Forecast For Tomorrow - 現代怪談

Welcome to the second in our series of what I call, Haiku Horror.
Like its namesake, the Haiku, these stories are short and sweet, the setting itself providing form and function.

The storyteller can induce the appropriate pacing for the audience when recited or heard through some vocal medium. However in this case, when read through some printed medium, pacing can be introduced only through careful spacing and alignment.

With that in mind, we welcome you once again for a brief detour down the road of Haiku Horror. 

Forecast For Tomorrow
A Modern Japanese ^*Kaidan

original story copyrighted by the author
translation copyrighted by M. L. Mills, 2010～

＊＊＊

It was 15 years ago when I aimlessly flipped on the TV at around 2:30 AM. Much to no surprise, there was nothing showing, only the familiar off-air colorbars.Then just as I was thinking of heading off to sleep, the bars disappeared.

Suddenly the screen was showing a telecast of an active landfill station.

The landfill continued on in the background while a ticker appeared at the bottom of the screen with "CBA News Flash" on it. I thought the whole thing peculiar and kept watching when names, or credits, started scrolling across the ticker while the narrator monotonously read them off. A piece of heavy classical music accompanied the broadcast.

Finally, after a full five minutes of this,

“These will be the fatalities for tomorrow.
Thank you and good night.”

Ever since then I've been terrified of turning on late night TV.
Yet no one around will believe me.

＊＊＊

Original text story (Japanese only.)
Audio recording (Japanese only. Account with nicovideo required.)

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned and happy listening. (^_-)-☆

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

^*Kaidan: a traditional Japanese “ghost” story usually involving the unexplainable, a flexible concepts of time and space, strange meetings, love gone wrong, the supernatural… Curious and sometimes terrifying stories, but never centered on nor featuring either gore or sex. Original text story  (Japanese only.) Audio recording  (Japanese only.  Account with nicovideo required.)

Translator's Notes (and various oddities): 

We originally had another working title.
And it was a good title!
But then I realized it was potentially too revealing for such a short piece. Fortunately though, just as easily and quickly as the original title came to me, so did the better revised title.
Thank fuzz for warm morning showers.
And, yes, CBA is a play on the actual ABC, or even CBS if you will. Much like NNN is a play on the actual news stations, JNN or possibly NHK. (^_-)-☆

Finally, once again our thanks to NikoNiko for providing a place where these stories can be posted and shared, and to all the users that take the time to record and share. In particular, a heartfelt thanks to uribou for providing this little gem and doing a fabulously professional job of recording as always.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

My Dream? - 現代怪談

Lately I have been working on bigger and bigger pieces, but then came across a few smaller ones that were worth doing.
SLACKER! 
No.... Sorry to take away your fun. ^^ 
But shorter isn't always simpler.  Particularly in the world of literary/art translation, shorter means that you have fewer chances, less wiggle room to express ideas or capture the atmosphere of a story. In some cases, shorter can be much more brain-wracking as I was painfully reminded of back when I did THE SEA. The “poem” at the end.... I am still not happy with it, but neither could I ever work it into something better.
 
So as can be said in many other situations - enjoy the journey, however brief it may be.
ご了承くださいませ～。^^

My Dream?
A Modern Japanese ^*Kaidan

original story copyrighted by author @ http://syarecowa.moo.jp/160/29.html
translation copyrighted by M. L. Mills, 2011

＊＊＊

I had this awful dream.
There were hands on my neck, tightening, strangling me.
I couldn't see the other person's face. It was obscured, like I was seeing through a mist.
Desperately trying to shake them off, I grabbed hold of their wrists, but without the slightest effect.
Little by little, I felt my consciousness slipping away.

I awoke the same moment I lost consciousness in my dream.
My body was robed in an uncomfortable sweat. Without thinking, I reached up and felt my neck.
The thought crossed my mind that this would be the perfect ghost story if only there were hand-shaped bruises left on my neck.
I entered the bathroom and threw off my clothes and froze, staring into the mirror.

They were there.
Clearly there.
Purplish, hand-shaped bruises.

On my wrists.

＊＊＊

Thanks for visiting!
Stay tuned and happy listening. (^_-)-☆

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

^*Kaidan: a traditional Japanese “ghost” story usually involving the unexplainable, a flexible concepts of time and space, strange meetings, love gone wrong, the supernatural… Curious and sometimes terrifying stories, but never centered on nor featuring either gore or sex.

Original text story: http://syarecowa.moo.jp/160/29.html
(Japanese only.)
Audio recording: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm14689364
(Account with nicovideo required. Japanese only.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

All translations copyrighted and owned by myself. All copyrights of their respective owners. No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.