I

The bells ring 25 times

A dark purple procession
From the church
Past the south side of the lake
To the old house
To a wide marble room on the second floor

This is my second cousin’s wake
This is Modone-nee’s wake
This is Tsurarahime’s wake

Those ornate iron double doors
Which we twiddled in childhood
Are once again open wide

That old chess set sits in the corner
Bringing back a sea of precious, warm memories
But it also feels like a taunt
…
In the earthly life
No more chess games with Modone-nee

Countless snow-sprinkled plum blossoms fall like unto the descent of their last end

In the open casket she looks like she is about to go to sleep

The sabre with which she was assassinated
Still in her side
The sabre that said,
“You will never go past 25”
That said,
“Only these kinds of bells for you”

Her father forbade anyone
From trying to hide
The blood — the wounds — the sabre

The same long blue dress
The same blue shoes
No make-up whatsoever

The truth that Modone-nee was killed
Martyred
Must and shall shine clearly
— be spoken clearly

The only change:
A laurel around her head
A full loop of leafy green
On her dark, dark brown hair

Her eyes are still two-thirds open
Her sister Corone’s attempt to close them
Was stopped by her father

The iron double doors are still open
The myriads of snow-sprinkled plum blossoms
Squeezing out their last crimsons, pinks, and golds
Still fall almost impossibly slowly

The bells ring another 25 times

I can avert my gaze from Modone-nee’s face
No more than she can avert her gaze

From the wind-caressed lake
I hear the long cry of a cormorant

And the bells ring another 25 times


II

At 7 O’Clock in the evening
The golden sun was nearing the horizon
It was just me
And Modone-nee’s grandmother
In the room with Modone-nee’s body

As a flock of fifteen birds flew by
A brief bright blue glow
Came from the casket
Modone-nee’s grandmother and I
Immediately shot each other a look
To confirm we had both seen the same thing

After a few moments of stunned silence
A bloodless sabre was thrown out the casket
Onto the pink-camellia-petal-strewn white marble floor
The sabre was completely clean
And gleaming in the golden evening light

And then
Casting
An extensive shadow
Across the room
Modone-nee’s long torso sat up

Her grandmother shrieked
And hurriedly ran out of the room
But I was frozen in place

Before I could form a sound
Modone-nee crawled out and was standing in front of me

Though her clothing bore all of its cuts, lacerations, and holes
Including the large tear where the sabre had made its final stab
All of her clothing was completely clean and bloodless
Her own body’s bloodstains and wounds and bruises were utterly gone
The skin under the large blue-fabric-tear
Which followed over the curvature
Between her two lowest left ribs
Was wholly unblemished and smooth
Her complexion was no more pale than it has always been
Her very long, atramentous hair was far less messy than it was in the casket but was not completely tidy either
Her broad back was totally free of contortion
Her entire slender, remarkably tall form seemed healthier than ever before

The bells in the tower by the lake didn’t ring
But, ahh, they should have

“Can you get me something to eat, Avgustin?”

As tears gushed in warm torrents down my cheeks
I took slow steps towards her
I couldn’t speak

“And then let’s go on a nice long walk, Avgustin”