This folktale is about how human beings are a part of nature and that love transforms through this connection.
There was a very old man named Takahama who was loved by everyone in the village. He was very kind and helpful, and everyone looked up to him because of his humble nature.
You see, Takahama could have been anything he wanted to be, because he was very intelligent and skillful and quite handsome too, which could still be seen despite the lines in his old face. But still, he stayed in the village, taking care of an old cemetery where he lived.
It was also a mystery why this great-but-humble old man didn't have a wife, or his own family. He stayed alone in his small hut inside the cemetery, where he spent his years keeping the place clean and nice-looking.
One day, Takahama had gone too weak to get up from his bed. The people who always visited him saw this, and they called for his remaining relatives (who lived in a faraway village) which was his sister and his nephew.
When Takahama's sister and nephew came to his house, they saw a white butterfly perched on the old man's pillow. From time to time, the butterfly flew around Takahama's face, sometimes even perching on his nose. This annoyed the nephew and tried to shoo it away, but it still persisted stay near Takahama.
When time came that the old man drew his last breath, the white butterfly went out of the house and flew away. Realizing this could be a bad omen, the nephew followed the butterfly. He followed it through the cemetery, until it reached a tomb with the name "Akiko", where it suddenly disappeared.
The tomb was very old, but it was clean, and there were fresh flowers around the grave. The nephew ran back to the house and told his mother (Takahama's sister) about what he saw.
His mother then started to tell him the story of Takahama's past.
"Long ago, when Takahama was still a young man, he met a beautiful girl named Akiko, who lived in this town. They fell in love, and soon they got engaged. Their future as a family was full of promise, because both of them were intelligent and hardworking. Sadly, Akiko died the day before their wedding, and Takahama was devastated.
"When Akiko was still alive, he promised her that he would take good care of her as a husband, and now that she's dead, he still kept his promise by taking care of her grave. That's why he lived in this cemetery, and that's why he never had another lover."
This story led to the realization that the white butterfly was Akiko's soul, for everyday Takahama had always visited her grave except the day he became too weak to do so, so she came to see him instead.
When Takahama died, Akiko's butterfly moved on, because at last, they could be together. (•ˇ‿ˇ•)
~ The End ~
