The Legend of Kagutaba Village
Once there was an old woman, Ishii Junko living with her 6 years-old son,named Koga.They lived at the end of a village called Kagutaba Village. She used to be a friendly and nice neighbour before everything changed after her husband had died from a mysterious disease that had flew throughout the country many years ago.It had caused her to suffered a brain damage. Eventually Ishii had became insane and always talk by herself even when no one was around,as some of the villagers asserted. The woman and her son then moved further away from the village near the forest,where a friend of her had build a small cottage for her family to live.
The disease soon struck Kagutaba Village that was specially affected disastrously,causing some 200,half of its population had died from the illness.Soon,exodus occurred. Many people who were poor farmers moved to the nearest village,the Kajimata Village as they had no money and transportations to the town. Some of them preferred moving to their relatives and close friends to avoid the mysterious disease to infect them instead.
Kagutaba Village had been classified as the 'black zone' by the government as what the disease had done its people. However,things got even worse when some of the villagers refused to evacuate.They intended to stay at their home,including Ishii with her child.They insisted that the mysterious disease had alleviated and they had no relatives to live with if they move to other places. They were right at that point,but something more horrible was waiting...
Six years later,the mysterious disease soon forgotten,except for the people of Kagutaba Village,which were affected the worst. But the village had risen. The people worked hard to redevelop the village and more farms were producet to increase their economic status.It brought benefit though as the village has been known for it's fresh vegetables and fruits. Everything was going fine until one night,a tragedy happened; Ishii Junko had committed suicide by hanging herself after killed her son in her small cottage.The village were in shock. Police officers and the chieftain of the village came to investigate the suicide. For some time,the case closed. The chieftain convinced the villagers that her illness had caused her to done such things.
Unfortunately,it was just the beginning of the worst...
Chapter 2: The Dark Spirit
Few months passing by. From the Haku hill,one can see the whole scenery of Kagutaba Village,the beautiful and peace countryside. When the sunshine appears in the morning,usually the people started working their farm and livestocks like cows and goats feeds on leaves and grass on the side if the hill. Birds, bees and small insects could be seen perching on trees looking for food.
It seemed that the people had stop talking about the tragedy of the old woman an her child. The cottage where the scene happened was never been visited nor walk nearby,especially at night.They believed that it was been haunted by the spirit of the son and the old mother. If they interfered the spirits,they believed that they will serve a bad luck Some the young boys who 'disturbed' the spirits indicted that they had saw the horrifying appearance of the spirits. One of the boys who saw it had a severe fever for a week. His parents called a shaman to cure him. When he had a check on the boy,he said that the boy was possessed by the son of the old mother spirits. The shaman told them that the children can only be freed from the bad spirit by performing a traditional ceremony practiced by the old community hundred of years ago. The ceremony was held in the heart of the village. Everyone came to see the spectacled ceremony. The boy had been worn with a set of beautiful and colourful clothes,before he was leaned on the ground and told to sleep. The shaman recite some spell and made some moves using his hand and feet by without leaving his eyes on the boy. Suddenly,the boy unconsciously woke with a growl and deep voice. The spirit of the boy had awaken!He made a furious attack before the shaman jumped to dodge his quick attack. The crowd cried in fear.
“Spirit of the dark,who are you?”,the shaman asked. The possessed boy growled and tried to attacked again before the shaman recite some spell and the point his finger to the boy and suddenly the possessed boy screamed in pain and fell on the floor.
“I ask you again the spirit of the dark,who are you?”,he asked again. The spirit finally answered in deep voice,
“I..I am Haguta..Arghhh!”,he growled paifully as he tried to escape from the shaman's spell. Everyone cried in spectered. Some of the kids cried. Haguta means 'evil spirit' that was mainly known to serve to people who practices dark magic.
“I see...Haguta,who send you?Who send you to possess this innocent boy?”,the shaman asked in strict vocal.
“No one..no one send me...My..master..had died..”.the spirit replied.
“Who?Who is your master,spirit of Haguta?”
“I must not..tell you...I must..not disobey my..master...”
“Is the old woman,Ishii Junko is your master?”,the shaman asked in higher pitch.The spirit did not answer.The shaman recite a more powerful spell and as fast as a bolt he gripped the head of the possessed boy tightly.The spirit twitched and growled in suffer.The boys's parents looked terrified. Everyone were in horror.
“Arghh!!Please..stop..it!!”the spirit pleaded wearily.
“I will stop only if you tell me everything, dark spirit of Haguta. Or else...”,the shaman threatened.
“Allright,I..tell you..everything..”,the shaman released his grip. The boy instantly grinned filled with evil and looked creepy. Everyone except the shaman were in terror. They avoided looking at the eyes of the boy. His appearance was totally different from he was before. His face was pale and his hair was untidy.His clothes were all tattered and dusty.
