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Monkey's Paw |
It was 1894 in Tokyo, Japan. The war had begun. Shiro and his wife, Sakura, watched their son Takahashi pack his things. The army had requested all young, capable men to fight for their country, and Takahashi had just turned nineteen.
His mother was devasted. For years, impending war had been upon them like dark clouds before a storm. But she had hoped, like a storm, it would blow off and fair weather and peace would rule again. Unfortunately, the "clouds" had blown in faster than ever, and war was an inescapable truth.
Shiro worked harder in the fields of the Grand Palace, now having to make up the work that Takahashi had done. The pittance that the army gave its soldiers was spent on rotten meat for them to eat. Shiro was away for many hours at a time, leaving his wife Sakura alone at home. He suspected that ever since their son had gone away, that a part of his wife's soul had gone with him. Shiro worried about her, and he tried to comfort her the best he could, but the reality of it was that working took up all of his time.
Sakura wrote her son countless letters. The were never returned. Not, of course, because her son didn't love her or miss his family, but because they probably never reached him. Sakura took this as a sign of dreadful things to come.
In order to counter the feeling of impending despair, Sakura turned even more suspicious. She burned candles that Shiro couldn't afford to buy in such quantity. She read her tea leaves. If Shiro accidentally knocked over a glass during dinner, she screamed and begged forgiveness of her ancestors.
Shiro couldn't stop his wife from her pursuits. Everything that happened, every breath of wind or fallen leaf, spelled out more doom for his wife. Her counteractions didn't seem to be helping.
And then one day, as Shiro expected but never said, the letter came from the Japanese army.
Honored Family (it read),
The army is saddened to report the death of your honored son, Takahashi. He died bravely in battle and has no doubt been received by your honored ancestors in Paradise.
Shiro slowly crumpled the letter in his hand. He had to tell Sakura, and was afraid of the results. The postman tipped his hat and left the walkway.
Shiro walked slowly inside the house, dreading to confront Sakura. She looked at him expectantly when he came in, and he hung his head to avoid her eyes.
That was all it took. Sakura screamed, then fainted away. Shiro caught her just in time to keep her from bashing her head in, though no doubt that was what she would have preferred. He walked with her in his arms to their room, and laid her gently on the bed. Then he went outside and sat under the only thing of beauty in his yard, the cherry tree. It whispered to him comfortingly in the wind, and he took a sort of strength from its beauty and solid trunk.
Shiro did not return to work right away, as was expected when a child was lost in the war. Sakura sat in her rocking chair by the window in their room, staring at nothing, her face pale. Nothing Shiro said, nothing Shiro made for her to eat, made Sakura stir from her seat. She didn't look at him; her grief was absolute. It chilled him with a sense of forboding.
A few weeks later, once poor Takahashi had been dead and buried, Shiro stepped outside for some fresh night air and halted. In the light of his small candle, he saw at his feet a small, but long, brown box. He had never seen anything so ornate, or old. Perhaps an incense burner from a well-wisher, he thought. But there was no card.
Shiro picked the box up. It was surprisingly light. He shook it gently, and nothing rustled in its depths. He decided he was right and wondered if it would make his grieving wife stir from the kindness of neighbors. He took it back in the house, shutting the door behind him.
"Look," Shiro said, holding the box out to Sakura. She turned from the window, her blank eyes reflecting the pane of glass. He held the box out to her. She shook it carefully as he had on the porch, and the result was the same.
"I think it's for burning incense," Shiro said, his voice the only one in the room. Sakura didn't even appear to be breathing. "Brought to us from our kind neighbors for our loss." His voice cracked on the last word.
Sakura slid the top off the box. Her eyes widened with half amazement and half fear. Inside the box was a brown twig. Shiro thought it was some sort of incense, and it smelled somewhat earthy, like soil.
The twig was as dark as a cherry tree branch and just as wide, about twelve inches long. At the top were branching twigs, five of them. They were slightly curled.
"Is that the incense?" Shiro asked his wife.
"No," she said, speaking for the first time in days. Shiro was surprised but happy.
"What is it?"
"It's something wonderful," Sakura said, marvelling at the ordinary brown twigs.
"It looks like twigs," Shiro stated.
"It is a monkey's paw," Sakura said in a hushed voice, as if it could hear. "It grants wishes."
"A monkey's paw!" repeated a startled Shiro. "They are terrible things!"
"No," Sakura said again. "It will bring our son back."
"How?" Shiro asked, feeling a tremble of fear begin within him.
"We ask it," she said simply.
"Don't," he said. "It is a terrible thing."
"It will bring our son back," Sakura repeated, taking the paw gingerly out of the old box and holding it up so the curled fingers on top pointed at the ceiling. "Honored Monkey's Paw," she began, and Shiro was powerless to stop her, "Please raise my son from the dead."
One finger broke, and Sakura gasped with awe. "It has been granted."
Suddenly, Shiro heard a strange noise. It sounded like the clunking of heavy boots falling on their broken stone walkway. A dragging noise sounded every other clunk.
Sakura gasped again, stood up. "Our son has returned! Beloved Takahashi! I am coming!" She walked briskly from the room.
Fearing the worst, Shiro quickly held the paw and commanded, "Return our son to the grave." A finger broke, just as Sakura opened the door.
Shiro went quickly to the door. They both looked outside into the swirling darkness. A few leaves danced across the walkway. There was nothing there. |
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| Alias | Date | Reply |
| Mrs. Hekler |
9/24/2007 7:05:00 PM |
Great Story. I heard a different version, but same MO. There was even a vignette, once, from Tales of the Darkside, or maybe Tales from the Crypt, or some other show like that. Thanks for sharing. HUGS |
| ladyspiritguide |
9/24/2007 8:02:00 PM |
I heard a slightly different version too, as a child. I heard it as a morality tale. It's a classic! :) |
| starlit.bunni.child |
9/24/2007 9:14:00 PM |
yeah i just got a line from a manga i read so i wanted to make something whole out of it! |
| screen_writer |
9/25/2007 6:01:00 AM |
Sure I've heard the monkey paw story, but you created something better here. I mean it. You write incredibly well. Will there be more to your story? I hope so. There is so much to love about your writing. Wonderful job. |
| starlit.bunni.child |
9/25/2007 5:07:00 PM |
thank you screen writer! no more on this story, unfortunately, it was a one-timer. i AM writing some stories on the side but they are DEFINITELY not g-rated LOL so stay tuned..maybe more stories coming up! |
| Garbage |
9/25/2007 5:45:00 PM |
Very good story. |
| screen_writer |
9/25/2007 7:22:00 PM |
For your writing I will surely wait. Message me if you post another story. I admire your work a great deal:) |
| starlit.bunni.child |
9/25/2007 9:12:00 PM |
will do and thanks again!! |
| Garnet |
10/10/2007 2:16:00 PM |
Great! I love the way this was written; it flows together so nicely. Spooky too. |
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