XII

San: Apes and an Elk

"You apes, such insolence. Do you not know of us, the clan of Moro?" My brother growls at the figures in the rocky boulders.

"This was our forest," an ape moans.

"Give us that human," another one insists.

"Give us human, and go quickly."

Menacingly, the wolf tells them, "Be gone! Lest my fangs reach you…"

"Go, go!" The apes hoot. "We eat human! Let us at that human. We eat him!"

I observe all this with disgust. "Ape clan, why do you, the wise ones of the forest, want to eat the likes of a human?"

"We eat human. We receive human powers. We want power to defeat humans. So we eat." They reply to me, red eyes glinting in the dark.

Circular reasoning, I decide. "You won't obtain the man's power by eating his flesh! You will all just turn into something else, with tainted blood!"

"We plant trees. Humans uproot them. Forest does not return. We want to kill humans!" the apes hoot and moan relentlessly.

I shake my head. "We have the Shishi-gami with us. Don't give up! Keep planting trees. Our clan will fight to the end."

"The Shishi-gami will not fight. We will all die. Wolf princess not care. Wolf princess human."

I inhale sharply, feelings hurt beyond relief. Human. Is that really what I am?

"You stupid monkeys! I'll break your neck!" My brothers rush to the boulders where the apes reside. The apes scatter in fear.

"Stop it!" I yell after my brothers. They return now, panting from the brief chase.

"It's okay," I assure the two. "You go ahead now. I'll deal with this human."

I feel the anger and rage that I had harbored against the boy just moments ago seep out of me. No, I am not that mad. He had saved me, after all. Memories of my angry words are now just faint storm clouds on the horizon. What I feel now is simply…tiredness.

"What about him?" they ask, referring to the red elk with ridged horns. He stands in the distance, watching. "Can we eat him?"

"No," I decide. "Go on!" They depart for our home.

Looking at the elk, I call out. "Come here. Let's make peace. Help me carry your master."

He paws the ground uncertainly. I sheathe the boy's sword and help him up. The elk walks up. What a beautiful, gentle creature, I find myself thinking. We return to the forest.

The glow bugs make the forest canopies look luminous. The kodama, spirits of the forest's well-being, appear one by one all around, wanting to check out the strange scene. I lead the red elk and his owner, sprawled on his back, through the woods towards the pond.

I cut off a sapling of a small sasaki tree and urge the elk to enter the water. I pull the boy off and drag him through the pond to a small island. Hoisting him up, I rest him so his lower half is immersed in water. I stick the sapling above his head and listen for a heartbeat.

The elk is still in the middle of lake, studying us.

"You're smart, aren't you," I say to him. "It's better not to set foot on this island."

I sniff my arm. "Humans stink," I mutter.

I wade out to the elk and unfasten the harness. "Go where you will. You are free now."

But even though I am certain he understands my words, the elk stands in the water, still as a tree, and gazes at the dying boy.

The kodama silently retreat back to the trees, their curiosity gone. The wolf girl, an elk, and a sleeping human; nothing interesting after all.