little peeping eyes disappear in the thick forest darkness as soon he turns his head. just suggestion? kandido is wandering. that wood where the light barely filters, seems populated by thousands spirits. every so often the mossy head of a jouzu pops out of the ground. these little Buddhas, dressed with red baby cloths: caps and bibs, smiles at kandido. they are the only benign presence he can feel.
two black eyes, as dark as the well bottom, were scanning him that morning in the bus. they belonged to a young student girl that was coming back to his village on top of the mountain. a wired bump, in the middle of her front, stroke kandido. like a little horn at the place of the third eye.
once he read a story of a breed, living on top of some japanese mountains, half human and half demon. this breed has the distinctive sign of the horn in the middle of the front. most of the time you can't notice it because the wear long hair to hide it. kandido was going in kyosan to see one of the biggest cemetery of the world. The cemetery was built around the the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi the founder of the esoteric Buddhist sect of Shingon Buddhism. it has believed that is not died (he was born on the 8th century!). so, many people wanted to be buried next to him. to be protected. resurrection for a Buddhist is like a "save" on the computer game of Life. you shouldn't start everything from the beginning, again with a new birth.
the hill is covered by millions of tomb stones. some are fallen. other cover by moss. every so often some jouzu smiling in their red clothes.
grave at every step. for kilometers. there is even a tomb for the termites made by a company of insecticide products.
kandido is navigating between the graves looking for some abandoned one. but every one has some branch of kotemaki, a plant that the Japanese put on their tomb when the season doesn't allows have flowers.
kandido had read strange stories about some esoteric monks on the books of alexanda david. that stories keeps on resounding on his brain. the founder the sect she describe, used some anti aging ointment produced by the decomposition of the skin of alive men. he was keeping piles of men like a kebab, letting them rotting one on top of the other. alive with dead.
when kandido reaches the main temple the night has fallen down. the temple was surrounded by red paper lamps. on a side there was a stone lamp that was burning for 1000 years not stopping. it's late. the temple is closed to the visitors. no one around. a far whispering catches his attention. it's coming from the back of the temple. kandido walks silently. in a corner a young monk in kneeling down. an other monk is chanting so meting. kandido waits in the dark. he can only hear the other monk singing formulas. then suddenly he sees his hand. an old man hands. they starts rubbing the head of the young monk and sometime they clap over his head. kandido goes away. a heels noise is coming in his direction: a young woman and a monk shaved like man.. the two are going on the back of the temple. then the hells noise stops for a while. a long time. no any other noise. kandido starts walk away along the tombs path. "maybe they have to meet the old monk" he thinks. now the path is illuminated by the stones lamps. in the dark he can see the shapes of the graves. kandido starts to imagine phantoms crawling out the tombs like incense spirals. he speeds up his steps. the he slow down trying to control himself. a heels ticketing behind him. the woman laughs coarsely. there are legends about demons with human shape. disguised in order to get a fresh soul. kandido speeds up. the ticketing accelerates too. then, like dreams in the morning, the noise dissolves.
kandido sighs and smiles of his fantasy.then other noises arises behind him.blurred.
"don't turn your head" he repeats to himself. "if you do it, you give them life. believing your fear makes them alive... and then you are fucked up!!". This is the first rule he learned from scary movies. like Orpheus, kandido walk through the land of the dead without turning his head. the noises are getting stranger and stranger. maybe the wind that bent the age old ceders... or some night bird awaken by his steps.
on his arm the dragon seems awakening. moving his tail. even the skull starts glowing... that skull! when kandido drew it didn't realize that it will keep his empty orbs and its sarcastic smile on him all the time. a sort of "memento mori" always under his eye. "fuck!" he swears "the artist hasn't draw the clouds that hides the shape of buddah on my inner arm... that would help me!"
"even the tattoo... now!" he takes his Ipod from the pocket and plug in the earphones: "punk or psytrance?"
"psy trance is more suited in japan!" he replies. the fast rhythm drives his steps and in a second he's out of the forest. the star-dogged moon is smiling at him.
"some food now!" he screams joyfully.
he enters in a small sake bar
"sake hitastsu, onegai shimas" he asks and then he points something on the dishes of the other customers..."and that too!"
a monk rise his eye and smile at him.
"i am Shingon Buddhist monk. come tomorrow morning to pray with us."
that monk, he will discover later, was waiting for him.
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