CHAPTER IV

                                    

                                          
The following day, Honoree woke up to the melody of her alarm clock that was always scheduled to ring at 6:30am. It was Sunday, but Takao had taught her to wake up early for breakfast with the reason that "waking up early makes one more productive."
                          
Honoree blindly searched for her bathrobe and head to the bathroom. She put on a simple checkered skirt and white tee shirt. In the kitchen, she cooked rice, miso soup and grilled some mackerel for her grandfather and toasted bread for her. Takao allowed her to at least eat whatever food she wants, so most of the time she was not eating rice. Japanese rice is sticky and she felt bloated when she ate a lot.
                          
"Good morning Ojii-san." Honoree greeted.
                          
They were seated across each other over the tatami. Honoree fill Takao's glass with raspberry juice.
                          
"That again?" Takao asked, referring to the sourness of raspberry juice. "You know I'm old for that Hono-chan."
                          
Honoree smiles. "You know you're not that old enough Ojii-san."
                          
Honoree talks about the movie they watched last night. She was giggling about it during breakfast and even when washing the dishes.
                          
"You should have seen it Ojii-san, it was ridiculously funny."
                          
Takao frowned. "I don't think living dead creatures are funny."
                          
"They are, funny." Honoree insisted.
                          
Before heading outside to the shrine, Honoree slipped on a thick gray scarf around her neck. She rub her hands together and blow it. The shrine should be taken care off before visitors arrive, which is usually around after lunch or late in the afternoon. There are many things to do, which includes sweeping off the leaves, flourishing the shrine floor and then lighting the candles inside the honden.
                          
Honoree was born a protestant. She believed in one God who sends His Only Son down from heaven to take away all the sins of the world. Most people in Japan had Shintoism as a religion. Shintoism literally means "way of the gods" and it embraces the idea that the kami (gods) take the form of things close to life and nature such as tress, mountains and rivers. The shrine Takao maintains here, is for the shinto god of rice, Inari. Inari was believed to have kitsune or foxes spirits as its messenger. At the entrance to the shrine they have two kitsune statues which is believed to possess superior intelligence, long life and magical powers. 
                          
God of rice, eh? How does it differ from Demeter, the goddess of corn and make harvest time fruitful? Honoree thought. Well, this is Japan.
                          
Before beginning her tasks, Honoree must first pay respect at the offering hall. She reached for a coin on her pocket and tossed it on. She bowed deeply twice and clap her hands twice then bowed twice again before praying for a few seconds. Honoree learned that clapping in the japanese shinto is a way to get the kami's attention. After praying, she bowed once more, clap her hands once again and stood up.
                          
She found the broom at the storage room and join Takao outside. Before she finished sweeping the leaves near the entrance hall, Takao starts to talk again about his supernatural encounter with a kitsune back in the old days. He was always into telling her that incident, not getting tired of reminiscing memories Honoree thought to be unreal.
                          
"I was at your age Hono-chan." he began, smiling at the thought. "When a beautiful kitsune in its human form appeared to me one night right at the very spot you're standing."
                          
Honoree looked at him. She was tempted to question him if that story is rather signs of aging.
                          
"I would never forget how beautiful she was. If Im not married that time, I would gladly follow her home, without a doubt."
                          
"You're married when you're just sixteen?"
                          
"I am."
                          
"So I can get married tomorrow?" Honoree teased.
                          
Takao glared at her. "Silly girl."
                          
According to her grandfather's stories, kitsune spirits are beings possessing magical powers that increases with their age and wisdom. Foremost is their ability to assume a human form. The more tails a kitsune has, the older, the wiser and the more powerful it is and because of their potential powers, people regarded them as deities and offers food to them at the shrine. The statues at the entrance hall is a zenko or the good foxes type. They were the ones associated as mesengers to the god Inari. Takao told Honoree that the stories about kitsune spirits being trickster, are prevalent to the town before. Some claims that when you see a beautiful woman in the middle of the night it is probably a kitsune spirit. 
                          
"Ojii-san, I was wondering, how will you know if a beautiful woman is really a kitsune spirit?" Honoree asked.
                          
Takao was glad to answer her question, much to Honoree's dismay. He must be thinking that Honoree is starting to believed his stories when in truth, Honoree is trying to find a fault in the stories. There is always an unbelievable spot in mythologies, just like how Athena sprang out of Zeus without a mother who bore her.
                          
"You will see that they retain some of their kitsune's form, like fox's ears and tails."
                          
"It sounds creepy."
                          
Takao glanced at the house and his expression changes. "I forgot to change my slippers!"
                          
"You're starting to grow old Ojii-san" Honoree said.
                          
"Not old enough to never scold you, child. Anyway, you go inside already and wipe the floor in honden*."
                          
"I will, after this."
                          
Takao headed back as Honoree resume sweeping the remaining ground. After she returned the brooms at the storage, she walked to the empty honden* with a small basin filled with water and a rag. She looked at the phone on her pocket and was surprised to see that the clock reads 10am. She was sweeping the grounds in two hours.
                          
Honoree was halfway to the honden when it starts to rain. Strange, she thought. The sky was bright and it was raining? She wonder what took her grandfather long from changing his slippers. Her stomach starts to growls. She slept short last night and she was working since early morning, no wonder she starts to get hungry again.
                          
Honoree began wiping the floors from haiden* and when she reached the honden, she stopped for a few minutes and lie on the floor. She wiggle her tired hands and wondered why she was even doing such task. "I'm not doing this before!" she shouted.
                          
Then something caught her attention.
                          
A smell of what it seems like shabu shabu* filled her nose. Her stomach growls again. Honoree turns around and saw a mini table with foods on top. Her mouth drops opened. How can it be? She looked around to see who is it that leave the food as offerings, but she doesn't noticed anyone earlier.
                          
Honoree stood up and approached the food offerings. Well, the shabu shabu look delicious with side dishes around. She looked left and right and made sure her grandfather isn't there. Then she picked up the chopstick and pulled it apart.
                          
This will be extremely rude and she feel guilty.
                          
"Wow! This is the most delicious shabu shabu I've ever eaten." she exclaimed.