Reverse Aishi curse, Part 6: The first Aishi
Jiro and Oume longed to start a family together, dreaming of the laughter and warmth a child would bring into their home. Every day, they imagined the small joys of parenthood - the first words, the pitter-patter of little feet, the memorable moments they would bond over. Yet, despite their wishes, they faced the heartbreak of being unable to conceive. Fate had decided they would be childless
One day, while walking together in the forest nearby their village, they spotted a wolf sniffing at a bundle of cloth on the ground. When the wolf noticed them, it darted off into the wilderness. When they approached the bundle, they were shocked to discover what it was: a baby, wrapped up in cloth, with a small piece of wood on its chest. Carved into the wood were several symbols:
It was apparent that someone had abandoned their infant child here in the woods, leaving it to be eaten by wild animals. The couple quickly checked the baby for injuries, and were relieved to discover that it was unharmed
The couple recognized the symbols on the piece of wood - pronounced "A I SHI" - but were not sure what these symbols were meant to communicate. "Ai" and "Shi" were words that both held multiple meanings, but none of them seemed to justify abandoning a newborn in the forest. Whoever left the child here wanted to communicate *something* with these symbols, but their intentions were unclear
Just then the infant woke up and started crying
Snapped out of the initial shock of discovering an abandoned baby in the woods, Jiro and Oume realized that the one thing they wanted more than anything else in the world - a child - had just fallen into their laps. Perhaps the infant was a blessing from the gods above. They resolved, right then and there, to adopt this baby and raise it as their own child, with as much love as possible
Oume picked the infant up and started rocking the baby to calm her down, slowly the baby's cries subsided replaced by cooing sounds
They decided to name the baby "Aishi"
Although this should have been the beginning of a heartwarming and touching story of a couple whose lifelong dream had finally come true, Jiro and Oume were destined for a much crueler fate
As the years passed, Aishi grew into a very joyful child, it was incredibly easily to make her happy, so much that Jiro and Oume didn't even have to make any attempts to do so - merely seeing her parents made her happy
Jiro and Oume did their best to provide Aishi with a warm and loving home, and Aishi was grateful for every bit attempt regardless of how small it was, because even tho it was small they were successful, Aishi felt love and warmth
However some of the other children living in the same village as Aishi attempted to bully her - remained her that her real parents left her to be eaten by wolves
"My parents didn't left me to be eaten by wolves" she'd say. "They were wolves... I'm half wolf". Followed by this she'd run around trying to "catch them" (in reality she stopped chasing after a minute)
No one really wanted or succeeded to bully her because she always scared bullies off, but not many wanted to bully her either way since she was really nice person
But despite acting like that, deep down Aishi had a gnawing sadness inside of her and those comments made that sadness gnaw more of her... she wondered what had lead her real parents to decided that she was such a burden she deserved to die alone in a forest when she was merely a vulnerable infant
"Maybe they were too poor to afford to raise of me, or maybe they knew they weren't fit to take care of me... or maybe I was just a leach that didn't want in their lives"
Aishi loved her adoptive parents, but she couldn't help but want to know who her real parents were, what were their motivations for abandoning her, who could she have been if her real parents hadn't abandoned her (This was her most guarded secret that she would absolutely not let anybody know, especially not her parents)
Aishi didn't just brought light into her adoptive parents' lives, she brought it to anyone in need
Jiro and Oume raised her with love, good values, and kindness, as a result Aishi grew into a very kind young woman who was always very happy and willing to give a hand to those who need it, especially her parents. Helping with household chores, stopping thieves, putting up shops, helping with shipments, taking care of the animals, etc.
