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The white plum blossom has bloomed. As I stroke its
snow-white petals, the fragrance emanating from it brings back memories of a
pure white figure that gradually becomes clearer. I recall you, during the
time when the white plum blossoms were in full bloom.
You were a woman of remarkable beauty.
Walking slowly on the white snowy path, your snow-white kimono and light
purple silk belt only served to enhance your beauty. Your black hair flowed
down to your chest, and your long eyes shone with melancholy. You stood
silently in the distance, making no sound. Only the clear fragrance of the
white plum drifted by.
You were as calm as the white plum. Even though the turmoil of the end of
the Edo period swept through every inch of Kyoto, with the red light of
swords and knives, it did not tarnish your purity and kindness. Even though
your husband was killed, you didn't show any of the emotions on your face.
In fact, you were suffering, but who could see it? Your hand holding the cup
trembled, as you suppressed your sorrow and let it be carried away by the
cold wind, leaving only the beauty of white that made people sigh.
You moved like the white plum. Even though you could have sought revenge for
your husband's murder, you still chose to accept and influence him with your
purity and kindness, letting the executioner burdened with so much blood
debt see the hope of life. Later on, through your simple and humble conduct,
you slowly wore down his bloodthirsty nature. Yet, he was still unaware of
your true identity and vowed to give you a new happiness. Unable to bear
seeing him in grief, you shouldered everything on your own, like white,
silent and without a sound.
Your words were as pure as the white plum. Even though he destroyed your
life with his own hands, you still told him before you died, "Live on..." It
was only three simple words, but they weighed heavily on him. You could not
see what happened after that. But it was precisely because of those three
simple words that the executioner found the truth amidst the bloody storm
and eventually welcomed the arrival of a new era. As for you, you fell into
the white plum blossoms, forever closing your eyes.
The white plum, the most beautiful scenery in the cold winter, is also the
shortest-lived. Just like you, you seem to have been just a passing guest in
his life, but you have left a deep cross-shaped wound in his heart. In the
torrent of time, everything changes, but what remains unchanged is your
purity and kindness. It is precisely because of this that you have become
eternal.
The white plum blossoms have bloomed again. You smile quietly and leave us.
I recall you, during the time when the white plum blossoms were in full
bloom. |
