Emperor Falcon part 6

Chapter VI

                                                        

          Nobuko and Prince Hayato were having a good night’s sleep, when suddenly Nobuko got woken up. She heard a noise of a horse and cart coming up to the inn. ‘It might just be a late night visitor wanting a room;’ she thought ‘but just to be safe, I’ll go see what it is’. Not to wake up Prince Hayato, she crept outside the stable to see who was outside. It came to a shock when Nobuko saw who it was; it was Emperor Hisashi’s huntsman Shigeo. “What’s Shigeo doing here?” Nobuko whispered to herself. She listened to Shigeo’s and the innkeeper’s conversation. “What are you doing at this time of the night?” asked the innkeeper. “I have been ordered by his majesty, the emperor, to hunt down a grey brown wolf and its master” said Shigeo.

          Nobuko gasped at what she had heard. ‘He must be hunting down General Masao and Hayato’ she thought in fear. She woke up Prince Hayato at once. “Hayato wake up, there’s trouble outside!” she shouted, nudging him. “What’s going on?” said Prince Hayato. “Your uncle’s huntsman Shigeo Morita is here, and I just heard him say to the innkeeper that he’s hunting down a grey brown wolf and its master. I think your uncle has sent him to kill you and your father”. “Oh no!” said Prince Hayato “we need to find my father quick before Shigeo does”. “But how will we find him?” asked Nobuko “he could be anywhere by now”. “Don’t worry,” said Prince Hayato “I can tell, don’t forget I’ve travelled with my father, in his wolf form, lots of times”.

          Nobuko and Prince Hayato gathered up their belongings and weapons and even packed up the blankets, in case they’d be handy, and then they led their horses out of the stable and rode off into the forest. The rainy storm had begun and thunder and lightning were going off in the sky. “Okay so how do we find him?” asked Nobuko. “I’ll show you” said Prince Hayato. They came to a clearing in the forest. Prince Hayato howled like a wolf, and then a real wolf’s howl was heard in return. “That’s my father’s howl”, Prince Hayato explained “this is how I contact my father, when he’s a wolf, when I need him”. “That’s clever,” said Nobuko “and that also means he hasn’t been caught yet”.

          Just then Nobuko saw something big and wooden in the tree branches, in the trees that surrounded them. “I see something in those trees,” she said “and I don’t think they’re just branches”. “I’ll have a look” said Prince Hayato, and climbed one of the trees to investigate, and then he climbed down the tree again. “You were right Nobuo; someone has set up crossbows and arrows in the trees”. “It must be one of Shigeo’s traps,” said Nobuko “and I think I have an idea to stop him”. This was her plan; since Prince Hayato knew how to howl like a wolf, he would act as bait to lure Shigeo to the area where the crossbow and arrow trap is. Then when Shigeo gets to the area, Nobuko would set of the crossbow and arrow traps, and then the arrows would finish Shigeo off. “I like this plan,” said Prince Hayato “but would he fall for it”. “Trust me Hayato,” said Nobuko “I saw Shigeo lots of times when I worked at the palace. And let me tell you something; he is a skilled huntsman, but he is a very stupid one”.

          To carry out the plan Prince Hayato stood in the area of the trap, while Nobuko hid behind the tree where the main rope for the crossbow and arrow trap was; Nobuko needed to pull the rope to fire the arrows from the crossbows. Prince Hayato started to howl like a wolf, as loud as he could. Not far from the trap, Shigeo heard the wolf howls and thought they might be a real wolfs howl, and then started to follow the sounds of the howls. Back at the trap, Prince Hayato kept on howling, and then Nobuko told him to stop. “I hear someone or something coming” she said, and Prince Hayato went behind a tree to hide.

          Shigeo came to where he had heard the howling. ‘This is where I heard the howling, but I don’t see any wolves’ he thought. He walked into the middle of the area, right where his crossbow and arrow trap was. This was Nobuko’s chance to set off the trap. She tugged at the rope very hard and sent the arrows flying from the crossbows. The arrows struck Shigeo into his back, chest and head, and he fell down dead. Prince Hayato and Nobuko came out from behind the trees and looked at Shigeo’s dead body. “I can’t believe that he really fell for this trick” said Prince Hayato in amazement. “It’s like I told you Hayato,” replied Nobuko “he was an all muscle and no brain”. “I agree with that” said Prince Hayato. At that moment they heard a howl from nearby. “My father is safe now”. “We better get away from here now, before anyone finds out what has happened, and I don’t want to be around when General Takeshi’s soldiers hear about this” said Nobuko. She and Prince Hayato rode off on their horses at once.

          They galloped through the forest to find new shelter from the rain. “Where should we go to?” asked Prince Hayato “I mean it wouldn’t be safe to go back to the inn, but we still need shelter from this rain”. Nobuko saw the answer; there was an abandoned, lonely house not far from where they were standing. “That’s handy” said Prince Hayato. Nobuko inspected it first. “There’s no one living here,” she said “so it should be all right to rest here until sunrise”.

          The inside of the house was a bit dusty, but all the furniture and tools were still in place. There was even a big pile of firewood for the fire place. “Funny, no one is living here and yet everything is still in place” said Nobuko. “I guess who ever lived here, had no family to take care of it after he or she died” said Prince Hayato. “Never mind though,” said Nobuko “taking shelter in this abandoned house is better than anywhere else”. Prince Hayato got a fire going in the fire place, while Nobuko got the two blankets, she brought with her, sorted out for a bed. She also found two abandoned futons in the house. “I suggest we go to sleep right now, before we run into anymore disturbances tonight” said Nobuko. Prince Hayato saw nothing wrong with that, and with the fire still going they fell asleep.

          Next day, Nobuko woke up to see General Masao, in human form, inside the house with Emperor Falcon on his right hand. “Oh morning General Masao” she said, a bit groggily. “Good morning,” said General Masao “you found a very good shelter for last night”. Nobuko stretched and rubbed her eyes to get the sleepiness out. “Ugh last night was a nightmare” she said. “What happened?” asked General Masao. “It’s a long story,” said Nobuko “but to cut it short, we ran into Shigeo Morita last night”. “Emperor Hisashi’s huntsman, what was he doing here?” “Emperor Hisashi sent him to hunt you down in your wolf form and to kill Hayato too”. “Where is he now?” “He’s dead; he died from his own crossbow and arrow trap”.

