The Isle of South Kamui and Other Stories by Kyotaro Nishimura Read Free Book Online Page B

all looked at me, and then looked at the fleeing salesman.
    No doubt I should have confessed my crime at that moment. It was me . I was the one who killed the mayor. If you need a sacrificial offering, then please take me.
    But instead of confessing, I silently turned my gaze to the fleeing salesman and then shrugged, as if in recognition of the difficult situation.
    I betrayed the salesman. I betrayed myself. And if there was a god, I betrayed that god in the most cowardly way possible.
    It would have been more human to have pointed a finger at the salesman and ordered, “Kill him!” Just shrugging my shoulders, leaving room for the excuse that I had not actually said anything, had been dishonest.
    The islanders slowly turned and started off after the salesman. I too followed after them to see what the outcome of my duplicity would be.
    The salesman ran, slipping and falling several times in the mud, before cutting across the wharf to the small inlet where the two canoes were moored. He jumped into one and started rowing for all he was worth out to sea.
    The small beach was instantly filled with islanders.
    A strong wind was blowing off the sea, and the sea foamed white over the coral reef. The salesman was working the oars hard, but his canoe did not appear to be making any headway.
    The four masked youths boarded the other canoe. Their movements were slow, but well-practiced and precise.
    I watched from a distance as the four youths rowed their canoe out. Each time the red-painted tips of the four oars glinted in the sun, the distance between them and the salesman’s canoe closed fast. It was really no contest. It was cat and mouse.
    â€œStop!” I yelled. But my voice was drowned out by the sound of the waves and the wind. No, I should say that even if it was drowned out by the sound of the waves and the wind, it was just a faint cry to begin with. I had only shouted feebly and I did not move so much as a step.
    A rainbow spanned the sky. The sun was so bright it hurt my eyes, and the sea was blue as far as the eye could see. Within that beautiful scenery, one canoe closed on the other and pulled up alongside, just as in a race. I closed my eyes. I heard neither scream nor angry roar. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was shining as before. Just the salesman and the canoe he had been in had disappeared. It felt as though a gaping hole had opened up in the space where he had been until now.
    My knees were shaking, and I had to squat down there and then. I would probably have found it easier to bear if I had been greeted with a bloodbath or vision of burning hell. The tranquil scene as if nothing had occurred merely forced me to imagine for myself what must have happened.
    The four masked youths slowly steered their canoe back to the inlet. Four masked executioners. They got out of the canoe and, without a word, walked quietly away in the direction of the village. The islanders, too, dispersed in silence.
    I was left alone in the inlet.
    The ferry arrived eight days later, but I could not bring myself to board it. If I had run away, the burden on me would have been too heavy to bear. Or you could say that whatever remained of my conscience would not allow me to run away.
    I stayed for two years on the island working in the dispensary. I had killed two people on this island—and without even getting my own hands dirty. I intended to atone for my sins, although I knew well enough that it was not something that could be pardoned with a mere two years of work.
    Life on the island continued as if nothing had happened, peaceful and cheerful—and dull. The men went out fishing on the emerald sea, exposing their tough sunburned skin to the sea breeze. Those four youths who had worn the devil masks were among them, but it was hard to detect any emotional scars on their faces. They had simply been obeying the oracle, so perhaps they did not feel any distress at having killed a human being. Or maybe wearing