Act VII - Negotiation

Maine (US), January 5th, 2024. Another cold and hollow winter day has come and gone in that icy and weathered chalet in the middle of the wood. Torn apart both by the alcohol and by Mr. Shadow (his double self) the scruffy and bearded man is seated on the floor with his back against the bedside and his eyes staring at the pendulum clock. The unceasing and tireless clock hands now fall on the midnight hour. So, he slowly gets on his feet, faltering a bit, then he lies curled up on the bed. While the clacking of the pendulum unhurriedly vanishes in the distance, a deep drowsiness soon comes. Once all the shades of grey, shapes and muffled sounds become a bit clearer, the man finds himself standing in front of a mystic river. He is no longer a 50-year-old man, rather he feels much younger, as if he were on his twenties. All around there is fog and darkness hindering his sight, so that it is not possible for him to see beyond that eerie waterway. Suddenly, a hooded man holding a Time-gnawed oar comes out of the mist and approaches. With a hoarse and weary voice, he whispers: «What you see in front of your eyes is the Sazugawa river ( 左図 側 ), the last threshold separating the living from the world of shadows. Do you wanna me to ferry you on the other side, kid? It seems that someone is looking for you there… normally, there is no return for the souls who cross this place and make landfall on the other bank… but maybe tonight I'm allowed to make an exception for you, kid». Without any sign of astonishment or enthusiasm on his face, and with nothing else to lose in his empty and meaningless life, the apathetic man accepts the offer of that old ferryman and jumps on his rickety raft. The navigation across the mystic river is accompanied by the croaking of crickets and by the echoed singing of an exotic bird, like an owl. There is an apparent peace around there and the water is calm. Once he docks on the other bank, the man finds a dark bamboo forest in front of his eyes and hears behind his back the ferryman saying: «step into the woods kid! You gotta walk all along the slopes of the holy mountain, Osoresan ( 恐 山 ), if you wanna reach your destination. You gotta be extremely careful... many souls lose their way in the perpetual night of this place... follow your light, kid!». Peter turns around, but the ferryman is no longer there. Nevertheless, he has no fear in his heart, because fear is precisely what he likes, what feeds Mr. Shadow. It is Time to proceed, always straight ahead, uphill, into that steep dark forest. Hours seem like days and there is no light marking the way, unlike what that old and weird ferryman said. After uncountable hours and unceasing steps into nothing, the bamboo unfolds and the view clears on an endless wasteland, which definitely looks like the crater of a volcano, studded with jagged stones and with stinking sulfurous steams permeating the air. A muddy and yellowish brook flows into a huge lake at the center of the crater. There is a lady in white who aimlessly wanders close to the bank of the lake, with her feet dipped in the turbid waters. Cautiously, the man approaches her. As he slowly gets closer, his heart starts pounding like it has not been done anymore for many, many years. Noticing his presence, the lady rises her sight towards him... the features of that face, such a bewitching look, those unmistakable eyes... there is no longer any doubt: that girl is really his sweet Diana. A mirage?... a mocking trick of his mind?... or maybe just a specter in his dreams.

Specters in my Dreams

The turbid lake suddenly turns into a vortex, a spiraling clutch, and the two souls find themselves orbiting in circle, one in front of the other. The man desperately tries to reach the touch of his sweet Diana, but the more his hand gets closer to her the faster she is dragged away from him, as her silhouette slowly fades and loses her charming shapes. With her right arm still pointing towards the man, Diana gently smiles at him. A red and gold Japanese-style temple begins to take shape behind the young lady, as her body rises from that primordial sludge, out of the vortex. Close to the entrance gate of the temple there are people waiting for Diana: they are her ancestors. All together they say out loud a few words in Japanese, " Shirei ga kiyomatte iru " ( 死霊が清まってい る - the spirit is purer now), and they repeat it three times. Meanwhile, though he tries in every way to make his way and get rid of that spiraling slime, the desperate man gets pulled down beneath the surface, into the vortex. He no longer sees Diana, but he suddenly hears her voice resonating far in the distance, loud and clear: «Your name is Peter Light and only your willpower can light your way. You shall never forget this. Get rid of your remorse! Leave all your shadows and regrets behind yourself! I roamed infinite lands, but now I've finally found my path, leading to Amitābha ( 阿弥陀仏 - the world of eternal bliss of the Amida Buddha ). I'm going to leave samsara and embrace nirvana, the eternal slumber... my true death... the ultimate peace into Gokuraku ( 極楽 - the paradise of the chosen). Thank you, Peter. Thank you, my love. Remember, I'll be there waiting for you at midnight, when we'll be together again, beyond the mortal boundaries of Time and space. Now it is Time for you to go, pave your way and carry the light through the shadows of the night».

