Modern Kwaidan - Original Stories. [Temporary Cover]

Private Eye

The pale light from the moon shone through the Shōji door which opened to the garden outside, the light particles from the moon played upon Asami's bare skin, she woke up that morning without her husband again, he left for work early, a whole three hours early. She stroked her pale blue arm, dew-laden from the steam of her bath. She lay her lonesome head back in the water and floated, she closed her eyes and imagined her husband.

It was a beautiful thing when it began, their relationship, they'd sneak out and see each other in parks and fairgrounds. Hiding from their parents, hiding from themselves, after being married, it occurred to her it wasn't she that he loved, it was the situation. The danger, the rebellion, the youth and the natural curiosity.

They would read to each other verses of their favorite Western poets, they would share thoughts, now it seemed like he hadn't the time to even discuss the most mundane aspects of life.

What was he doing now? She doubted highly he was at work, she doubted everything he did these days, sometimes she felt bad about that. Though, he didn't make it hard to doubt him. Leaving early from and for work, being overly secretive about his day away from her. From the early morning 'till the early hours of the evening, she was alone. It all reminded her of back then, the times that they were together before their marriage, together in secret.

The thought scared her, the images that manifested inside her mind. Images of him with a younger woman, sneaking away to fairgrounds and parks, her hiding from her parents, he from his aging wife. She touched the water lightly with the tips of her fingers, five minuscule waves rippled across the surface, she then touched her lips.

She was going to get to the bottom of this, she knew that she would, though, she didn't know if she wanted too. How could she accept that the last decade of her life was a waste? Her parents won't take her back now, she'll have to leave him, she'd have nowhere to turn. She'd be as alone as she is now, more so perhaps.

It was at this point a memory stirred in the darkest regions of her sweet neglected mind. On one of the day's that she ran away from home as a teenager she met her lover at a temple, and on the temple steps they found a flyer, a private detective, he specialized in spying on cheating spouses. She searched her memory for his name, it was a silly name, it made no sense. 'Officer Moonshine,' she whispered suddenly, the air escaped her mouth, and a thin bead of sweat dripped from her nose and onto her plump bottom lip.

She stood from the water, her wet mane of hair sticking in clumps to her slender neck and her shoulders. She grabbed the towel off of the hook beside the tub, she pressed it against her breast as she took her first step out from the water. Her bare toes first touching the wooden ground, followed by her sole, then her heel. She wrapped the towel around her body and walked dutifully toward the phone, leaving wet, elegantly curved footprints in her wake.

She found the name, besides, the same slogan he had all those years ago, 'Officer Moonshine, casting light on spouses who sneak away in the dark.' She called him, he agreed to meet with her right away, she hardly finished tying her obi when she heard the knock, so fast, she thought.

The detective was tall, he wore a very long coat and an overlarge Takuhatsugasa, a kind of hat that resembles the rice hats that local farmers and fishermen used, but typically used by monks, the hat cast a looming shadow over his features. As far as she could tell, he mightn't have a face.

'Asami?' he said, 'beautiful place you have here, very traditional.' Her cheeks tightened at the compliment, it was the first time that her attention for detail had been noticed in a long time, 'yes, that's me, you must be Detective Moonshine,' 'Please, just call me Hikaru,' He said, she nodded, 'now, about your situation.'