7. Umeko San
Gojo followed that woman through those corridors already covered by a darkness that was only slightly illuminated by the lanterns that the temple had.
The night had already fallen and he had not noticed that since the anger had blinded him for a long time
Gojo was very thoughtful about everything that had happened that day and in his still annoyance, he only thought that the best thing would be to take his son away from Utahime since that he considered it an injustice for him
"Why can only she have it?"
An annoying man sometimes does not measure the consequences of his thoughts or his actions...
Umeko guided Gojo to a certain part of the shrine where the place where the priest lives with his wife begins.
They both entered a small traditional reception
"Satoru wait here please, I'll be back..."
Umeko said as she entered another room of her house
Gojo just stayed silent admiring that place that he more or less remembered
It was not the first time that he entered that area, as a child and as a teenager he visited that place on several occasions just to see Utahime when he went to Kyoto
I admire the few family photos that were visible from that area
Some of those pictures were of Utahime when she was younger, so she guessed nothing had changed in that home.
"And tell me Satoru… Did you look for my daughter after the decision she made to get away from you?"
Umeko asked, returning with a book in her hands.
"Excuse me?" Gojo asked again.
The poor man was still lost in his thousands of thoughts
Umeko smiled slightly—"I asked you, what if you looked for my daughter six years ago or during these six years?"
Gojo sighed. "I did... well in part, after a while I just stopped doing it..." He couldn't lie to that woman.
"I guess you didn't have it easy either in these years, right, Satoru?" Umeko said, standing in front of that man.
Gojo sighed and began to say his ordeal
"Something like that… after everything that happened in Shibuya, having…Now yes! eliminated the body of my former best friend... " He keep a moment of silence before that bitter memory
"From seeing and hearing about so many deaths of classmates, students and friends in these years..."
He sighed again when he remembered when he found out about the death of Yaga and Nanami and not to mention the torture and ordeal that his students went through.
"And especially after having been exiled for almost five years and then trying to return to the world of sorcery..." he put his hands on his neck as he recounted all that
"NO, it wasn't easy to come back, much less when they no longer have the same trust in you as before, that's why I had come to talk to your grumpy husband so that he would work with me and I could return to the world of wizardry being the best…"
Satoru take a deep breath and then exhale loudly...
"But I never thought I'd end up meeting my son... What a surprise I've had this day!" It was the cherry on the cake of all this chaos that I have been dragging for six years..." Said that man sighing
Umeko felt sorry for that man
"You know... My daughter didn't have it easy as a single mother in these six years either." She began to lightly open the book she was carrying in her hands.
It was actually a photo album
"Having lost some of her beloved students and colleagues, having resigned from her job that she loved so much and having chosen to get away from you... it was not difficult for her at all"—said that woman looking at that album
Gojo just looked at that woman in silence
"When Utahime told us that she was pregnant... my husband wanted to beat her to death as was traditionally done in these families of priests when one of their daughters became pregnant out of wedlock"— Umeko began to say looking at some photographs of her pregnant daughter
"Well... Now I understand why Mamoru was super pissed off at me about "dishonoring his daughter"" Gojo commented, sighing.
Umeko sighed regretfully.
"Yes... my husband when he found out that the baby he was expecting was your son... believe me he was so furious that it hurt me to see my daughter being beaten by her own father..."— that woman still felt pain remembering that scene
"But I defended her because at that moment I had a revelation of our kamis and that vision was to see my beautiful boy Yoshio in her arms... this little boy brought fortune and prosperity to this place with his birth."
Utahime's mother began to explain, who had visions about the future or possible things that could happen, that was her gift
That hurt Gojo, hearing that was a blow to his heart
He couldn't imagine the pain Utahime could have gone through being pregnant and being beaten and rejected by her own father.
"So, I'm here again stepping in for my daughter to tell you that she didn't have it easy being a single mom either... Satoru"
She looked Gojo in the eyes... his old eyes looked tired from so much crying for years
"Being a single mother in this world of sorcerers is not easy either, you suffer rejection from everyone and no one has enough empathy for a single woman with a child..."
Umeko sigh sadly
"And much less in this country where being a single mother is still frowned upon, You are rejected in the work areas, you are seen poorly, you lose opportunities in life and you are accused of being an Oiran¹... believe me Satoru, I cried when listening and seeing how they rejected to my daughter in everything..."
Umeko looked at the cover of that album and smiled slightly.
"But, even so, she has known how to raise Yoshio very well despite the fact that that child inherited your character and your jokes..." She said looking at a photo of her newborn grandson
"And handsome... don't forget that detail that I also get from me," Gojo said with a slight smile.
