At that moment, Yoneko heard a stealthy knock on her door.
‘Who is it?’
There was no reply. Yoneko opened the door a little and peeped out into the dark passage. She could just make out a dim figure standing in the gloom. A voice as chilly and slight as the draught which was flowing into the room whispered:
‘Miss Kimura! His Reverence’s prayer meeting and revelation of lost things will take place at eight-thirty. He has given exceptional permission for you to attend the seance, so I trust you will not let us down, will you? Please come to Miss Iyoda’s room on the first floor at eight-thirty sharp.’
And without waiting for a reply, the ghost-like figure slipped away into the shadows.
The girl who disappeared thus without Yoneko getting a proper look at her was indeed a strange figure. Her child-like body was topped by an adult head; had she but known it, Yoneko’s visitor was none other than the woman nicknamed ‘Thumbelina the Vestal’.
Thumbelina reached a pool of light on the landing, and there silently held up a black notebook. She opened it and placed a mark against the name ‘Yoneko Kimura’ written there in large characters.
Her name did not belie her, for in addition to her petite stature she was, like her namesake, exquisitely beautiful. She was young, and her long black hair shone with camellia oil. It hung in a heavy mass, swinging elegantly as she moved. Perhaps she had applied white makeup to her face and neck in the old-fashioned way; in any case, her skin was unnaturally and beautifully pallid. She was dressed like a priestess from a Shinto shrine, in the traditional white coat and loose red trousers.
Having closed the notebook, she looked at the watch on her wrist. Just about eight! There was something touchingly incongruous about a watch on so tiny and childish a wrist.
She made her way up to the fifth floor and walked straight into the end room as if she was quite accustomed to doing so without knocking. This room belonged to one Haru Santo, and was next to that of Chikako Ueda.
Haru Santo was kneeling in front of her personal shrine. Apart from the candles flickering in its recesses, the room was pitch dark. Her white hair shone eerily in the gloom. The candles seemed to light up every strand as if it was burnished silver wire, making it seem artificial, rather than a natural growth.
Thumbelina the Vestal slipped in beside Haru Santo and prostrated herself thrice before the altar. Then she swivelled around on her knees, placing her beautiful face next to the old woman’s ear, and whispered something for several minutes.
When she left Haru Santo’s room twenty minutes later, it was almost time for the seance to begin. She hurriedly made her way down to the first floor.
That gave Yoneko Kimura her first chance of getting a look at her. Having finished her letter to Keiko Kawauchi, she had been in two minds as to whether to attend the seance or not, but had nevertheless gone downstairs. She had expected to find Miss Tojo at the front desk, but Miss Tamura was on duty. Apparently Miss Tojo had had to go out at short notice, and so had asked her colleague to sit in for her.
‘Well, that key doesn’t fit any of the doors on the fourth or fifth floors. So what’s the betting we’ll find the culprit tomorrow on the third floor?’
Listening to Miss Tamura’s friendly gossip, Yoneko noticed Thumbelina coming down the staircase. It gave her such a start that she could not restrain a gasp. There was something truly weird about the little priestess. Yoneko gave up all thought of attending the seance, and rushed back up the stairs towards her room. But on the landing she bumped into Tomiko Iyoda, a seller of lottery tickets, in whose room the meeting was about to be held. She was leading a small group downstairs.
‘Well, well, Miss Kimura, how nice to see you! Come on down with us. The vestal spoke to you, I think? Good! Well, we’re just about to start.’
And so it came about that Yoneko Kimura attended a seance of the Three Spirit Faith.
All sorts of shoes and sandals were neatly arranged in the little lobby of Miss Iyoda’s room, suggesting the variety and number of their owners crowded inside.
‘Well, I apologise for the state everything is in, but please come inside.’
Tomiko Iyoda, speaking in sweet tones, drew Yoneko and her companions in after her.
There were some six people already sitting on the floor of the tiny room, surrounding a middle-aged man in a double-breasted suit. He had the look of a priest about him, and seemed to be delivering a sermon, which he broke off on the entry of Yoneko and the others.
‘I’m so sorry we kept Your Reverence waiting,’ said Miss Iyoda. She waddled over to the corner and, bending her fat body with evident signs of discomfort, picked up a pile of cushions and handed them around for the new arrivals to sit on. She then took her place next to the priest.
Yoneko sat next to the door, and, peering over the shoulder of the elderly woman in front of her, took in the scene. Miss Iyoda was plainly briefing the priest on the new arrivals; this was obvious, even though she spoke in a low voice. The priest seemed to be a man in his fifties. His angular face was framed by black hair glued down with pomade. He had bright red cheeks, and this sign of cheerful vigour was reinforced by the gusty laughs with which he punctuated his discourse, but once he caught your eye… Yoneko was forced to gaze downwards, so overcome was she by his sharp and questing gaze. It was as if he could read right into the hidden depths of her mind.
Amongst those present, there were some Yoneko knew by sight, but not one with whom she had ever exchanged a word. There were even some present who did not live in the building. They were all in their forties or fifties, and without exception their faces were those of people defeated by life.
‘Your Reverence, all is now ready. Pray begin when you wish.’
The low vibrant voice in which this remark was delivered seemed to echo inside Yoneko’s bones. It was the little priestess, the one they called Thumbelina, and as she spoke she fiddled with a small black box. Later, Yoneko realised that it was a tape recorder which was used for recording any words which were said during her trance so that they could be replayed after it was over. His Reverence would then interpret their meaning as necessary. But now he was instructing them on what was to follow:
‘Good evening, ladies. We will shortly establish communication with the spirit world, but first I must warn you about a few dos and don’ts. The world beyond is more terrifying than you can possibly imagine. Every kind of spectral being is to be found there, many of them engaged in endless conflict. However, you are with me, and so long as you do as I say you need entertain no fears. However, should there be any doubting person amongst you, let her be gone! For the presence of such a one can attract the Evil Ones, and draw down upon us their malicious and ferocious power! If such intrude upon our seance, not even I can guarantee that all will go well. But place your faith in me, and nothing untoward will occur!’
He then turned around, and called Miss Yatabe to him. Yoneko observed how, once Miss Yatabe had sat in front of the priest, all the strength seemed to leave her body and throughout the session she seemed to be frozen in terror.
The little medium now proceeded to arrange two candlesticks, one on either side of Suwa Yatabe. She then nodded to Tomiko Iyoda, who lit the candles and then switched off the electric light in her room. Up until now, it had seemed like a meeting of a discussion group, but with the room in total gloom apart from the two flickering candles, the atmosphere now became eerie.
Yoneko sensed a cold breeze on her neck. She looked around, and was just in time to observe the slight form of Haru Santo slipping in through the door. Haru’s hair shone ghostly white in the candlelight as she crept to the cushion beside Yoneko and sat down.