The Other World

Chapter 7 - Stakes

Chapter 7: Stakes

Fifteen minutes later, they emerged from the white shroud into rocky mountains and pine forest. Far below, toy-sized people bent over rice paddies.

"Oniisannn!" A child's voice came from the outcropping before them. "Oniisan...where are you? I know I haven't come to see you and I'm sorry. Please come out? Oniisan!"

"Ryoshi, I'm here." Shika said calmly. "Shush, little one."

The boy's head popped up over the edge of the cliff. He was frowning as he pulled himself up. "Shika-oniisan! I'm Kojika, not Ryoshi," he whined. "Why do you keep forgetting?"

"I don't forget, little one. You'll just always be Ryoshi to me," Shika replied. The boy ran to Shika and clung to his leg. He barely came up to the deer spirit's waist.

Chihiro stared at the sight of his bright red cheeks and grubby little hands and feet. He couldn't have been more than five years old. She looked down over the edge of the rock and grabbed Risuni to keep from feeling like she would fall over the edge. A landslide had created the pile of rocks that the boy had climbed up; solid ground was at least twenty feet below. "Should he be climbing up here all by himself?" she whispered to Risuni.

"His parents know he's up here," Risuni replied.

"They're okay with it? But isn't it dangerous?" Chihiro said.

"The whole village grows up this way," Risuni said, smiling. "I did. Look, I still have all of my limbs. Don't worry." She turned to the boy. "Ryoshi!" she called. The boy looked around Shika's legs at them all.

"Cousin Risuni!" He ran over and she picked him up into a hug and swung him around. "Not you, too," he said.

"Alright, Koji," she laughed. "You've grown so big!"

"Hi, Uncle and Auntie," he said, still in Risuni's arms, and then stuck a dirty hand into his mouth.

"Kojika," Suzume said in mock despair, "aren't you getting too old to be eating your fingers?" He shook his head, and his hand slipped out of his mouth.

"Mommy says it'll make me sick, but the doctor told me that it's okay to eat dirt sometimes," he said, and stuck his hand right back in.

"Your Uncle and I need to stop by the shrine and see Grandfather. Will you take Risuni and her friends down to the village for us?" Suzume asked, smiling.

"Sure!" he said, grinning. He wriggled out of the Risuni's arms, and ran down the path gleefully. The adults followed, more slowly. The path was rock covered in a thin layer of pine needles, steep and winding. Chihiro minced along with tiny steps until Risuni taught her the trick of bouncing slightly, tamping down the loose pine needles with each step.

After some time Kojika complained that he was tired and asked to be carried. Shika sighed and bent down, motioning for the little boy to get on his back, which Koji did with enthusiasm. He chattered happily, pointing out birds and fox dens along the way, and telling them all about the chicks that were hatching at home and how Mommy was going to let him keep one. At a paved courtyard with two shrines, Risuni's parents waved and split off from the group to walk into the larger shrine at the center of the courtyard. Chihiro caught a glimpse of a statue beyond the darkened doorway before the headache she was starting to recognize started coming back.

As they walked back down the mountain to the village, Chihiro wondered aloud about the neglected, smaller shrine to the side. By this point, Koji had fallen asleep. Shika grimaced.

"It's Shika's," Risuni explained. "We built it for him when he was born. It's traditional. But Shika would rather run around the mountain and befriend the children of the village than be worshipped in a shrine like a 'proper' spirit," she teased.