Umeko smiled because Gojo's good mood had returned.
Then that woman took a deep breath
"So Satoru... The only thing I ask of you as a mother is that you don't take Yoshio away from my daughter," the woman began to say, looking him in the eye again.
Gojo remained silent... he started to feel bad about everything he said to Utahime
"I ask you please, for Yoshio's sake, try to make peace... I know that my daughter has a shitty character on many occasions and that she was also to blame for all this, but I also know that you are to blame in some things ..." Said that woman closing that album
"As I know that you also have the right to recognize my grandson as you also have the right to want to deny him after this..." Umeko began to bow as she continued to speak
"In the end it will be your decision as the leader of your clan if you want to see your son as an heir or as a bastard..."
Umeko started shedding some bitter tears while doing dogeza²
Umeko first sat on the ground on her knees and then bent over too far until her forehead touched the ground.
"I only ask you not to take your son away from Utahime please... because in the end you would not only be taking him away from her, but you would also be taking away a part of my tired heart"
That woman was crying bitterly... although I don't reflect it at the time, she had also been affected by hearing that fight
She knew that Gojo was a man with power and he still had a great fortune and if he wanted it he could take Yoshio from them from one day to the next...
Gojo just looked at that woman with some regret
"And by the way and prostrated at your feet... I ask you to accept this apology from my daughter and from the whole Iori family for having hidden all this from you for six years..." — she said with her forehead still glued on soil
"We did it only to protect Yoshio... if we had revealed it to you at the time or if the previous high command had found out... it was very obvious that they would have killed my daughter and my grandson at that moment... just I hope your hard heart understands Gojo Satoru..." Said that woman crying inconsolably
Gojo seriously began to feel very bad for everything that had caused his return and for everything he had said to Utahime being upset
"Should I walk away again? Should I apologize to Utahime for everything I said to her? Should I talk to Yoshio? Should I lose my right as a father? Should I fight for my son?" Said the mind of Gojo
Gojo felt his head explode and felt sorry to see that woman apologize for everything that her arrival had caused, but at the same time he felt furious that this family had hidden all this from him for so long.
"The one who should apologize here is me, Umeko sama, because my return is only causing problems... but even so this is still annoying for me" Gojo said looking at that woman
Umeko raised her face and began to carefully rejoin while drying some tears
"I know... —she kept crying—And you have every right to be angry... but sooner or later these things were going to happen... The truth always comes to light sooner or later … Satoru"
That woman looked at that album she was still holding
"It's just like the revelations that the kamis give us, sooner or later my heart knew that something like this would happen and that's why for all these years I've prepared this..." said that woman giving that album to Gojo
Gojo slightly opened that album, which was full of photos of Utahime and Yoshio
"It's the almost six years of Yoshio's life summed up in all this little treasure of mine..." said Umeko looking at that album in the hands of the albino
"Maybe you missed the first years of your son's life... but you're still in time to make up for lost time and be able to enjoy the rest of your life with him..." Umeko smiled slightly
Gojo had mixed feelings at the time
He wanted to see those photos one by one and ask what happened at that moment, but his pride wouldn't allow it...
"Satoru, I want you to keep that album and reflect on what you think will be the best for your son... try not to hold on to the past..."
Umeko began to say when she saw that Gojo held that album tightly
"Get some rest tonight and then go talk to my daughter...something tells me she'll be in a better mood after sleeping and taking a breather..." Actually, Umeko was having a premonition with all that.
"But whatever your final decision may be... don't take a child away from his mother..." the woman repeated again " I don't want to see my daughter suffer anymore..."
Gojo sighed and decided not to check out that album right now.
"Okay... I will consult it between dreams." Gojo said seriously before leaving
Did those words soften her heart?
What will he do with that photo album? Will he tear it up or at least see all the photos?
Soon they will know...
Notes
Orian: is the Japanese "Prostitute" (courtesan), which is sometimes confused with the maikos who are apprentice geishas
These women, in addition to being instructed in sexual pleasure, also performed an entertainment service that included the arts of dance, music, calligraphy, poetry and conversation... etc.
Dogeza:
[土下座] is an element of traditional Japanese etiquette that involves kneeling directly on the ground and crouching down to prostrate while touching the ground with your head. The word literally means to sit on the ground.
It is used to show deference to a person of higher status, as a profound apology, or to express the person's desire for favor.
Japan is still a macho country and being a single mother is still frowned upon because of what I investigated since they continue to see the traditional family as something Elementary
What do you think of this fic?
Please don't be cruel, English is not my native language and I hope this translation is understood