One day, around 18 years after she had been adopted, Aishi bumped into one of the young men living in the village, and dropped the basket of fruit she had been carrying. The man being so kind and helpful and helped her collect the fruit that had spilled onto the ground
As the two of them reached for the same piece of fruit at the same time, his fingers brushed against hers - and in the span of a single instant, his entire world changed. It felt like for the first time, the sights and sounds and smells surrounding him suddenly meant something bigger; like the world before was a dull and grey place - now, every sensation was suddenly exciting, stimulating, and meaningful
Tapestries were not just random colors, but were beautiful works of art. Birdsong was not just random noise, but was lovely music to listen to. The clothing against his skin did not merely exist; it brought warmth and comfort
He felt an avalanche of new sensations for the first time. It was overwhelming
Immediately, he sought an answer. "What changed? What caused this? What made my world better?" His eyes flew to Aishi, the young woman who had lightly grazed his hand, and he knew; he simply knew. It was her. Somehow, touching her had "unlocked" a better version of life, so that he could finally experience the world in a more wonderful way
It took him no longer than a single moment to decide what he wanted to say to Aishi: "I love you. I can't live without you. Spend the rest of your life with me." But, the tsunami of sensations that he was experiencing was so overwhelming that he could not force a single word out of his mouth
Then, he made the first of several very important discoveries. As Aishi rose to her feet, apologized for bumping into him, and walked away, he felt the world growing colder, duller, greyer. The implications were obvious; his ability to experience the world more beautifully was tied directly to his proximity to the farmer girl. Without her presence, existence felt meaningless
And then, the next revelation was made. As his eyes followed her, he saw where she was walking to - *who* she was walking to. A young man. Who was he to her? A brother? A stranger? A friend? A lover she had sworn her heart to? Before he knew the answer to any of these questions, he had already drawn his conclusion:
"Whoever he is, I need to kill him"
The next 10 weeks in Aishi's village were a whirlwind of tragic events. One after another, various men in the village died in horrific ways, or mysteriously vanished without a trace. The same words were on everyone's lips: "Our village is cursed!" "Evil spirits are plaguing us!" "We've angered the gods!"
Each of the men who died or went missing was connected, in some way, to Aishi, that kind-hearted farmer. Once regarded in high esteem by the rest of the village, she was now a social pariah - "Everyone you interact with dies! You're the cause of all this!" Even Aishi herself began to believe it; she began to wonder if, somehow, she had become a blight on his own village
Jiro and Oume tried to defend their child, they were firmly opposed to the idea that their daughter was cursed, refusing to believe she was the caused of this, but the villagers refused to listen to them. Infact they believed that Jiro and Oume were cursed too and gave them an ultimatum: Either they get rid of the cursed child, or they leave with her too. But the couple didn't let that affect them and continued to defend their child. They argued that if it was truth and she was actually cursed, then they should of been dead as well
But instead of making her feel better, that phrase made her believe that she was a danger to her parents, the people who she loved the most could be in danger because of her... that's when she made the realization that in order to save their lives, she had to abandoned them... permanently
Then, one day, she found herself in the edge of a tall cliff... she knew exactly what she had to do to save her parents and save the village from further misfortune...She turned around, closed her eyes, lifted her arms... and suddenly the wind seemed faster and her life was flashing through her eyes... and the question that haunted her seemed to have answered itself after all these years
"Mother... Father... I guess I finally know why my real parents left me... I think they knew from the beginning I was cursed and not worth take the risk... Thank you for the love and the warmth... and I'm sorry I couldn't be the child you longed for"
But as the question that long haunted the back of her mind seemed to answer and the fog was lifting in her head, the wind seemed to stop, and her wrist felt heavier. And suddenly she was back on the edge of the cliff
She opened her eyes and there stood a young man - one who she instantly recognized as the village helper - a man she briefly interacted with 11 weeks ago
After taking a moment to gather his courage, he opened his mouth and simply let his feelings pour out. "I know everyone thinks you're cursed. I know you think so too. I know you think you might be unlovable and you don't deserve to exist because of that matter. But... for some strange reason I don't even fully understand, I don't care, I don't care what the villagers say about you, I don't care about anyone else but you. You fill my world with color and light and warmth. If I had to pick a word to describe this... I guess I'd have to say that it's love"
When you feel like the entire world is against you and wants you dead, and then someone enters your life and makes you feel wanted... it doesn't matter if there's something wrong with them; you ignore whatever warning signs you would normally recognize, you open your arms, and you invite them in. Obviously, it's a bad idea, but a sufficiently vulnerable person will make unwise life decisions
The young man knew this. That's why he killed those guys in the exact ways that he did, and created a tense atmosphere of suspicion and distrust in the village; to make sure that the love of his life would be shunned until she was so desperate that she'd run straight into his arms if he offered her comfort and solace in a world that was showing her nothing but pain and shame...
... And his plan had worked perfectly
Aishi gave birth to three daughters; one in 1818, one in 1819, and one in 1820. When naming her children, she did not hesitate; apparently, she had already decided what to name her children before they were even born. Her husband considered each of these names to be terribly inappropriate - but he did not protested because it made his wife happy - she insisted that these were the names she wanted for her daughters
"In life, you must carry three blades," she said. "One blade for crafting, one blade for protecting, and one blade for cutting the Red String of Fate"
She named her first child "Anahiki," after a saw used for carpentry
She named her second child "Katana," after the type of sword carried by samurai
She named her third child "Hasami," after a tool used in sewing to cut thread
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