“I lied.I will never tell you.”,he laughed in deep voice. He was not stuttering at all.
“Devils can never be trusted. That's why God banished you from heaven!You are no Haguta,you are the Sawado spirit,the leader of the world of darkness”,the spirit did not smile at all this time .He growled so loud that everyone had to closed their ears with their hands. His hands trembling and a longer and sharp nails evolved so quick. The spirit was ready to attack the powerful shaman. The sky became dark and started to rain.
“Chieftain,its not safe now to be here. Tell your people to get home now.”,the shaman urged. The chieftain nodded. Suddenly the village was in chaotic. Everyone walked away swiftly to the safety.
“Ma'am,sir,I am sorry. Your son was dead. The spirit had took over his soul.”,the shaman told the parents in sorrow. They cried in disbelief.
“Go!Go now!”,his husband who was still in control of himself grabbed her wife's hand and ran away. The dark spirit attacked with his sharp nails, but the shaman was able to avoid himself from the poisonous end of the finger.
”A drop could kill 10 men in a minute.Even a great shaman like cannot restrain it.”
“So it was you. You killed Ishii and her son. “
“Actually,I made her to kill herself". They continued the battle at the heart of the village until night came. The people could only hear what had happened. There were screamings between them,incantations of spells,explosions,and a fearful growls.
Until next morning,all the chaos had stopped. There was nothing to be heard. The people were brave enough to came out to see what happened. They were shocked. The village was spilled with blood of animals. Many dead goats and cows scrawled everywhere around the village. Most of the farms and garden had damaged badly. Everything was in shambles.
…........................................................................
Chapter Three: Memories
“So what happened next,Grandpa?”,said David, a skinny boy with a curly hair asked.
“Yes,Grandpa.What happened then?”,asked Elyssa,her younger sister excitedly.
“It was the end of Kagutaba Village. The people decided to moved away from the village. It had brought many dark memories and bad luck to their lives. So then development occurred and the village was sunk underwater as the dam was built a few years later. Until now the mystery of Kagutaba Village was still unsolved.”,explained Grandpa.
“So what actually happened to the shaman and the spirit of Sawado?Who won the battle?”,asked David.
“No one knows. Some people said they both had died. But some believe that the shaman had killed the Sawado spirit and lived in the sacred cave,the Jaju Cave. It is the place where he can live hundreds of years. David, Elyssa. You know what? I do believe that he is still live in there to keep our world safe from the spirit of Sawado.”
“Do you mean that, Sawado spirit is still exist?”,Elyssa asked.
“Many said that he was dead. But,I have no doubt he is still outside somewhere hiding.”
“Why?” David enquired for answer.
“That's a good question. Spirit of Sawado maybe was too weak to show himself now,so he hide himself to regain his energy .To take revenge on his loss.”
“Wow,that was scary. Hey Grandpa,how did you know all these.”Elyssa asked. Grandpa smiled and said,
“Well,my grandfather was one of the villagers that time. He was about the age of you. As cute as you.”Grandpa burst to laugh. They had a happy time together.
“Oh my,its already six in the evening. You should be going home.”
“Thanks Grandpa. It was truly an amazing story. How about tomorrow?Can we come again?”
“Oh sorry,I will not be home tomorrow.I have to go to the hospital for my medical checkout. Sorry kids.Hey, go home now,or your mother will scold you!”he told them.
“Ok.Grandpa.Goodbye,we love you.”
“I love you too kids. See ya!”
“Subarashi!”,they waved and ran.He got into the house and sat on the bench made of wood. It was a long time since his father moved to England after the Second World War blazed throughout the world,causing millions to lost their lives. But there is one thing he could never understand; How could a Japanese family came to America who had just bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki into flatten field? It sure does not make any sense. Why Otou-san never tell me anything? The 74 years-old Grandpa murmured.
“ Otou-san, I miss home so much.”,he expressed his feelings as he looked upon the sky behind the window,recapturing the mesmerizing and beautiful blue sky at Hokkaido, where he and his older brother was born. Not long after his mother died from the war and his father took him to America,and left him after promised to come back and take him home. Since then he lived with an American family, who have kept and raise him. Until now, no one had came, even his brother. He sometimes felt that his family had all died,died from his memory and his heart. Why did they left me ?Why did they never came, even to see me? All these questions had made him,deep in his heart, suffered for a very long time. He had several times going back to Japan, seeking for his family but it had resulted unsuccessful. He came to his old house at Hokkaido but his house and the neighbourhoods around was been crumpled for development and replaced with new buildings.
Remembering those dark memories, his eyes started filling with tears. He took his family old pictures and looked deeply inside beyond, no else could never see.
“ It was just unfair .Otou-san,Oka-san.”