          At that moment, just as Nobuko was still stretching, Emperor Falcon flew from General Masao’s hand to her hand. “Oh, morning Emperor Falcon” she said, stroking its feathers. “I see that you and my son have become closer with each other,” said General Masao “what else happened last night”. “Well, disguised as girls, we got something to eat and drink at an inn” said Nobuko. General Masao chuckled at that; the thought of his son in a women’s kimono was amusing. “Then just to be safe, we stayed in the stable and talked. He said that his wish was that the curse was broken and that he and you could live a normal, happily family life again”. General Masao smiled a bit; his son’s wish was his wish too. “What did you say to him after he told you his wish?” he asked. “I told him about my family’s death and about Tetsuya and his death,” said Nobuko “and I also said that I envy him for still having a family”. General Masao looked at Nobuko, with pity in his eyes; he started to feel sorry for her. Emperor Falcon started screeching a light screech as if it felt sorry for Nobuko too.

          Just then General Masao and Nobuko heard a noise outside. “I think someone’s here” said Nobuko. General Masao went outside to see what the noise was. There was nothing to worry about though; it was only Master Ronin. Master Ronin had been travelling by his horse and carriage. “What brings you here?” asked General Masao. “I intend to enter the palace with you, Hayato and Nobuo,” said Master Ronin “besides, I promised Princess Annika, before she died, that I would watch over you and your son, if you ever intended to return to the palace”. General Masao sighed. “Very well” he said.

          Nobuko stepped out from the house. “I’ve just been thinking General Masao,” she said “since we are safe here; I think that we should plan what to do when we reach the palace. I mean we can’t really just go up to the palace doors and ask to enter without any trouble”. “Nobuo is right Masao,” said Master Ronin “besides everyone there would recognize you”. “I agree with this” said General Masao; he wanted to complete his quest without any trouble.

          The plan was for the group to get into the palace grounds, without anyone recognizing General Masao, and how to actually get inside the palace, with no trouble. “General Masao,” said Nobuko “I know the soldiers would recognize you, but would they recognize Hayato, in his human form?” “Not really,” said General Masao “my son and I have been hiding from the soldiers for twenty years, so they wouldn’t really notice my son’s presence”. “Then I think that I have an idea” said Nobuko.

          Nobuko told General Masao and Master Ronin her plan. “Since no one at the palace would recognize Hayato, I suggest when we get to the palace we wait for tonight to get inside. And as for you General Masao, we could have you, in your wolf form, in a cage. That way Master Ronin and Hayato and I can make out as travellers wanting to present you, as a wolf, as a gift to Emperor Hisashi”. “I agree with this plan,” said Master Ronin “and this will save any trouble”. General Masao agreed with the plan too. “You are a clever lad Nobuo” he said. Nobuko smiled and thanked General Masao for his kind words. “Oh hold on a minute,” said Nobuko “what’s worrying me though is that people would recognize you in your human form when its daylight again General Masao”. “There’s no need to worry,” said General Masao “because I have this”. He took out a black mask from his bag. “Wow,” said Nobuko, looking at the mask, “I didn’t know that you wore masks”. “I don’t really,” said General Masao “I only use it when I need to disguise myself”.

          Master Ronin had a quick talk with Nobuko alone by some trees. “Does General Masao still not believe what I told him and you last night?” he asked her. “I’m afraid so,” said Nobuko, in her real voice, “he describes the ‘gods giving you the answer’ as insanity, and he calls the ‘sun and moon coming together’ nonsense”. Master Ronin sighed. “I had a feeling about this” he said. “My guardian Tetsuya used to say that ‘seeing is believing’,” said Nobuko “so when we see the sun and moon becoming one tomorrow, General Masao will believe it then”. “Yes,” said Master Ronin “but I just hope that it will happen before General Masao has the chance of killing Emperor Hisashi”. “I hope so too,” said Nobuko “especially since Hayato said to me last night that he wishes to live a normal life with his father”. “All we can do now is wait and see what happens tomorrow” said Master Ronin.

          Soon it was time to head off for the palace again. Master Ronin set off with his horse and carriage, while Nobuko and General Masao set off on their horses. ‘I’m coming for you Emperor Hisashi,’ thought General Masao ‘and I will deal with you for good this time’.    

Emperor Falcon part 5

Chapter V

 

          Dawn was soon approaching, and Nobuko was watching over Prince Hayato, who hadn’t turned back into a falcon yet. After hearing Master Ronin’s story, she decided to spend the rest of the night in Master Ronin’s room to keep a watchful eye on Prince Hayato. Prince Hayato had just woken up from his sleep and was trying to sit up a bit. “Whoa be careful or your arm may bleed again” said Nobuko, in her male voice. “Tell me your name please” said Prince Hayato. “I am Nobuo Okamoto your highness” said Nobuko. “You can just call me Hayato,” said Prince Hayato “how’s my father”. “You don’t need to worry about General Masao,” said Nobuko “because he is brave and strong, and he’s the type of man who knows what he is doing”. “Thank you” whispered Prince Hayato.

          Suddenly the sun started coming up, and then Prince Hayato turned back into a falcon. Nobuko put on a falcon gauntlet that General Masao had lent her, and held out her right hand to the falcon. The falcon walked onto her hand. “I suggest you don’t fly today,” she said to the falcon “otherwise your wing may get worse”. The falcon screeched at her; as if it understood her. “We better go before your father gets here”.

          Nobuko brought the falcon out into the courtyard. Master Ronin was also there. “It seems the falcon trusts you enough to stay on your hand” he said. Nobuko smiled at that comment. “Before General Masao gets here I must ask you,” she said “is there a way to break this curse?” “There is,” said Master Ronin “after eleven years, the gods have given me the answer. And they said to me that the curse will be broken on the day when the sun and moon become one with each other”. Nobuko was confused with what Master Ronin just said. “How can the sun and moon become one?” she asked “I mean the sun disappears when the night comes and the moon disappears when the day comes”. “I do not know the answer myself,” said Master Ronin “but it will happen on the day after tomorrow. And then General Masao can confront Emperor Hisashi, with his son by his side”. “But he plans to confront the emperor and then kill him” said Nobuko. “No he mustn’t kill him,” said Master Ronin “because if he does the curse will never be broken”.

          At that moment four soldiers entered the courtyard. “Oh no, they’re General Takeshi’s soldiers” whispered Nobuko. “You’re right” said Master Ronin, anxiously. He walked over to the soldiers. “May I help you?” “We have been given orders to search for General Masao, is he here?” said one of the soldiers. “No, he is not here,” said Master Ronin “and I would appreciate it that you soldiers leave my temple in peace”. Suddenly another soldier saw Nobuko. “Hey that person is a companion of General Masao” he said. The soldiers ran over to Nobuko. “Where is General Masao?” one soldier said to her. “I have not seen him,” she said, in her fake voice, “now if you don’t mind this falcon and I are in a hurry”. The soldiers drew their swords for a fight. Nobuko sighed; ‘What a way to start the day’ she thought. She placed the falcon down on a stone and drew her Kanata sword. Master Ronin came forward and drew a Kanata sword too. “I do not like those who cause trouble at my temple” he said. Together, Nobuko and Master Ronin defeated the soldiers. “I have to say Master Ronin,” said Nobuko, in her real voice, “for an old man you sure know how to fight”. “I learned all about sword fighting in my time,” said Master Ronin “and I maybe an old man, but my health has not failed me yet”.

