十
祭典不会停止,所有人都会沉溺于轮回,而我,为这个故事写上开头。
。
。
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theoffering
one
whenthebelltolls,iknowtheceremonyisabouttobegin。
it‘safamilytradition,heldeveryeighteenyearsonthisday,wherethefamilyhostsagrandandluxurioussacrificialritetohonoroursupremedeity。
two
andiamthesolepriestessinthisritual。
three
dressedintheintricatevestmentsofapriestess,iboardthepalanquinboundforthetempleundermymother‘sworriedgaze。beforedeparting,ifollowtheoldcustomsofthefamilyandbestowthepriestess‘sblessingupontheunbornchildinmymother‘swomb。
four
thetempleisbuiltatopamountain,andthepalanquinstopsatthefootofthehill。withadevoutheart,iascendthestairsleadingtothetempleonestepatatime。
thepathislong,andtheceremonialrobesfeelexceedinglyheavy,yetidonotsensetheexpectedweariness。
frombirth,iwastaughttoshouldertheresponsibilitiesofapriestess。
five
uponreachingthetemple,iseeeveryonebrimmingwithhope,tearswellingintheireyes。theyretreatnaturallybehindme,ignitingthecandleinmyhand。iunderstandthatthepathaheadisminealonetotread,fornooneotherthanthepriestessisallowedinsidethetemple。
six
thetempleisdark;thedooropensbrieflybeforeclosingagain。holdingtheonlysourceoflight,islowlymakemywayinside。iswearthatnoonehaseverenteredhere,foriftheydid,theywouldwitnessthebonesstrewnacrossthefloor。
seven
uponseeingtheso-calleddeity,iamnotsurprised。imerelyundress,makingmyselfreadyforthe”deity‘s”feast。
eight
fromtheverybeginning,iknewiwasthesoleofferinginthisceremony。
nine
thechildinmymother‘swombisborn。thatisthenextofferingileavetothefamily,thenext”me”。ineighteenyears,hetoowillbecomeapriest。
ten
theceremonywillnotcease;allwillbetrappedinthecycleofrebirth。andi,iwritethebeginningofthistale。
第4章《富士山下》《昨日重现》
《富士山下》
beneaththefujimountain
一
我在富士山下卖苹果,一半过去卖给自己,一半未来卖给行人。
isellapplesatthefootofmountfuji,halfsoldinthepasttomyself,andhalfinthefuturetopassersby。
二