Harajuku Wood Cemetery
It was late, and there were not many people worshiping in the cemetery. At a glance, it was full of white tombstones. The entire cemetery was empty and slightly cold.
In Japan, according to the shape of the cemetery, it can be roughly divided into general cemetery, lawn cemetery and wall cemetery. According to the nature of the cemetery, it can be divided into public cemetery, private cemetery and temple cemetery, and the Harajuku wood cemetery is a temple cemetery.
Japan has a very high population density and a very serious aging rate. These factors have led to a serious shortage of cemeteries in many areas, especially in big cities like Tokyo. Therefore, cremation is generally held in Japan.
At the entrance, a car stopped, and a woman slowly got out of the car. As soon as she got off, she took off her veil. This mysterious woman was Sachiko Bando, who had not been seen for a long time!
Bando Sachiko walked to the shopping mall alone. It took a two-minute walk, but there was no one there. After a while, he saw someone running over and bowed: "I'm sorry, please forgive me. I wasn't here just now - have you been waiting for a long time?" ?”
Bando Sachiko turned around and looked over. Xiang Gou was not very old, only in his forties or fifties, but he had a plump figure and was very kind-hearted.
The managers of temple cemeteries are monks, and Japanese monks can get married. Doing business in temple cemeteries is related to the monks, either the monk himself or his relatives and friends.
"No, I just came too." Bando Sachiko looked a little haggard, took out some money and handed it to Xiang Gou, and took a bouquet of white flowers from her hand.
This is Xiang Gou, the monk's wife. Looking at Bando Sachiko's pale face and haggard eyes, she bowed slightly to show her respect. At the same time, she thought in her heart: "Hey, another poor person. It’s such a shame.”
At this time, because it was not the normal time to worship and she was not in the mood, Bando Sachiko walked directly towards the cemetery ahead.
If you follow the normal steps of worshiping your loved ones, Bando Sachiko would first go to the main hall to worship the main Buddha, tell the monks that you are coming to disturb them, and some even pay a little "feeling fee" before going to the cemetery.
But at this time, Bando Sachiko would not worry about this.
The grave of Nishibeppu Keiji is located here, which was specially placed by Sachiko Bando.
The Bando Foundation certainly has no shortage of high-end cemeteries. Among other things, there is a special family cemetery in Hokkaido. It is located in the sacred forest of Harutorihime Shrine. It is located on a mountain. It seems to be surrounded by a park (in fact, it is), and it is covered with thick trees. The snow is a popular place for locals to take a walk.
It is quiet and peaceful. You can hear footsteps and crows all the way, which can give the deceased a very good rest.
Therefore, the Bando family found it strange that Bando Sachiko wanted to bury her husband-in-law in this temple cemetery, but Bando Sachiko insisted on burying him here.
"Perhaps Sachiko considered that Nishibeppu Keiji was just a son-in-law and had not made any achievements, right?"
In the past, according to the rules, only members of the Bando family or those who had made significant contributions to the Bando Foundation (retainers) could be buried in the family cemetery.
Keiji Nishibeppu, on the other hand, was married into the Bando Foundation. His abilities were mediocre and not particularly outstanding. The only thing worthy of praise was that he particularly loved his wife Sachiko Bando.
According to tradition, it is true that one should not enter, but this is no longer the ancient times. This aspect has been relaxed a lot. If one wants to enter, no one will object. Besides, Nishibeppu Keiji can be regarded as having died in the line of duty.
The Bando family respected Sachiko even more.
At this time, Sachiko Bando walked to a tomb. The tombstone was very simple, just with a photo of Keiji Nishibeppu. Looking at the man with a simple smile in the photo, Sachiko Bando couldn't help but reached out and touched the tombstone, with a trace of tears hidden in the corner of her eyes. Light.
"Keiji, I won't let you be alone forever!"
"I'll be with you soon too!"
Bando Sachiko said, lost in memories, not knowing what he recalled, and smiled.
At this time, a person came over. She was wearing a long dress, with a solemn look on her face. She bent down slightly and placed flowers in front of two pairs of tombstones in Xibeppu. It was Bando Aiko.
It's getting late.
The light shines, casting long shadows on the tombstones and shrubs, but Bando Aiko exudes a kind of peace. In this atmosphere, people don't feel gloomy at all, but feel a kind of peace, just like being alone with someone. Imagine being in a garden with tranquility.
Bando Sachiko stood, ignoring Bando Aiko, and only touched the tombstone with her hands more gently.
"Sachiko, my dear aunt, I really didn't expect that you were actually the one who overthrew the Tokugawa army!" After a long silence, Bando Aiko slowly raised her head and said melancholy: "This is really unimaginable, the Bando family The eldest lady of the previous generation would be the one who brought down the emperor, and even now, I can’t find anything discordant about you!”
"So, you are not an evil spirit who has taken over your body, right?" Bando Aiko said calmly.
Bando Sachiko remained silent.
"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me." Bando Aiko was not surprised at all by this reaction. She smiled and said, "Let me guess, you are actually reincarnated!"
"In reincarnation, everything starts over. It doesn't matter even if you are the one who fell. You are Bando Sachiko."
"But you were forcibly awakened, so you had a period of time where your nerves were a little abnormal and you went to a sanatorium for a period of time."
