Vol 2 Final Chapter: Confusion and Enlightenment

“We should all realize that we can only talk about the bad forgeries, the ones that have been detected; the good ones are still hanging on the walls.” — Théodore Rousseau

It’s late October now, and we’re approaching the height of autumn. At the antique shop Kura, quiet jazz music was playing as usual. They call autumn the best season for enjoying art. Come to think of it, autumn suits Kura well.

As for me, my friends seemed kind of restless with winter coming up. It was going to be jam-packed with events. I sighed dejectedly, thinking back to my classmates’ invitation.

“Is something wrong?” Holmes looked up from the accounting book, sounding concerned.

“Ah, no. Um…Holmes, have you ever been to a mixer?”

“What?” Holmes widened his eyes, bewildered by my abrupt question. He quickly put on his usual smile and said, “I’ve been a university student for five years now, so yes, I have. Were you invited to one by any chance?”

“Yes, my friends at school insisted. The guys are apparently in university, and they needed to match the number of people on each side.”

“University…” Holmes’s eyebrow twitched. “Are university students supposed to want to go to a mixer with high school students?”

Right; there are lots of beautiful women at universities, so wouldn’t they think that high school students are childish?

“Well, I suppose there are those who prefer naïve girls,” he continued. “However, if they’re going out of their way to have a mixer with high school girls, I’d imagine they’re all the type who won’t hold back just because you’re in high school. Please be careful,” Holmes said, coldly and bluntly.

I was a bit surprised. It was rare for him to speak that way. He must be really worried about me. I couldn’t help but giggle, though.

“What was funny about what I said?” Holmes asked.

“You’re worried about a plain high school girl like me, when I’m only there to make the others look better. No one’s going to go after me when the girls who invited me are all glamorous,” I said, laughing.

Holmes gave a small sigh. “I see. Obliviousness is both an asset and a sin.”

“What?”

“Never mind, sorry. That was a bad way to put it.” Holmes brushed his hand through his hair, apparently reflecting on what he said.

“It’s okay. Thank you for worrying, but I’ll be fine.”

“Will you?” He rested his chin in his hands, looking conflicted.

He has a point, though. University students who want to have a mixer with high school girls might think we’re easy. Maybe a plain girl like me has to be even more careful. I wasn’t interested in the first place, so I guess I should just decline the invitation. I nodded, having made my decision.

Meanwhile, Holmes was holding something that looked like a card and looking at it with a sorrowful expression.

“What’s that?” I asked, walking closer to him.

Holmes looked up at me and said, “Ah, this is—”

Suddenly, the door opened and the chime rang.

“Hey there, Holmes and Aoi!” Akihito barged in, grinning from ear to ear.

“You again? Also, could you enter the store more quietly?” Holmes said, slightly exasperated.

Akihito ignored him, sat down on the sofa, and said, “So, Holmes…”

It was hard not to laugh at how blatantly irritated Holmes was. Those two made a good pair.

“What now?”

“Do you know about Suzumushi Temple?” Akihito’s eyes lit up.

“Suzumushi Temple?” I tilted my head. Suzumushi are bell crickets, and people like to keep them as pets. Is there really a temple with a cute name like that?

“Yes,” Holmes said, beginning his usual explanation. “It’s commonly called Suzumushi Temple because you can enjoy the crickets’ song there all year round, but its official name is Kegon Temple. It’s known for the ‘one wish’ Jizo statue.”

“One wish?” I tilted my head again.

Holmes nodded. “The temple is famous for being able to grant each person a single wish.”

“Just one?” I asked, intrigued.

Akihito leaned forward enthusiastically. “Have you been there before?”

“I went with my friends in middle school,” Holmes answered.

“Did your wish come true?”

Holmes paused, as if recalling his wish. “Yes, I got into the high school I was aiming for.”

“So it did! What an awesome temple.” Akihito clenched his fists.

Isn’t Holmes smart enough to get into his desired high school without asking the great Jizo for help? I thought to myself.

“Is that what you came to ask?”

“Let’s go to Suzumushi Temple, Holmes! I want my dream to come true,” Akihito said, his eyes sparkling.

Holmes frowned, looking uninterested. “If that’s all, then why don’t you go by yourself?”

“Aw, don’t you have any other wishes? Let’s go, dude! Hey, Aoi, you wanna go too, right? Aren’t you interested in a temple that can grant you any one wish?”

I was startled by the sudden question, but I nodded firmly. “Y-Yes!” I couldn’t think of a wish at the moment, but I was interested anyway.

Holmes sighed, having apparently resigned himself. “If Aoi says she wants to go, then let’s go. Is next Sunday all right?”

“That soon? And you’re suggesting a specific day? Do you already have plans again?” Akihito hurried to take his phone out and check his schedule.

“Yes, I happen to have something to attend to in the afternoon in Arashiyama.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“This,” Holmes said, showing me the card he’d been holding. It seemed to be an invitation. It said “Shigetoshi Yanagihara’s Birthday Celebration” on it.

