An Old Tale

By: Esuna

Chapter Six: An Old Tale

Anastasia held a small white piece of paper in her hand that stated the address of the house that was to be exorcised by the old Chinese sorcerer. The girl had managed to obtain some information from the customers in the tavern who knew of the whereabouts of this Master Zhuzhen in Yokohama. It was a small lone house that was located to the northwest of the Yokohama Streets. The girl came to a halt right when she reached a dark eerie looking house that creaked and groaned against the gentle evening breeze. She swallowed nervously before she climbed up the wooden steps. Taking a deep uneasy breath, the girl pushed the door open with a shaky hand.

Like all haunted houses were supposed to be, the door opened with a sharp, nerve wracking screech. The girl grimaced at the sound of it. If only she could put some grease on the hinges of that blasted door then she could make that horrific sound go away. Now, her heart was thumping tremendously faster. What was worse, her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably. She clenched her shaky jaw together after hearing her teeth clatter in fear. Her legs refused to move beyond that door. She wanted to stay here and just wait for the old man to come out.

No, she told herself. She had to go in and find that Chinese sorcerer so she could prove herself to him. She wanted to show him that she could be of use to him. All she had to do was convince him that she could assist him however he may see fit. Only by doing so, she may have a slight chance in receiving his apprenticeship. Yes, she told herself. Courage!

With another deep breath, the girl took one big step into the dreary house. The floor boards creaked unpleasantly from her weight. She feared for her life now. What if the floor boards gave out on her? Then she would fall to her bloody death! Who knows what was below the first floor of the house? Booby traps? No, no, the girl thought as she shook her head. Stop imagining such things, she told herself. Those wacky ideas were all part of the fairy tales she read in the past when she was merely a child.

The main room was eerily dark but she could still distinguish the objects within it. A small set of stairs was facing the entrance on the right hand side. Straight ahead, there was a single wooden door. Other than that, there was nothing else that could lead her to another area of the house. The girl stepped forward just as the door behind her closed on its own. Again, the screeching gave her the creeps. Nevertheless, she swallowed hard and approached the door in front of her as the floor boards continued creaking. She fought the urge to turn back and flee the haunted building right that instant.

Pushing the creaky door slightly ajar, the girl took a curious peek into the room. There was a dim yellow and orange light emitting from the room. Courage, the girl repeated to herself. Then she stepped inside without another round of hesitation. To her surprise, there was Master Zhuzhen, standing outside a circular ring of fire with his hands clasped before him. His two index fingers were pointed outwards and his head was lowered in order to chant a powerful spell. Sparks could be seen flicking within the bright circle as he continued his eerie chant.

The door behind Anastasia had closed on its own, creaking twice as loudly this time. Unexpectedly, Zhuzhen swung his head over one shoulder to see what that could be just as he stuttered from his deep chanting. The spell was unfortunately broken and the sparks within the circle had suddenly vanished from sight. An eerie laugh of a woman could be heard after that. Apparently, the girl had interrupted the sorcerer while he was in the middle of the exorcism. His concentration had been shattered right when the door had screeched to a close.

"What are you doing here, young lady?" Zhuzhen asked the startled girl without the slightest tinge of annoyance in his voice after the exorcism had failed. He turned fully towards her now with his hands behind his back.

Anastasia lowered her head with immediate shame. She had her hands behind her back as well as she apologized, "I-I'm sorry."

The old Chinese sorcerer could only arch his brows in wonder.

"It…it's just that…I…want to...become…your apprentice…," she explained in fragments after her sincere apology.

Zhuzhen had a hand under his chin now, thinking. "Hmmm…"

The girl frowned with obvious discomfort. "It seems I have complicated matters instead. I thought I could be of use to you."

After a short hesitation, the old man said, "Actually, you could be of great use to me right now."

Anastasia lifted her eyes up to him but still kept her head down.

Zhuzhen cleared his throat before he placed his hands behind his back again. "Since you have interrupted the exorcism, it is your responsibility to assist me in relieving that lingering spirit."

The girl's eyes beamed with great relief as she tilted her head up to him. "Yes, Master Zhuzhen."

