Island of Exiles (4 page)

“That place?” she cried. “Where they send all the worst criminals?”

“Don’t worry. I shall not be gone long, and perhaps something good may come of it.”

But when the two noble visitors returned the following morning, his optimism vanished. They proposed an extraordinary plan which struck Akitada as both dangerous and uncertain.

The ship had been at sea for two days. Blown off course by a sudden violent summer storm, it had become lost in the open ocean shortly after departing from the coast south of Echigo.

The prisoner was in the back of the ship, unchained since they had left land behind and there was no longer any risk of escape. He lay against the side, as he had for days, suffering from the rough seas and the seasickness they brought.

When he had been taken on board, they had put him below deck, into a tiny black hole. Later, when they were well out at sea, one of the guards had taken off his shackles and left an oil lamp which swung from the low ceiling, putting out little light but a horrible stench. The small area had become hot and so smoky it had been hard to breathe.

But the real misery started with the storm. He had woken from a fitful sleep when the ship began to roll and plunge amid horrendous noise. Outside, dull crashing and roaring sounds of wind and water bore down on the small ship. The sail snapped loudly in the wind and sailors shouted urgent orders to each other. The prisoner had worried about the creaking timbers, which seemed hardly strong enough to withstand the combined onslaught of wind and water. And he had thought of his family.

The stench of the oil lamp, its violent swinging back and forth, the roll and pitch of the flimsy planks underneath him had sickened him until he could not control the heaving in his belly. By nature fastidious, he had crawled out of his hole and up a short bamboo ladder to the pitching deck. Nobody paid attention to him, and he had at first welcomed the icy spray of water, the sharp tearing gusts of wind, until the pitching and rolling of the ship had sent him slipping and scrabbling to the side, where he had vomited into a heaving black sea.

The vomiting was unremitting from then on, keeping pace with the storm, abating as the wind abated a little, but recom-mencing with the next onslaught. He was conscious of little difference between day and night, though the pitch-blackness which must have been the first night, did make way for a dense dark gray world in which water and sky were of a uniform murkiness. It was then that it had dawned on him that they were lost. He swallowed neither food nor water for what seemed like days, nor felt any desire for them, and in time he became too weak and listless to raise himself enough to bring up the bile from his stomach while leaning over the side.

So now he lay in his own filth, only half conscious and soaked to the skin.

The ship was still soaring and pitching, the wind still howled, and spray burst across the deck, but there was a sub-tle change in the atmosphere. Frantic activity ceased, and it became almost quiet. Somewhere someone prayed to Amida, but he was giving thanks for being spared.

The prisoner had neither the strength nor the inclination to give thanks. His journey to the island of exiles had already proven horrible beyond his wildest imaginings, and he had little expectation that what lay ahead would be much easier.

However, sea and weather calmed, the captain changed course, and a brisk wind carried them finally to their destina-tion. A call from the lookout came early the following morning, just as the prisoner was drinking greedily from a flask of water one of the guards offered. It was snatched back quickly, too quickly, for never had water tasted so delicious. There was land westward, and the sailors and guards all rushed to that side of the boat, causing it to lean and the captain to curse them. The prisoner raised himself and peered into a pearly dawn without seeing anything. Below, the green sea slid past like translucent gossamer in a lady’s train, and he leaned down to dip his hand and sleeve into it and washed his face and beard.

Before noon they steered into Sawata Bay and crossed the limpid waters under a clear summer sky toward a green shore dotted with small brown roofs huddled about a temple. Slightly above the low-lying coast a larger compound of broad roofs dominated the town. This was Mano, the provincial capital of Sadoshima.

Having been fed a small amount of millet gruel to give him enough strength to stand and walk, the prisoner was on his feet, but the transfer to the rowboat and stepping on solid land had proved a shameful affair punctuated by several falls and a drunken stagger.

