The Perfect Place To Die - Part One

A short story inspired by events in The Suicide Woods of Japan.

The Perfect Place To Die

Part One

Tamiko looked unbelievingly down at the object in her hand. It was a simple chef's knife. She blinked twice and turned it over carefully in her hand. “Yes.” she thought to herself. “I used one like this very same knife in my home only yesterday.”

Then, it had been stained with the blood of a fish she had been preparing for dinner. Now, human blood dripped from the sharp point and stained the leaves of the low growing bushes around her. Similarly as the fish’s blood had stained the white enamel of the sink in her kitchen.

Except for the sound of the wind rustling through the sea of trees, the forest was silent. The great trees of the Aokigahara forest strained upwards towards the sun, but their lichen covered roots writhed all along the floor like an ocean of snakes. Tamiko looked down at the body. Her mind wouldn't allow her to give it a name. The body, wearing a white short sleeved shirt and blue jeans, lay slumped awkwardly against the base of a tree. The white shirt was marred by a dark red stain which was rapidly spreading across the stomach. The face, with it's terrified expression and sad eyes, had thankfully fallen forward and was now hidden from her view.

The patches of sky visible through the trees were grey. A chilly breeze moaned through the woods making the branches snap and creak. At that moment a fine drizzle started to fall; filtered through the green canopy overhead as it was; it nevertheless quickly began to soak her thin blouse. She stood indecisively, her body trembling. Suddenly she let out a cry of despair that sliced into the stillness, echoing across the forest until it was swallowed up and a resounding silence descended. Tamiko gazed at the blood spattered knife in her hand as if she were seeing it for the first time. She began to shake uncontrollably and finally let it drop.

Tamiko fell to her knees beside the body and was suddenly startled by the sound of voices. She looked around wildly…They were quite far off the path, who else would be out here? Should she call for help? Would they understand? As these thoughts rapidly crossed her mind she realized there was nobody there. “It was only the wind.” she whispered. That is when she noticed the crumbled piece of paper which was clutched in the lifeless hand laying next to her thigh.