"Good. Now, take these amulets," he said as he held out some yellow, rectangular sheets with unusual red Chinese characters in them. It looked as if the written characters were painted in blood.

Anastasia held out her tiny white hands as the old man placed them onto her palms. "What do I do with them?"

"Once I locate that spirit again, I want you to paste them along every corner of the room. The amulets already have a unique spell written on them. It works like a barrier that will prevent the spirit from escaping through a wall. When it has been trapped inside the room, I will lure it into the ring again like this one here," he pointed at the ring of fire behind him. "Then, the exorcism will begin again. And during the exorcism, there must not be any disturbances at all. Do I make myself clear, young lady?"

The girl flushed slightly. "Yes."

Zhuzhen walked slowly past her with his hands still behind his arching back. Anastasia followed closely behind him, fear nibbling at her limbs again. She preferred staying inside the brightly lit room instead. However, the spirit would probably not return to the same room again. They had to try their luck upstairs now. She was beginning to regret doing this. Already, her body began to tremble unexpectedly. Courage, courage, courage, she continued repeating to herself in order to soothe her great agitation.

They stepped out into the main room again. Zhuzhen was walking very slowly. Perhaps he was aware that the creaking floor boards would actually give out if they ran across it. Luckily, Anastasia had walked, not run, when she had first entered this haunted building. Or else, who knows what became of her before she could even find Master Zhuzhen? She was almost convinced that booby traps did exist below this unsteady wooden floor. Eventually, they reached the staircase and thus, they began their agonizing journey up it. The girl was so ready to give the old man a good kick in the behind if he didn't move any faster. However, she pinched herself in order to prevent that ridiculous temptation.

At the top of the staircase, there were three bedrooms in the dark, cramped hallway. One was located directly in front of the stairs while the second was situated directly to its right. The last bedroom was located at the end of the hallway. Zhuzhen had completely disregarded the first room as he turned right instead. Anastasia could only glimpse at that door for a second before she returned her gaze back on the old man again. Apparently, the old sorcerer was heading for the last bedroom. However, the girl suddenly felt an extremely cold breeze behind her. She felt her hair stand on end as she stood rooted to her spot. Hesitantly, she glanced over one shoulder…

Nothing was there. Only the darkness. Sighing in relief, the girl riveted her gaze back on the old man again. Before she could take a step though, someone or something had hit her squarely between the shoulder blades, so hard that she stumbled forward by a few steps. Anastasia screamed like she never did before and made a mad dash for Zhuzhen like a bat out of hell. She jumped onto his back as if he was giving her a piggy back ride.

Zhuzhen swung his head over one shoulder as he hollered, "What's the matter with you, child? Get down right this instant!"

Anastasia shook her head repeatedly as she tightened her arms around the old man's neck, squeezing the life out of him.

"Ack! Can't…breathe…!"

The girl loosened her grip around his shoulders but she still clung onto the back of his traditional Chinese wear. She pointed behind her with a shaky thumb so as he could face the direction where that 'thing' had just attacked her without any warning whatsoever. "I felt it," she finally mumbled into his ear. "And then it suddenly hit me from behind!"

Zhuzhen's brows had slowly tensed up as he turned around. So, it was a sign that the spirit was dwelling within the second bedroom. The probability of that was high if it had attacked the girl right by that door. Consequently, the old man decided to investigate it. He pushed the door open and stepped inside with a frightened Anastasia still clinging onto him from behind. Just as he suspected, there was a very heavy, negative energy surrounding the entire bedroom.

"Hurry and seal these four walls with the amulets!" the sorcerer demanded at once.

The girl nodded her head with immediate acknowledgement as she slid off his back. You can do it, she encouraged herself. She slapped an amulet right on the door and ran for the other three walls counterclockwise. At last, all four corners of the bedroom had a powerful amulet over it. The red characters on the amulets began to glow – a sign that it was working. Zhuzhen dipped his head down at once just as he clasped his hands together with both index fingers pointed outwards. He began chanting in a deep rhythm again. A circular ring of fire suddenly formed from beneath the wooden floor. The girl was astonished. Just how did he do that?

