Mutsumi Knows, part 15 - One Wedding and a Funeral?
It's great to be up and about at last, and see so much love and encouragement all around. So many friendly faces! And such a buzz of excitement all over the village!
The weather is perfect, after a spell of rain earlier, and the forecast is clear and sunny. Right now, the setting sun is suffusing the sea with dancing flames, to match the red and gold fire of the hibiscus and maple trees. The beautiful scent of autumn hangs in the air like incense, and in a clearing the grass undulates down to the sea like the folds of an exquisite Kimono. In fact, just like the kimono that I'll be changing into tomorrow after the western-style ceremony. I thought my white wedding dress was special - and it is, very special - but Kei-kun has seen it before, so it maybe won't have the same impact this time. The soft red and green silk of the Kimono, with the shining highlights of gold thread skilfully woven in, is something new and it seems almost to match the beauty of the island.
As I wander across the grassy clearing my attention focuses naturally on the giant oak which dominates the centre of it. Our climbing-tree. So much of my life seems to be woven around the limbs of that tree, so many happy memories, from my first promise, and my first kiss all those years ago, all the way through to the emotional roller-coaster of just a couple of days ago, And in between, helping my younger brothers and sisters to collect stag beetles, or just climbing until in my imagination I was so high that I could see all the way to Toudai.
The tree still has the amazing platform built around it, and it is being extended, to cope with the influx of guests who are occupying every spare room in the village. I marvel at the skills of the carpenters involved, and the work they are continuing to put in to their task. And yet they aren't professionals, just friends and family and neighbours from around the village. They are happy to break off from their work just momentarily, so they can congratulate me and wish me well. I thank them for their effort, and try to tell them how special it all is, but I'm afraid my words can't do justice to their feat.
Buoyed up by what I've seen, I head for home, mentally ticking off all the things that have gone so well
Meeting Kei-kun's parents: I had been dreading that, but Mr. Urashima remembered me well from fifteen years ago, and he put in a good word for me with his wife. And when Mrs. Urashima found out from my mother that I like making o-kashi sweets and honmei chocolates, she couldn't help getting into a deep conversation about them, with much comparing of recipes. I think I was a hit.
Trying on two beautiful dresses: First I told myself I needed to wear the white dress again just to make sure it hadn't been marked or creased. Really, though, I wore it so I could look in the mirror and reminisce about the 'wedding' of just a couple of days ago, and dream about the real wedding of tomorrow. Later I was wearing the Kimono and imagining what Kei-kun might think of it. I hope he will be as pleased as I was when I first saw it.
Getting to know the celebrant: Being a real clergyman, he insisted on meeting us before the wedding to be sure we really are committed to one another, and that we understand what marriage means. He started sceptical, I think, maybe because some news of the fake wedding had filtered through to him; but when he finished he was saying that he was pleasantly surprised, and really looking forward to conducting the ceremony, and he was wished that other couple could be more like us.
Choosing the hymn and the reading: Actually it was the celebrant who suggested the reading. He said it was just the standard one, the one that nearly everybody asks for, but it seemed perfect to me and Kei-kun. The hymn was one I thought of, one of my favourite songs, but everyone said it was ideal, and that they couldn't imagine anything better.
With everything falling into place so nicely, could anything go wrong? There's probably lots that needs organising that I don't have even the slightest inkling of, but mom has gone into overdrive sorting all those things out. All I really need, to cap the day nicely, is a get-together with Naru to be sure that we are all reconciled and on good terms. And if I could keep my promise to her father today too, thst would be great.
And as I think this, a familiar voice calls "hi, Mutsumi!"
"Hi, Naru! I was just thinking about you! There's something I was wanting to talk to you about, but I haven't seen you since the ... you know."
"I was thinking about you too", she replied. "I have avoided you and Keitaro since the ... you know, because I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, but there are things I really need to say before tomorrow. I guessed you'd be here. Sometimes, I have a knack of guessing where people will go. That tree's a very special tree, isn't it?"
"Yes, you have to have climbed it as a child to understand how special. I'm sorry that you never got to come here when we were little. But - since we both have things we want to say, you can go first."
"Thanks. Er, ... um ... no, you should go first, Mutsumi. I'm wanting to apologise, and that's something I'm not very good at."
"Ara, you have apologised already, and you did it very well too!"
"But I never apologised for what I said about Keitaro. Remember, how I said that he always spoils things in the end? That was uncalled for. The truth is, I think you're really lucky to have him, and if I had any sense at all I wouldn't have said what I did. I'm sure that he won't spoil things, and that you'll actually have a great life together."
"Why, thank you Naru. I'm sure we will. I hope we all will!"
