The Scentless Person
3. The Scentless Person
The day Mother was buried, a thin light shone down for the first time in a while. Shia, draped in her robe, watched from a distance as she always did. In her hand, she held a white flower. It was different from the ones everyone else held; it was a flower she had searched for and found in the forest herself.
The funeral bell tolled, and the people who had offered their flowers began to disperse. Once every single one of them had vanished, Shia pulled her robe deep over her head and stepped forward slowly.
The newly piled earth beside Father's grave had a slightly damp smell. Shia stood there in silence, having placed flowers evenly upon both of their graves.
"……Dad, Mom…"
A sudden, strong gust of wind blew, scattering the flowers and muffling the sounds within her robe, while simultaneously masking the presence of any other people.
That was why, when a voice called out, "—Who are you?" Shia jumped in fright and bolted away like a startled rabbit.
(I was seen! I was found!)
She hurried back home, dove into the innermost room, and curled herself into a ball.
(What do I do, what should I do!?)
Her heart hammered loudly in her chest, and her breathing was ragged.
But it was Father who had taught her that in times like these, one must first calm down and become composed.
Shia consciously exhaled deeply to steady her breathing, waiting for the thumping of her heart to subside.
It was true that she had been seen, but she had been wearing her robe, so the other person shouldn't have seen her appearance completely. Still, acting during the day made her too conspicuous; it was better to move at night. She had night vision, after all—she organized her thoughts this way.
After that, she decided to move at night, just as she had planned. In truth, she would have preferred not to go outside at all, but she had to place flowers on their graves.
Every day, Shia went to the forest to pick flowers and leave them at the two graves. However, flowers didn't always bloom, and when she couldn't find any, she brought rare stones she had happened upon that glowed white in the darkness.
They were located deep in the mountains where no one ever went, and there were quite a few of them rolling around. She brought them back home and stacked them one by one on the graves in place of flowers.
But after a certain point, all those stones vanished.
Who? Why?
A very unpleasant presence remained at the site, but she didn't know if that presence was the one who had taken the stones. Birds collect shiny things, and there was the possibility they had been cleared away for cleaning.
Arrange them, they vanish.
One day, while repeating this cycle, Shia felt that same unpleasant presence from before approaching, and she quickly spun around.
—But that presence, or rather, that silhouette, circled around to her path as if it knew exactly how she was moving.
Even though it was a new moon and the darkness was absolute, without a shred of moonlight?
Did they have night vision like her?
She stared intently, wary of the approaching figure.
"…Surprisingly small. A child…?"
Judging by the voice, the figure was a man, and he was definitely speaking because he had recognized Shia's existence. He could see her, it seemed. However, the man who approached had neither ears nor a tail; he was not like her. He only wore something like glasses that covered his eyes.
The emotions the man directed toward her were by no means kind.
When Shia took a step back, she felt a similar presence behind her. It seemed she had been surrounded.
Between panic and caution, the ears beneath her robe pressed flat against her head.
"Whoops, don't run now. You don't want to have a scary experience, right? We just want to ask you a few questions."
"……………Questions…?"
This was the first time she had spoken to anyone other than Father and Mother. Moreover, she couldn't imagine that a healthy conversation would ensue. Perhaps that was why her whispered voice came out small and raspy.
"…Hmph, a child after all. By the way, where did you get those stones?"
"…Stones…?"
"You don't know? Light-gathering stones. The stones you were lining up on the graves."
"Ah…"
Shia let out a soft breath. It seemed these men were the culprits who had stolen the stones.
It wasn't that she felt nothing about it, but if they were going to take the stones she had painstakingly placed, she would rather they just take them directly from the mountain.
Those stones must have a value that she didn't understand.
"Deep in the mountains, if you follow the river, you'll find a waterfall. The stones are rolling around in the open area on the first ledge of the cliff beside it, and inside the cave."
Having said only that, Shia tried to leave, but the man closed the distance in a single step, and a strong force clamped down on her shoulder.
"Wait. You're going to guide us."
Wanting to return home quickly, and being touched by a stranger harboring ill will, Shia's skin crawled. She violently shook off the hand on her shoulder.
In doing so, the claws that had instinctively emerged seemed to wound the other person, and the scent of blood instantly filled the air.
"—!"
"Ah…"
The man recoiled slightly, creating some distance.
"This brat's got a weapon!"
"No—…!?"
It wasn't like that. She tried to apologize for hurting him, but her voice choked as the man directed an even stronger emotion toward her.
What was directed at her was surprise, and another emotion—one that felt like it was piercing her skin. It was rage and killing intent.
Having never been targeted by such things before, Shia naturally didn't understand what they were, but her instincts screamed at her to run.
