Masako Togawa - The Master Key

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.

‘Link hands with your neighbours!’ The priest’s voice was full of vibrant power. From Yoneko’s left, a clammy hand reached through the darkness and gripped hers. It was Haru Santo who had thus grasped her. Looking to her right, Yoneko could just make out the features of one of the people who had come at the same time as she had, but a sense of revulsion prevented her from reaching out and taking her hand.

‘Someone is not cooperating. The seance cannot begin until all hands are linked. Do as I say!’

The priest’s voice had become stern and authoritative. Yoneko could not but obey him, unpleasant as it made her feel.

On her left, Haru Santo was chanting the opening lines of a Buddhist Sutra. All around, the others present began to follow suit, until the room reverberated with their nasal tones.

Yoneko began to feel slightly nauseated by the whole proceeding. Someone had lit a bundle of incense sticks, and their powerful scent began to pervade the room.

The priest stood up and spoke.

‘Suwa Yatabe, forasmuch as thou hast besought this seance, come now and prostrate thyself before me so that thy spirit shall pass into my keeping.’

He reached down and placed his hands on Suwa’s head as he spoke.

She began to mumble disjointedly. From time to time, she seemed to be referring to a violin. At last she fell silent, at which point Thumbelina stood up and began to moan and sway and, eventually, raising her hands on high, to dance in a manner suggesting great exhaustion. In the flickering candlelight, there was something magical about the dance, with two white wrists flickering like butterflies in the gloom. Her long black hair swished from side to side, occasionally falling forward so as to totally obscure her face, then parting slightly to reveal a pale forehead.

Haru Santo began to tremble and shudder, and as she was clasping Yoneko’s hand tightly in her clammy grasp, the movement communicated itself to Yoneko’s body.

Suddenly, the medium raised her voice to a piercing scream and fell flat on her face. She lay still, but it seemed to Yoneko that she had begun to foam at the mouth, though it might have just been spittle. Her beautiful features, or what could be seen of them through the strands of black hair that lay across her face, seemed to be contorted with pain. Then her tiny body began to shudder and, grinding her teeth the while, she emitted a strange sound.

‘Hee, Hee, Hee! Hee, Hee, Hee!’

It sounded like an unpleasant laugh slowed down. Yoneko felt most disturbed. All around her, this strange performance was having the identical effect upon the audience, who sat very still and silent and watched dubiously.