The Legend of the Crane Wife

A short story from the epic fantasy, Sakura no Yugen. I changed some names, so as not to spoil surprises for those already reading.

            Ryu lead the sorrel draft by the reins, up the banks, to where Mariko had asked to go. When beyond the last farms he said they should return, but Mariko begged until he consented to continue a little further.

            It was early afternoon when they came to the hidden dell where the cranes flocked. Patches of cloud had parted over the valley, opening solitary rifts. Through the depths of vivid blue, sunlight broke, sparkling over the snows. Mariko dismounted and Ryu set his traveling cloak down near the rim of the ice basin. There they sat together, watching the elegant dance of the red-crowned birds.

            The ronin told her about the Hyokken cranes: "Throughout Isodoro's history they've been revered as more than cranes, but symbols for peace and hope. They are blessed kami. Some are believed to live up to a thousand years. It's said if you fold a thousand origami cranes, one of the real birds will grant you a wish."

            "Ah, then I will fold a thousand origami cranes," declared Mariko. "And I already know what to wish for."

            "Oh, and what's that, pray tell?"

            She shook her head. "I won't. Just like you didn't tell me about the horse. Maybe it's a gift for you, neh?"

            "Hmm. As long as it's not a bigger animal than the one I found you. But as luck has it, there doesn't seem to be any paper in the village. Even if there was, there isn't enough time for you to fold a thousand. Looks like you'll have to wait until Ryoshu-kita, neh?"

            "No, you're the one who is going to have to wait. But you'll see. It will be worth it"

            She leaned against him, lying across his legs and chest. He cradled her, and while stroking her dark silken hair along her temple, he told a tale at her behest:

            "There was this poor nomin man who lived alone and had almost nothing. Well, one cold winter day when snow blanketed the earth, he went to collect firewood, and on his way back through the forests, he heard the pained cry of a bird. He found a white crane with its leg caught in a hunter's trap. He helped free it and then tended to its wound. After the bird was healed, the poor nomin man released it back into the mountain forest.

            "Then one night, not too long after, there was a knocking at his door. Outside he found a beautiful young woman standing before him. She was very cold, and seemed quite lost, so he helped her, giving her food and whatever he could provide. For her part she cooked, cleaned, and tended to his hearth, and thus remained his guest for many days. Anyways, as you can imagine, the man fell in love, deeply. One day he revealed his feelings, and said he wished for her to be his wife. She said she also wished this; that it was what she most longed for."

            Mariko looked up at Ryu-san, smiling. "Sounds like a lovely story, neh. So, then what happened?"

            "They were married of course. Thereon his life improved in every way. One day his wife asked for textile. When he brought her a stack, she asked that he not open the door while she went into the room to weave. This was very important to her, and so he promised to abide by her wishes. After staying alone in the room for a time, she reemerged with a most beautifully embroidered fabric. This she gave to her husband to sell in the market. He wanted to know how she'd woven such lovely fabric, but his wife said she couldn't tell him, and that he could never look in the room when she wove. After that she created more and it sold well and soon the nomin man attained considerable wealth. As this continued the nomin man grew increasingly curious, as you can imagine, until one day he peeked through the door."

            Ryu paused until Mariko urged him on, like a girl wanting to be indulged. The ronin continued, "And guess what he saw? A beautiful white crane weaving the textile with its wings. Ha. The crane changed back into the form he knew as his wife's, and she told him the truth, that she was the bird he had saved that day in the snow, and that was why she'd come back to help him. This was a sad moment though, and she cried woefully, because now that her husband had seen her bird form, the magic which had allowed her to stay with him as man and wife was broken, and she would be forced to return to her kingdom of cranes, far, far to the north. He got on his knees and begged her to stay, saying he'd rather give away all the wealth, his house, that he would do anything, so long as she stayed. She had no choice though. But before departing she left him with the most beautifully embroidered fabric woven yet, and said she would pray everyday that they might meet again, in another life, when karma saw it to bring their paths together again and never part again. Then, before his very eyes, she transformed back into the crane and flew away, up, up into the sky." Ryu sighed, leaning back a little. "And the nomin man never saw her again."

            Soured by the telling, Mariko gave Ryu a hard look. "Hmm, I don't think I like that story so much anymore." She turned her vision to the sky, reflecting on the tale. After a minute or two she leaned up and kissed Ryu. "Don't worry though. That will never happen to us. My place is at your side. I'll never, ever fly away and leave you."

            Later into the afternoon, while they still watched the Hyokken birds, the diminutive shape of the kitsune slunk down from the wooded slopes across the ice basin. Her ears were perked and she trained her dark-rimmed eyes on Mariko and Ryu. When they called to her, she loped nimbly over the snowdrift.

            "Looks like Izari's doing well, neh," remarked Ryu. "Probably been hunting fish and rabbit."

            He got up and played with the kitsune, chasing her and then letting her chase him, nipping at his boots as she did so. Several times they rolled about in the snow. Mariko smiled as she watched. She contemplated the lakes of sky, thinking how beautiful and graceful the Hyokken cranes looked as they flew across the cerulean rifts with their great white wings. Their heavenward cries sang through the stillness of the valley. Truly, they do look like majestic spirits. She knew she would always love them. They were symbols of the changing seasons, and she wished she could follow them wherever they went. It was ironic in a sense, that as the birds were migrating south to avoid winter, she and Ryu were moving ever northwards.

            For a moment Mariko wondered, with a shiver of foreboding, if perhaps they should not change their path before it was too late.

 

Reviews

[ACE977]

I will give maximum points because:
- the story is genuine, not a reinterpretation of ancient Japanese fairy tales (I read some: Nara-nashi , Tengu's fan, The two frogs, the Lengend of Fox-Fairy and more)
- it is easy to read and understand
- powerful nature description
- good human nature observation
- it has all ingredients: it's funny, mysterious, can transport the reader's mind to another dimension and time; it's about love and romance but I am not disappointing because that I didn't encountered samurai fighting or other action scenes;
I suspect that this story it's just a sample of something bigger, because of the ending.
Keep going the good work, Kuandio !
BTW, I like this: "It's said if you fold a thousand origami cranes, one of the real birds will grant you a wish."
later edit:
Got it ! It's part of the epic fantasy, Sakura no Yugen.

[Kuandio]

Thank you. You're right, it is a an excerpt from Sakura no Yugen. Only the names of the characters were changed.