(2-1) Chapter of The Modulation

　"Ah!"
　A cry as if it might be uttered or might not. Granting a cry occurred, it was difficult to point which of them, the man or the girl, because all this happened in an instant. …The pair separated each other.
　The man was walking alone on the way toward the land of the dead.
　In the boundary between this and the other world, the heavens seemed not the heavens, the ground where there was nothing, no mountains, no rivers, no grasses, no trees, …however, suddenly, a narrow or a steep way turned up about the man, and as he went over with much hard and turned around to look at there, there was nothing at there, no narrow way, no steep hill's way, there was only flatness. As if the landscapes seemed to be in each person's mind, if it was so this darkness also might be in each person's mind.
　At there, myriad little fires like gleam of a firefly were squirming. All of those were men who were dying and wandering between life and death in a while. They couldn't know each other. And each of them couldn't know self if to fall or not. They didn't know where had to go to.
　Some one was old. Some one was stubbed it's back with a knife. Some one was in ill and was a leanness. A stark naked and potbellied man was with dropping his head. A young man was trying in crazy to join his upper arm, which was cut and was mashed, on to another open wound as if he would unite broken cup with a glue. Other one was whose internal organs were hanging from split belly like rags. An old was covered with flames. A little girl was covered with blood with being tore her skirt. A seventeen or eighteen boy, who got on a Japanese kimono which was black satin with figured train and who wearied make-up with rouge and powder, cut off his tongue with the teeth. And another one was rather ambiguous even it's figure. …they were entangled, piled up, tabled down, creeped along on own knees, or was spinning like a top, …and they was running down like a muddy sea. Weeping, laughing, getting angry, hating, having a grudge against one, giving up, trembling with fear, …those various faces were getting ups and downs like sea spumes. They had not any voice. Their mouths opened in vain.

　The man struggled along the path to the foot of some bridge.
　The bridge that discolored on vermilion-lacquered was a desolate arched bridge. And yet, the bridge of which arched handrails and main pillars were extraordinary massive, and ornamental tops of railing were huge, impressed as un destruction and immobility. There was no knowing how long the distance to the opposite bank was.

　"Halt! Thou shalt not cross over this bridge. If thou wilt force cross over it, the lows of nature will brake, and the river that was crossed over by the brig will bury the bride, and the stream will surge back. Lo!"
　As the man looked at the stream, the surface of the water which was flowing in torrents suddenly caused commotion strangely. The natural forces that water ran from the upper to the down, struggled with the unnatural forces that did run from the down to the upper giving horrible roars. At the same time, the arched bridge where the man was standing on, was becoming to dent it's center with howling as if a spring board might be reversed, and bridge's piles shook, water bubbled and boiled around piles. On the contrary, it might be that heaven was supplanted by earth, there was a dreadful pressure on the man's body. Far and near, raising sounds like wiping and atmospheric discharge, pale lights sparked.
　"Lo! Be afraid!"
　The voice echoed in harsh tones through all around.
　The man was petrified with fear like stiff.
　Rumbling of heaven and earth became more and more furious.
　"There! What do thou want to do? Shalt thou obey my order? Or shalt thou force to cross over the bridge?" cried the invisible guardian spirit.
　The man, without any sound, got off the bridge immediately. And he retraced his steps.

(Continued: つづく）

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