The Girl from the Well

The parents and relatives are effusive with their praise, offering the obaasan a few sacks of rice and vegetables, though the fear and awe do not quite leave their faces. It is meager payment for so violent an exorcism, but the mikos accept the offerings gratefully, with heartfelt thanks.

“And that is how a person is exorcised.” Kagura sighs once the visitors have left. Tarquin is staring with horror at the doll still draped on the floor, with the stone knife still stabbing through where its heart would have been. Its sightless eyes, once devoid of color, are now a deep, burning black. The other mikos are already busy, cleaning the floor with the rest of the sage and the sweet leaves.

“It is a part of the ritual,” Kagura tells him, as the obaasan picks the doll up and slowly twists the knife out from its chest. She waves it over the stalks of incense several times, murmuring all the while, before placing it inside a different glass case altogether, where other dolls with those same black eyes are kept. “The spirit is now trapped within the doll and shall be fully cleansed at Obon.”

“I gotta go through that, too, don’t I?” Tarquin asks suddenly. Perhaps in his mind’s eye he sees another ritual, one where he is strapped down on the floor, screaming and hurling vile imprecations. But his face is calm, as if he has already accepted this fate. “That’s how Obaasan is going to exorcise the ghost out from me.”

“If it comes down to it, will you agree?” The obaasan’s eyes are boring into his, a strange hush in her voice. Callie feels angry. It is too much to ask a young boy to accept such a horrible task so freely, and she opens her mouth to protest.

“It’s okay, Callie,” Tarquin says with a serenity that surprises her. “If this is what it takes to get her out, then I guess that’s what I have to do.”

“Brave boy,” the obaasan says softly, stroking his head with a smile. “Always, always you have been so brave. I promise that the ritual will be quick, and that you will not remember any of it, if this is of any consolation. Tomorrow is an auspicious date, the best day to perform the ritual. Do not worry, Tarquin-kun. It will be over soon enough.”

“I seriously doubt it,” Tarquin mutters to himself.

Dinner that night is a feast of flavor. To celebrate the successful exorcism, Kagura has cooked several more dishes than the shrine’s usual, simple fare—fragrant onigiri, balls of rice soaked in green tea, with umeboshi—salty and pickled plums—as filling. There is eggplant simmered in clear soup, green beans in sesame sauce, and burdock in sweet-and-sour dressing. The mood is festive.

“It is important to approach the next day with a good heart and better spirits,” Saya explains and laughs at the pun. Tarquin eats more than his fair share and shows little concern for what the next day may bring for him, instead laughing along with the others as the mikos tell jokes and recount funny experiences, for even living in the wilderness, there are still many stories to tell. When the meal is over, the mikos gather up the dishes, and Tarquin remains by the small porch, staring out into the world outside the shrine. His face is neither worried nor uneasy nor frightened, but curiously thoughtful.

“I could die tomorrow, couldn’t I?” he asks Callie, who sits with him. “Something could go wrong with the ritual, and I could die.”

“Don’t be silly, Tarquin,” Callie says, though her thoughts run along those same lines. “The obaasan knows what she’s doing.”

“It could happen. If it was going to be easy to get rid of her, they would have held that ritual for me days ago. Definitely before performing the ritual for that other boy.”

“Maybe they just needed more preparation.”

“I’m not afraid,” Tarquin says. “Isn’t that weird? But I’m not afraid anymore. I think it would be a relief to get rid of her, whatever happens. If anything goes wrong tomorrow, can you promise me something, Callie?”

“Nothing is going to go wrong, Tarquin.”

“Well, if it does, tell Dad I’m really sorry and that it’s not your fault I died. And it might not be so bad, anyway, dying.”