Chapter 106 If you never forget it, there will be repercussions
"Have you heard of the legend of Shiranui?"
Under the hazy moonlight, deep in the winding river, the tender green grass spread over the girl's ankles.
She bent down gently and released the red lanterns beside her into the river, letting them drift away with the current and drift into the depths of the sea.
"I've heard that it's a strange fire active on the sea. When fishermen approach it, the fire always keeps a distance from all creatures that try to approach it. It's said to be a big monster with an unpredictable personality."
Horii Suzune approached the girl and gave her answer.
"I have also heard the legend of Shiranui, but the legend I heard is different from yours."
The girl put the last red lantern into the river, raised her head slightly, and looked at Horii Suzune with a smile.
"The legend I heard was told by my grandmother. It happened during the Showa era, a period of great social upheaval."
"My grandma once saw Shiranui."
"Or should I say that Shiranui saved my grandmother, and a legend was passed down like this, entered my ears, and echoed in my childhood."
Horii Suzune's expression slightly changed, and she said softly, "I'm curious about what kind of legend of Shiranui it is."
When the girl was about to start her story, Kurokawa Goshi and the other man also walked over. They did not interrupt her, but listened quietly.
Or it should be said that there seems to be a strange atmosphere here that eliminates impatience and makes people unable to help but calm down and listen to the story patiently.
It could also be that the high school boy standing next to him seemed too majestic and dignified to be offended.
Just standing there without saying anything made me not dare to speak.
……
The Showa era of 1945 was the darkest year in the entire history of Japan, and it is also the year that should be remembered most.
On August 8 and 6 of that year, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the so-called dream of a great empire.
For ordinary people outside Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this simply brought forward the inevitable outcome of the war.
They also had no time to send paper cranes to express their condolences, because the huge turmoil in the entire society began to tear apart their already not-so-peaceful daily lives.
It was a chaotic and terrible time.
Yumeko Ogura was a 13-year-old girl at that time.
Her father went to the army and never came back. Due to the panic of the war, her mother took her all the way to the seaside far away from the town and returned to the countryside.
Because if another atomic bomb were to fall, it would inevitably give priority to hitting densely populated cities.
But before the shadow of war arrived, the destructive power of famine began to show.
Ogura Yumeko could only watch her mother leave the last bit of food for her and die on the straw mat bed.
A lot of people died at that time, and the whole society was filled with various chaos and changes. Except for those bad people with ulterior motives, no one would care about the life and death of a little girl who was not related to them.
Yumeko Ogura thought she was smart and lucky, so she ran away when the bad guys were about to kidnap her.
Escaped to the seaside.
At that time she was thinking that if she couldn't survive, then she would die in the sea.
Let the waves take away my body and let my soul sleep forever in the sea.
She is not afraid of death.
Maybe she had been afraid before, but at that moment, she felt that death was just like that.
When the bad guys were chasing her, her thin figure was walking step by step from the beach to the sea.
The sea water had already reached her chest, and the waves were washing her cheeks and lips. The salty and bitter sea water made her eyes ache and turn red.
Her feet were already weak, and a slightly larger wave could easily sweep her away and take her to the deep sea to sleep forever.
This was indeed the case. A slightly larger wave hit her face and swept away her body.
As she was sinking into the sea water, she saw a ball of fire floating on the sea.
The flame was bright red, like a red rose that was blooming to its fullest.
She had never seen such bright red flames.
She really wanted to reach out and touch it, even though she was almost drowned by the sea water and her consciousness was gradually becoming unclear.
Perhaps sometimes human beings' pursuit of beautiful things will transcend life and death.
She did not chase the flame, but she transcended life and death.
A huge wave coming from the depths of the sea pushed her back again.
At this time, those who were chasing her had left, and the bright red flame on the sea had disappeared.
At that time, she was still young and had never heard of the legend about Shiranui.
But she firmly believed that she must have been saved by that ball of fire.
She knelt down, facing the sea, and kowtowed countless times.
At that moment, that ball of bright red flame was her spirit.
After escaping the brink of death, Ogura Yumeko's luck seemed to suddenly improve.
On the second day at the beach, she was adopted and raised by a kind couple nearby.
After the kind-hearted couple decided to adopt her, their luck seemed to be getting better and better.
They were originally just an ordinary couple in a nearby fishing village, but with the beginning of great social changes, they quickly made their first fortune from fishing, and then their business went smoothly.
At that time, Ogura Yumeko's favorite thing to do every day was to stand on the beach and look at the sea.
