"Good Evening, stranger."
As the door opened, the light of the lantern cut through the room in darkness. The flickering light lit up the figure on the chair, projecting a dancing shadow on the wall.
"I got the understanding that you are fond of stories. So I brought you one that would be of interest to you."
--- A long long time ago, from the far far east, a man came to this land. Making business was his gift, a gift written in his family name "Takarano", that in his native tongue means "Treasure". From all the precious merchandise he dealt with, art was his favourite. This prowess in import and export allowed this merchant to earn a well-deserved social status in this land.
The merchant had a daughter, lovely in all terms. Anyone would have said she is meant for someone wealthy or from the nobility, but to her father’s horror she got pregnant. From her own father, she kept her lover’s name secret; from the world, her father kept the scandal secret.
The child arrived, taking the woman’s life. The midwife was horrified to the baby’s appearance: the merchant’s daughter conceived a creature paler than any human. The midwife told the merchant that his daughter might have encountered a dark creature. But for a grief-filled father, this wasn’t something of concern. He kept the newborn, raising the child away from the outside world.
The time has proven the midwife's worries: though slowly, the kid showed extraordinary powers over the time. This terrified all family and servants. For the first couple of decades no one dared to go against the merchant’s will. But after the master’s death the kid was taken to another property in a remote area, where this unfortunate child lived a plentiful yet lonely life. ---
The girl took a sip from her cup, then looked back at the man: “Traveller, tell me, what do you think this child should do? May the child keep acting like a caged bird? Shall this child teach those cowards a lesson? Or should the dark creature who conceived this unblessed child take the blame, and this misfortunate soul should turn into a vengeful hunter?”
“I cannot answer to that question, what’s more, my answer doesn’t matter at all.”
“I thought you were a wise man, which is the only reason I came to see you. I could not have expected that you would be so irresponsible.”
“I have no responsibility concerning this matter, because this is your life. You have the capability to ask these questions, then my only job is to believe you will have the capability to find the answer yourself. Isn’t that more than enough, Miss Takarano?”
The girl lowered her head and said after a brief pause: “No one has ever said such things to me. Even Grandpa... He just treated me like a fragile doll...” Looking back up the girl continued: “Arika, my name is Arika, together with my family name means ‘where the treasure lies’. Mr. Lorrimor, may I keep in touch with you?”
As the door opened, the light of the lantern cut through the room in darkness. The flickering light lit up the figure on the chair, projecting a dancing shadow on the wall.
"I got the understanding that you are fond of stories. So I brought you one that would be of interest to you."
--- A long long time ago, from the far far east, a man came to this land. Making business was his gift, a gift written in his family name "Takarano", that in his native tongue means "Treasure". From all the precious merchandise he dealt with, art was his favourite. This prowess in import and export allowed this merchant to earn a well-deserved social status in this land.
The merchant had a daughter, lovely in all terms. Anyone would have said she is meant for someone wealthy or from the nobility, but to her father’s horror she got pregnant. From her own father, she kept her lover’s name secret; from the world, her father kept the scandal secret.
The child arrived, taking the woman’s life. The midwife was horrified to the baby’s appearance: the merchant’s daughter conceived a creature paler than any human. The midwife told the merchant that his daughter might have encountered a dark creature. But for a grief-filled father, this wasn’t something of concern. He kept the newborn, raising the child away from the outside world.
The time has proven the midwife's worries: though slowly, the kid showed extraordinary powers over the time. This terrified all family and servants. For the first couple of decades no one dared to go against the merchant’s will. But after the master’s death the kid was taken to another property in a remote area, where this unfortunate child lived a plentiful yet lonely life. ---
The girl took a sip from her cup, then looked back at the man: “Traveller, tell me, what do you think this child should do? May the child keep acting like a caged bird? Shall this child teach those cowards a lesson? Or should the dark creature who conceived this unblessed child take the blame, and this misfortunate soul should turn into a vengeful hunter?”
“I cannot answer to that question, what’s more, my answer doesn’t matter at all.”
“I thought you were a wise man, which is the only reason I came to see you. I could not have expected that you would be so irresponsible.”
“I have no responsibility concerning this matter, because this is your life. You have the capability to ask these questions, then my only job is to believe you will have the capability to find the answer yourself. Isn’t that more than enough, Miss Takarano?”
The girl lowered her head and said after a brief pause: “No one has ever said such things to me. Even Grandpa... He just treated me like a fragile doll...” Looking back up the girl continued: “Arika, my name is Arika, together with my family name means ‘where the treasure lies’. Mr. Lorrimor, may I keep in touch with you?”