"The other thing is, I won't spoil things for you either. I know you must be worried that I'll somehow disrupt tomorrow's ceremony, just like I did at the fake wedding. But I've learned since then, honestly. I won't be shouting 'no' at a critical moment. I might be wanting to, but that's another matter."
"Thank you for being so open, Naru, and for reassuring me. I have to say you're a lot more accepting of the new developments than I expected. I thought you'd be freaked out. Did something happen between you and Keitaro that I don't know about?"
"Well, er, yes, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Kei-kun did mention you had a row, I can understand you being reluctant to talk about that, But I hope there are no hard feelings still. I want us all to be reconciled. If there is anything you can tell me about, I'd be grateful."
"Well, there was ... no, I'd better not say it."
"Oh, you can't keep me hanging like that, Naru!"
"Er, um, it's nothing really. It's just that Captain Takahashi told us about your will."
"Ara, I should have made it clear to him that it was meant to be a secret!"
"Oh, please don't blame the captain. There was a misunderstanding - I think maybe he thought we knew already. But Keitaro was very impressed when he heard."
"Impressed? Why? It's not as if I'd miss the money. I can't take it with me."
"But .. using it to help me and Keitaro get through university together? I think it was your determination to follow through on your promises, no matter what, that impressed Keitaro.The way you left no stone unturned, no avenue unexplored, in your drive to help us succeed even when we hardly knew you."
"Ara. Well, thanks for filling me in with that news. And I hope that whatever has passed between you and Keitaro, we can all be on good terms now. Remember, we have to get to Tokyo U still, and then we have to live happily ever after. You want to keep that promise, don't you?"
"About that ... yes, I think we're on good terms again, but I don't know if I'm up to 'living happily ever after'. I mean, it might be best if I just went back to live with my family, and let you two get on with being together."
"Oh, don't say that! I mean, I want you to be reconciled with your family, so maybe you should visit them for a while; but I hope you'll stay close to us too, no matter what happens. We're friends, really we are. We go back a long way."
"Thank you, Mutsumi. I appreciate your friendship, but about the promise, I don't know any more. I still don't even remember it. Is it really worth going to so much effort for a forgotten promise? I know you take your own promises very seriously, Mutsumi, but why? Why can't we all just try for a school that's easier to get into?"
"I think you know the answer to that, Naru, you just need reminding. I've hear that you were once rated the top student in the whole of Japan. Is that right?"
"Yes. I think I was lucky, though, to get questions that suited me."
"That, I suppose, and the fact that you went without a social life as you crammed and crammed for the exams. What was that all for?"
"I made a promise to my tutor, Seta, and ... yes, I see what you mean. Promises do have power."
"So what went wrong?"
"I guess I forgot about . I mean, I stopped taking that promise seriously. And it was such a gradual process, I didn't even notice it was happening, even while I went from being top student to being a failure."
"Ara, don't say that! We're ronins, but we're not failures yet. We're just taking the longer route to success, the scenic route, you could say! As long as we have each other, as long as we can work together, I'm sure we will succeed. We can all be in Tokyo U together, next year. Not far off now! But we can talk about that afterwards. Right now there's something I want to tell you, and it's about your father, and the things that he told me about."
"Oh, I was intending to ask you about that. I don't really remember my father. I can accept now what you said, that I was wrong to think of him as a bad father, but I wish I had something from him, some connection that would bring back happy memories. And .. I remember you said that he died, and that's why he couldn't write or phone. I never asked at the time, but how could you know that?"
"I'll try to answer that, but I'm worried you might freak out when you hear what I say. Please don't dismiss it until you've heard me out. I have a protectress who appears to me in a vision sometimes - I'm not sure who or what she really is, but I know she cares about me and looks after me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but Motoko has seen her too, she can vouch for my story. It was my protectress who told me something of what happened to your father. And more recently I've actually spoken with what I think was the ghost of your father. In a vision, I mean. He said that he had been a deck hand on a ship, and he accidentally fell overboard. He wanted me to let you know that he was sorry about the way he disappeared out of your life without an explanation."
"I appreciate you telling me this, Mutsumi, but I don't know if I can believe in a vision that someone else has had, that might have been just a dream."
"I understand your scepticism Naru. I know what my story must sound like, but I had to tell it to you to keep the promise that I made to the ghost. I wish there was something more solid that I could give you as evidence. I can't prove that your father went to sea, but ... at least maybe I can prove that he cared about you. Do you know what your first word was, apart from 'mama' and 'dada'?"
"Yes, it was 'Toudai' - Tokyo University. In fact I wrote about that in my diary recently. You haven't been sneaking a peek, have you? No, I know you couldn't have. But that was a little over fifteen years ago, which fits in with the promise."
"So - who told you what your first word was? Who was with you at the time, and making sure you would remember it and make a special note of it?"
