Salmonella men on Planet Porno: stories - By Yasutaka Tsutsui Page 0,27
the ceiling of the earth-floored room. Looking up, I could see two large pulley wheels wound with cables. The wheels were attached to thick beams and crossbeams, from which families of bats were hanging. The ceiling over the earth-floored room was so high and dark that I couldn’t even see it.
A man of about fifty, his face red from drinking, got up and climbed into our carriage through the open door.
“Well, that were quick, Sasuke,” he said.
“Yea, I came back as soon as I got the letter,” the bearded man said, then pointed to me. “This gentleman wanted to go to Four Bends, so I advised him to take the Main Line,” he explained to the red-faced man.
The red-faced man stared at me in wonderment. “What? But if he goes to Deer’s Wood now, he’ll be waiting four hours and a bit before the train to Four Bends arrives!”
“I know, I know,” said the bearded man apologetically. “I just weren’t thinking straight. I thought he’d be able to catch the one before it. What a great fool I am.”
“Well, seeing as you’re here now, why not join us for a while?” the red-faced man said to me. “You must have a drink before you go.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t!” I replied, shaking my head. “I’d be disturbing the wake.”
“Nonsense. You’d be welcome. You’ve four hours to kill, haven’t you? We’ll make sure the driver gets you to Deer’s Wood in time for your train.”
Now the bearded man joined him in coaxing me out of the cable car. I could hardly refuse their kindness, so I got out of the carriage and took my place on the wooden floor.
“Have you brought someone from your travels?” asked a white-whiskered old man sitting in the place of honour at the head of the coffin. I assumed he must be the Village Elder.
“This gentleman was going to Four Bends, so I advised him to take the Main Line,” explained the bearded man.
“That’s good,” answered the old man with a smile.
I followed the bearded man as he proceeded to the coffin, which was covered with a white cloth. After lighting some incense, I returned to my space on the floor.
“Come on, girls! The guest is waiting for a drink!” the red-faced man called in a sonorous voice.
The noise was enough to wake a girl of about seventeen or eighteen who was sleeping with a group of children in a corner of the room. Sitting up abruptly, she rubbed her eyes and looked at me with a dazed expression. Her face was white and perfectly beautiful.
“We are but rustic folk, we haven’t much to offer,” said a middle-aged woman who closely resembled the girl. She placed a dish full of cooked wild vegetables in front of me, and poured me some liquor from a small earthen bottle.
“Thank you,” I said, taking a sip. The liquor was thick and dry, and tasted exceedingly good.
“By the way, who was it that passed away?” I asked the middle-aged woman.
“My uncle it was.”
“Your uncle? Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
People in this village seemed to live long. Besides the Village Elder, there were four other men and about seven women who must have been well over eighty. The men all had thick beards and large round eyes, and the women must all have been beauties in their time.
The men started talking amongst themselves. The return of the bearded man seemed to have brought a new buzz to the proceedings. Even the sleeping children were starting to sit up. The beautiful girl who’d been sleeping with them was now serving food and drink, together with the other women. Everyone called her Luna. There were three other girls of around her age, and they were all pretty. But none of them could match Luna’s beauty.
The red-faced man seemed especially partial to drink, and kept coming over to pour me another. When I returned the compliment by filling his cup, he would drink it down in one and proffer his cup again.
“What’s up? Do you not like drinking?” he asked.
“No, it’s not that. This liquor really is delicious.”
“Yes! It’s a local brew called ‘Morning Monkey’.”
An hour passed, and then another. The gathering grew more raucous by the minute. By now, I’d been given about three earthen bottles of “Morning Monkey” and was beginning to feel quite drunk.
“Come on, drink up!” said the red-faced man as he came to pour me another cupful.
“Sorry, I’m feeling a bit woozy,” I said. “If I have a drop