Japanese Gothic Tales (15 page)

The inbound and outbound trains came at almost the same moment. Sokichi remained, transfixed.

As he looked on, the woman who resembled his cousin's wife quickly approached the crimson lady and began straightening the coat that had fallen from her shoulders.

"It's here."

"My taxi?" asked the crimson lady, still staring off in the distance.

9

Three or four trains, all of them washed clean of mud, came and left in quick succession, making the young platform attendant wonder why Sokichi and the others had still not left the waiting room. "Are you getting on or not?"

"This woman's not well," said Sokichi, offering his arm to the crimson woman, who looked up at him blankly.

After the station attendant left, Sokichi looked tenderly at the woman's face and exchanged glances with the two who were accompanying her. "Let me call a cab. But could we not go to Sugamo? I'd like to take care of her myself. My name is Hata."

When the third woman saw the name "Hata Sokichi, M.D." written on his name card, she straightened like the letter P then bowed like the letter Z. She had come along to help. Sokichi, seeing that he could trust the one who looked so much like his cousin, learned that the crimson lady had been a prostitute at a brothel in Shinagawa. She had lost her mind and was now being taken to Sugamo. She insisted on going by taxi and refused to cooperate when the trains came. The woman with the
marumage
hairdo was apparently the brothel owner's daughter. Her helper, the one with shorter hair, glared sourly at the madwoman, whose name was Osen.

Surprised by his unexpected visit, the attendants and white-clad nurses gathered quickly and quietly. Dr. Hata Sokichi calmly declined their offers of assistance. "This is a personal visit. Please, everyone go back to what you were doing."

Alone, he entered the special room where Osen was lying with her clothes in disarray. Kneeling beside the bed, he placed a razor in her hands and buried his forehead in her bosom. He embraced her, oblivious to the world around them, and drenched his beard with his tears.