"I haven't really thought about that. Fifteen years ago ... it must have been my father!"
"Yes, That word, Toudai, is your link with him. And the promise too. The promise was his idea, and it was an echo of the promise he made with your mother, The impression I got was that he wanted me to share the promise with Keitaro, and he didn't expect us to include you in the deal, but when you were included he was very happy. A year after we first made the promise I tried to remind you of it by repeating it with you ; and he also tried to remind you, by making sure you knew what your first word was. So, by keeping the promise you'll be forging a link with your father, and who knows, maybe that will help you to remember."
We've been walking as we talked, and now we're back home. "Thanks, and good luck for tomorrow" says Naru as she goes to her guest room. I check out the living room and find it a hive of activity, with people folding origami, unfolding paper lanterns and performing other last minute tasks. "You'd better get an early night" says mom, "it'll be a long day for you tomorrow". I know it's been a long day for her, but she won't stop until everything is just right. I thank everybody and say goodnight. But in my room I find sleep impossible. My heart keeps pounding, as I think about tomorrow.
It's finally the big moment. I'm at the base of the tree, wearing my wedding gown. My mother is giving me a final check, making sure everything is in place, Everyone else is already at their place in the tree-chapel. Surely we're all set now for a perfect day. But suddenly everything goes grey.
Please, not now! I've felt so much better during the last day or so, I thought that my health wouldn't be a problem. But this is just like what happens whenever I'm about to go into one of my fits. I start to panic.
"Mutsumi, what's wrong?" Mother asks.
"It's ... everything's gone grey!" I answer.
"That's just your veil, silly! You can lift it up if you're worried about not being able to see properly."
"No, I'll be fine mom. I'm OK now, thanks"
Everybody stands, and the wedding march plays as I climb up the wooden steps to the platform and then walk along the aisle. A corner of my mind is appreciating how good the organist is, while another corner is wondering how the organ is powered, out here on a platform in a tree in a clearing far from the nearest house. And then we have the hymn.
"Morning has broken, like the first morning..."
It does feel perfect for this setting. And even though it's a western song, to go with the western style of the wedding, it's well known in Japan, and everybody does a good job of joining in, while the organist hits new heights of perfection.
And then the reading:
" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."
And then a prayer, and then finally the vows.
"Do you, Keitaro Urashima, take this woman, Mutsumi Otohime to be your lawfully wedded wife, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"
"Keitaro, this is the bit where you say 'I do;".
"Er, oh yes! Of course I do!"
"And do you, Mutsumi ..."
"Yes! Yes!"
"Please wait until I have finished, Mutsumi. Do you take this man, Keitaro , as long as you both shall live?"
"Yes!"
And then we exchange rings, then another brief prayer, and ...
"I now pronounce you man and wife. Keitaro, you mak kiss your bride"
And Keitaro lifts my veil and places it behind my head. He then embraces me and closes his eyes. I close my eyes too, as I melt into his arms, and his lips clamp around my nose.
I open my eyes and see that his eyes have opened wide. "I'm sorry!" he says. "Please forgive me!"
"Of couse I forgive you. I'll even let you try again, if you like!" And we embrace once again, and this time our lips meet properly in a passionate kiss. And the congregation bursts into applause.
"Nooooooooooooo!"
Ara, who can that be? What can it mean?
"It's alright Mutsumi" shouts my father. "It's just your mother. She's just realising that you'll be going away and living somewhere else, and not just for a few months."
"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry about interrupting your moment, Keitaro, Mutsumi. Please carry on, I'll be all right in a minute."
Now we're at the village hall for the reception, and I have changed into the kimono.
"Are you all right, Kei-kun?" I ask. He seems to be holding his nose.
"I'll be OK, just a bit of a nosebleed. You look .. stunning!" He replies. "You looked stunning before, in the wedding dress. Actually, you always look stunning, But ... wow! I mean, wow! It's not just the dress, it's the way your hair streams over your shoulder, it's your face, it's ... everything about you. I really am the luckiest person alive!"
"I think I might be luckier. I was looking for you for fifteen years, but thinking I might never find you. And then you bumped into me ... and I found out just how special and caring you were. You saved my life. And you're so beautiful!"
"Please, guys are handsome, not beautiful!"
"And you're handsome too!"
Everybody is milling around at first, and we circulate, trying to have at least a few words with everybody. Mostly it's receiving congratulations, and best wishes for the future.
And then, to satisfy the guests who would like a more traditional Japanese ceremony, we have "san san kudo" - "three times three". Three cups of sake; three sips from each cup. And when we have finished, we pass the cups to our families.