On shore, a reception committee of sorts awaited. Six rough-looking constables, chains wrapped around their middles and whips in their hands, stood behind a red-coated police officer in his official black cap. The short, squat, sharp-faced man in his forties with a scanty mustache and a stiff-legged stance received the papers the captain passed to him and glanced through them.

He looked the swaying prisoner up and down before snapping,

“He looks disgusting. Is he sick?”

Unimpressed by the officer’s manner, much less by his high, nasal voice, the captain spat, crooked a finger over his shoulder at the tattered sails, and said, “We got lost in a spell of bad weather. Spewed his guts out. He’ll be all right in a day or so.”

Reassured that the human cargo suffered from nothing worse, the officer addressed the prisoner next. “You are called Yoshimine Taketsuna?”

The prisoner croaked, “Yes.”

Instantly one of the guards stepped forward and back-handed him. He cried out in protest, staggered, and fell.

“On your knees!” snarled the guard, kicking him in the ribs.

His nose bleeding, the prisoner slowly knelt.

“You will address me as ‘sir’ and bow when you speak,” snapped the police officer.

The prisoner staggered up, squaring his shoulders. He looked at the officer’s cap rank insignia and said contemptuously, “I have never bowed to mere lieutenants.” Punishment was instant again. This time the guard used his fists. The prisoner managed to turn his head just a fraction, but he was struck on the side of his jaw and flung again into the dirt, this time too stunned to rise. His nose gushed blood, and more blood trickled from between his lips.

The police lieutenant, his eyes cold, bent down to him.

“Your past rank, whatever it may have been, is immaterial here.

By imperial order you are to be imprisoned on this island for the rest of your life. You are a nobody and will be assigned to work details to earn your food and clothes. You are not to attempt escape or rebellion on pain of death.” He paused, then added, “We consider lack of respect, disobedience to orders, lack of cooperation, and complaints as indicative of the rebellious character of a prisoner. You have escaped lightly this time.” He straightened up and snapped, “Take him away.”

Two of the guards took hold of the prisoner’s arms and jerked him upright. Half walking, half being dragged, he was taken from the dockside to a nearby stockade, where he was pushed into the middle of a group of other wretches huddling in the shadow of the wall. The heavy gates clanked shut, and most of the guards withdrew to a small guardhouse, except for the four or five on duty. These gathered in a shady corner near the gates, their long bows propped against the palisade, and chatted idly.

It was hot in the courtyard. The midday sun baked the gravel, and the tall stockade blocked the breeze from the ocean.

The prisoners huddled miserably around a wooden bucket. For a while no one said anything. The others looked at the newcomer with mild interest.

Taketsuna lay motionless for a few moments. Then he spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes closed, he explored the inside of his mouth with his tongue. Thankful that no teeth seemed to be broken, he settled for a bitten tongue and split lip, opened his eyes, and struggled into a sitting position.

His eyes went slowly around, studying his fellow prisoners one by one: three huge muscular men and one little shrimp of a fellow, all as filthy and more ragged than he. Then he touched his face and winced. The side where the guard had punched him was swollen and tender to the touch, and his nose still bled a little. He dabbed at it with a sleeve and swallowed more blood.

The shrimp, who had bandaged knees and elbows, reached for the water bucket and pushed it toward him. Taketsuna nodded his thanks, dipped both hands into the warm water, and drank deeply. He was about to dip in one of his full sleeves when one of the other prisoners snatched the bucket away.

“Damn you,” he snarled, “for dirtying our drinking water with your stinking rags.”

“Sorry. I didn’t know.” The newcomer glanced across the courtyard to the well. Another bucket hung ready to be lowered.

He staggered to his feet and started toward it.

“Hey,” cried the shrimp. “Don’t do that. They’ll shoot you.” The prisoner stopped and glanced at the lounging gate guards, who seemed engrossed in a dice game. He continued to the well, when another “Hey!” louder than the first sounded behind him. Ignoring it, he lowered the bucket, filled it, and brought it up. There was a loud plonk, followed by a whirring sound. It drew his eyes to the crossbeam supporting the bucket.