The man opens his eyes and gets seated on the bed. It is January 6th, 2024 and he is still in his Canadian-style bedsitter attic. The pendulum on the walls strikes 9.00 AM and a ray of light penetrates the dirtied and opaque window, gently reclining on the floor of the chalet, up to touching the legs of that black grand piano with its lid closed, in the middle of the room. Was it just a dream?... a vision?... an epiphany? The bearded and scruffy man gets on his feet and casts a glance at the bottle of aged scotch, without touching it though. With shy hesitation, he slowly approaches the floor-standing half broken mirror at the corner of his room, to pause there for a while, gazing the reflected man again. In this very moment, his gaze gets more resolute that it has ever been in the past 25 years, while with firm steadfast voice he says his name “Peter Light”. There is no sign of Mr. Shadow for the moment, but Peter knows tonight he will certainly show up again. His mobile phone left on the bedside table starts vibrating; that is his mother, Angie, inviting him for an afternoon coffee, in Portland. Peter accepts immediately, but he informs her he might be a bit late, because he has something to do first… somewhere to go. A quick breakfast, then he fast gets dressed and picks his truck; rather than heading south, he begins travelling north, towards Quebec City. Once arrived in town, for the first Time in 25 years, he rings the bells of the house of Diana’s parents. Opening the entrance door, Mr. Okunarashi gets understandably surprised and quite astonished by that unexpected visit, but without thinking twice and with the calmness that characterizes him, he lets Peter in. With his head down and his eyes always turned downwards, irresolute and embarrassed, Peter seats in the Victorian-style couch and accepts a cup of tea, kindly offered. Mrs. Okunarashi is the first to break the awkward silence, asking him the reason for his visit after so long. While his gaze remains lowered, fixed on the cup of tea, after a few seconds more of silence, Peter quietly starts off with a sincere apology for everything that, although indirectly and accidentally, he caused them. The conversation progressively opens and goes on for about an hour, touching on various subjects: his music career of when he was young, the job he did in the past few years, the passing of his father… until it is Time for Peter to go. So, he shakes hands with them both and finally manages to look them in their eyes, before exiting. Back on his truck, there is one more place to pass by before going to Portland and spending the afternoon with his elderly mother. Diana passed away on January 16th, 1999. She died of an endotracheal infection while she was still in coma. According to her family’s religious customs, her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered on a hill, just outside the city with a rite of passage. Peter was not there; although he was given notice of the funeral, he decided not to attend. Therefore, now there is no place for him to go and mourn the love of his life. Nevertheless, he takes the decision to pass by Quebec Gardens Grand Hotel, the place where Diana worked for 5 years before the accident. Once there, a step in the main hall and truly nothing seems to be changed… a quick glance at the reception counter, and she still seems to be there accommodating the hotel guests, as he saw her doing a few times… an unbearable lump in the throat tightens more and more, almost as to choke the broken man up. Peter then exits the hall and steps into the hotel covered backyard to stroll for a while there, engrossed in the thoughts of his weary mind. This is certainly the ideal place, so peaceful, where to think in silence and meditate. All of a sudden, his gaze falls on a portrait hung on a column, behind the little pond in the middle of the garden, in an elaborated baroque-style gold frame. The image is intimately half-concealed by the branches of a small old willow. So, he gets closer and that is really the portrait of his Diana, in her elegant blue hostess uniform and with her hair finely tied up. The torn man surrenders to the real Peter Light, falling to his knees in front of the painting, where now he frees everything that has always been keeping inside himself and, for the first Time after so long, he finally starts crying.

