Aira lifted an eyebrow and continued.
“Warmed from the fire, with increased strength and a taste for sustenance, you walk to the edge of the hills and the forest beyond.”
In this next course, sweet and sour vapours of acidic vinegar tickled the nose and had me salivating instantly. Sprinkled playfully around a plate like the forest floor were tiny white and green asparagus heads and flawless little blue flowers.
“With this Su-zakana course you now see the trees and the soft, sweet bedding beneath the trees. You feel some form of welcome and safety having been through the trials of the unknown. Your own people, much like those of the near villages, are masters of pickling. Here you find the youth of such process.”
I snapped into an asparagus and sucked up the gentle flower petals, coated only slightly by the young brine. It was as he spoke – safe, hopeful. The darkness from moments ago was given to soothing optimism in that crisp, sweet, buttery nip.
“But as with any village, there is no assured security, and you move along from this new realm, back to your home for fear of losing this hope, this anki. Swearing now to protect what you have experienced and bring it back to your known world, you run. And certainly, creatures and spirits of this place give chase, long arms all around reaching for you and the fresh seeds you’ve sowed in your soul.”
My heart began to pound, and I felt the need to devour the last two sugary tart bites. There was some eagerness, some discomfort chasing through the room. Like people snickering from dark spaces. This feeling I knew well.
An excerpt from somewhere deep within The Sushi Prophecies