          Just then General Masao arrived. “I heard a lot of noise, is everything okay?” he said. “Not to worry General Masao, my old friend, everything is all right now” replied Master Ronin. Nobuko picked up the falcon from the stone and handed him to General Masao. “It’s best that he don’t fly today,” she said “just in case his wing may get worse”. “Thank you,” said General Masao, and he thanked Master Ronin too. Master Ronin told General Masao about the gods telling him that the combination of the sun and moon would break the curse. General Masao dismissed it as nonsense. “The gods didn’t help when my wife died or when the curse was placed upon me and my son. So there is no way they are helping us now. Come Nobuo, it’s time to leave”. As General Masao started to walk away, Nobuko whispered to Master Ronin. “Follow us”. Master Ronin intended to follow them; he wanted to see the curse broken with his own eyes.

          Nobuko and General Masao walked down the temple steps to their horses. “I take it that Master Ronin told you everything about my son and me?” asked General Masao. “Yes,” said Nobuko “he told me everything about your past, including Princess Annika’s death”. “I see. I take it you and my son also got acquainted with each other as well?” “Yes, Hayato and I managed to have a chat with each other, before he turned back into a falcon. So Emperor Falcon likes my company”. “Emperor Falcon?” “Well he is the future emperor of Japan, so I thought we should call him that while in his falcon form”. General Masao chuckled. “Fine with me. Come we must leave now”.

          They spent the whole day riding their horses to get to the palace. Then at last they stopped in the middle of a forest. Nobuko looked at the sky; it was full of dark clouds. “It looks like there will be a storm tonight” she said. “You’re right” said General Masao. He handed Emperor Falcon to her. “Find shelter, the sun is going down”. “How can you tell?” asked Nobuko. “After so many sunsets it’s easy,” replied General Masao. He got off his horse and gave it to Nobuko, and then Nobuko rode off with Emperor Falcon and General Masao’s horse to find shelter, leaving General Masao to find a safe place to transform into a wolf.

          Nobuko found an inn outside the forest. “We can sleep and get something to eat here,” she said to Emperor Falcon “but just to be safe; we’ll stay in the stable”. She asked the innkeeper (in her male voice) if she could settle the horses into the stable. The innkeeper agreed and Nobuko paid for it.

          Very soon the sun had set and Emperor Falcon turned back into Prince Hayato. Nobuko had waited outside the stable for him to transform and get into some clothes; she wanted to give Prince Hayato privacy while he was transforming. “I thank you for being here with me Nobuo” Prince Hayato said to Nobuko. “It’s my pleasure Hayato,” said Nobuko, in her fake voice, “now come, I suggest we get something to eat. We can’t pass through this night on empty tummies”. “That’s a good idea,” said Prince Hayato “but how will we get food without being recognized?” “There’s no need to worry, I have already thought of that” said Nobuko. She presented two kimonos that women wear. “I suggested that we disguise ourselves as girls, that way we can safely go into the inn for something to eat. I know this isn’t dignified for a prince, such as you, to cross-dress. But this way no one would recognize us”.

          Prince Hayato sighed; he didn’t fancy being dressed as a girl, but he knew this was the only way. And so Nobuko and Prince Hayato changed from their male clothing into female clothing. When Prince Hayato saw Nobuko dressed as a girl, he thought she looked really beautiful. “If you really were a girl, I think I might have you for my wife” he joked. Nobuko chuckled nervously; she still hadn’t told him that she was really a woman. “Now that we look like girls, we can now get some food” said Nobuko. Prince Hayato tried to speak like a girl, but his female voice turned out terrible, so he decided to leave all the talking to Nobuko, and with Nobuko’s help he learnt how to walk like a girl. “You are so clever Nobuo of knowing how to walk and talk like a girl” said Prince Hayato. Of course he didn’t know that she was really a girl. Nobuko felt guilty inside of lying to Prince Hayato about her real self. ‘I must tell him and General Masao the truth once this quest is over’ she thought.

          Together, Nobuko and Prince Hayato went into the inn and paid the innkeeper for a meal of soup, rice and fish. Prince Hayato felt uneasy with this; there were a lot of men that kept looking at them. But with Nobuko at his side, everything went okay. Nobuko also asked the innkeeper if they could borrow two blankets and the innkeeper agreed.

          After they finished their meal, they went back to the stables and changed back into their male clothing. “I’m glad that’s over with,” said Prince Hayato “when you see my father Nobuo, tell him that I thank him and my mother for making me a boy”. “Speaking of your father, there is something you should know” said Nobuko. She explained to Prince Hayato about his father’s plan to go back to the palace and confront his uncle. “I always knew that my father would want to confront my uncle one day,” said Prince Hayato “the truth is I too have always wanted to confront my uncle ever since he put that curse on us eleven years ago. I cannot wait for the day when this curse is broken. I want to live a normal, happy, family life with my father again, like we did before we were cursed”. “And you will too” promised Nobuko. “What about you Nobuo? Will you go back to your family when this is all over?” “I’m afraid I won’t Hayato,” said Nobuko “because I have no family to go back to”. She told him about her family’s slaughter by General Takeshi and about her adoptive father, Tetsuya, and about his death. “So to be honest with you, I don’t really know what to do after this is all over, and I envy you for still having a family”.

          Prince Hayato felt sorry for Nobuko and clasped her hands. “Nobuo you have helped me and my father ever since you became our companion,” he said “and I promise you that when I take my place as the new emperor, I will make sure that you too will live a happy life in the future”. Nobuko felt grateful towards Prince Hayato and thanked him with all her heart. “We should get some sleep now Hayato,” said Nobuko “your father told me that it will take nearly all of the whole day tomorrow to travel from here to the palace by our horses. And of course when the sun rises again, he would want to continue the journey right way”. “I agree that we will need all the rest we can get” said Prince Hayato.

          With the blankets and the straw in the stable, Prince Hayato and Nobuko made a bed for each other and fell asleep.

Emperor Falcon part 4

Chapter IV

 

          General Masao and Nobuko were making good time on their way to Master Ronin’s temple. They were now traveling through some green areas, with some hills. Suddenly General Masao stopped his horse and made Nobuko stop too. “What’s wrong?” asked Nobuko. “Trouble is near” said General Masao. And he was right; some of General Takeshi’s men had set up camp on the other side of a hill. “What should we do?” asked Nobuko. “We need to pass this area to get to Master Ronin’s temple,” said General Masao “so we keep going, and if the soldiers do give us trouble we fight them together”. “I understand” replied Nobuko.

