2023 School Magazine

‘SO FAR AWAY, SO CLOSE TO HOME’ Junior prize - Charlotte d’joncourt Folklore Competition Laura Harcourt (7L)

Snow in Queensland, I mused. Now that’s a find. My parents agreed. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here, camping for a week in Toowoomba, witnessing the absurdity first-hand. While it made the Ju Raku En, the largest Japanese garden in Queensland, feel even more authentic, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Perhaps these streets had seen snow before, but not like this. The snowflakes drifted from the sky, coming to rest in a white shroud at least a metre thick. I knew this was unnatural. That night, a few hours after falling asleep, I was awoken by the howling gale. My heartbeat quickened. My parents were still asleep. Compelled to investigate, I dashed outside the tent. The wind whistled around me, calling me, its icy fingers gripping my skin. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what came over me. But I sprinted through the blizzard and kept running and running until all I could see was white. I stopped, panting, and realised I was lost. The only visible landmark was a decrepit hut. Desperate, I raced inside. It was empty, and the wooden floor was thick with dust, but I needed shelter. I sat down, my joints aching and numb, and slipped away into a doze. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ I jolted awake. I couldn’t see who had spoken. ‘You are young. You do not deserve to die…yet.’ The speaker materialised. She looked young, about 12 or 13, like me. Her long inky hair flowed strangely in the freezing air. Her skin was ghostly-pale, She paused, black eyes glittering in wariness. ‘You can call me Yuki,’ she decided. The name suited her. ‘I was named after my mother. If she or my siblings were here, they would freeze you to death instantly.’ Part of me wondered if this were a nightmare. Either way I wanted to avoid Yuki’s family. I began to enquire, but Yuki interrupted. ‘Look – the snow has cleared.’ I peered outside the hut. The sun was rising, melting the ice with supernatural speed. ‘Thank you,’ I breathed. Then it clicked – something I remembered from Japanese class. Something about the ghost called ‘the woman of the snow’. I started ‘Wait, are you-?!’ ‘My mother protected a human, who betrayed her and let it slip that she was a yōkai.’ Yuki’s cold lips curved into a smile. ‘Just keep this quiet. I expect you to repay my kindness. Or there will be consequences.’ Then she disappeared, melting away with all of winter’s other secrets. I stood and marvelled, realising where I was. I spotted our tent in the distance. The ancient hut slowly dissipated as the Ju Raku En garden came to light in the rays of the rising sun. and she wore an alabaster dress. A kimono, with the right fold over the left. Her soft voice brought me back to the present. ‘My siblings will be here soon.’ My vocal cords finally regained function. ‘Who are you?’

Inspired by the Japanese folktale, ‘Yuki-Onna’ by Lafcadio Hearn

130 | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2023