Nagasaki Prefecture, the southernmost part of the island country

Nagasaki Prefecture was destroyed by the atomic bomb during World War II, and it is a region full of grief but also full of new life. Nagasaki is a beautiful maritime prefecture with a peninsula, headlands, bays, and lakes, and the sea area is about 25 times the size of the land area.

However, Osaka Town is a town on the volcanic archipelago of Koriga in the west of Nagasaki Prefecture, and to put it bluntly, most of the towns that end in the word "town" are small towns, and even some remote places are equivalent to some villages in Japan. 、

The same is true of Osaka Town, which is located on the border of the country and is well developed, but it is also a country town with beautiful natural scenery.

In Ojika Town, the Akihara family of five lives in a second-floor bungalow built by a private building near the coast.

Yosuke Akihara is the only son in the family, just graduated from elementary school this year, and is a little boy who loves nature. At dusk, I like to stand on the shore not far from my home and watch the sunset before it reaches the sea.

March 2011

In early spring, the sunset is about to fall into the sea level very early, Akihara Yansuke is wrapped in a thick cotton coat and still sits on the beach to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the sunset.

"It's another quiet day, and in the future, I will definitely go to the University of Tokyo, and then develop our Oshika Town and connect it with the world, so that everyone can come and see the natural scenery of our place."

Yosuke Akihara saw that the last round of the sunset was still on the sea, patted the dirt on his pants and was about to turn around and go home, his eyes suddenly stared, staring at the other side of the boundless sea in front of him, where the sunset was about to set.

A very small shadow seemed to be coming in its direction at a very fast speed.

Because it was still early, Yan Jie was not in a hurry to go home. So he looked at the dark shadow slowly approaching in the sky with some curiosity. As the last frame of the sunset disappears, the outline of the black shadow is no longer blurred, and gradually reflects the eye socket of Akibara.

The shadow was clearly a wooden bed, but in the center of the bed sat a figure, without the sliding of the oars, but the hull of the ship was moving at great speed at sea level.

"Woohoo!" It was originally a jade ring on Yan Suke's wrist that was obtained from praying for blessings at the shrine of Oka Town. Without warning, it broke apart and fell to the ground and shattered.

And when Yan Jie's gaze moved from the ground to the sea level, the sunset, which had already fallen, rose from the sea again as the black wooden boat approached, but this time it was a sunset with a bloody light, reflecting the blue sea water bright red.

Yan Jie stood stunned for a long time, until he gradually saw clearly in his eyes that the black shadow sitting on the wooden boat was actually a young man with a bundle of white hair, and his eyes were full of red light that was enough to make people's hearts burst, as if the sunset rising again on the horizon was reflected by these eyes.

Yan Suke's legs suddenly began to move together. Running towards his home with all his might.

"Whoa!" Yan Jie anxiously opened the paper sliding door with both hands, took off the shoes on his feet, and came to the hall of the room in a panic, kicking and looking at the parents and grandparents who were making a fire in the kotatsu in the hall.

"Dad, there are monsters...... Youkai came from the sea. White-haired, sitting on a wooden boat, came to us. Yan Jie said with fear on his face, but even if such a ridiculous word came from the mouth of an adult in his thirties, I am afraid that it is rare for anyone to believe it. Not to mention a twelve-year-old boy.

"Yan Jie, come and sit down. It's quite cold outside. Yan Suke, go and bring dinner. Yan Jie's father is a relatively large local fish farmer, and the whole family is supported by his father.

"Dad, you have to believe me, and even the sunset that was originally falling on the mountain on the horizon has risen again, and the blood-colored sunset has dyed the sea water bright red!" Yan Jie still hurriedly described the situation at that time.

"Since you're so sure. I'll trust you once and see where the red sunset you say is. ”

Yansuke's father stood up from the ground and opened the sliding door that led to the courtyard. However, outside the house at this time, it was already dark because of the setting sun, but Yan Jie clearly remembered that the blood-red sunset he saw illuminated the sky. And when I came back, the sky was not yet night.

Yan Jie's father tilted his head out and looked at the night sky, his eyes changing slightly. Turn around and close the sliding door and sit back in the kotatsu.

"It seems that you should not go to the beach in the future, but a slightly reddish moon rises in the sky, which is so exaggerated by your description. Yan Jie, I hope this kind of thing will not happen again in the future, hurry up and help your mother put the food on the god table. Yan Suke's father said very harshly.