          At first it went well passing by the soldiers, but then they were stopped by one of the soldiers. “I know you,” the soldier said “you are General Masao”. The other soldiers heard him and surrounded General Masao and Nobuko. “We are in a hurry,” said General Masao “so I would appreciate it that you let us pass”. “We cannot do that,” said the soldier “we have orders from Emperor Hisashi to dispose of you and your companion”. “I had a feeling about this,” General Masao sighed “it’s time to fight Nobuo”. General Masao and Nobuko got off their horses and drew their swords. The falcon stayed put on General Masao’s horse. The soldiers took out their swords too and began fighting General Masao and Nobuko. General Masao easily defeated the soldiers one by one, but then trouble happened.

          One soldier had a crossbow and arrow with him, and was about to shoot an arrow at General Masao when the falcon flew off the horse and took the arrow; the arrow hit its left wing. General Masao saw what had happened and slashed at the soldier in rage. Nobuko ran to the falcon to check to see if it was okay; she knew that falcon was precious to General Masao. The falcon was okay, but it was in a lot of pain because of the arrow. General Masao came over and carefully picked up the falcon. “It’s all right” he whispered and passed the falcon to Nobuko. “Ride on to Master Ronin’s temple, tell Master Ronin I sent you and tell him to take great care of the falcon”. “What about you?” Nobuko asked, pointing to his cut arm; General Masao got the cut from one of the soldiers. “Never mind me,” said General Masao “what’s important now is that this falcon is saved. Now go”. With the falcon in her arms, Nobuko got onto her horse and continued onto Master Ronin’s temple, leaving General Masao tending to his wound and praying that the falcon would be okay.

          Nobuko rode as quick as she could all the way to Master Ronin’s temple, taking great care not to make the falcon’s condition worse. Then at last she found Master Ronin’s temple. The temple was one of those flat building temples, with a big red temple gate, a courtyard and thirty step stairs. Nobuko got off her horse, and with the falcon cradled in her arms she ran up the stairs, ran through the gate, ran through the courtyard and knocked on the temple doors as hard and loud as she could. An elderly man, with long grey hair, and a short grey beard answered the door. “What do you want?” the elderly man asked. “I’m a traveling companion of General Masao and his falcon has been injured by an arrow” said Nobuko, in her male voice. She showed the falcon to him. The elderly man went pale in the face, after seeing the falcon and hearing General Masao’s name. “Bring it in immediately” he said. “I take it you are Master Ronin?” asked Nobuko. “Yes I am,” answered Master Ronin “now come we must hurry”. Master Ronin led Nobuko to his bedroom, took the falcon from her and laid the falcon gently on the bed. “Good news is, it’s near dark time, so I can properly treat him then”. “Do you need my help with anything?” asked Nobuko. “Yes I do,” said Master Ronin “fill up a basin with water and get some cloths and bandages. Then start a fire in the courtyard for me”.

          Nobuko brought the water and the cloths and bandages to Master Ronin first. Next she gathered up a lot of firewood and set up a fire in the courtyard. By the time the fire started blazing, it was now very dark. To see if the falcon was okay, Nobuko went into Master Ronin’s bedroom. But instead of seeing an injured falcon on the bed, she saw an injured man on the bed. “You’re the man I saw last night,” gasped Nobuko “but where’s the falcon?” “I’m the falcon” whispered the man, weakly. Nobuko was confused and was about to ask the man another question, when Master Ronin walked in. “Now I can heal you your highness” he said. He turned to Nobuko. “Boy I need to do this alone, so I’d appreciate it that you leave us”. Nobuko got out the room as quietly and quickly as she could, leaving Master Ronin to attend to the man. The man was in a lot of pain because the arrow was in his left arm. But Master Ronin used some crushed herbs to ease the pain a bit, and then took the arrow out as fast and carefully as he could. It did hurt, but with Master Ronin at his aide, the man was at ease and the pain slowly started to fade away.

          At that time Nobuko was sitting by the fire in the courtyard. She had taken her straw hat off and had her hair loose; she was in her real form. Right now she was very confused at what she had seen so far. “What’s going on?” she said to herself “I mean the man said he’s the eagle, how is that possible? Master Ronin seems to know him and General Masao. Is General Masao aware that falcon is really a man?” A wolf’s howl was suddenly heard in the distance. “It’s that wolf again. How come I only see it at night and how come General Masao is not here yet? Something is not right and I want to know what is going on here”.

          At that moment Master Ronin walked into the courtyard and saw Nobuko. “Who are you?” he asked “and have you seen the boy that had come here with the falcon?” He didn’t know that Nobuko was a girl and not a boy. “I’m that boy Master Ronin,” said Nobuko, in her real voice, “the truth is I am really a girl but I disguised myself as a boy when I left the palace”. “You were a servant girl there right?” asked Master Ronin. “Yes, but I ran away to find someone to help me get rid of General Takeshi”. She explained about her family’s slaughter. “I can’t blame you for wanting to get rid of General Takeshi,” said Master Ronin “I have heard many evil things that General Takeshi has done. May I ask you your name?”. “My name is Nobuko Okamoto, but in my disguised form I call myself Nobuo. And I’d appreciate it that you keep my secret until after my business with General Takeshi is over”. “You are a brave girl to do something like this,” said Master Ronin “and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me”. “Thank you Master Ronin,” said Nobuko, bowing her head to him, “but now I would like some answers. How do you know that man and General Masao? And how come that injured falcon I brought in is now an injured man?” “It’s a long story,” replied Master Ronin “but since we have all night and that you have become a travelling companion of General Masao, I will tell you”.

