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Hiro's Affliction

This short story is based on one of the lesser known Japanese mukashi banashi (folk tales).

By Nanako WaterPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
1

Times were very bad. A poor young man, Tatsuo, lived with his mother in a small house on the outskirts of town. Mother tended a small vegetable garden squeezed between them and their neighbors, while Tatsuo found odd jobs in town to bring home extra cash. He sometimes had to be gone for weeks at a time. One day after one of his job stints, Tatsuo brought home an ordinary-looking girl named Hiro.

Mother was surprised but pleased her son had found a girl. The older woman welcomed Hiro into the tiny home with open arms. As it turned out, Hiro was a delightful guest. Quick to lend a helping hand around the house, charming, and thoughtful. The three of them spent a few happy days together before Tatsuo told them he would have to work again in a distant town to earn some money for the coming winter. He asked the girl, “Hiro, would you please stay with Mother while I go work?” Mother was happy when Hiro agreed.

Hiro moved in with her meager belongings in her backpack, and Tatsuo went off with peace of mind to his job. The young woman helped Mother with all her chores. and seemed to fit into the little family without any problem. Mother became quite attached to the cheerful young woman. But when almost two weeks had gone by, Hiro began to look ill. Her face became wan and she no longer smiled. Mother worried. “What’s wrong, Hiro? Are you feeling OK?” she asked.  

Hiro blushed and at first just said, “Mother, it’s nothing.” But when Mother pressed for an answer, she finally said, “This is so embarrassing.”

Mother said, “What? What is it? You can tell me anything, Hiro. Are you sick? I love you already like my own daughter.”

Hiro said, “It’s just that…I have to pass gas.”

Mother laughed. “What? Is that all?” She was so relieved to learn Hiro was not really sick. “You are like family to me. Go ahead and fart away. You silly girl. Why are you making yourself sick holding back on a little farting?” Mother said the word ‘fart’ several times to make sure Hiro saw that she wasn’t offended by such a common bodily function.

Hiro smiled and said, “I was so worried that I would upset you so I held back. I need to pass gas often, and if I don’t, I get sick. I’m so glad you don’t mind, Mother.”

“It’s not like we are upper class or something, Hiro. We’re just regular country folk. You don’t have to the perfect little lady here, Hiro. Just be yourself.” Mother poured herself a cup of tea, settled down into her chair, and opened her book just to show she wasn’t going to be bothered. Mother’s ginger cat curled itself on Mother’s lap and purred.

Hiro let it out.

The shock waves were incredible. The entire house shook. It felt like an earthquake. The clock fell off the wall, hit the floor with a loud crash, and stopped at the exact moment of Hiro’s fart. The ginger cat jumped up hissing, fur standing on end, and claws dug into Mother’s knees. But Mother was too stunned to even notice her puncture wounds. She stopped breathing as one of her ceramic owls toppled over and rolled off the shelf to hit the floor and shatter into a hundred small shards. She gasped, “Oh my God!” as she clutched the arms of her chair. This was way beyond anything the old woman had ever experienced in her quiet life.

Mother loosened a white-knuckled hand and patted her wildly beating heart. She said, “I’m sorry, girl. You must leave.” Mother was so upset, she didn’t even think of waiting for her son to return.

That very day, Hiro packed up her backpack and left the house. She didn’t try to argue with Mother. She thought, Mother is right. How could a girl like me live here? I’m a monster. A freak. It was hopeless. With her affliction, there was no place she could be. No man would love her. No family would accept her. Probably no one would tolerate even living near her. She might as well accept the fact that she couldn’t part of human society.

Hiro was devastated but she kept her dignity and didn’t cry. She walked to the nearest bus stop, a couple of miles from the house. She walked by a large apple tree. It was the biggest and tallest apple tree in a big old orchard on the side of the road. Many delicious looking apples glistened at the top of the tree, out of reach of any passersby. A couple of well dressed young men were standing beneath the tree and laughing. Hiro heard one of them remark, “Wow. Look at those apples. Wish I could get one.”  

