Mushi-shi>06. Those Who Inhale the Dew

Narrator: Today, the sun will rise and set, just as it always does... Morning blossoms fall flower by flower... Once again, the sun will set and rise, just as it always does... And flowers will bloom everywhere... But they are different from the flowers of yesterday...


Ginko: Hey, are we even close yet?

Nagi: Almost there. So, I guess since it was a doctor that introduced you to me, that must make you one too, right?

Ginko: Nice try, but no -- I'm a mushi master.

Nagi: ......

Ginko: Don't look so worried... From what I've heard about this place, it's definitely something I can deal with.

Nagi: Sorry--it's just the first time I've heard that term before... Look, there it is!



MUSHI-SHI 06.
Those Who Inhale the Dew 露を吸う群(つゆをすうむれ)



Nagi: Know what, Akoya? Somewhere out there, across the sea, there's a beautiful place... Everyone who lives there is happy. We should go there sometime. I'll take you. Remember that, and don't look so sad, okay?

Akoya: Mmm...

Nagi: That's the spirit.


Ginko: Why are you taking such a wide path around the island?

Nagi: The tide's about to change. The tide system around the island is very complex, and the currents are fast and powerful. You can only get to the island on the day of the spring tide... and even then, only for a few hours.

Ginko: I see what you mean. It's not the easiest place to get into...

Nagi: Here we go! Watch your head.


Ginko: So are you a fisherman or something?

Nagi: This island has no fishermen... Don't forget the tide -- there's only one day a month a boat can leave.

Ginko: Nothing but rock...

Nagi: Yes, the island is barren... there's very little soil... Everyone gets by somehow... through determination and faith in the "living god"...

Ginko: "Living god"?

Nagi: Someone's here! Stay down!

Mother: I'm sorry... but I can't let you eat this. It's an offering to the "living god." We're going to ask her if she will heal your sickness. Here, get on my back, let me carry you. You'll feel better soon.

Ginko: Hey, Nagi, why do we have to hide? What's going on here?

Nagi: The reason I brought you to this island is to see this so-called "living god."

Ginko: What's that?

Nagi: She used to be just a normal girl...! Please, you have to save her! Everyone is being fooled!


Nagi: There she is... The man next to her is her father, the head of the household... Every day, a "miracle" happens to her. Today is the day that her believers are allowed to pay their respects.

Ginko: Her breathing has stopped completely. ... Did you see that?

Nagi: See what?

Ginko: No, you couldn't, could you...

Akoya's Father: Now be sure that all of you inhale the fragrance deeply. It will relieve you from the burden of your pains and your illnesses... This is the immortal power of the "living god."

Nagi: After a while, she'll return to normal again. When the morning comes, she'll awaken as though nothing had ever happened.

Ginko: It was just like what I'd been told... I must admit, I'm still surprised. She heals the sick?

Nagi: It's all a lie, a charade! My mom died without being healed... even after we offered most of our harvest to the "living god." There was no "miracle" for her. The head of the household and his family were the ones who started the "living god" religion. They were the first ones to be able to read the tides and land safely on the island. Since then, in every generation, someone from their family becomes the "living god." People from all around began to hear about the miracles, and came to the island seeking their own. Every time a "living god" passes on, another one appears to take its place in less than half a year. As time passed, more and more people came to the "living god," even terminal diseases were said to have been cured. As for me, I could never believe in any of it... But then...

Akoya's Father: Akoya! So I've heard you've played with an outsider yet again. Come. We have some important business to attend to.

Nagi: That was about a month after the previous "living god" had passed away. It was on the day of the spring tide, just like yesterday. And after that, she changed -- she became what you saw... She never speaks a word to anyone... She doesn't remember anything...! Not long after, I finally learned the truth.

Akoya's Father: So, yet another has recovered from their illness? It's amazing what one can do with the power of suggestion. Akoya was never the best of children, but she would be happy to know that she's finally serving her family well. (laughs evilly)

Nagi: It was unforgivable... I left the island in search of someone who could save her. I swore to find help or never come back. If he knew I'd returned, her father would be suspicious. To be honest, Ginko, you're not safe here either.

Ginko: (sighs) I knew I'd regret this...

Nagi: Please, Ginko! I don't want to just give up without trying something!

Ginko: Fine, we'll try something. But first I'll need to take a look at her.


Ginko: Her pulse is abnormally fast... and her body temperature is far above normal, too. ... It's coming. Hold that light up, will you? Sorry about this... There it is! It's a mushi... Huh? Ah! The parent bore its young, then it died...

Nagi: So what did you see?

Ginko: A mushi lodged inside the nasal cavity. But I don't know if removing it will bring her back to normal... Is she the only one affected?

Nagi: No, there are others. They're kept in isolation on a cape at the other side of the island. They're all just like Akoya. Since the old days, people like them would turn up every once in a while. The head of the household from each generation praised them and gave them homes here... They're considered devout believers who are close to the "living god." The families they leave behind give them their blessings, believing their bloodline produced someone free from all pain and suffering.

Ginko: Our search had so far uncovered nothing new. Hey, her condition started during the spring tide, right?

Nagi: Right.

Ginko: Is there a place on the island that's normally hidden until the spring tide?

Nagi: Hmm... Yeah, there's a cave at the tip of the cape...


Nagi: Over there. What're you looking for?

Ginko: There's one! He's been affected by the parasites... There should be more. Help me take a look around.


Nagi: I found two more just like that one.

Ginko: Good. Bring them here.