          This is the story Master Ronin told Nobuko; “As you probably know, twenty two years ago, after Emperor Hisashi took the throne, Princess Annika ran away from the palace”. “I’ve heard of that,” said Nobuko “they say she ran away because of her brother’s wickedness”. “That is correct; she knew very well that her brother was not a good man. The truth is he planned to marry his own half-sister”. Nobuko gasped at that. “But of course she did not want to marry her brother”. “I wouldn’t blame her,” said Nobuko “I wouldn’t want to become an empress to that evil man”. “The thing is really, he only wanted her to give birth to his children, not another man’s children; he wanted her all to himself. Another thing is Princess Annika was in love with another man, General Masao. To foil Emperor Hisashi’s plans, General Masao and Princess Annika ran away together. They secretly got married and lived happily together. Sad thing is she died after giving birth to a son”. “You mean Princess Annika is dead?” asked Nobuko. “I’m afraid so”. Nobuko felt devastated that Princess Annika was dead; she had always hoped that she was still alive and would dethrone her brother one day. “So where is her son now?” she asked. “Her son is the injured man in my room. He is Prince Hayato, an heir to the throne. General Masao and his son lived happily together, and of course no one knew that the boy was a prince. But one day, when Prince Hayato was only nine years old, a spy found out all about General Masao and Princess Annika’s secret marriage and their son, and he told Emperor Hisashi for money. When the emperor heard of what had happened, he was in such a rage. He called upon the powers of hell and placed a curse on General Masao and Prince Hayato. By day Prince Hayato is the falcon you brought to me and by night General Masao turns into a wolf. So both General Masao and Prince Hayato cannot be together in human form. They cannot even touch or speak to each other in human form. And it has become like this for eleven years now”. Nobuko was horrified with the story. ‘So the wolf I saw last night was General Masao in his wolf form’ she thought. “I know Emperor Hisashi is a really bad man, but this is the most evil thing that I have ever heard”. She said. “Emperor Hisashi is both an evil and mad man and would do anything to get what he wants including doing evil things. You have stumbled upon a tragic past Nobuko and now you have become part of it”. “I may have become part of this tragic story, but I promised General Masao that I would help him and I will too” said Nobuko. “You are a good woman Nobuko Okamoto,” said Master Ronin “and I know that the gods will bless you with happiness in the future”. “Even though I’ve lied to General Masao and Prince Hayato about being a boy?” asked Nobuko. “The gods will understand what you are doing, and it will turn out all right in the end” smiled Master Ronin.

Emperor Falcon part 3

Chapter III

 

          Nobuko and General Masao were riding through a forest. They had been travelling for a while and it was getting near to sunset. “Where are we going exactly?” Nobuko asked General Masao. “We are going to see my old friend, Master Ronin” said General Masao. “I’ve heard of him,” said Nobuko “he’s a very wise man and he lives in a temple far away”. “That is correct,” said General Masao “I need to see him for important business”. “What business is that?” “Now is not the time. We now need to find a place to spend the night”.

          Good news was there was a shrine in the forest. General Masao tied his and Nobuko’s horse to a tree so they wouldn’t escape, and Nobuko set up a fire and cooked some rice for dinner. “When you finish with your dinner,” said General Masao “make sure the horses are all right and then get some sleep. We will be leaving again at sunrise”. “I understand” said Nobuko.

          After finishing the rice, General Masao got up and had a walk around, while Nobuko checked the horses. “Your master seems to be a strange man,” Nobuko said to General Masao’s black horse, in her normal voice, “I mean he asked me to be his companion, and yet he won’t tell me what he’s going to do. I don’t understand men. Anyway I wouldn’t really because I am a woman, not a man”. Nobuko checked the horses once more, put out the fire, went into the shrine, took off her katana and tanto swords and straw hat and went to sleep.

          In the middle of night, Nobuko woke up. The horses were making a noise. She put on her straw hat, picked up her swords and went out of the shrine to calm the horses down. What she saw outside was a thief, trying to take the horses. “Get away from them!” shouted Nobuko, in her male voice. The thief was carrying a knife and saw Nobuko. He charged at her to attack her. But then just before the thief could do anything, a wolf came from behind the trees, pounced on the thief and killed him. Nobuko feared that the wolf may attack her next and drew out her tanto sword. “Stop,” said a voice “don’t attack the wolf”.

          The voice belonged to a young man. The wolf walked over to the man, and then the man stroked the wolf’s head. Nobuko was amazed with what she was seeing. She had never seen a human and wolf being friendly towards each other before. “Uhh I take it that wolf is your friend?” asked Nobuko. “He is more than a friend,” replied the man “he is my family”, and then he walked off with the wolf. “Okay,” sighed Nobuko to herself “this night is getting weird for me”. Instead of going back into the shrine, Nobuko lit another fire and spent the rest of the night next to the fire.

          When sunrise came, Nobuko was eating rice for breakfast. The event from last night made it hard for Nobuko to get back to sleep, so Nobuko had been up even before sunrise. Just as Nobuko was still eating, General Masao turned up. “I’m glad to see that you are up” General Masao said to Nobuko. “I’m relieved you’re here,” said Nobuko “something scary and strange happened last night”. “And what was that?” asked General Masao. “Well last night a thief tried to steal our horses,” said Nobuko “and then this wolf came around and killed the thief. And the strange thing was that this man came up and he and the wolf were friendly towards each other”. “You never seen a man and wolf friends with each other?” asked General Masao. “I was always told to stay away from wolves, unless I wanted to be torn apart by them, which I don’t of course” said Nobuko. “Did this man say anything?” asked General Masao. “I asked him if the wolf was his friend,” said Nobuko “and he said that the wolf was his family”. “I see” said General Masao, with a smile.

          After breakfast, General Masao and Nobuko began getting ready to leave. “If we leave now,” said General Masao “we may reach Master Kenshin’s temple sooner than we think”. Just as he was walking to his horse, he dropped a hair pin onto the ground and Nobuko picked it up. It was a silver hair pin, with a blue bird and purple flower on it. “You dropped this” said Nobuko, showing it to General Masao. General Masao quickly took it from her. “This hair pin is important to me,” he explained “it belonged to my wife”. “You had a wife?” asked Nobuko. “I did,” General Masao said “but sadly she died from a sudden illness two years after our marriage”. Nobuko was shocked by that and apologized to General Masao for prying. “It’s alright, come we must leave now”. “Before we do leave,” said Nobuko “I would like to know what you want me for. I mean I’ve become your companion on my free will, and yet I don’t know what you are going to do”.  General Masao sighed. “Since you are so passionate to know, I will tell you”, he said “I’m on a quest of killing two men, and they are the Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi”. “I understand that,” said Nobuko “because I too wish to get rid of them, especially General Takeshi. The truth is General Takeshi took my family away from me when I was only seven years old. I was living happily with my mother, father and baby brother, in the countryside. But then one day General Takeshi and his men came to our house, and then he slaughtered my father. Next he set fire to the house, while my mother, little brother and I were still in the house. I got out of the house alive, but my mother and little brother didn’t. My family and I had never done anything wrong to displease the emperor, and yet he ordered for me and my family to be killed. And ever since that day I had always hated the emperor and his general”. “What happened to you after your family was slaughtered?” asked General Masao. “I was raised by my father’s friend Tetsuya Shibata,” said Nobuko “not only did he raise me but he is also the one who taught me how to fight with a sword. But three years ago he got sick and then passed away, and after that I worked in the palace kitchens. But I still hold hate and anger towards Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi, especially General Takeshi because he finds killing people fun. That’s why I just left the palace; I want to find someone who would help me get rid of the emperor and general. They are too strong for me to defeat them on my own”. “”Well you have found the right man to help you fight the emperor and general, just like I have found the right man to accompany me on this quest,” replied General Masao “and that’s why I want you to fight with me when I confront the emperor”. “I will gladly do so” said Nobuko, bowing her head to General Masao. “Very well,” said General Masao “come now we must leave while the day is still young”.