Sparks of wild energy could be seen within the ring now. A woman's hideous screeching can be heard bellowing from it. Anastasia watched on until she could somehow distinguish the vague image of a sad, long haired young woman dressed in a white kimono. She was struggling against the turmoil to no avail. The exorcism ended just as quickly as it began. The spirit had vanished inside the ring of fire. Zhuzhen finally stopped chanting and lowered his hands by his side now. All was quiet again.

"The exorcism is over," he concluded. "You have done a fine job, young lady."

It was not until they had stepped outside the exorcised house that Anastasia asked the old man rather curiously, "How come there are spirits in this world?"

"Spirits remain because they still have unfinished business," he said softly.

"What about that woman?" she asked.

"From what I heard," he began. "It originated from an old tale."

"An 'old tale'?" Anastasia waited patiently for Zhuzhen to tell her about it. He cleared his throat before he began the long story.

"It all began many, many years ago. A young girl about sixteen who came from an upper class family and a poor orphaned street boy about eighteen happened to meet on the street one day. They fell in love at first sight. The girl intended to marry him one day but her family had objected, seeing that he was nothing but a poor and uneducated individual. They demanded the girl never to see him again. Of course, she was crushed by that declaration. She took whatever she could from the family and eloped with the boy.

During that time, a war had broken out between Japan and Shanghai over matters of land and resources. The boy was determined to take part in the Japanese military. He wanted to prove himself to the girl's family one day. The girl had no choice but to let him go. She gave him most of her money, for he would need it, leaving very little but enough for herself. He left, promising that he would come back for her once the war had ended. The war was a long and bloody one. It ended in shambles with neither a victor nor a loser. Both nations were beginning its reconstruction process after ten long miserable years.

The girl had survived the horrendous war. On the other hand, her family had died from it. She was devastated but she lived on, her sole purpose in living was to wait for her love to return to her. However, time rolled by quickly and still; there was no sign of her dearest. She returned to the house she had once lived with the young man. It had collapsed after the treacherous war. Everyday, she would stand by the rubble to wait for him, hoping that one day; he would show up with a smile on his face. Yet, she waited several more years for him but still, he never returned. She refused to believe he was dead. And so, she continued waiting…

However, one day, while the young woman was selling some apples on a busy street, a bright eyed three year old boy came running up to her. He looked up at her with a warm smile on his chubby face and took one of the fruits in his tiny hands. Behind him came a fine-looking young woman, which was probably the boy's mother. Following closely behind her was the boy's handsome father. The young woman was flabbergasted. She could only glare at this man with absolute distress. It was the same man whom she had waited for, for over ten years.

Immediately, the man had recognized this young woman. He stood rigidly in his spot, hesitating to come any closer to her. He couldn't believe his eyes. This woman, whom he had thought was dead after the war ended, was sitting right there before his very own eyes. He couldn't believe that this same woman whom he had loved was well and alive, having been reduced to selling fruits on the street now. Shame and guilt overwhelmed him at once.

As it turned out, the young man had not kept his words after all. He never returned to the young woman like he said he would after the war had ended. Thinking that she was probably dead after the bloody war, he started his life anew and met another woman in Japan. He married her and they had a son together.

The young woman was devastated. Realizing how she had wasted her life away to this sorry state, she turned her back on that man whom she had loved so dearly and simply walked out of his life forever. It was said she became very ill after that. She was constrained to her house in bed. And finally, one day, the young woman had spewed out blood and died from a broken heart.

After all these years, people believed that this was the very house where that young woman had died. They say her spirit refused to move on and thus, she continued to wander this house, exhibiting immense hatred over the people in this world. And so, I was requested by the people here in Japan to put her tragic soul at rest."

All this time, Anastasia had listened attentively to the old tale. It was a very tragic one, indeed. She had both arms wrapped around her body as if she was cold. Somehow, the girl felt that knot in her chest twist and turn with great discomfort. She held a hand over that throbbing spot, hoping that the pain would eventually subdue. The girl swallowed another burning sensation down her throat again. Her mind kept revolving around the conclusion of that story.

That woman…she had spewed out blood…yes, blood…and in the end, she had died from a broken heart…

A broken heart…

Notes: Well, I'm going on a 3 week vacation soon and I won't be back until the beginning of August... I'll try my best to get the next chapter up before I leave. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic! Laters!