“ No son, you are wrong. Your still alive. You still can breath, eat delicious foods and go anywhere you want. Most importantly, you still have yourself,your own body,your soul..”, suddenly he shivered and looked around. Maybe it was just his own feeling.
Chapter 4: The Uninvited Delivery
“Honn!! Honn!!”,suddenly he was disturbed with a familiar sounds. A postman had came. Postman? On Sunday? Quiet surprised he slowly opened the door to greet the postman, who had known him since he lived in the house.
“Sorry to disturb your Sunday, Mr. Oz”.It was the short name for his real name Ozuka.
“I got an express package today. It sure does heavy ,”said Andy,the postman as he untied the box package on the bike and took it into his house.
”Come on take a look. I want to show you something. Firstly,it looks very old,and err,..odd surely. The address was from ...”,Andy paused instantly.
“My parents”,a statement,not a guess.Andy nodded. Ozuka tried to hid his shock.
“Maybe I should open it for you”,Andy teared the selotape but Ozuka impeded him.
“No no,let me do it by myself. Thank you Andy. Goodbye,have a nice day!”,he pushed Andy,confused by the old man's action, to the front door.
“Ok then.Well,goodbye.”Andy looked blank and stayed on as if reluctant to leave. Ozuka stared him through the window as he wanted to get rid of him. Andy saw him and startled by his sharp gaze, he weared on his helmet and rode off.
Ensured that the surrounding was clear and safe, he took a gaze at the package. Many questions lingering in his head.
Who actually had sent it? If it were my parents',why now? What is in the box? He became anxious and suspicious. He teared the selotape one by one until the last wrapper. He slowly unwrapped the package and opened to see what's contained within it. He could see that it was filled with old groceries and materials. He took the items one by one.An old clock,books,a watch, a few kinds of jewellery, a hat and some old japanese yen.All of them belongs to his family. Finally at the bottom he saw a letter written at the front;To my son Ozuka.
He opened it and read the letter;
Dear Ozuka,
When you read this letter,it will be already many years since I left you. I hope it would be sent at the right time. I dont have much time so please read carefully. The Devil of Sawado had returned. I had knew it when your brother had a serious fever and raved few days after that,saying that Sawado had returned. Firstly we did not believe it but it became worse when your brother escaped to the jungle and we could not find him. That is why I had to send you to America. When I came back, your mother had died,hanged herself in her room. But I know it was Sawado's fault. Only then I knew, we were the last generation of the Kagutaba villagers. Others had killed by him. He will look for you to take revenge. There is no hope. The shaman who had once beaten him had gone nowhere. Even if you can find him, he may be very weak to challenge him. I'm so sorry that I cannot do anything to save you. If you have lived this long to read my letter,it is already a privilege that no Kagutabas' had. I will always love you,son. May God save us all.
p.s all these omission is the one I had time to take from home. I hope you can use it as it is your life.
Your father,
Otou-san
Ozuka read it twice,still looking in disbelief. He had expected that his family had dead, but still could not accept the truth. He knew that his time had come. Waiting for death to come. He had not fear death. He had enjoyed his long age enough to end it. After had a simple dinner and phoned his grand-daughters to bid farewell, he ate his medications,more than it was required and had a nice dream. He was sleeping, and never woke up...
…...........................................................
The writer read again his essays. He said,”All these people are crazy. It was never about mysterious disease or spirits, it was just about ignorant, the ignoramuses who had lacking knowledge, believe in magic and delusions. They had never actually confronted with the fierce spirit of Sawado and powerful shaman, they just had an imagination of it. It is called escapism. Some of them are good, but if is more than what needed, it can become harmful. In order to escape from reality, they had created their own world of fantasy. As for the morals, we should not have these superstitious beliefs,therefore we must have a strong faith in God. Besides, knowledge is very important. It can avoid us from making these supernatural things to control our life and mind,;like as we seen in horror and ghost stories,we would never live in a happy and lively surroundings, because we will forever trapped in fear and having a dull life. Do you ever want to waste your life forever because of fear that you just made in your imagination?”
THE END
maap kalo x best,grammar tunggang terbalik,mcm tiru cter laen dll yg kurg memuaskan.Kesuntukan masa la pulak!
Ape pun.barakallahu fikum~
Bravo adib~!
BalasPadamyou wrote the story by yourself?NICE!!!
Subarashii~!
Keep up the good work~!
caiyok~!
oops!ittakimasu btol ka?
BalasPadambkn itterashai mnde ntah.haha
this is the script of Noroi, isn´t it? The japanese movie... awesome movie, by the way...
BalasPadamyup.I modified a bit to make my own story. thanks for reading
BalasPadamp/s:actually the movie was my inspiration,but this storyline and characters was made by me.
BalasPadamI like your story .
BalasPadam