          When General Masao and Nobuko set off on their horses again, Nobuko was in thought. Since she now knew what General Masao’s plan was she had a feeling that she was going to be part of something big. She didn’t know what it was though, but knew it was something big.

The Magical Christmas Star

          In a log cabin, deep in the countryside next to a forest, lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and two children. The children were sister and brother; the girl was named Anne and she was the eldest, and the boy was named Noah and he was the youngest. Anne and Noah were good children and did everything they could to help their parents and always tried to not cause any trouble.

          The woodcutter earned a living by cutting down trees and selling wood to people. But of course selling wood didn’t make a lot of money, but just enough for the woodcutter to buy some food for his family. This worried him sometimes; he really wished that he had the money to give his family a life of ease.

          One snowy day it was Christmas Eve and the woodcutter and his family decided that it was time to get the cabin ready for Christmas tomorrow. The woodcutter got ready to go into the forest to get a christmas tree. Anne and Noah asked their mother if they could go with him. The wife saw nothing wrong with that and agreed. But she told the children to be good and to listen to their father. So the woodcutter and the children set off into the forest to get a tree, and the mother stayed home to tidy up the house.

          The woodcutter and his children walked into the forest, with a sled to carry the tree, and started to look for a christmas tree. As the log cabin wasn’t very big; they needed to find a tree that would just fit in the cabin. “Stay close to me Anne and Noah,” said the woodcutter “I don’t want any of you two getting lost”. “Yes Papa” said Anne and Noah together. Just then Anne noticed some pine cones on the ground. “Let’s pick some up for the tree” she said. She and Noah picked up as many as they could carry. The family didn’t really have much to decorate the christmas tree, so every christmas they would find things in the forest like pine cones and anything else good to decorate the tree with. After picking up pine cones, the family went on their way again to look for a tree.

          Suddenly the woodcutter noticed an old man sitting on a tree stump, and the old man looked really weak. “Excuse me sir,” said the woodcutter “but are you all right?” “Please excuse me for looking so weak,” said the old man “but the truth is I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since yesterday. Is there any chance that I can share any of the food that you have with you?” “Of course sir, my children will gladly share our food with you” said the woodcutter. The woodcutter was a kind man and was always willing to help others if he could. The woodcutter and his children had some bread and cheese with them and three bottles of water. Anne served some bread and cheese to the old man and Noah gave him some water. The old man was grateful and thanked the family at once.

          Anne noticed that there were some pine trees nearby and asked her father if she and Noah could pick one out for the cabin. Pine trees were trees that were commonly used for christmas trees. The woodcutter agreed, but told his children to stay close to where he was or they could get lost. Anne and Noah understood and went to look at the pine trees at once.

          While the children were gone, the woodcutter and the old man had a chat with each other. “You certainly have happy children there sir” said the old man. “Yes they are always happy around Christmas,” said the woodcutter “but I fear sometimes that they won’t be happy for very long”. The woodcutter told the old man of his troubles of being a poor woodcutter, and with earning enough money to keep his family happy. “Oh I wouldn’t fret so much now sir,” said the old man “I mean they say that miracles do happen on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to those who are kind and honest. So I’m pretty sure that a miracle will happen to you and your family”. “I do hope you’re right about that” said the woodcutter.

          At that moment Anne and Noah turned up and told their father that they had found the perfect christmas tree. The woodcutter and old man came to have a look at the tree. Sure enough Anne and Noah had found the perfect tree; the pine tree was the right size for the log cabin and there was nothing wrong with it at all. The woodcutter agreed with the children’s decision and cut it down at once. Once they placed the tree on the sled, the woodcutter said it was time to go home now. The old man said that he was going to go home too. “Before I leave, I would like to give you this as a thank you gift” he said. He produced a dirty stone that looked like a star. “I know this doesn’t look much, but you can place it on top of your tree if you like”. Anne liked the star shaped stone and accepted the gift at once. “Thank you sir” she said. Noah and the woodcutter thanked him too, and then they all left the forest to go home.

          Once the woodcutter and his children were home, the family started to decorate the tree at once. Apart from pine cones, the family had bits of holly, some straw and some pond rushes to decorate the tree with. The woodcutter’s wife had given the dirty star shaped stone a wash and the woodcutter placed it on top of the tree. “I’m glad the old man gave you that star shaped stone dear,” said the wife “because I think it makes the tree look very decorative now”. “I’m glad too my love” said the woodcutter.

          That night, while Anne and Noah were asleep, the woodcutter and his wife were still getting ready for Christmas tomorrow. The wife was making some gloves for the children. The woodcutter was carving out some wooden toys for the children; wooden dolls for Anne and wooden blocks for Noah. “Even though the children love it when I make wooden toys for them, I do wish that I could give them proper toys for Christmas” the woodcutter sighed. “Yes I wish we could too,” said the wife “but still they enjoy your wooden figurines and they are always grateful for what they’ve got”. The woodcutter knew his wife was right; they had always taught their children to always appreciate with what they’ve got. Just as they finished the preparations, the woodcutter told his wife about what the old man said in the forest about Christmas Eve being a night of miracles. “I’ve heard stories about that too,” said the wife “and it would be nice to have a miracle happen to us for once”. After finishing the preparations, the woodcutter and his wife went to bed.

          Later that night it was now midnight and at that moment the most extraordinary thing happened. The star shaped stone on top of the christmas tree started to glow and it transformed into a real christmas star. Apparently the star was magic and it started to spread its magic across the cabin. First the christmas tree was beautifully decorated with proper christmas decorations; there were also candy canes and gingerbread cookies. Then lots of Christmas presents, wrapped in paper and ribbons, appeared under the tree and then a lot of food appeared on the table. There was turkey, potatoes, carrots and corn all cooked. There was also a christmas pudding, christmas cookies and walnuts. Last of all a silver bell appeared on the table, and then the magic stopped.

