Mushi-shi>04.The Pillow Pathway

Jin: A mushi master?

Ginko: Yes. My name is Ginko. I hear you have premonitions in your dreams. Your reputation is well-known in these parts. But I'm here because there might be something wrong with these dreams.

Jin: Just what do you mean by that?

Ginko: It's likely that the mushi are involved in this. Some of them live within dreams... and control your premonitions of the future. They will continue to breed and multiply. This medicine should be able to keep them under control. How often do these prophetic dreams turn out to be true?

Jin: I'd say about... one or two in ten.

Ginko: In time, that number will increase to four or five. When it does, you should begin taking the medicine. If you take it too soon, it could be toxic. But know that if you don't take it at all, you will remain in your dreams forever. What's important is the balance between the two. So please, be sure to take it. I'll stop by again before the medicine runs out. So, until then... pleasant dreams...



MUSHI-SHI 04.
The Pillow Pathway 枕小路(まくらのこうじ)



Narrator: You should never converse with someone talking in their sleep. Those are the words from the land of Utopia.


Ginko: Mm...? It hasn't even been a year since the last time I was here. So what happened? What's going on?

Jin: So you've come back, mushi master... I've been waiting. There's something that I've been wanting to ask you.

Ginko: So are you alone here? I saw the village. Don't tell me that the...

Jin: Yes, that's right. I'll tell you what happened here. Everything.


Jin: Not again... All right, come on... ...? Amazing! It's a water vein! With this, we could expand the fields...


Man: Hey! We found it!

Man: Ha! Another one of Jin's dreams came true!

Man: Quickly! Go tell the others!


Kinu: The farmers gave us this to say thank you. This so much... It makes me feel bad.

Jin: I know what you mean... But since I can't begin to put by a meal like that from what I'm paid to sharpen swords... I'm very grateful.

Mayu: Mulberries!

Kinu: But Jin...

Jin: Huh?

Kinu: The number of dreams you have that are coming true... They're increasing like the mushi master said they would.

Mayu: Hmmmm.

Jin: You mean... you believe what he said? That the mushi are causing my dreams?

Kinu: I don't know, really. Maybe... But Jin... what if everything he was telling us is true...?

Jin: All right, dear. I'll take the medicine.

Kinu: Good. Thank you.


Man: The western cliff collapsed!

Man: Thank you so much. If it wasn't for your prediction, we'd be dead.

Woman: I don't know how we could ever thank you enough.


Jin: Kinu... sometimes having these dreams scares me... Whenever one of my premonitions comes true, I can't help but to feel that I somehow caused these things to happen.

Kinu: Don't be silly.

Man: Hey, Jin! This is my way of saying thanks for your help the other day. Here.

Jin: Ah... thank you.

Man: Hey, do you think you could have a good dream for me?

Jin: Sorry, I can't say.

Man: (laughs) He doesn't control them; they just come to him.

Man: Hm. Well, I'll look forward to the next one.

Jin: Thank you.

Kinu: Don't worry about it so much. I'm sure the only reason you have those dreams is so you can help out other people. Look around -- everyone is happy, and it's all because of you. There's no reason to be afraid.

Jin: You're right... I'm sorry.


Jin: At least, that's what I told my wife... but I still felt an apprehension about the dreams -- these visions -- so I secretly began to take the medicine on my own. But then...


Man: It's a tsunami!

Kinu: Mayu... she was down in the harbor...!

Jin: No... no, not my little girl...! I didn't dream any of this...

Man: How could he not have seen this coming?

Kinu: Mayu...


Jin: It's all because I took this damn medicine! That's why I couldn't see what happened to Mayu!


Jin: I stopped taking the medicine. Soon after, the number of premonitions I had increased. And they were becoming more vivid, more accurate.


Kinu: Jin, look at this. More gifts left out in front of our house. Please, dear... you need to cheer up.


Jin: Then, one day...

Jin: (gasp) (panting heavily)

Kinu: Did you have a dream? You're sweating. Was the dream bad? Tell me!

Jin: No... I'm just not feeling well, that's all. There was no dream.

Jin: The next day...

Jin: ......! Kinu...!


Jin: It was the same illness I had seen in my dream the night before. A green mold that would appear at the fingertips and spread over the entire body, causing it crumble apart like dirt. After that... I was the only one left in the village. You said your name was Ginko, right? Well, after that dream became real, Ginko, that's when it came to me... When you stopped by to visit me the first time, you had deceived me...! What lurks inside my mind is not the mushi that give one prophetic dreams. They are the mushi that bring one's dreams out of the mind to infect reality! That green mold disease... It first began to spread through the people that were closest to me. It took my wife, then my neighbors, and after that, it spread to houses across the way. There... before my very eyes, the exact same scene that had been in my dreams became a reality. All of my premonitions -- everything I had seen in my mind -- were all events that were created through my dreams. That's the truth... and you knew it! So, why did you lie to me!?