An arrow stuck deep in the wood, vibrating softly. The prisoner set the bucket on the coping and began to splash the water over his face, hair, and neck. Then he washed his hands, the bloody sleeve, and the front of his robe.

A rough hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Are you deaf?” the guard growled. “Washing is not allowed. Walking around is not allowed. Talking, shouting, and singing are not allowed. Get back with the others.” He gave the prisoner a vicious shove. Taketsuna staggered, then returned to his assigned spot, where he sat down and wrung out his sleeve.

The others were whispering together. One of the big men missed an eye. He said, “Don’t bother. He must be deaf. You saw what happened.”

“I’m not deaf,” said the new prisoner.

They gaped at him. The man with the crippled leg asked,

“Then why did you go to the well? Jisei warned you. You’re lucky the guard didn’t shoot you.”

“I wished to wash.”

Silence, as they looked at each other. “He wished to wash,” said the cripple, and laughed.

“Aren’t you afraid to die?” the small man with the bandaged knees and arms wanted to know.

“Very much. But I didn’t think they would shoot a man for washing his face.”

“Hah!” muttered the one-eyed fellow. They all shared a bitter laugh at the newcomer’s innocence. “What’s your name?” the small man asked.

“Yoshimine Taketsuna.”

The shrimp’s eyes grew round. “Two names. A gentleman.

No wonder you act like you own the place. How come they sent you here?”

“I killed someone.”

“Ah!” They looked at each other and nodded understanding.

Introductions followed. The small man with the bandages was Jisei; he had just returned from a work detail digging tunnels deep into the earth and bringing out rocks. His knees and elbows had become infected after a year’s crawling on all fours.

“I’ll be reassigned now,” he told Taketsuna importantly. “Maybe I’ll even get to go home.” He looked away, across the top of the stockade, a dreamy smile on his lined face.

Haseo, a huge burly man, spat. The others introduced him; apparently he rarely spoke himself and appeared to take little interest in the conversation. They only knew his name and imagined that he, too, must be a convicted killer. Haseo did not correct them.

They passed the long hot afternoon in desultory conversation interspersed with naps.

The two big fellows, one crippled with a badly set leg, the other one-eyed, were pirates, Kumaso and Yoshi. They passed the time telling of adventure at sea, of stolen treasure, monsters of the deep, and apparitions of floating fairies. According to Jisei, they also had an uncanny talent for predicting the weather.

Jisei, the shrimp, had been on Sadoshima longest, having been sent here for stealing a golden scepter from the hand of a temple statue.

All of them awaited reassignment, though none was as optimistic as Jisei. They expected to be put to work building roads, digging irrigation canals, building stockades, or repairing public buildings.

Taketsuna wanted to ask about Jisei’s strange tunneling when shouts sounded outside the gate. The guards rushed to throw open both sides of the double gate and stood to attention. A contingent of uniformed runners entered at a trot, carrying the banner of the governor of Sado. His Excellency followed on a fine horse, and more runners brought up the rear. “Make room for the governor!” shouted the frontrun-ners in unison, and the prisoners immediately prostrated themselves.

All but one, that is. Taketsuna wanted a good look at the man who ruled this island in the emperor’s name. The governor was an elderly man with a clean-shaven, intelligent face and eyes which roamed around the yard until they found the prisoners. For a moment he locked eyes with Taketsuna, then the new prisoner quickly prostrated himself with the rest. He had seen the expression on the other man’s face and wondered if he looked worse than he felt.

The governor’s visit was short and did not seem to concern the prisoners. The great man and his escort left after only the briefest stop in the guardhouse.

This was not the only excitement of the day, for an hour later there was another shout outside the gate. This time the guards were in no rush to admit the visitor. They exchanged some unintelligible words with someone outside and finally cracked the gate grudgingly to admit a fat man in the black robe of a minor official. He was followed by a ragged youngster with a bamboo case.

The fat man also cast a glance toward the prisoners and then waddled to the guardhouse.