With a dash, Shia spun around. But the man's reaction was also fast. His outstretched arm grazed her robe.
"—Ah!!"
Which one of them had made that sound?
Shia could perceive the emotions humans held through her hearing and smell. If that was also the reason she had these ears and tail, then no one would ever be able to understand.
The strong scent from a moment ago vanished instantly, and a dizzying array of scents—emotions—began to cling to her.
As if to shake them off, she pulled her robe deep over her head again and bolted away with all her might.
"…Ah, wait…!"
There was a slight hesitation in the voice trying to stop her, and since the weak command wasn't accompanied by action, it failed to act as a shackle to stop her feet.
She had been seen. This time, for certain.
Fleeing back into her house, Shia ran into the innermost room, pulled a blanket over her robe, and curled into a ball.
(I was seen, I was seen, I was seen!!)
She had broken her promise to the two of them.
—But, but…!
What on earth were those dizzyingly shifting emotions the man had directed at her?
Surprise, confusion, bewilderment, suspicion, denial, awe, and—fear.
Of all of those, fear occupied the largest space. It wasn't asserting itself strongly, but it was there, running alongside every other emotion.
The scent of dread, directed at her.
Was it because Shia was different from everyone else?
Was that why Father and Mother told her not to show her appearance?
More than the fact that she had been seen, this thought now captivated Shia's heart.
Does her appearance cause people fear?
Father and Mother had cherished Shia. There had been no false scent in that.
But what if their love had been special? What if the emotion that man showed was the normal one?
Lying on the bed, she remembered a conversation with Mother, who had reached out a thin arm to stroke her head.
"Shia, listen carefully. If I were to pass away,"
"Mom!"
When Shia raised her voice in protest to cut her off, Mother continued in a tone that was unusually firm.
"Listen to me until the end, Shia. I want you to go outside, little by little, and interact with other people."
"……And the robe?"
"You must not take that off. However, if you find someone you can truly trust, then you will surely no longer need it."
"……I don't need anyone but Mom."
"Thank you, Shia. But someday, you will find someone other than me who makes you feel that way. No, I want you to find them. Find someone who will love you, just as Father and I did. You're good at finding things, aren't you?"
"But…"
"This is a promise, Shia."
Yes, promises were important things.
But they weren't things that were guaranteed to be kept.
Just as that man had felt fear toward Shia, Shia felt fear toward this world where she had been cast aside alone.
After all, she didn't know the reason why her appearance was different from everyone else's, nor did she know the meaning of it. And if being different caused fear in others, there was no way anyone could ever love her.
From that moment on, Shia withdrew completely into herself.
She stopped visiting her parents' graves; she stopped eating. She simply curled up into a ball amidst a pile of blankets.
Now that the two who had gently protected her were gone, Shia realized once again that she had become truly alone.
She was scared. Scared of being alone. Scared of the world. Scared of herself, who was different from everyone else. The gazes and the scents directed at her—everything was scary.
Furthermore, having become more sensitive to the presence outside than usual, Shia had been sensing it all along. The unsettling air that had been drifting around her since that day.
It would close in, then drift away. It prowled around the house as if peeking in on her.
Among them was the scent of those men, but Shia could also smell the scents of several other people.
Was it because she had been seen?
Even so, Shia felt that she didn't care anymore. Father and Mother were gone anyway. So, she figured it didn't matter anymore.
The sound of a window shattering rang out, and suddenly, a foul smell hit her nose all at once. It wasn't a sensory perception, but a direct stimulus.
Even though she thought she didn't care anymore, her instincts rebelled.
"Hey! They ran that way!"
"Increase the sleep incense! Anyone without a mask, get out!"
If their words were true, they had scattered something to put Shia to sleep. Put her to sleep and capture her? She thought that would be fine, and yet, Shia's feet didn't stop. She dodged the hands of the intruders and leaped out the window.
Unlike the dim interior, it was still bright outside, shortly after noon. Because she had left her robe behind when she leaped from the blankets, Shia stood there completely defenseless.
Her form was exposed in the bright sunlight.
"—Gasp!"
"What is that thing!?"
"A child with the ears and tail of a beast?"
"Is that the Fallen?!"
"Hey, where are the government officials!!"
The voices and strong emotions of the people surrounding her, and various other things, all crashed down upon Shia at once.
It was too loud, too scary. She wanted to run, she was scared.
Her ears drooped, and her tail lowered.
The commotion of the people cornered and provoked her; now in a state of total panic, Shia's mind acted relying solely on instinct.
What she found was the only spot among those surrounding her where she could smell absolutely nothing.
Without looking anywhere else, Shia bolted and leaped into that spot without hesitation.
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