5. Lucky day
Momoko watched Lord Voldemort with her dark eyes as he looked down at the cold, wet stone floor before him. He seemed curious about something, yet hesitant to ask for any further explanation. "Speak your mind," She said. "There is no one here but you and me. No one here will judge you." Lord Voldemort looked up at her, slightly annoyed. He never liked his mind being read, and the thought of her having caught a glimpse of his thoughts frustrated him. His eyes brightened, but his tome was calm and collected. "I was wondering of what this woman's intentions truly were. I understand that you were quite a lost child with no one to turn but to your savior, yet I can't help but find her quite manipulative. What does she want?"
"I have long asked myself this question, long after than night," She said, looking at the pile of rat carcasses rotting in her cell. "As I told you before, that woman was lonely. Her loneliness might have made her gone mad or otherwise become extremely twisted. She did seem odd to me most of the time, and she was always mysterious. It was still difficult for me to understand her true intentions at the time. I was only able to know them quite a time later. But for now, don't let me spoil the story for you.
"The weeks passed, and my bond with her was changing. We were now becoming much more intimate. She seemed very much attached to me, and I was hopelessly bonded with her, my savior and my lover. She was her usual self around me, yet this attitude somehow mesmerized me. Just seeing her early in the morning, sleeping soundlessly net t me, made me feel birds fluttering in my chest. I could just caress her hair for hours at a time until she fell asleep.
"Another thing I noticed about our relationship was that it was almost one-sided. She was always the one to satisfy me. I had never seen her body in its entirety either. All my attempts to touch her failed. If I wanted to kiss her, she'd run away, yet I was always available for her. At times, it got me so confused I cried and wondered if she really did love me. That's when I'd find her taking my hand and leading me right back to paradise. It was an odd relationship, but it was the only one I had. I was willing to suffer, for it was the only thing that kept me alive. A young girl with nothing to hold onto would do anything to find stable ground upon which she could find love or something close enough. Of course, you could imagine what would happen if something came to disturb her fragile world.
"Onee-san woke me up one day, smiling widely. It was a very rare sight, and I knew something grand was about to happen. I stumbled out of my futon just as she ran to her front door. 'Onee-san!' I cried after her, but she didn't stop. I finally arrived at the front porch and stood next to her following her smiling gaze. A huge ship was sailing close to shore and heading to the village port. I looked around at her, confused. She noticed how clueless I was and laughed her beautiful airy laugh, dazzling me. She was ever so dream-like with her glowing skin in the sun, her jet-black hair floating around it, and her eyes this bright grey of an ice crystal.
"'This ship, Momoko, is the annual arrival of some rare merchandise onto our little island. It is very hard to get something of what it sells, because it is so expensive. However, I'm sure we could afford a few things, providing we give the merchants just the amount they need. They're staying here for the week, so we should take this chance.' She winked at me and hurried towards her room. I followed, still confused. If the merchandise was rare, we could never afford anything. However, I was confident that if there was something we could get, Onee-san would have a plan to get it. This simple thought made me sure that today was going to be a day of success.
"When I arrived at the room, a splendid kimono was thrown over my head. I had barely taken it out of my face to look around that Onee-san beckoned me towards her. 'Help me with the obi!' She told me as she wrapped her own kimono around her waist tightly. I located the obi on the futon and started wrapping it around her, an urge to take her in my arms coming over me. I took advantage of this task to give her a small hug from the back and kiss her naked neck lightly. Her lack of reaction made me feel a pinch in my chest, but I ignored it. Just touching her was enough.
"As soon as I was done, I put on my own kimono and let her wrap the obi around me. She did her own makeup perfectly – she didn't even need it, which was something that made me jealous – and then did mine. Oddly enough, I didn't feel melancholic while going through the same process I went through each day in Osaka. In less than an hour we were ready and heading off into town. As we walked by the men were looking around at us, enthralled by our beauty. I wasn't quite comfortable having them stare at her more than me, simply because I was used to this kind of attention, but the look Onee-san had in her eyes made me happy. She looked like she didn't give a care in the world about them.