"The murder was just a cover-up, or something you did when you fell into chaos."
"When you come out of the nursing home, you will no longer be Sachiko Bando - is that true?" Aiko Bando said slowly to Sachiko Bando.
"Now that I think about it, you have completely replaced the original Sachiko, but you have the same origin, so there is nothing abnormal."
Bando Sachiko remained silent, seemingly not shocked by these words.
"Actually, there is nothing wrong with this. When two armies fight, they will do whatever they can, but I have a question." Bando Aiko approached Bando Sachiko, took a slight step forward, and stared into her eyes closely. Question: "Sachiko, do you really love Nishi Beppu?"
After hearing these words, Bando Sachiko's body trembled, her originally silent demeanor showed some cracks, and the shadow of Nishibeppu Keiji appeared in front of her eyes.
She remembered that she was in a state of confusion and was about to be destroyed - if it were so easy to wake up in reincarnation, it wouldn't be so difficult.
But a man saved her with love.
One day for her birthday, Nishibeppu Keiji made a kite by hand and gave it to her, because when she was a little sober, she once said that her favorite thing when she was a child was flying kites, but now that she has grown up, she has no chance. There was no one to accompany her.
Keiji Nishibeppu specially prepared this gift for her that day, but Sachiko Bando was not happy when she received it. Instead, Keiji Nishibeppu scolded Keiji Nishibeppu, saying that he could not even give a gift and had no vision at all.
Even though Nishibeppu Keiji was scolded so badly, he still didn't feel a little wronged. Instead, he just looked at Bando Sachiko and smiled.
At this moment, Nishibeppu Keiji's silly smile kept appearing in front of Bando Sachiko's eyes, and she couldn't help but smile, nodded, and said, "Yes, I love him."
"I did not love him before, but over the past ten years, I have been moved by him."
As Bando Sachiko spoke, she wiped the photo of Nishibeppu Keiji with her hand, her eyes blurred, and she fell into memories again.
"So?"
"If that's the case, why did you kill him anyway?" Bando Aiko suddenly asked.
A complex complex appeared on Bando Sachiko's smiling face, sweetness, regret, and determination seemed to be all in it. She smiled slightly and spoke to Bando Sachiko with a gentle and elegant tone. She sounded like a lady from a famous family, but Sounds a little creepy.
"Because Keiji is not only a good husband, but also a good man who is loyal to his duties."
"Keiji knows that his talents are mediocre, and he feels sorry for me and the Bando family, so he actively wants to show off - especially to revive your key business!"
When Bando Sachiko said this, his voice finally became sharper and his speech speed increased: "Even though I have hinted many times, it is a pity that he ignored it."
"Stupid Keiji!" Tears flowed out of Bando Sachiko's eyes unknowingly!
"I've hinted at him many times!!"
"How could he not understand?"
The corners of Bando Sachiko's eyes turned red, with a heartbroken expression on her face.
"Really? In fact, you want to kill me. I understand it. After all, we are enemies!" Bando Aiko understood instantly. Her face showed unbearability and she spoke slowly and unhurriedly.
"Just because of your ideal, you killed your husband who loved you deeply and loved you too?" Bando Aiko sighed, showing pity rather than hatred: "Do you know what you have lost?"
"No one will ever love you as much as Keiji."
"It's not just women, it's men too. There's this passage in Seven Samurai."
"Naoko met an undercover samurai." Bando Aiko sighed slightly: "She is just kind-hearted, how could she think that the man she fell in love with and devoted her life to was determined to sacrifice her family with great righteousness? Where are the people?”
"After reading this and thinking about it now, I can't help but feel sad, even if this is not me—Sachiko, do you understand?"
Do I not understand
The organization taught her the principles and told her that only love for the organization is the highest, and she can sacrifice everything for this.
But Keiji Nishibeppu asked for nothing in return, the man who made her understand how beautiful it is to be loved unconditionally, and the man who made her know the difference between "family" and "organization" - died just like that.
It was up to her to tell the organization her whereabouts.
How many times had she shouted "Keiji" at night, and only the deserted echo made her realize how heavy this love was and how regretful it was to lose it. She recognized a fact.
She would never get this love again.
"Then, how will the family deal with me?" After a while of silence, Bando Sachiko calmed down and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her hands: "Now that you have discovered that I am the rebel."
"This is why I tell you that there will never be another Nishibeppu Keiji." Bando Aiko gave the answer without the slightest hesitation: "Maybe Nishibeppu Keiji will forgive you, but Qi Among the samurai, the head of the Morimoto family said to this matter - don't listen to Ishimaru Yuji (Naoko's husband), don't understand him, just execute him."
"Expel Yuji Ishimaru from the family, do not record his deeds and name, erase all traces of him, and do not let it affect you and future generations."
"For someone like you, the best punishment is for you to die silently and be forgotten forever without being able to express your righteousness!" Bando Aiko said cold words, but her eyes were pitiful: "Because when you When you have made a choice and chosen righteousness to kill your relatives, stop trying to gain understanding from your relatives - you have completely overthrown the imperial army!"
"Your family name is no longer Bando, but Meiji. Please go back to your home and don't come back again!" Aiko Bando lowered her head and bowed slightly: "I deeply believe this, and so does grandpa. Yes."
"Sachiko, I'm sorry, please never come back!!"
(End of chapter)