His hands were becoming clammy. He could feel his heart racing as the roaring flames from the fire grew larger and larger. Tanuki, normally curious and excited was being uncharacteristically cautious staying right by Mr. Takuya's side. Tanuki didn't like the hot fire in front of him.
Watching the sultry women dance, Mr. Takuya felt uncomfortable and thought of the antique store owner. He never liked her very much, she was too mysterious. She drank a lot and always had so many men in her shop. Mr. Takuya never knew men could like antiques so much. Her habits made him turn the opposite direction but this time he could not. Although the bonfire caused him fear, Mr. Takuya could not tear himself away from the hypnotizing blaze.
Mr. Takuya stood watching as minutes passed by. He lost his surroundings, becoming completely absorbed in the fire. He watched as the clan of Christians threw book after book into the flames, each page curling up in pain as stolen vodka rained down. The song coming from the women's mouths frightened him. Why did these scary women, who danced around the huge bonfire, have such beautiful voices? Nothing was making sense; Mr. Takuya was very confused but could only comprehend half of it.
Eventually, Mr. Takuya pulled himself away. Huddled outside the door of the diner, a large crowd stopped Mr. Takuya in his tracks again. In front of him was large group of people. He had never seen these people before, but for some strange reason, they were all watching him as he walked up. Their looks and stares made him uncomfortable once again. He struggled to muster up a proper greeting. As soon as he stopped walking towards them, the crowd went for Mr. Takuya and his cart. The sudden rush of people truly scared Mr. Takuya into shock. Once he had gained control of his nerves, Mr. Takuya realized what the people wanted. For the first time since Mr. Takuya had been wandering the streets in this broken down town, he had business. The group loved his red bean cakes and baked sweet potato. Mr. Takuya liked these people. They love the same foods as him and some of them even looked like him. He didn't know who these people were or how they had ended up in this town. All Mr. Takuya knew was that he was glad to be distracted from the fire and hoped the group would stay a while.
AN EXCERPT FROM Dragon Burns, Badger Dances
ReplyDeleteI had a pattern now.
Each day I spent at the library; reading, dozing off, getting lost in the words without a trail of breadcrumbs. Each night I spent in my apartment; feverishly working, testing, creating new connections and complexities. Progress was being made, everything was going according to plan.
As I left that morning the doorman was missing from his habitual post. I wonder where he is, if today is his day off. Does he have days off?
The first sign of trouble was the badger. Tanuki, of the family Mustelidae, is running wild up the street in zig-zagging, haphazard movements. There is terror in his eyes. I stand back to let him pass, afraid he might bite me if provoked. Where is his master now?
The second sign of trouble was a man. Dirty and unkempt, he strides with purpose down the street. I've seen him before, I think, but hunched over, muttering to himself by the side of the road. He's still wearing the same rags, but now he stands tall, holds his sign up high. THE END IS NIGH. He's hollering something, filling his chest with air and releasing torrents, machine-gun bursts, of speech.
It's over, he says, it's time to give up. The end is here. Finally we can all go to sleep, lay down our heads and die, stick your heads in the sand, or in a paper bag, if you think it will help. It won't help. The end is here. It's just around the bend. Come and get it! That's right, the end is here. Game over.
I get out of his way, and continue down the street. I can smell something now, a festive smell, the smell of summer cookouts, but it isn't summer. I quicken my steps, turn the corner of Mercy, and see the fire.
. . .