Rural Incidents

第11話 Ants and Flies

At the foot of the mountain stood the grand estate of the wealthiest family in the village, surrounded by about ten tenant farmers' homes, forming a small hamlet.

Beside a path leading from the estate to the mountain, there were persimmon trees and mulberry fields. One day, after the rainy season had ended, a tenant farmer on his way to the mountain noticed a baby’s foot sticking out from the base of the largest persimmon tree. Swarms of ants and flies covered it. Horrified, he turned pale and ran back home.

Soon, a young policeman arrived on a new bicycle. Upon digging at the site, he discovered the remains of a fetus estimated to be about second trimester and dead for around a week. In the small community, the women were questioned one by one, but none were found suspicious. Ultimately, suspicion fell on one person—the daughter of the wealthy family, who had recently returned from a girls’ school in Tokyo. She was known for her modern, sophisticated demeanor, and with her father away on business, she had been spending her days lounging around, which seemed suspicious.

One morning, the young policeman clanked through the gates of the estate, his saber rattling.

"Look! She is finally going to be questioned," whispered the estate’s staff, falling silent. Some even ran in from the fields to watch.

The girl’s mother greeted the policeman at the entrance. When she learned the purpose of his visit, her face turned pale, and she hurried to the room where her daughter was resting.

Lying in a simple yukata tied with a narrow sash, the daughter was casually reading a magazine. She raised her disheveled head, still smeared with traces of powder on her face.

“What? The policeman is here to investigate if I had an abortion? Hehehe! How bold of him. He doesn’t even know about my alibi (aribai).”

The room, being close to the entrance, made her mother uneasy. Glaring nervously to hush her daughter, the mother anxiously asked:

“Wh-what is this about ants (ari) and flies (bae)? Are they talking about the bugs on that fetus’s foot?”

“Hehehe! That’s ridiculous,” the daughter laughed. “Tell the policeman anything you want. I have a solid alibi, so just send him away and stop worrying.”

Shaked up, the mother returned to the entrance, but the policeman had apparently overheard the conversation. Standing firm, he pulled out a notebook and sternly glared at the mother before she could speak.

“What is her alibi?” he demanded.

The mother was terrified. She staggered back to her daughter, who looked up from her magazine with an irritated frown.

“How annoying, really. If they’re so suspicious of me, tell them to go ahead and examine my hymen to check for themselves. How rude!”

Her mother collapsed to the floor in shock. The policeman, now red-faced, hastily mounted his bicycle and left as if in retreat.

From that day on, in the village, the word "alibi" gained an entirely new and peculiar meaning.