Twelve Months of Kristal: 50 Loving States Maine

What would he say if he were here now and could see that our birth father was not merely descended from samurais but an actual samurai himself?

I almost laugh at the notion. Perhaps after this is all said and done, I will make a special trip to our factory home. I’ll inform the ghost of my father, who is still wandering the country estate where he died, that the sons he was so secretly ashamed of were descended on both sides from samurais after all. Indeed, his own ancestor had cuckolded him.

“Yes, I am a Nakamura from the Edo period. What your generation called the ‘factory home’ was actually a house given to me by the Emperor himself as a thank you for fighting so valiantly in battle.”

His English is excellent. But his words come out thick and halting.

He lets out a weary sigh as if sensing my observation. “Speaking with the host’s voice is the hardest part of all. I tried to possess one of the Japanese attendants when I first saw your mother.”

Jae-Hyun’s gaze becomes wistful at his mention of my mother. “She was so lovely, like a waterlily with human skin. But she was also lonely. She cried after your father’s visits. He blamed her for not getting pregnant, you see. And he grew angrier and became rougher with her as the years stretched on without any heirs. It was no way to treat a flower as fragile as your mother. But Kazuo was such an arrogant husband. His original wife had been torn from him, so he believed everyone else should share in his misery, including his innocent second bride. He often ignored her protests when he took her. He would force her into compliance, bruising her beautiful skin, and damaging her soul. Then he would return to his mistress in the city, leaving her alone in the country home, confused and broken. The living servants were too scared to offer her any comfort. They simply witnessed the abuse and cleaned up around her until she finished crying. I merely wanted to talk to your mother that first time I took a host to make contact. I wished to console her after his visit. But the conversation did not go well.”

A fleeting smile crosses Jae-Hyun’s lips. “I sounded very strange to her. And I am afraid she only stopped crying because she was concerned her attendant had suffered a stroke. After that embarrassing exchange, I found taking a Korean host was the easiest way to explain my stilted and halting speech. And after that body’s death at your father’s hand, I found another Korean host. An older car designer who secretly drew manhwa at night as opposed to learning Japanese as he ought. He came to the house to show your father the latest specs on a new line of Nakamura cars. His thick accent so repelled Kazuo that he fired him on the spot. He was perfect.”

Perfect…

The ghost’s version of the story makes my blood boil.

“So you left my mother to wander our home as a ghost while you went on with your life inside your perfect host.”

Norio appears very, very confused. But Kristal regards Jae-Hyun, her eyes filled with reproach. “Is that true? After the body you possessed was killed, you came here and just left Hayato’s mother back in Japan?”

Despite his centuries-old age, the ghost has the decency to look ashamed.

He addresses Kristal but looks at me as he answers, “I was ever the brave warrior when I was among the living. But what your mother became after her death… a wraith wandering the grounds, weeping for vengeance, I could not withstand it. It was all my fault that she met her death so early. The caretaker’s wife was understandably enraged by our affair. Even more tragically, she believed your father when he said he would protect her if she did his dirty work. Of course, Kazuo had her and her husband killed for the supposed crime of murdering his wife. And your mother was forever doomed to wander without justice. I could not help her in that state. So I left. I had hoped my doing so would ease her suffering.”

“It didn’t,” I answer bluntly. “She continued to wander for years after that, shrieking for justice so loudly, I could no longer bear to visit our factory home. I did not know back then that there was a way to help ghosts in her position. So she was stuck in that state until my father’s death by one of his many victims.”

My tone is reproachful, but Jae-Hyun’s face lights up at my words. “So she is free? She has crossed over to the next realm?”

I frown, not wanting to please him. But I can think of no other answer to his question but, “Yes, she crossed over with no thanks to you.”