          When the woodcutter and his family woke up on Christmas Day they couldn’t believe their eyes once they saw the tree, the food and the presents. “Is this a dream?” asked the woodcutter. Anne bravely grabbed one of the christmas cookies on the table and took a bite. “This cookie is real,” she said, happily, “which means this is all real”. She and Noah started to open their presents at once. Anne got a new dress, with shoes and a coat, some books and some actual dolls to play with. Noah got a new scarf, hat and shoes, and some toy soldiers. The woodcutter and his wife got some presents too; the woodcutter got a new warmer coat with gloves and boots, and the wife got a new dress, with a scarf and coat. “I don’t know who did all of this,” said the woodcutter “but I’m glad they did; this has turned out to be the best Christmas that we have ever had”. “Indeed,” said the wife “this is a real christmas miracle for us”.

          After all the presents had been opened and all the food had been eaten, the woodcutter had his eyes on the silver bell. He gave it a shake to hear it ring, but when he did that silver coins fell from the bell. This silver bell was magic. “With this magic bell, we can now live a life of ease and happiness” smiled the woodcutter. His family agreed.

          What the family didn’t know was that the old man, from the forest yesterday, was watching them enjoy their Christmas through the window. “It’s like I told you woodcutter, miracles do happen to those who are kind and honest on Christmas Eve. Apparently the old man was a magic man and he gave the magical christmas star to the family for a gift as they were kind and honest to him yesterday. Then the man magically disappeared, hoping he could spread his christmas magic to another kind and honest family next Christmas.         

Emperor Falcon part 2

Chapter II

                                                

          Nobuko rode her horse far away from the palace grounds, through a forest and at last came to a quiet little village. “Okay,” she said “I’ll rest here for a while, get some more food and water and tend to my horse. Then I’ll continue my journey some more”. She had packed up some food and a canteen of water, before she left, but it was always a good idea to stock up just in case. In her bag, Nobuko also kept three small bags of money; she had saved up the money from her salaries for a long time and Tetsuya left her some money before he died as well. She took her horse to a blacksmith to have its horse shoes checked. Then she bought some rice and pork buns and filled up her water canteen from a well.

          After getting everything she needed, Nobuko was just about to leave when she heard a scream. Three thieves were in the village and right now they were threatening someone to give them money. Nobuko got angry with that, she hated thieves. “Stop that!” she shouted, in a manly voice. Nobuko had decided to sound like a man whenever she spoke to someone; she worried that talking in her real voice may give her real identity away. The thieves stared at her. “Trying to stop us are you?” said one of them. “Yes I am” Nobuko replied. The thieves laughed. “Let’s settle this pest with a sword fight” said one of the thieves. “Good idea,” said another and turned to Nobuko “if you wish to stop us you will have to fight us first”. “I accept,” said Nobuko “but I wish to fight in an open field. It’s too crowded to fight in this village”. The thieves saw nothing wrong with that.

          As soon as Nobuko and the three thieves got into a field outside the village, they drew their swords at once. Of course the thieves decided to attack Nobuko all at once. Bad people never fight fair. But Nobuko showed no fear. Thanks to the training Tetsuya gave her, she was able to defeat the thieves with no trouble at all. “Now I suggest you leave and don’t come back here again, unless you wish to die” said Nobuko, pointing her Katana at them. The thieves ran away in terror, leaving their swords and belongings behind.

          Nobuko was just about to pick up the thieves belongings, when she heard a sound of clapping behind her. It was a middle-aged man, dressed in a green kimono, with a greyish green hakama and a dark green haori. He was carrying a black, white and grey falcon on his shoulder “You’re not bad with a sword” he said. “Thank you, but who are you sir?” said Nobuko. “I am who they used to call General Masao Takeda” the man said. Nobuko was surprised by that. She had heard of General Masao; he used to be the general of Emperor Hisashi’s father, the late Emperor Yoshitoshi. But General Masao also disappeared not long after Emperor Hisashi took the throne twenty two years ago. “I am honoured to meet you General Masao,” said Nobuko “but where have you been all this time? Everyone thought that you were dead”. “I did not die,” replied Masao “but I cannot explain what I did to you now, because right now I have some traveling to do, and I’d prefer it that you came with me. I need a strong samurai like you around for a companion”. Nobuko was surprised about this but she agreed. “I’d be honoured to travel with you General Masao” she said, bowing to him. ‘Maybe General Masao could help me’ she thought. “Very well, but I must ask for your name first before we go” said General Masao. “I am Nobuo Okamoto” said Nobuko. Nobuko didn’t want to use her real name, just in case it would also give her real identity away. So in her disguise form, her name would be Nobuo. “Very well,” said General Masao “come now it is time to depart”. The villagers, who were threatened by the thieves, were grateful to Nobuko for sending the thieves away, and they gave her a small bag of rice to say thank you. Nobuko accepted the gift, gave back the things that the thieves stole from them and was happy to have helped them. General Masao and Nobuko, gathered up their things, got onto their horses and left the village.

          Meanwhile back at the palace, Emperor Hisashi had just been informed that the servant girl Nobuko had left the palace without permission. “Do you want me to send someone to bring her back my lord?” General Takeshi asked Emperor Hisashi. “There is no need for that,” said Emperor Takeshi “one missing servant girl doesn’t matter to me. But there is one thing that does matter to me. General Takeshi, do you remember when my sister, Princess Annika, ran away twenty two years ago?” “Yes my lord,” said General Takeshi “I also remember the day, eleven years ago, when we found out that she had died after giving birth to a boy, two years later after she ran away”. “Yes,” said Emperor Hisashi “and that is what is on my mind. The boy she gave birth to would be twenty years old by now; the right age to take the throne away from me. And since we also found out that General Masao was tending to the boy, there is no doubt that it has become a fine strong man by now. So I want your men to find General Masao and my sister’s son, and dispose of them before they get here. Got that? The throne belongs to me and me alone, and I will never surrender it to General Masao or that boy”. Apparently he was the type of ruler, who would kill his own family members just to remain emperor. “And if there is anyone else travelling with them, dispose of them too”. “I understand my lord,” said General Takeshi “I will send my men off at once”. “Before you do,” said Emperor Hisashi “get me my skilled huntsman, Shigeo Morita. I have a task for him”. “Yes my lord,” said General Takeshi and left to give his men his orders.

          Emperor Hisashi smirked to himself. “My sister may have escaped me by dying,” he said to himself “but General Masao and the son of my sister will not. And since my curse is still upon them, getting rid of them should be no trouble at all”. At that moment Shigeo Morita entered the room. “You wanted to see me my lord?” he asked. “Yes Shigeo,” said Emperor Hisashi “I have a special job for you. General Takeshi’s men are hunting down General Masao and his son, but what I want you to do is this. I need you to hunt down a wolf”. “A wolf?” asked Shigeo. “Yes there is a grey brown wolf around that is a threat to me. There is a young man who travels with it only at night time. If you find the man, you will find the wolf. Your task is to kill both the wolf and man”. “Why is this wolf a threat to you my lord?” asked Shigeo. “Your job is to hunt,” said Emperor Hisashi “not to ask me questions. Now go, I want the wolf and man dead as quickly as possible. And once you do kill them bring their bodies to me”. “I understand my lord,” said Shigeo, and he left for his hunt.

