The two almost identical villages or the story of the squinting Okami

Yokai

Everything happened during a famous famine time. The dwellers from

Hidarime and Migime amazingly similar villages, were fully convinced
that god Kuraokami ate too much rice and fell asleep. He ate so much
there was nothing left for them . Not even a drop of rain had cleared
the air, to land on houses` roofs` dusty cheeks or over the dreary dry
rice fields.
In those dark times lived two twin sisters, Aomi and Akiha. Their
parents were separated, so Aomi lived with her father in Hidarime
while Akiha lived with her mother in Migime. None of them knew the
other existed for they had been taken apart since early childhood.
The houses they lived in were almost identical, being built long ago by
their grandfather who lived an almost identical love and separation
story in Hadarime, then married another woman in Migime.
Aomi hated her step mother. Akiha hated her step father. Every
evening, after the lights went out and everyone started to snore the
two girls were sneaking out, climbing two almost identical trees where
they used to cry and sing while staring at the old forest that stretched
around the two villages. One morning they decided to run into that
forest that fascinated both of them for so long. Aomi took some rice
bread and water, Akiha some water too and rice cakes.
So the journey that was about to change not only the lives of Aomi
and Akiha but also the lives of all inhabitants of the two villages
begun. They wandered through the forest for many hours and the sun
was started to sink. No water left and all paths, all trees seemed
identical to each other. The night`s tongue began to lick the wounds
made by the hot hands of the sun. Light and dark began to decant in
the woods like a mysterious, chimeric pot of old brick tea. It seemed to
them that unseen snakes were wrapping aroung their legs and that
rough black branches were scratching their foreheads. Their dark long
hair became invisible so if they would`ve been seen by someone they
would`ve seem so eerily, as two pale heads floating sadly deeper and
deeper into that sea of trees.
Exhausted, they collapsed next to a tree, leaning their tired bodies
against it. The same tree. But they weren`t alone. Two strange, glary
eyes were watching them from the dark. The girls were so tired that
they didn`t hear how someone was approaching very slowly. But they
both could feel that the air started to smell of wet soil and wet leaves.
Suddenly a lamp lit up and dazzled the dense darkness. A huge wolf`s
head could be seen clearly now. Aomi and Akiha screamed horrified,
then, as if forced by the unnatural silence, they leaned forward and
looked at the other side of the tree.
"Don`t be scared, little girl" said the wolf, "My name is Okami and i`m
not going to harm you. Tell me where are you from so i can help you
return home". The girls noticed that his eyes were squinting. "But
there are two of us, can`t you see? "Really? Then both of you touch
each of my two beautiful pointy ears. One girl the left ear, the other
one the right ear". "indeed, indeed...." mumbled Okami, "And you`re
sisters too. Twin sisters. Aomi and Akiha. For so many years i thought
there was only one village. I`m such an old fool...." The girls were
listening to the wolf and, from time to time, they were staring at each
other. Okami had suddenly become very thoughtful and his eyes were
squinting even more than before.
"Girls, give me a gobbet of that food you`re carrying with you". Aomi
gave the wolf a little piece of rice bread, Akiha a little piece of rice
cake. Okami feeded the darkness and, unexpectedly, two separated
images of the two villages appeared. The wolf murmured something
and merged the two images into one. This image showed one village
recreated only from the differences who existed between Hadarime
and Migime, differences who were so inaccessible to all common
dwellers."Give me more gobbets, girls" said the wolf again. This time
the image of those two girls parents and step parents appeared, in two
separate images.Okami murmured something again and the two
images became one. An ugly, unusual huge frog was licking their
mother`s face; an enormous rat was biting their father`s hands and
feet. "More gobbets" and the girls gave the wolf their last pieces of rice
bread and rice cookie. This time in those two images Aomi and Akiha
could see themselves. Okami murmured again, and the image who
resulted made the girls sigh. Their eyes swam in tears. Aomi had
silvery eyes and hair, Akiha golden eyes and hair, Aomi`s dress was
made of snow, Akiha`s dress was made of rain. And they were both
hugging their parents.
"Let`s go home, girls, it`s late". The girls followed the wolf through the
forest, holding their hands. "I have something more to tell you. Aomi,
Akiha you`ll create a new home. I`ll show you the exact spot. Just
build a house and plant a tree. Then everything will change, you`ll
see". They were not in the forest anymore, they walked slowly on a
familar path, the deserted space between the two villages. All of a
sudden Okami started to dig a small hole, threw a rice grain inside it
and then covered it up. "This is where the only true village will be.
Take care of you, girls". He smiled and disappeared in thin air. The
girls fell asleep on the ground, holding one another.
As soon as Aomi and Akiha finally finished building the house and
planting the tree something amazing happened. It started to rain. Such
a heavy, generous rain! But that abundent rain fell only between the
two villages, where the two sisters started the new settlement. Men,
women and children started to gather around the twins. But not all of
them were able to get into that space - the second they were touched
by a raindrop they turned into animals, then in nothing, like they never
existed. So begun the history of Daisan'nome village, whose existence
is due to Okami too: In his wisdom he knew there`s no such thing as
two perfectly identical villages, houses, trees or human souls.