"We arrived at the port just as the ship halted and the ladders were thrown overboard so the sailors could get down. The first merchants were greeted with cheers and much applause from the villagers, and the merchandise was escorted into the town. Onee-san and I were standing at the beginning of the port, watching the merchants leading the horses that held their things into the village. Onee-san was definitely eye-catching, for several men stared, but she was more concentrated on finding whatever she was looking for in the many boxes and crates the horses were carrying. When the stands were ready and the merchandise was being put on sale, we started moving with the crowd to the center of the village.
"As we walked from one stand to the next, I suddenly remembered something of crucial importance. 'Onee-san,' I asked. 'How much money do we have, exactly?'
"Onee-san looked around at me, astonished. 'I hope you're not wondering how we're going to get the merchandise. I thought it would seem clear to you by now.' I was still confused, and my eyes probably showed it, for she sighed and whispered to me, 'we're going to bribe them into giving us the merchandise. It's about time you knew how I was getting all these weapons and such. I wasn't really paying money for them.' She the left my side and went over to talk to a hesitant merchant. He seemed astonished by her looks, and she was letting all her charm out on him. I was slightly jealous, but this time, not of her. It was the man I was jealous of. She actually went to touching his hand accidently as they both pointed at a ruby- encrusted dagger at the same time. The man took out a napkin and dried his forehead with it, his hands shaking. Then she took out a card from her kimono and gave it to him, smiled sweetly, and came back to me. 'We're getting the silver arrowheads for free, if that rat comes over like he said he would.' She smiled slyly at me then walked to the next stand.
"I felt suddenly lost in the middle of the crowd. I didn't know whether I should follow her or if I should just return to the house. Then I heard a whistle and I snapped out of my trance. I turned to look at a young man who was looking straight at me. He was wearing a long cloak made of silk and his brown hair was long 'till his shoulders. His deep dark eyes were stabbing me and his smile was almost greedy. I walked towards his stand and pretended to not notice him, looking around at the things he was selling. It was mostly herbs and plants. 'You know, these berries are quite beneficial for your hair, my lady. Not that your fine hair would need it.' I glanced up at him and noticed he was still staring at me. I was supposed to be used to such comments, because I had gotten so many from my admirers in Osaka, yet for some reason this simple, and frankly awkward, comment made me blush. The merchant stepped out from behind the stand and walked around me to stand right beside me. The fresh scent of peppermint and alcohol caught me by surprise, and I felt my head get light. His rough hands picked up some seaweed unusually delicately and held it up for me to see. I couldn't help but follow suit, my eyes going along with the seaweed. 'I think this could interest you,' he said. 'This weed is from the banks of Osaka, and it is used for many purposes. You can put it in your everyday facial cream or your tea. It is very calming, and I can assure you will age ten times slower than usual.'
"I looked in his eyes, and noticed myself smiling. I let my eyes fall on the seaweed said, 'I'm actually interested in something I could use in remedies. The colds here tend to be awful.' I was speaking in the most playful voice I could muster, having not practiced in ages. This man laughed quietly and beckoned me forward. I followed him until we reached a small box full of plants of different shapes and colors. 'Colds you say?' He asked, and he picked up a little fuzzy brown plant and a huge dark green leaf from the bo and placed them on his counter. 'These would be just the thing you need, my lady. A little bit of each in a cup of green tea and you will be up in three days at the most.' His deep singsong voice was enchanting. I understood now how such a young man could be a merchant of such rare items. He was quite convincing. Now all she had to do was be just as convincing as he was.
"'Dear Sir, please give me some information on this plant here.' I pointed at a thick, light grey plant sitting straight up, and let my hand get out of the kimono slightly more than usual, showing my wrist bone. I knew by experience than many men found that quite arousing, and surely enough, I saw his eyes leave the plant for a second to look at the exposed skin and then quickly return. 'This plant, my lady, is a remedy to many poisons, such as that of snakes.' I looked astonished and said, 'how fascinating!' He seemed pleased at my reaction. I thought of how he had no idea he was speaking to an experienced Geisha and smiled again. I was having quite a lot of fun with this.