The Unborn Children

          A long time ago a young woman was walking towards down a road alone. She was pregnant and in her last month. Right now she was looking for a place to stay and have her child there. “Don’t worry my baby,” she said, rubbing her tummy, “everything will be okay, mummy will protect you. But right now I don’t know where we should go”.

          Suddenly she heard a noise; it sounded like a baby was crying. “Is there a baby out here?” The woman followed to the sound of the crying. But she didn’t see or find any baby, all she found was a big old building. “That seems a nice place to stay for a while” she said. She knocked on the door of the building. An old man opened the door. “Please excuse me sir,” said he woman “but do you mind if I rest here for a while? I have been traveling all day”. “Of course, come on in ma’am”. The man introduced the woman to his wife and both of them were kind. The wife gave the woman something to eat. “I take it your baby will be coming soon?” asked the husband. “Yes, my baby may come any day now” answered the woman, rubbing her tummy. “I must ask dear,” said the wife “why would you be travelling a long way, while you are still with child? It’s not really safe to travel a lot, while you still have a baby inside of you, sometimes”.

          The woman explained her story; she used to be a maid to a rich family. She had no family and the mansion she worked at was her only home. But one day the eldest son came home drunk and he raped her. The son ended up in disgrace and ended up punished. As for her, she was fired from being a maid. The master and mistress feared that the story of the rape would spread if the woman stayed to they drove her out to keep it a secret. “Is the baby you are carrying the son’s child?” asked the husband. “Yes,” answered the woman “but I never told anyone. I feared that they would do something terrible to my child if I did. So I left that area to keep my child safe and so I could raise it myself”. “I understand you perfectly,” said the wife “we have had children too and we did everything we could to keep them safe”. The couple’s children were adults now and they had all moved away.

          The woman asked the woman if she could stay at their place for a while and give birth there. The couple agreed and the wife offered to help her give birth and the husband said he knew where a midwife was and would be ready to get her. The woman thanked the kind woman with all her heart. Just then she told the couple about the strange baby’s cry she heard, before she arrived. The man explained that he and his wife had also heard strange cries. “The truth is this place used to be a brothel” he said. “That’s right,” said the wife “and apparently we were told, before we moved here, a lot of babies died here”. “Were they stillborn?” asked the woman. “Well the owner of the old brothel, who is now dead, did say to us that they were,” said the man “and it seems their spirits still haunt this place. And the scariest thing is; before the owner died, they say that she had kept on seeing the spirits of the babies”. The woman was astonished by the story.

          That night the woman was asleep in one of the rooms. But she was not alone. A man had crept into her room and was staring at her. He had a dagger in his hand and was just about to stab her. But suddenly the man was grabbed by a lot of little hands and he was strangled to death. The man screamed and then dropped down dead.

          The woman woke up from the scream and discovered the dead man’s body, and then she screamed next. The old couple ran into the woman’s room. “Are you okay?” the wife asked, running to the woman. The woman pointed to the dead man. “Oh my goodness!” gasped the wife “who is that?” The husband, who held a lamp, stared at him. “I’ve heard of this man,” he said “he is a murderer who finds killing woman fun”. “That is disgusting!” said the wife “you better get the police at once dear”. “I will” said the husband, and he left to fetch the police.                              

          Soon the police arrived and took away the body. The woman said to one of the policeman that she didn’t see anything; she just woke up from his screaming and just saw him lying there. Another policeman, who inspected the dead man’s body, did make that the murder was strangled, but it looked like that it was also scratched. “Well if you ask me,” said the man “I’d say that the one who killed the murderer was a man of justice, because he protected the woman from being murdered”. The wife and woman agreed. Soon the police left, with the dead body.

          Not long after the police left, the woman felt pain in her stomach. “I think my child is coming now” she said. The wife held onto the woman and told her husband to fetch the midwife at once. While the husband was getting the midwife, the wife helped the woman onto a bed, got a lot of towels out and held onto the woman’s hand. “Don’t you worry dear,” said the wife “I’m here with you”. The woman was grateful. Soon the husband and the midwife arrived. The midwife asked the husband to boil a lot of water and asked the wife to continue holding the woman’s hand. The woman was in a lot of pain, while in labour. The midwife and wife helped her the whole way through and kept on encouraging her to not give up. Hours later she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The midwife cleaned the baby up and wrapped her into a blanket. The wife held onto the baby to give it to the woman, but the woman had collapsed from exhaustion. The midwife checked her pulse. “She’s okay,” said the midwife “just very tired, but we better keep an eye on her till she wakes up, just in case”.

          While asleep, the woman was dreaming. She was dreaming that she was in the past, when the building was a brothel. The woman saw a lot of women in a room and she saw the owner of the brothel too. The owner was shouting at the women; the women were all pregnant and the owner was not pleased. Pregnant women were said to be useless in brothels. The woman saw in horror that the pregnant women were all having abortions. And what was more terrible was that some of the women were being punched on the tummies to get miscarriages. The woman screamed in horror, yelling “Stop it!”

          The woman woke up from her sleep in fright. The midwife and husband and wife rushed to her side and asked her if she was okay. The woman told the midwife, husband and wife about what she saw in her dream. They were horrified by that story. “It’s unforgivable!” spluttered the midwife. “Since the owner organised the abortions and miscarriages, it’s no wonder she was haunted by the babies when she died” said the husband. “I hope she is rotting away in hell” said the wife. “I have a feeling that it was the spirits of the unborn babies that killed that murderer,” said the woman “I think they did it to save me and my child”. “I think they must have done too,” said the husband “especially since you are one of those mothers who love their own child very much”. The woman smiled; she was lovingly holding her baby girl in her arms.

          The midwife looked thoughtful. “If you ask me,” she said “I think the spirits of the unborn babies are still here because of this place. I know it’s not a brothel anymore, but it is still the place where they were killed. So I don’t think that they will move on into the afterlife unless this place is destroyed”. The woman agreed with the midwife’s words, and then the husband and wife agreed too. “I want those babies to rest in peace in the afterlife,” said the wife “not wondering around in spirit form in this life”. The husband and woman wanted that too.

          So it was arranged; the old brothel building was destroyed and in its place was a little shrine dedicated to the unborn children. The wife and husband went to live with one of their children in another town. The woman lived a happy life with her daughter and in time she found a husband and had a son with him, so her life became happy in the end.

          The spirits of the unborn children were never again seen in the area, and they say that they waited for the husband, wife and woman for the day they would join them in the afterlife.