"Yes, father." Yan Jie himself unwillingly glanced out the window, and there was just a red full moon hanging in the dark sky. Although he was still haunted by the absurdity, he put aside this absurdity, and went to the kitchen to bring the fruit bowl that his mother had set up, and placed it on a divine table in the hall.

Most of the residents of Ojika Town have a custom that they are island cities and are often hit by natural disasters such as tsunamis. In order to keep their homes safe, residents of the area pray at the shrine and set up a shrine table to entertain passing guests.

If a 'guest god' enters the door of that family and eats the offerings on the god's table, it will surely keep the family safe and sound all year round, and the family business will flourish.

The Akibara family has followed this custom for generations.

After all the dishes on the table were served, the family of five said in unison, "I'm going to go." ”

Because of the strange things that happened on the coast, even during the peaceful dinner of this family of five, Yan Jie was always a little hairy in his heart, observing the situation in the outside world everywhere, and did not put his mind on eating.

"Click!"

A crisp knock on the door reached Yan Jie's ears, who was highly concentrated, and almost caused him to throw away the dishes and chopsticks in his hand.

"Is there anyone visiting at this time? Maybe it was the person I was talking to about business with yesterday. Yan Jie's father stood up and walked towards the door of his house, but Yan Jie looked extremely nervous.

"Click!"

Yan Suke, who was sitting in the hall, heard a sound of the door opening, but he didn't hear his father talking to the visitors outside.

"Stompe." The sound of the floor being rattled reached the ears of those sitting in the hall.

However, there is a custom in Dongying that everyone must take off their shoes when they enter the house, which is the most basic and must be followed by everyone. However, the person who entered his house now walked in directly in clogs.

"It's the guest god, don't speak. Otherwise, they will scare away the guests and will never come to us again. At this time, Yan Jie's grandmother at the dinner table said with a solemn face.

But Yan Jie doesn't think so, in his opinion, it may be a white-haired monster sitting on a black boat who comes into his house. Because I've never seen any guest gods since I was a child, but after I saw the monster today, the so-called guest god came to the door.

As the sound of clogs approached from the corridor aisle, Yan Suke, who was sitting at the dinner table, was all focused on the border between the hall and the aisle, wanting to see who was walking over with clogs.

"Smack!" An old clog appeared in Yan Suke's eyes, and then a short figure walked out.

The visitor was dressed in a shabby gray robe, and his feet and hands were wrinkled, but some of the old men looked at Yan Jie at the dining table with a deep face, and then turned his head and limped towards the worship table in the hall.

The only thing that the old man doesn't look like a human at all is that he has a big long head on his head, which is very strange and a little funny.

However, in Yan Suke's opinion, it was not a youkai from the sea, so he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and regarded this big-headed old man as a real 'guest god'. When he put down the stone hanging in his heart and turned his head, his family at the dinner table were all trembling, as if they were afraid of the arrival of the old man.

"By the way, why hasn't my father come back yet?" Yan Jie looked at the timid family at the dinner table, and then remembered his father who went to open the door and didn't come back, Yan Jie couldn't help but turn his head to look at the big old man again.

At this time, the old man was already sitting at the table very leisurely, grasping a red apple with one hand and nibbling without any image, looking like a cynical funny old man, and there was nothing terrible in the slightest.

"Father!" Yan Jie whispered out his father's name, but there was no response in the empty hallway.

Yan Jie looked at the old man who was eating happily at the god table, and the idea of finding his father sprouted in his heart, so he got up and left the table.

"Kosuke! …… Don't go! The palm that had been trembling grabbed Yan Suke's sleeve and said in a timid and trembling voice.

Yan Jie turned his head and saw his mother with fear in his eyes, but he had already made up his mind, and resolutely stood up from the chair and walked in the direction, and the afterglow naturally paid attention to the direction of the god table.

However, as his steps moved, the big-headed old man did not make any threatening movements, but continued to grab a banana after eating the apple, and ate it very leisurely.

Yan Jie took a deep breath and slowly left the hall.

However, when he stepped into the hallway, he poked his head out and looked at the door of his house at the end.

"No!" Yan Jie's eyes were instantly bloodshot, and his feet also weakened from horror and fell to the ground.

His father's headless body collapsed in the shoe-changing area, while the horrified-looking head was placed on the shoe cabinet, and streams of water seeped out from the seven holes...... (To be continued......)

ps: I don't know if you can see a little clue about this article.