screen door, fury in each stomp, anger in her erratic, stiff movements, disgrace in her heart. It seemed miles away, but when she slid open the door, something was blocking the way...
She tried to clear her mind, and when she did, she saw it was a puppy. A small, adorable puppy, with cream-colored fur and oddly enough, light green spots. On his neck was a lemon scarf, with a little orb hanging from it. It was barking at her, energetic and fitful, barking and barking as many times as she had insulted the man who molested her just a few minutes ago.
The man, still seemingly unsure of what had just taken place, called the canine.
"Rei! Heel!"
Immediately, the puppy ceased barking, and squeezed past Fuse, running to his master and happily wagging his tail. The man scooped up the little pup into his arms and gently pat him. Fuse could see a smile form on his face, but like a shooting star, it was gone in an instant. And so would I be, she thought to herself, and turned to leave, when...
"W-wait...please..."
Fuse whirled around and saw that the man was on the verge of tears. The lantern beside him cast shadows on his face, but from what little of it she could make out, she could see no hint of satisfaction, no trace of pleasure, from his recent attack. There was only guilt, regret, and still, innocence.
"...You saw the emptiness...in my eyes...did you not?"
Fuse did not reply. She remembered when she first saw his dull eyes, how lifeless they were. She had no clue what to say, to think or feel anymore.
"I...I can't see...my eyes...see nothing, so they show nothing...I've never seen anything, I was born like this...
I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...you know...I didn't know...I couldn't see..." In a blink of an eye, his aura had completely changed and went from authoritative and hostile, to childlike, even pitiful.
He was racked by guilt, Fuse could see it.
Tears fell from his eyes, onto the tiny puppy in his arms, who whimpered, trying to comfort his master.
He was sincere.
"You're blind? Then why did you say nothing about it?", Fuse asked, still standing in the doorway. She was now torn between this man and a free life in solitude; she wanted to leave, leave and never look back, but her heart held her down like a weight, running in the opposite direction: back to this sightless man.
"I cannot see your face, but...I can see...what lies in your heart...
When you sat before me, there was only sadness. Hopelessness. The prospect of marriage was not to your liking. I saw...that you wished to be free, to be unbound by duty or family, to live your life for yourself alone..."
Fuse listened to everything, wide-eyed, surprised at his ability to see within her heart. She approached him, slowly, and sat before him like she did before.
"...If I informed you of my sightlessness...I was afraid, you would feel even more despondency...you would be more unhappy to marry me.
I would be so difficult to live with, to care for...'till the day you die, you would be trapped with me...a blind man...a sickly, weak, frail, blind man..."
Fuse again noticed how gaunt the man was, and indeed, it seemed like his body was often racked with illness. As if in confirmation of this, he coughed, then continued.
"Your father reasoned with me to marry you, but at the end of our conversation, he told me...it was for your own good...and now look what I did to you...I'm sorry..."
Tears continued to fall, streaming down the man's face. His words were filled with sincerity. Fuse had seen for herself how dishonest most people were, but this man...He was like the truth amongst a sea of lies, a reality amongst illusions. He wiped his face on his sleeve, and spoke again.
"If you wish to leave, then I understa–"
The man stopped. Before he knew it, Fuse was embracing him. She held him close, her arms wrapped around his neck, and she too was crying. Not for herself, as she had been doing for the past few nights, but for him. For this blind man, who was born into darkness, and had to navigate this harsh, unforgiving world without a guiding hand. For this man, whom she had judged far too soon, while he had only thought of her happiness the whole time.
"...Hey." Fuse suddenly spoke. "...Why won't you hug me back?"
The man smiled, though she did not see it. Indeed, he had kept his arms at his sides, never making contact with her body. "...I might touch you someplace again."
"You won't." Fuse withdrew herself, and knelt before the man again. She grabbed his left wrist, and his face looked surprised. Fuse laughed at this, he was cute. Amazed that she could think that even after the incident, she decided to let it slide. She controlled his wrist, placing his limply-lying hand on her cheek.
"This is my face." She moved down to her left shoulder, naming that too. She took his hand on a tour of her whole body, save for those very touchy places, labeling each part as she went along. Soon, the two were laughing, beaming from the bottom of their hearts. The man's eyes, blind as they were, lit up from his smile. And boy, his smile was adorable.
"Everything else is off-limits.", Fuse said, imitating the voice of a gruff, high-ranking soldier, to which the man laughed again.
"I didn't tell you before", the man grinned, "but I can see your true form."
"My true form?"
"You look like an angel."
"I heard that all the angels were slain by demons on an ark that fell from the heavens. I don't think I'd like to be one of them." Fuse replied, jokingly. The man chuckled, and even his puppy seemed to join him by barking, happily this time.
"You never told me your name." Fuse pointed out. "How am I supposed to marry a man whose name eludes me so?"
The man froze. Did she just say she would marry him? He couldn't see her, and he never would, but somehow, he knew she was beautiful, kind, indeed, like an angel, and he knew he loved her.
At that moment, he promised himself, he would make sure she would be a more fortunate angel.
And at that moment, Fuse remembered how often her mother said that only a life loved for others was a meaningful one. She decided to wipe out her selfishness, for the sake of the man before her. He needed her.
At that moment, she promised herself, she would be the light in his dark world.
"My name is Yatsu," he replied, "and if you wish, I will be your husband, and love you for all eternity."
"Well then, Yatsu. I, Fuse, will gladly be your wife, and," Fuse smiled.
"I will be your eyes."