The other young man said, “Brother, why do you want to bother with one stupid apple when we own this whole orchard now?”

Hiro turned around to face the young men. Something about those arrogant young men compelled her to say, “I can get those apples for you.”

The young men looked at her, an ordinary girl, and laughed. “How can you get them when we can’t? You’re just a stupid girl.”

Hiro felt there was nothing more she could lose. She said, “I can get all of those apples down with …a fart.”

The young men said, “What?!” and they laughed hysterically.

Hiro was miffed. I have no home. No family. Nothing. Everyone thinks I’m grotesque. “What will you give me if I get all those apples?” she demanded.

The two brothers stopped laughing and grew silent. But they were smiling. The older one said, “If you can get all of those apples with your…fart, I’ll give you a hundred dollars.”

The younger brother snorted. He wasn’t about to be outdone. He said, “I’ll give you all the cash I have.” He pulled out his wallet and showed her $700.

Then the older brother pushed his brother aside and said, “In fact, I’ll give you the deed to this orchard,” he said and pulled out an envelope he had just gotten at the funeral of his grandfather.

Younger brother reddened. He wasn’t going to let his brother outdo him again. “I’ll give you the check for our inheritance – a million dollars.”

Each brother gloated over how they were going to humiliate the other. 

Hiro pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her backpack. “Put it in writing,” she said as she gave them to the brothers. “My name is Hiro.”

The brothers looked at each other and smiled. Starting with their grandfather’s death and the inheritance, things were looking up. Their lives were about to change. And this farting girl was going to be the story they told their children. Their colorful beginning. The younger brother wrote their promise down. “If Hiro gets all of the apples down from this one apple tree with her fart, the undersigned promise to give her the apple orchard and the million dollar inheritance.” 

The two brothers signed their names with a flourish and handed the pad and pen back to her. They smirked as they watched her put the backpack down and aim her butt towards the tree. The two brothers stood there with arms crossed and waited for the girl to make a fool of herself.

A shriek like a missile flew through the air and hit the tree with a ear deafening clap. All of the apples dropped from the tree like a sudden downpour. A huge flock of crows rose up from the orchard squawking their alarm across the sky. The two brothers were flat on the ground and lay gasping as they shook their heads in disbelief. The older brother cried, “My…God, what was that?”

When they saw the apples all lying on the ground beneath the now-bare apple tree, the expressions on the two men changed from one of shock to horror to chagrin as they realized what they had done. The younger brother said, “Hiro. You can’t make us keep that promise! This is witchcraft…”

But when Hiro didn’t answer, the older brother began begging. “Please. Please, don’t make us give up everything we have. This isn’t fair!”

Hiro heard a familiar voice behind her. “Tough luck, boys. It’s all in writing.”

It was Tatsuo. He had gotten off the bus and had seen the whole thing. He gathered up Hiro in his arms and kissed her passionately. He took Hiro by the hand and went back to their house where Mother was waiting at the door of their little house. 

At first, when Mother saw Hiro, she demanded Tatsuo take her back to the bus stop. “That girl is not normal!” She was still trembling with just the memory of what had happened earlier. Tatsuo put his hands on his mother’s shoulders to calm her and explained everything that had happened next to the apple orchard. Mother was astounded, then impressed, then ashamed at her intolerance. She said, “Please forgive me, Hiro.” And welcomed the girl with open arms.

The three of them, Tatsuo, Hiro and Mother lived very happily after that. Their apple orchard proved very profitable, and with the million dollars, Tatsuo had a special building made just far enough away from their home so that whenever Hiro felt the need to-pass gas, she could go there and do her business with no worries.  

So easily a bodily function is considered a curse by society, when in reality, with a dose of courage and creativity, any affliction can be a blessing.

 

literature
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About the Creator

Nanako Water

I write short stories based on Japanese mukashibanashi (folklore). Strange, scary and funny. Not necessarily for kids. I'd love to hear what you think of these stories. What does it mean to you?

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