Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara Page B

far too long you have lacked contact with the earth, with water, with green and growing plants. You’re not the kind of person who can live apart from these things. Like a wild bird in a cage, you will lose the will to live. You have to get outside.”
    â€œYes.” She nodded like a little child. “You’re right. I’ve been longing to do all the things they’ve said I mustn’t do. Just now I couldn’t control my urge to dive into that pond.”
    â€œThen don’t try to control it. Go for a swim,” Torihiko suggested simply. “It’s sticky and humid tonight. A swim would be perfect. I need one, too. I stink of sweat.”
    Saya’s eyes grew round. “But it’s the palace pond. You wouldn’t dare do such an outrageous thing,” she started to protest when suddenly her sense of mischief overcame her. It was the first time in a long while. “But then it’s so out of the way that the guards probably wouldn’t see us. Maybe no one will ever find out.”
    â€œOf course they won’t find out. No one here would ever dream of doing such a thing.”
    At Torihiko’s lighthearted urging, Saya jumped to the ground in her bare feet. The familiar sensation of earth against the soles of her feet, the pungent fragrance of grass and trees in the dead of night, and, best of all, the summer darkness wrapped her in a close embrace. There could be no sweeter pleasure than to do what was forbidden. Like a nocturnal creature, she stole through the shadows, suppressing her excitement, until she came to the grove of ancient trees in the depths of the garden. Here, blinded by the darkness, the trees dreamed the dream of a deep mountain forest. Enticed by a gentle breeze, the grove was enveloped in the ancient song of the pine, the long-ago tale of the cedar. The moss on the bank of the pond was warm and damp; it felt as if she were standing on the back of a furry creature. Looking at the moon floating on the water’s surface, she laughed aloud.
    Torihiko was undressed first. He slid into the pond and parted the water with easy graceful strokes.
    â€œYou swim like a frog,” Saya commented as she slipped into the water.
    The water in the pond was softer than river water and the sensation filled her with exhilaration. She had never swum at night before, but there was no undercurrent and nothing frightening lurked in the water, which seemed to have been cleansed by the moonlight. She swam like a fish, gliding this way and that, forgetting all her cares. She could now laugh at the troubles that she had previously thought would cause her to waste away. Torihiko’s appearance seemed another rich joke. Whatever would be would be.
    â€œWouldn’t it be wonderful just to turn into one of the fish in this pond?” she said as she floated on her back. As if in response, a huge carp leaped right beside her. For an instant his scales and fins flashed like silverwork in the moonlight. Saya laughed aloud.
    â€œDid you see that, Torihiko? It was the king of the pond.”
    â€œWhy don’t you give him our greetings? Tell him we apologize for swimming in his pond without asking his leave,” Torihiko responded from the far bank. Pretending to obey his command, Saya dived neatly underwater. Naturally, it was dark, but, surprisingly, she could see—or rather, she could see the carp. His body seemed to glow with a faint light. He was magnificent—longer than her arm and fit to be called a king. His whiskers were long, too, and his face seemed very ancient.
    She could see all this clearly because he had swum up close to her, apparently curious. He seemed to know no fear. Then, waving his fins in front of her nose, he spoke.
    â€œSo I’m not the only one who wishes to become a fish on a summer’s night. But if that is your wish, why not turn into a carp? Your body is much too awkward to enjoy swimming properly.”
    Saya