Ginko: Nagi! A cure -- I found it.


Nagi: Hang on, Akoya. Please, stay still!

Ginko: This will be over soon. There it is.

Nagi: Akoya?

Akoya: Na...gi?

Nagi: Akoya! It's you! It's really you...

Akoya: But... why would Father do that?

Nagi: Akoya, let's run away... The next spring tide comes in three days. You must keep the fact that you've been healed a secret until we can leave this island.

Akoya: But... I love it here; this is my home. I'm sure that Father will be sorry for the things he did. If I leave... someone else will end up having to become the "living god."

Ginko: Then you should reveal what causes this--to stop the abuse of this island's mushi and its people. Do you remember the day you became the "living god"?

Akoya: Yes I do. My father had summoned me...


Akoya's Father: Akoya... I picked this special flower just for you.

Akoya: It's beautiful!

Akoya's Father: And it smells wonderful. Go ahead, try it.


Nagi: It had a strong scent, and it looked like a morning glory? I've seen flowers like that in the cave. They were blooming in the dark. Is that the cause?

Ginko: Three days, right?

Nagi: Mmm. Akoya, we have to make sure that your father doesn't notice a change in you. Just keep pretending you're the "living god" until then.


Ginko: What's wrong? Still not feeling like yourself?

Akoya: I feel anxious, uneasy... When I was the "living god," after the sun would set and I'd begin to age, I could always close my eyes with a feeling of great satisfaction. It was comforting somehow... But now I'm frightened... When I wake up, all that awaits me is the continuation of the previous day. I feel overpowered by the uncertainty of everything that lies in front of me...

Ginko: Perhaps, you were living in the mushi's frame of time. This particular mushi harmonizes its host's biological clock with its own. All living things have a different life span. Even so, it's said that the number of heartbeats each being makes is the same. In other words, the density of time runs at different rates. The mushi's life span was just one day. You experienced the entirety of its life every single day.

Akoya: So, maybe that's the reason... Day after day... and hour after hour... I felt fresh and new with every breath... When I tried to think... I couldn't keep up... But I was always content... My heart felt fulfilled and full of life...


Nagi: In another hour, we'll be able to go in.


Akoya's Father: Akoya.

Akoya: (gasps)

Akoya's Father: It's odd that I should find you like this. I would have expected you to be old and weak by this hour.

Akoya: Father, it's strange. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I've been cured somehow...

Akoya's Father: Silence! I've heard that Nagi has returned to the island. You know where he went, don't you? Ah, yes... today is the spring tide...


Ginko: Growing in the darkness... Their scent is strong. So this is the mushi's nest... Using an animal host must increase the offspring's chances of survival...

Nagi: (gasps) Someone's coming...!


Villager: Hey, it's the "living god"! Where are you going?

Akoya: Excuse me, but could you tell me where I could find the cave that's at the tip of the cape...?

Villager: The "living god" just said something.

Akoya: I'm so sorry! I'll tell you everything! Please! Just help me.... Help me save Nagi!


Akoya's Father: Nagi, you've returned. What are you doing here?

Nagi: It's you! How could you do that to Akoya!?

Ginko: Nagi, wait. This won't help. Let them be. Their days are numbered, anyway... Those who continue to use the mushi for their own needs slowly lose their sanity... And soon after that, they'll die. You don't have what it takes to handle the mushi.

Nagi: He's trying to provoke them... He must have some kind of plan worked out...

Ginko: Ready, Nagi?

Nagi: Yeah!

Ginko: Run!

Akoya's Father: Go!

Man: Yes, sir!

Akoya's Father: Make sure no one will find their bodies. I'll just have to do this again...

Villager: Look, he's got one of those flowers!

Villager: Yeah... just like the one Akoya said he's been using...

Villager: It's unforgivable!


Nagi:It looks like we've lost them, but the tide's rising.

Ginko:Damn it! We've got an hour at the most...

Villager:It's them! Over here, I found them! Heeey, stand clear! We're gonna widen this opening!


Akoya: Father... it's my fault... I killed you... Father!

Akoya's Father:Akoya, I picked this special flower just for you.

Nagi:Remember that, and don't look so sad, okay?

Akoya's Father: And it smells wonderful. Go ahead, try it.

Nagi: Akoya! But why!? Tell me...

Akoya: Nagi... I'm sorry... On this side... I can live... like before...

Ginko: It's embedded deeper than last time... It'll be hard to remove...

Nagi: It's okay... The only time Akoya ever looked truly happy... was when she was the "living god"...


Narrator: Today, the sun will rise and set, just as it always does... Morning blossoms fall flower by flower... Once again, the sun will set and rise, just as it always does... And flowers will bloom everywhere... They are different from the flowers of yesterday... but the flowers of today are just as beautiful...


Nagi: That day, Ginko missed his chance to leave with the spring tide... so he stayed on the island for a month. During that time, he was able to treat all the people on the cape. But even so, whenever the spring tide came, the cave opened up, someone became the "living god" once again.


Ginko: There are most likely some people that won't appreciate the treatment... They'll probably smell the flower again... Akoya said...

Akoya: I'm frightened... I feel overpowered by the uncertainty of everything that lies in front of me...

Nagi: She and I are not all that different, are we? Just look at me -- I have no idea what I'm supposed to do from now on...

Ginko: You should just live a normal life. Things will be a little better once you're able to fish... You should get everyone to help you open up the cave to allow more boats to go out to sea. It's not going to be easy... But there's one thing you can count on to be on your side: the endless amount of time that waits in front of you.