And I make an announcement. "The three times three symbolises the bonding together of our two families, and I feel really proud and happy to be accepted into the Urashima clan. I thank you all for participating. But Keitaro tells me that his tenants are like family to him. And I'll be living with Keitaro, which means I'll be living with his tenants. I hope that I can be just as much a part of that 'family' as Keitaro is, so if nobody objects I'd like to include them all in the ceremony. And anyway, it's their sake we're using, so it's only fair that they should get a share."
" I don't mind that, but Shinobu and Kaolla especially are a bit young to be drinking sake" says Haruka.
"Oh it will just be a very tiny sip. I'm sure they'll be all right" I reply.
And Shinobu speaks up. "If it will make us like a close family, I'd really like to join in. I think I'll be all right."
Haruka looks slightly dubious, but says it's OK with her if nobody else objects, and nobody does. So the tenants each have a sip from the san-san-kudo cups. I feel like Ive gained not just one but two special new families.
Kaolla Suu bounces over to us. "Heyas!" she says. "You is good as a couple. And that bonding together by drinking the sake - does that mean we is one big happy family now?"
"Yes," I say, "or at least, I hope we can be."
"Strange. I thought we only had group marriages in Molmol, where I comes from. If I'd known you could have them here..."
After I put Kaolla straight about the real meaning of san san kudo, or at least as straight as I can manage, she says "Oh well. Can't win 'em all. But if you and Keitaro is ever in Molmol, and you wants to extend the marriage, just give me a call. By the way, Mutsumi, the others want to give you things later, but I has a present for you now if that's OK, because it might be handy for your honeymoon."
"Thank you" I say, as she hands me something that looks a lot like an air freshener. "Er, what is it?"
"Switch it on and yous'll see!" she says, pointing to a small switch on the side of the device.
I flick the switch, and suddenly the "air freshener" starts flashing brightly and making a loud noise like a siren.
"Aaargh! It's an overload! It's gonna blow! take cover!" Kaolla yells as she dives under the nearest table. Other people start to run, panic stricken, as I flick the switch back to the off position and the commotion stops as suddenly as it started.
After a few seconds Kaolla pokes her head out from under the table. "Sorry!" she says, with a sheepish look on her face. "It wasn't supposed to do that."
"What is it supposed to do?" I ask.
"It's just one of my standard banana detectors, that I've modified to detect watermelons instead. I don't understand why it acted like that. There should be just a tiny spot of light on it for each watermelon that's near, just like a radar display."
Mom speaks up then. "I know what happened", she says. "That table you dived under, there's a sheet covering it. take the sheet away and see what's underneath." And we do. And it's my turn to say "wow!"
"The watermelon growers association have really done themselves proud this time", mom continues, and my eyes light up as I feast them on the biggest and best collection of watermelons I have ever seen. Every one is perfect, and there's a few different types, and some of them have been carved into fantastic exquisite sculptures.
"Some of the sculptures were done by Motoko" my mother continues. "She has quite a knack with a knife. She just waves it in the general direction of the thing she wants to carve, and it's carved."
"Everybody has done or is doing something for the show" adds Haruka. "I'll be brewing the tea. Shinobu has prepared a lot of the food, and I'd better warn you, Kaolla has made a special banana curry."
"Yay! Banana curry! You'll love it!" cries Kaolla. She then leads me away from Keitaro and continues in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Don't tell Keitaro, but the switch on that device has two 'on' positions. In position two it's a Keitaro detector. That's why I'm giving it to you now."
And now the covers are being taken off the rest of the buffet. Almost time for eating, and speeches. But first I spot someone I wasn't expecting.
"Takahashi-san" I say, It's nice to see you. I thought you might have had to rejoin your ship!"
"No, the overhaul is taking longer than planned, fortunately, so I've been staying in the village. Please allow me to congratulate you on your marriage. If you want to change your will again to reflect the changes in your circumstance, I'll be happy to oblige."
"About that will," I say, "the changes that you witnessed..."
"Oh yes, I apologise for making them public. I certainly would have kept them secret normally, but disclosure seemed to be the right thing to do in the circumstances."
"The circumstances?
"I would normally consult you before disclosing anything about your financial or legal affairs, of course. But that didn't seem to be an option when Dr. Harusaki pronounced you dead. Oh dear, I shouldn't have said that, should I?"
Dr. Sakamoto said you might get upset if you found out. I'm sorry, Mutsumi."
Hi. Sorry this chapter took so long. It seemed like a simple task when I started - just describe a wedding, with a few little hitches and incidents to make it interesting, but I had a couple of false starts where what I wrote just didn't look right. I hope it looks right this time. Sorry if the confrontation between Naru and Mutsumi near the start of this chapter wasn't as fiery as you may have wanted. I hope the reason for that was made clear enough at the end of the chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks.
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