While waiting for her adoptive parents to return, she hoped to see the flame that saved her life again. Unfortunately, she never saw the flame again until she grew up and followed her adoptive parents who had become rich and left the seaside.
None of the fishermen who fished nearby all year round had ever seen that ball of fire.
As if it was just a fantasy she had when she was on the verge of death.
When she grew up, Ogura Yumeko heard the legend about Shiranui from other people.
In other people's stories, Shiranui is a ball of strange fire burning on the sea.
As to whether the legendary great monster Shiranui really exists, no one can be sure.
Is it fantasy or reality?
As Ogura Yumeko grew up, this question became less important.
Because she firmly believed that it was true, then it was true.
There is no need to doubt anything anymore, and there is no need to pay attention to other people's doubts.
Decades passed in a flash, until Ogura Yumeko's adoptive mother, before her death, held her hand tightly on her sickbed and told her in an almost dying tone the real reason why she suddenly adopted her as her adopted daughter.
Because the adoptive mother had seen the burning flame in her dream the night before, and she also saw the flame transform into a graceful woman wearing a flaming gauze dress.
"Adopt that girl. She will bring you good luck."
Dreams are fleeting.
The next day, according to the instructions in the dream, they really found the lonely Ogura Yumeko near the seaside.
If Ogura Yumeko had not said that she had biological parents, they would even think that Ogura Yumeko was a creature condensed from that ball of fire.
From then on, they were indeed lucky. No matter what they did, almost everything they wanted came true, and they soon accumulated wealth.
They didn't tell Ogura Yumeko because they were afraid that after they told her, Ogura Yumeko would suddenly disappear after knowing the truth.
In many stories and legends circulated among the Japanese folk, the aliens who learn the truth will stay away from the human world and disappear forever.
Ogura Yumeko didn't know how to describe how she felt when she learned the truth.
But I guess joy outweighs all other emotions, including shock.
It was not until her adoptive mother passed away and she had completed all the funeral arrangements that she went to the place where she first met Shiranui.
She built a seaside villa there and spent most of the rest of her life there, looking at the sea and waiting for the day when her dream could come true.
Unfortunately, she never met him again until her death. This was the biggest regret of her life.
……
"My grandmother also picked it up from the beach."
The girl calmly narrated the story and smiled at Horii Suzune.
The girl who said this seemed a little proud.
"My grandmother has passed away. To fulfill her wish, I wrote her wishes on lanterns and let the river carry them to the sea."
The girl looked far along the river with a dazed look in her eyes. "Perhaps one day my lifelong wish can be conveyed to the depths of the sea and known to Master Shiranui."
Hearing this, Horii Suzune looked a little weird, "Don't you know what's happening out in the ocean?"
"Oh, today is the summer fireworks festival." The girl smiled sweetly, "I'm not very interested in these festivals. There are too many people. I don't like crowded places."
"If you keep thinking about it, there will be a response."
Pinggong Qianye whispered and looked at the girl twice more, but didn't say anything more for the time being.
"I think your grandmother's lifelong wish should have been passed on to that Shiranui-sama."
Horii Suzune stepped forward, took the girl's hand, pulled her up, and explained to her what was happening in the sea outside.
"really?"
The girl's eyes lit up instantly, as bright as stars, and she took Horii Suzune's hand and walked out of the river impatiently.
"Walk slowly, don't fall."
Horii Suzune's eyes were full of pity for this girl who smiled and said that she was also picked up by her grandmother from the beach.
Later, when Kurokawa Goshi saw this scene, he wanted to stop them temporarily because there were still many things that were not clear.
For example, why the lantern that the girl put into the river floated up, and why she went to the seaside park many times.
For example, this girl used to light lanterns late at night, but why did she do it early this time?
Does the so-called great monster Shiranui really exist?
In the end, Kurokawagoe did nothing and let Horii Suzune and the girl walk away hand in hand.
He took a look and came to Pinggong Qianye, feeling that he needed to give this young man a reminder.
Late at night, young couples should not hang around such places even if they want to seek the excitement of a date.
"Be careful next time. Sorry for the trouble and hard work."
Hiramiya Chiya interrupted Kurokawagoe's words and took advantage of the time when he was thinking to walk past him and catch up with Horii Suzune and the girl in front.
"..."
Kurokawagoe frowned, sighed, and hurriedly followed.
As long as the young couple is fine, his trip wasn't in vain.
The legendary great monster Shiranui is indeed a matter of great concern.
(End of this chapter)
