Yamanashi
These are two slides that project the bottom of a tiny stream.
1 May
Two crab children are chatting at the bottom of the pale water.
-
-- Krambon laughed.
-- Krambon laughed out.
-- Krambon laughed jumping.
-- Krambon laughed out.
Above and to the side are blue and dark, like steel. On the smooth
ceiling, small dark bubbles are carried away.
-
-- Krambon was laughing.
-- Krambon was laughing out.
-- Then why was Krambon laughing?
-- I don't know.
The bubbles are drifting. The crab children follow them and blow
five or six small bubbles. They go up ahead swinging, and glittering
like mercury. Turning its silver body, a fish passes above them.
-
-- Krambon died.
-- Krambon was killed.
-- Krambon really died.
-- He was killed.
-- Then why was he killed?
The elder brother crab asks putting two of his four right legs on his
younger brother's flat head.
-
-- I don't know.
The fish goes above them back towards the lower reaches.
-
-- Krambon laughed.
-- Laughed.
Suddenly, it has become bright and the gold of the sun comes down
through the water like a dream. The net of light thrown by the
ripples stretches and shortens beautifully and freely on white rocks
at the bottom. Bubbles and dust create straight sticks of shadows
which stand obliquely through the water. The fish, this time messing
up all the golden lights, and with strange luster on himself, goes up
the stream again.
-
-- Why does that fish come and go so frequently?
The younger crab asks, moving his eyes, seeming dazzled.
-
-- He is doing something bad. He is hunting.
-- Hunting?
-- Yes.
The fish comes back from upstream again. This time it comes
relaxed, without moving its fin or tail, and just drifting along the
stream with an open mouth like a ring. Its shadow slips across the
net of light at the bottom in silence.
-
-- The fish...
Suddenly white bubbles arise on the ceiling, and a blue flashing,
shimmering, and bullet-like something jumps in unexpectedly. The
elder crab sees clearly the edge of that blue thing, sharp like a pair
of compasses. Before he knows what is happening, the white body of
the fish flashes and turns once, and it seems to be going up higher,
but after that, neither the blue thing nor the fish can be seen
anywhere, and the net of the gold is swinging and bubbles are
drifting.
The two crabs are completely stuck there without a word. The father crab
comes out.
-
-- What happened? Both of you are shaking terribly, aren't you?
-- Father, just now a strange thing has come.
-- What is it like?
-- It's blue and flashes. The edge is sharp like this. When it had come,
a fish went up.
-- Were its eyes red?
-- I don't know.
-- Well well. But that's a bird. It's a kingfisher. You don't need
to be worried. That one doesn't bite us.
-- Father, where has the fish gone?
-- The fish? It has gone to a fearful place.
-- I'm scared, father.
-- No, no. It's okay, don't worry. Look, here comes a birch flower.
Look at that, it's beautiful, isn't it?
Along with the bubbles, many birch petals come slipping across the ceiling.
-
-- I'm scared, father.
The younger crab also said. The net of light is swinging, stretching
and shortening, and the shadow of the flower slips across the sand
quietly.
2 December
The crab children have grown up much and the view of the bottom has
changed completely from summer into autumn. White and soft round
stones have come rolling, and small gimlet-shaped grains of crystal
and pieces of golden mica have been carried and settled. To the
bottom of that cold water, the clear moonlight penetrates, as if through a soda
bottle, and on the ceiling,
it looks like a pale fire is lit and killed by the ripples.
It is quiet, and the only sound is the sound of rippling water, as if
it is coming from a distance. The crab children, for the moon is
really bright and the water is so beautiful, without going to bed, go
outside and look at the ceiling for a while, quietly, blowing bubbles.
-
-- As I thought, my bubbles are bigger.
-- You blow bigger bubbles on purpose. I can also do that if I
do it on purpose.
-- So just do it. You see, that's the best you can do. Look at
me blowing. See, they are big, aren't they?
-- They're not bigger at all. They're the same as mine.
-- You think yours are bigger because you see them closer. Then
let's blow together. Ready? Now.
-- Yes, mine are bigger.
-- Really? Then let's do it once more.
-- Don't do that! you're stretching yourself.
Again, the father crab comes out.
-
-- Now go to bed! It's already late. Otherwise I won't take you out
tomorrow.
-- Father, which of us can blow bigger bubbles?
-- It should be the older brother.
-- It's not true. My bubbles are bigger.
The younger crab almost cries.
At that time, splash! A black round huge thing drops from the ceiling
to the bottom, and again it went up. Golden speckles glitter.
-
-- A kingfisher.
The crab children said shrugging. The father crab, stretching both his
binocular-like eyes as much as possible, observed carefully and said.
-
-- No, it's not. It's a wild pear. It's drifting away. Let's follow it.
Mmm, it's such a nice smell.
Oh yes, all around them the water is full of the scent of the
pear. The three crabs followed the pear which is bobbing up and
down. The crabs walking sideways and their three black shadows on the
bottom, making six in all, and looking as if they are dancing,
followed the round shadow of the pear. Soon the water babbles gently,
the ripples on the ceiling raise pale fire even harder, the wild pear
has been caught on a twig and stopped on its side, and around the pear, the
winding moonlight gathers hazily.
-
-- You see. As I thought, it's a wild pear. It's well ripe.
It's such a nice smell, isn't it?
-- It looks delicious, father.
-- Wait, wait. In a few days, it will come down, then it will make
a nice liqueur of itself. So let's go back and go to sleep.
Come on.
The crab father and children, three of them together, go back to their
own holes. The ripples raise the pale fire even more. It looks
like they are blowing diamond dust.
This ends my slides.
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 1.94.
On 15 Nov 1998, 22:06.