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Scarlet Fowl and Southern BarbariansAuthor: Izumi Kyoka
| Original Title | 売色鴨南蛮 |
|---|---|
| Author | 泉 鏡花 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a rain-drenched Tokyo station, Dr. Sōkichi Hata’s routine commute unravels when a woman cloaked in scarlet crepe captivates his gaze. Her crimson-stained ankles and vacant stare mirror Osen—a spectral figure from his youth who once pulled him from the brink of suicide. Amidst chaotic crowds and stalled trains, the storm’s fury mirrors Hata’s turmoil as fragmented memories resurface: a razor’s edge, whispered confessions, and a paper crane dissolving into cherry blossoms. The scarlet stranger’s companion, eerily resembling his cousin’s wife, deepens the enigma, while station employees bark mechanical apologies. As lightning fractures the sky, Hata confronts a past where salvation and madness intertwine, each raindrop echoing Osen’s final breath. In this suffocating nexus of memory and delusion, the line between healer and haunted dissolves beneath relentless rain. |
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