Death in Midsummer & Other Stories by Yukio Mishima
Authors: Yukio Mishima
Tags: Fiction, Literary, Japan, Short Stories (Single Author), Mishima; Yukio, Short Stories; Japanese, Japan - Social Life and Customs
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angler fish on the ocean floor.
Around it, coral fought with the poisonous dark green of seaweed.
Kenzd put his cheek to his wife's - she was still clinging to him - and with the fingers of the arm around her shoulders played with her hair. Compared to the motion of the car the motion of the fingers was slow and deliberate. She knew that he was enjoying the show and enjoying her fright at it as well.
'Will it be over soon? I'm afraid.' But her voice was drowned out in the roar.
Once again they were in darkness. Though frightened, Kiyoko had her store of courage. Kenzo's arms were around her, and there was no fright and no shame she could not bear.
Because hope had never left them, the state of happiness was for the two of them just such a state of tension.
A big, muddy octopus appeared before them. Once again Kiyoko cried out. Kenzo promptly kissed the nape of her neck. The great tentacles of the octopus filled the cave, and a fierce lightning darted from its eyes.
At the next curve a drowned corpse was standing discon-solately in a seaweed forest.
Finally the light at the far end began to show, the car slowed 45
down, and they were liberated from the unpleasant noise: At the bright platform the uniformed attendant waited to catch the forward handle of the car.
'Is that all?'asked Kenzo.
The man said that it was.
Arching her back, Kiyoko climbed to the platform and whispered in Kenzo's ear: 'It makes you feel like a fool, paying forty yen for that.'
At the door they compared their biscuits. Kiyoko had two-thirds left, and Kenzo more than half.
'Just as big as when we came in,' said Kenzo. 'It was so full of thrills that we didn't have time to eat.'
'If you think about it that way, it doesn't seem so bad after all.' Kenzo's eyes were already on the gaudy sign by another door. Electric decorations danced around the word 'Magicland', and green and red lights flashed on and off in the startled eyes of a cluster of dwarfs, their domino costumes shining in gold and silver dust. A bit shy about suggesting immediately that they go in, Kenzo leaned against the wall and munched away at his biscuit.
'Remember how we crossed the parking lot? The light brought out our shadows on the ground, maybe two feet apart, and a funny idea came to me. I thought to myself how it would be if a little boy's shadow bobbed up and we took it by the hand.
And just then a shadow really did break away from ours and come between them.'
'No!'
'Then I looked round, and it was someone behind us. A couple of drivers were playing catch, and one of them had dropped the ball and run after it.'
'One of these days we really will be out walking, three of us.' 'And we'll bring it here.' Kenzo motioned towards the sign.
'And so we ought to go in and have a look at it first.'
Kiyoko said nothing this time as he started for the ticket window.
Possibly because it was a bad time of the day, Magicland was 46
not popular. On both sides of the path as they entered there were flashing banks of artificial flowers. A music box was playing. 'When we build our house this is the way we'll have the path.'
'But it's in very bad taste,' objected Kiyoko.
How would it feel to go into a house of your own? A building fund had not yet appeared in the plans of the two, but in due course it would. Things they scarcely dreamed of would one day appear in the most natural way imaginable. Usually so prudent, they let their dreams run on this evening, perhaps, as Kiyoko said, because the million-yen biscuits had gone to their heads.
Great artificial butterflies were taking honey from the artificial flowers. Some were as big as brief-cases, and there were yellow and black spots on their translucent red wings.
Tiny bulbs flashed on and off in their protuberant eyes. In the light from below, a soft aura as of sunset in a mist bathed the plastic flowers and grasses. It may have been dust rising from the floor.
The first room they came to, following the arrow, was the
Around it, coral fought with the poisonous dark green of seaweed.
Kenzd put his cheek to his wife's - she was still clinging to him - and with the fingers of the arm around her shoulders played with her hair. Compared to the motion of the car the motion of the fingers was slow and deliberate. She knew that he was enjoying the show and enjoying her fright at it as well.
'Will it be over soon? I'm afraid.' But her voice was drowned out in the roar.
Once again they were in darkness. Though frightened, Kiyoko had her store of courage. Kenzo's arms were around her, and there was no fright and no shame she could not bear.
Because hope had never left them, the state of happiness was for the two of them just such a state of tension.
A big, muddy octopus appeared before them. Once again Kiyoko cried out. Kenzo promptly kissed the nape of her neck. The great tentacles of the octopus filled the cave, and a fierce lightning darted from its eyes.
At the next curve a drowned corpse was standing discon-solately in a seaweed forest.
Finally the light at the far end began to show, the car slowed 45
down, and they were liberated from the unpleasant noise: At the bright platform the uniformed attendant waited to catch the forward handle of the car.
'Is that all?'asked Kenzo.
The man said that it was.
Arching her back, Kiyoko climbed to the platform and whispered in Kenzo's ear: 'It makes you feel like a fool, paying forty yen for that.'
At the door they compared their biscuits. Kiyoko had two-thirds left, and Kenzo more than half.
'Just as big as when we came in,' said Kenzo. 'It was so full of thrills that we didn't have time to eat.'
'If you think about it that way, it doesn't seem so bad after all.' Kenzo's eyes were already on the gaudy sign by another door. Electric decorations danced around the word 'Magicland', and green and red lights flashed on and off in the startled eyes of a cluster of dwarfs, their domino costumes shining in gold and silver dust. A bit shy about suggesting immediately that they go in, Kenzo leaned against the wall and munched away at his biscuit.
'Remember how we crossed the parking lot? The light brought out our shadows on the ground, maybe two feet apart, and a funny idea came to me. I thought to myself how it would be if a little boy's shadow bobbed up and we took it by the hand.
And just then a shadow really did break away from ours and come between them.'
'No!'
'Then I looked round, and it was someone behind us. A couple of drivers were playing catch, and one of them had dropped the ball and run after it.'
'One of these days we really will be out walking, three of us.' 'And we'll bring it here.' Kenzo motioned towards the sign.
'And so we ought to go in and have a look at it first.'
Kiyoko said nothing this time as he started for the ticket window.
Possibly because it was a bad time of the day, Magicland was 46
not popular. On both sides of the path as they entered there were flashing banks of artificial flowers. A music box was playing. 'When we build our house this is the way we'll have the path.'
'But it's in very bad taste,' objected Kiyoko.
How would it feel to go into a house of your own? A building fund had not yet appeared in the plans of the two, but in due course it would. Things they scarcely dreamed of would one day appear in the most natural way imaginable. Usually so prudent, they let their dreams run on this evening, perhaps, as Kiyoko said, because the million-yen biscuits had gone to their heads.
Great artificial butterflies were taking honey from the artificial flowers. Some were as big as brief-cases, and there were yellow and black spots on their translucent red wings.
Tiny bulbs flashed on and off in their protuberant eyes. In the light from below, a soft aura as of sunset in a mist bathed the plastic flowers and grasses. It may have been dust rising from the floor.
The first room they came to, following the arrow, was the
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