Komayō

Chapter 9
The Ordeal of a Duel Under Duress

Mayoko, her voice tinged with a palpable weariness, goes on describing the extreme ordeals she had to face during the duel.

My eyes burned so much from the salt that I was playing almost blind, unable to see the board clearly, she confides, a glint of pain in her eyes. Fortunately, the gokenin played so badly that this was no great handicap to me.

She shakes her head, recalling her opponent's attitude. What was truly gruelling, however, was his extreme slowness. I had the impression that instead of concentrating on the game, he was staring at me in a disturbing way. Mayoko mimes the gokenin's heavy stare, adding to the tension of her tale.

Fatigue, made worse by the weight of my kimono, soaked with sweat and damp, made it harder and harder to concentrate. She passes her hand across her forehead as if to wipe away an invisible sweat. The hours ticked slowly by, turning the duel into a truly infernal ordeal.

Covered in salt, her skin inflamed, a woman in a blue kimono faces the ōgi board under the hostile gaze of the crowd.

Her gaze drifts for a moment, as if she were overwhelmed by memories. I could still hear the guests around the platform, some reciting prayers without respite. The sound of the 108 beads of their nenju turning in their hands added an almost surreal atmosphere.

She clutches her chest lightly, evoking a physical pain. My difficulty in breathing, combined with the growing pains in my chest, was overwhelming me. I felt that I would soon lose consciousness.

Blinded and weeping blood, the player in the blue kimono continues her game of ōgi before a crowd of sinister faces.

Mayoko lowers her head, her tale reaching a critical point. In the end, exhausted and at the end of my strength, I collapsed with my full weight against the game board.

In the room, a solemn silence settles.