"'I was wondering if there are certain plants I should be careful of,' I said. I leaned in closer to him, my eyes into his and whispered, 'I do have many enemies. I expect they could try to do something dangerous. I can't really trust my knowledge of plants, but I'm sure that if I knew a little more about them I could protect myself.' He looked around the boxes and then shrugged and said, 'Well, we don't sell poisons, so I can't really show them to you now. However, we do have a stock still on our ship that we didn't bring down here, simply because it's not for sale. This stock is for my personal research on poisons. I could…' He hesitated and looked around. I knew he needed just a little more persuasion. 'I understand if it is impossible for you to bring an outsider aboard,' I said, and took out a handkerchief, wrapping it around my finger. Lucky for me, it was a windy day, even here in the center of the village. 'I guess I'll just have to do with this medicinal plant and hope it will work against other poisons.' I held out my handkerchief to hold the light grey plant and let my fingers loosen on it. It flew away, just as I expected it to, but I looked all the while surprised. The man caught it in mid-air before it went too far, and held it in front of me. I took it back, making sure the tips of my fingers touched his hand, then I bowed. 'Thank you, sir.'
"'It's nothing,' he answered, a little too loudly for the occasion. Then as I dipped my hand in the pockets in my kimono to seemingly take out money – because I knew I had no money – I heard him say, 'If you pass by tomorrow, I would have time to negotiate with the captain about having you aboard. It is a superstition that a woman on board is bad luck, and our captain is quite superstitious, but I might be able to persuade him. I'm sorry I can't help you more than that.'
"I smiled and bowed again. 'It would be my honor to come aboard your ship, sir. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help.'
"'It's no trouble at all, my lady,' he answered. I smiled my sweetest smile and said 'I will come back tomorrow for this plant, too.'
"'As you wish, my lady,' he answered, bowing deeply. I kept smiling and turned, heading to the center of the square to find Onee-san. She caught up with me, her smile untarnished. 'These men look like they haven't seen a woman in years,' she said. 'It was so easy getting to them.'
"I laughed even though I was slightly disturbed. I was wondering how far she was willing to go to get the merchandise. I knew she was working very hard to avenge her family, yet in my fourteen-year-old mind, I had always believed that vengeance had to be done in a noble way. Bribing men didn't seem very noble to me. I soon learned that life needn't be noble for someone to get their way. Sometimes, it was necessary to act lower than dirt to later be able to act noble.
"We headed home quietly, and as soon as we were in a deserted road Onee-san caught me by the shoulders and held me against the tree behind me. I was taken by surprise and exclaimed, 'what?!' She looked at me hard in the eyes and then said, 'How did you like the plant merchant?'
"I was confused about her question and repeated, 'what?' and then I realized who she was talking about. 'Oh, him! Well, he had this collection of poisonous plants, and I thought I could bribe him into giving me some strong poisons,' I answered hastily, wanting her to let me go. She stared at me and her flush of anger made her look like a fallen angel. I couldn't help but blush at the sight. I then noticed her eyes swiftly moved to the rest of my face and she finally let me go, turning away. 'You're lying,' she whispered in a defeated tone.
"'No I'm not!' I cried, going to touch her shoulder, but she edged away. 'Do you think I can't know a lie when I see one?' She responded and turned to face me, tears in her eyes. 'You've never lied to me before. Has he made that much of an impression on you?'
"I shook my head frantically, saying 'Onee-san, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just then, she dipped her hand into her kimono and took out a dagger. My eyes widened. She took the dagger in one had facing downwards and ran towards me. I couldn't move from the fear numbing my limbs. As she got to me, she raised her arm and swung it. I closed my eye, yet I felt nothing but her breath on my face. I opened my eyes, and there she was, her tearful eyes into mine, and the dagger sunk into the tree beside my head. 'I won't let anyone take you from me,' she whispered, the sweet scent of her breath making the hairs on my neck rise. She bent in lower, brushed her lips lightly on mine, and got up with the dagger in her hand. She gave me a swift look again and left for the house."