[Diana Okunarashi] - Sonnet IV

Back through Time, July 29th, 1943 in a training camp just outside Dover, UK. It is almost midnight and a whole battalion of the Royal Air Force is ready to take off and lead a massive attack. The Madras Presidency is one of the squadrons which will be deployed for tonight’s operations. Three brothers, James, Jeff and Julian Yonder hug with one another before splitting up; they will meet again up in the skies later. Concern, tension and anxiety are in the air and it is almost possible to feel the smell of adrenaline filling the mist in the runway. Death awaits. The operation begins and the brave pilots soon find themselves cruising across the pitch-black skies over Germany, more precisely over Nazi-Hamburg. Jeff, the pathfinder, lights a first fusee with his Supermarine Spitfire. All the Avro Lancasters approach and James’ team drops four bombs, one after the other… a raging inferno rises underneath them, over a group of factories. It is Time to fall back and they must do it quickly, because the German anti-aircraft already started to counterattack. The British brothers speed up and venture into nowhere, through the shadows of the night, led only by a pale moonlight. Suddenly, an allied bomber flying next to James’ gets hit twice and then collapses into the black void… spooks, ghosts, faceless enemies hiding in the darkness. Now their guests have turned into their hosts and are everywhere, all around them. Julian’s Hawker Hurricane arrives: although it is impossible to watch the foes in their eyes, he must protect his brothers at the cost of his life. Death still awaits. It is Time to meet the enemy.

80 and a half years later, on the other side of the globe, Peter enters his cold and unwelcoming chalet in the wood. It is still January 6th, 2024: he just spent the whole afternoon with his mother, Angie, in a café, then strolling in Portland and pleasantly talking like he has not done for such a long Time. The day has been long, intense, full of so many bittersweet emotions. At nightfall, he finally steps into his house: his darkest friend, dearest enemy and twisted symmetry is impatiently waiting for him… that is Mr. Shadow. Peter Light has taken back his real self today, but in the deep he knows very well that the fight is not over yet. It will never be over. However, tonight he feels prepared for the combat… he is ready to face that cracked mirror that, as usual, wants to take its toll. Time has come to meet the enemy.

Meet the Enemy

At the first lights of dawn, James, Jeff and Julian Yonder touch the ground in their training camp outside Dover, safe and sound. Also tonight, they have made it out alive. One more battle of this endless fight has been won, but they all know the war is far from over. The sweetish smell of the summer lawns of their homeland is welcoming them, as they are embraced by a warm ray of light, rising at the horizon. The three brave British pilots will carry out other six missions during WWII, before being discharged with honor. After the war, they will be awarded with medals with the highest prestige value by the Crown of England, for their military service. Julian F. Yonder, in 1949 at the age of 29, will move to Brussels and marry Claire, a Belgian girl he met during the war, from whom he will have three sons and one daughter. He will pass away in 2005 in his bed, surrounded by the love of his dears. Jeff Yonder will return to East Anglia to marry his fiancé, Jenny, who in 1947 will give birth to two beautiful twins. He will pass away from cancer in 1988, after seeing the birth of his first granddaughter. James Charles Yonder will serve also during the Korean War in support of the United States Army Air Forces. He will never get married. As war veteran, in the fifties, he will start writing books of war, travelling all around Europe, especially Germany, to attend conferences and interviews. Every year, for Christmas, he will meet again with his brothers Jeff, Julian and their respective families, until the very end. After finishing his last book, “ Faceless Enemy – the Mirror Me ”, published posthumously, he will close his eyes forever during his sleep in 2012 at 94 years old. Three brothers in arms, three boys called to action, three heroes united by difficult circumstances and by a burdensome fate… a destiny they did not try to repel or escape, but that they bravely embraced and simply accepted.