“Shigetoshi Yanagihara… Is that the appraiser?” He was a famous appraiser as well as an old friend of the owner’s. He also came to the owner’s birthday party.

“Yes. He’ll be holding a party for his eightieth birthday. My grandfather will be away on business in China, so I’ll have to attend in his place.” Holmes shrugged. He didn’t seem enthusiastic about it… Well, of course he isn’t.

“The party starts at 2:00 p.m., so we’ll go to Suzumushi Temple first thing in the morning, do some sightseeing in Arashiyama, and then go to the party together,” Holmes said with a grin.

“What?! The owner’s party was fine, but why would I want to go to another old man’s birthday party?! You’re just dragging us along because you’ll be bored by yourself!” Akihito exclaimed. He’s as straightforward as always.

“Yanagihara lives in a magnificent Japanese-style estate near Tenryu-ji Temple. Since he’s a well-known appraiser too, I’m sure there will be famous people from various fields there.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I don’t mind going if that’s the case.”

“Why do you act like you’re doing me a favor when you’re the one that came to me for help? If you can’t come, that’s perfectly fine with me,” Holmes scoffed.

“Wait, um, please let me come, Zen priest Holmes.” Panicking, Akihito put his hands together in a praying pose. I couldn’t help but laugh at the two and their usual antics.

Now Akihito said, “Phew, I’m glad I happen to have Sunday off for once. Work’s been really tight lately. I have a meeting now, so I gotta run.” He dashed out of the store. Apparently that request was the only thing he came for.

“He left before I could even bring out the coffee,” Holmes remarked with a wry smile, shrugging.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Since I’m already making it, let’s take a break anyway.”

“Okay.”

We sat across the counter from each other. I took a sip of the café au lait that he’d brewed for me. In front of me, Holmes was elegantly drinking his coffee. I inadvertently found myself observing him. Long fingers, and his eyelashes are pretty long too…

“Is something wrong?” Holmes asked, noticing my gaze and looking up at me.

Flustered, I scrambled to say, “A-Akihito seems like he’s doing really well, huh? It looked like he was busy with work.” He said that his schedule was tight.

“No, if he was really doing that well, he wouldn’t make an effort to show off his ‘busyness.’ Things are looking better for him, but he’s still in a precarious situation, and he’s hopelessly worried about the future. I think that’s why he wanted to ask me to go to Suzumushi Temple with him,” Holmes explained calmly. Wow, I don’t know what to say. He’s as sharp as ever.

“Is Suzumushi Temple famous? I didn’t know about it at all.”

“Perhaps it’s only well-known among those in the know.”

“You went there in middle school, right?”

“Yes.”

“If you can only make one wish there, does that mean you’ve used up your only chance?” Is that why he never went again after that?

“It’s not limited to once in your lifetime. At Suzumushi Temple, you buy a talisman and make your wish to the Jizo statue. If your wish is granted, then you come back to give thanks and return the talisman. Then, you can buy another talisman and make a new wish. Many people do this. Come to think of it, I never went back to formally give my thanks, since I returned the talisman through the mail.”

“You’re allowed to mail it back?”

“Yes, since there are those who visit from afar. However, there are also many people from afar who come back multiple times.”

“That means their wishes are coming true, right? Wow, I’m looking forward to it now.” I glanced at Holmes, who looked as calm as always. “You didn’t seem enthusiastic about going, but don’t you have wishes you want granted? There has to be something, right?” I asked innocently.

Holmes furrowed his brow. “That’s the issue.”

“Huh?”

“Well, being limited to just one is the issue. I’m a greedy man, so I have lots of wishes. But there isn’t one that stands above the rest. I didn’t know what to pick when I was in middle school either, which is why I ended up with the safe choice of getting into my desired high school.”

“Oh, I see. It does seem like it could be hard to choose only one.” Just one wish, huh? In that sense, Akihito’s lucky to have a clear wish. I’m sure he’ll ask to succeed in the entertainment industry. What would I wish for, then? I pondered seriously.

“There is one wish that occupies most of my mind right now, but I don’t think it’s something I would ask the gods or the Buddha for,” said Holmes.

Surprised, I looked up. “What is it?”

“I want to defeat Ensho once and for all, but I don’t think I’d want to borrow the great Jizo’s power for that.”

“Oh, I see. You really hate to lose, huh?” I giggled.

Holmes smiled and nodded. “Yes. It rarely gets pointed out, but I’m very competitive.”

“I know. You’re also stubborn but sincere. You have another face that’s completely different from the one you usually show, but I think that side of you is also great,” I said earnestly.

Holmes looked surprised.

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “That was rude of me to say.”

“No, it wasn’t. Thank you.”

“Huh?” Why did he thank me?

“As you said, I’m stubborn and hate to lose… I’m also a two-faced man. Setting aside my outward face, my hidden face isn’t something that can be praised,” he said quietly.

“To me, both of those sides are you.”

Holmes didn’t say anything and simply smiled in response.