Ginko: Because this is a mushi that you can never be completely rid of. Once the parasite gets inside of you, it stays with you for the rest of your life. Your only option is to co-exist with it. Tell me, if you had known the truth, do you honestly believe that you could've handled the burden of knowing what your dreams can do?

Jin: No... But then none of this would've happened! Why didn't you just let me die!? They're all dead because of me! Dead!! (sobs)

Ginko: I'm sorry. Now that it's come to this, I'll do everything I can to find a way to rid you of the mushi. Please, go on living. The Imeno no Awai, meaning the field of space in dream, are a type of mushi that normally reside in the dreams of their host. But on occasion, they come out of these dreams, becoming the medium that brings what the host sees into reality. That's why not all of your dreams were prophetic in nature. As they multiply, their chances of escape increase. And the scale and range of what they can make real becomes greater as well. But still, the mushi are weak while in this state and will disappear if exposed to sunlight. It's not known why they come out into our world. But somewhere, there's a pathway connecting dreams with reality on which only the mushi can travel. It is said that this is where they sleep while the host is awake. If I can find this pathway, I might be able to do something.


Ginko: (sigh) But I've never heard of a case like this on such a grand scale before. The medicine alone won't be able to stop it. Maybe if I increase the dosage... Hm? ...! Jin!

Jin: (groans)

Ginko: The medicine... you took it all!? Hang on, I'll get the antidote!

Jin: Don't bother! Leave me be... I can't go on... (sobbing) Just let me die...


Ginko: His eyes are moving. He's beginning to dream.

Jin: Forgive me...

Ginko: Sleep talking? You are not to blame. And neither are the mushi. The both of you were just carrying on with your lives. This wasn't anyone's fault. Don't die. You've done nothing wrong.

Jin: Are those... wild geese?

Ginko: Huh? He is sleep talking... This is useless. Where are you, anyway? Just hurry up and come back to reality.

Jin: A field of reeds.

Ginko: !! He answered me! Unh! Urgh! That ring... what is it!? What is this!? Our conversation just connected his dream to reality! I see now. He thought these were geese. It's a giant flock of Imeno no Awai.


Mayu: Daddy, welcome home! (giggles)

Jin: Mayu!

Kinu: We missed you.

Jin: Kinu! (sobs) I'm sorry...

Mayu: Hmm?

Jin: I'm so sorry! I killed you both... I failed... I know you must hate me... for what I've done to you...

Kinu: It's all right. None of this is your fault, dear. You've done nothing wrong.


Jin: Is there... someone here? (gasps) It's me! What's that on the panel? Fire?

Jin(sleeping): It's hot. Someone...

Jin: Is that my dream being reflected onto the screen? The fire... it moved from the dream onto my pillow!

Ginko: Now I get it! It's there, too! Wake up! I'll get water!

Jin: The dream came into reality through the pillow.

Ginko: But somewhere, there's a pathway connecting dreams with reality on which only the mushi can travel. It is said that this is where they sleep while the host is awake.

Jin: That's it... Now I know you've been hiding. Damned mushi! Now you're going to pay!

Ginko: No, stop it!

Jin: (panting) ...Bwaah! ... But... but why... why did it cut me, too?


Doctor: His body seems to be responding well to the treatment. With some rest, he's going to be just fine.

Jin: Did you know it would turn out like this? Look at me... All I did was cut the pillow.

Ginko: The word "pillow"... do you know where the origin of that word comes from? It means "the storeroom of the soul." For one-third of your life, your pillow cradles your head. Perhaps that's how the idea came about that the pillow is where the soul rests. The pillow was the nest of the Imeno no Awai, and served as the pathway connecting dreams and reality. I thought that if you cut it, the thing that would be lost would be you.


Narrator: The storeroom of the soul is a place that lies between dreams and reality. If one does not walk this path, one can never see Utopia.


Ginko: Thereafter, they say that Jin began working as a blade sharpener again. He was skilled at what he did, and his reputation was well-known. But for some reason, he slowly lost his soul. Sometimes, he would wander out into the road, waving a sword around. In the end, he stabbed himself. People said that the man was afraid of sleeping, that when he slept he felt his soul would slip away into the unknown. They also say that after the man cut his pillow, he never once had another dream.