Break Stories (Title and Cover Work In Progress)

3 - Money Offer

What's the difference between a curse and a blessing? Most people would answer that a curse is bad, and a blessing is good, but if that true then what does it mean to be human?

I had a great upbringing. My parents were truly masters of parenting. They let me have anything I wanted, while teaching me that wanting things all the time was a bad idea. They loved me more than any other parent had ever loved their child, yet they still didn't go bragging to other parents that I was the best child ever. They always supported me when I did bad in school and gave me my personal space when I needed it. Truly the best parents in the world. But no one in this world is perfect, that's also one of the things they taught me, and the part that didn't make them perfect was never having learned one of the most important things in the world. Consequences.

A loud beeping sound filled the bus, waking up any who had fallen asleep. I wasn't included in that group though. No, my mind was way too focused on the proceeding events. This trip was something I had planned for months. Even if it was a very simple plan.

As the bus crossed the bridge to Kahenichi, I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the city was. The streets were clean, and the people looked happy. It's not that I had expected the city to look awful, but I felt like it was a little "too clean" for my liking. I guess it made me feel a little better. It made me sure that I chose the correct city. Funny how that's not a contradiction.

When I reached my hotel, I unloaded all my stuff on the floor. Just because you're happy, doesn't mean you're tidy. That's a realization I had reached recently. Although the reason I was being so untidy was very simple. The night bus had been in traffic jams for most of the trip, so I didn't have that much time to go sightseeing. Therefore, to get the most of this day, I put on a big smile, and started strolling through the city. Kahenichi had apparently gotten a new shrine recently, and I did plan on going there, but first, I was off to the old shrine.

When I had finished climbing the fifty, confusingly short, steps to get to the shine, I saw something very unexpected. I really hadn't made a misstep choosing this place. It truly was perfect.

Peeking over the stairs was a small and run-down shrine. It probably hadn't been attended to in years. the cleanliness of the city must have been something new, or the shrine would probably be looking shiny right now. But now that the new shrine is in place, the old shrine has been forgotten. It must've been a waste of time going to the old shrine, I thought, but something still felt off about this shrine. That feeling was explained, as I dropped a 100 Yen coin into the offering box.

"100 Yen? Really? After all I do for this city, I get only 100 Yen. Pathetic." it was the voice of an old man, who interrupted my monologue. His physical body couldn't be seen though.

"Oh! You still reside here?" I asked.

"I've resided here all my life, so no way I'm moving to that new tourist trap they call a shrine." He stubbornly answered.

I didn't think much of him, to be honest. A sad excuse for a god, that's all he was. I went straight to bed after that short interaction. Tomorrow was going to be easy.

I overslept. It was already 1 p.m. but that really didn't mean much. The only sad part was not getting to see more of the city, but I thought that it would be fine. I'd have all the rest of my life to explore this place. Mo matter how long or short that life would be.

And so, I walked to the old shine. Just as run down as yesterday. Just as forgotten as yesterday. 100 Yen was all that was needed to get the old man to show up. That only made my smile bigger.

"making an offering is one thing. Throwing away your money is another." the old man spoke.

"group mentality is everything here in Japan. If they see that throwing away their money is normal, then they'll do it. Instead, you've wasted the last parts of your long life by helping out the ungrateful people of this town. Not really a way to get support." I replied.

The old man brushed away that comment. I guess it was already too late now.

"So? What kind of business do you have with me? I don't get the feeling you're here to fund my meaningless attempt to make this town better." He got straight to the point. I guess this would be a sad sight, seen from a certain perspective. Even if I couldn't understand that.

"Well, I feel as if I've given enough hints now, so let me get straight to the point. I grew up in a very religious family. One that believed that blessings were the true from of happiness. Every single night, both my parents would pray that their son would always be happy. So, one night, I guess the gods were getting tired of listening to my parents, because they certainly granted their wish. They made me always happy. And when I say always happy, I mean ALWAYS happy. So, I got curious. I started to wonder how sadness or melancholy felt. Therefore, I began wondering. How do you get negative feelings? The answer is simple. You become a god." This was the moment I had spent months on planning. Or, more like thinking about. The actual details weren't important to me.

I reached my hand into my pocket and grabbed a pile of salt, and threw it at the god. I had originally planned on doing something more elaborate, but that didn't seem to be needed. The old man in front of me started melting away, accepting his fate. I guess he had done enough. There was no need to fight back now. I guess he believed that the town could stand on its own. What a fool, I thought. This god really had reached the level of a small ghost. Dying because of a little table salt. Such a sad existence. Truly sad. Sad enough to cry about. And so, I cried. And cried. And cried. I had taken his place. This hurt. Sadness hurts. Feelings hurt.