Vocal Battle
Author: Ukari (translated with author’s permission, please visit their website to see the original Japanese works!)
To say here is far, and to call yonder nearby. Stories on the edge of the every day, strange tales you may or may not be moved by. Strange, curious, fantastic stories told by me, you, him and her. There are many stories but they’re all concluded within a single page, each story around 200 to 1200 characters in length, a short story collection you can easily read. Please enjoy them. Updated every Saturday at 6pm.
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My family home lies deep in the countryside.
Most relatives don’t visit very often, but we all gather at the end of the year to get together and chat once more.
It was the night of the beginning of the New Year.
Somewhere, an owl hooted, and my drunk uncle hooted back.
The owl landed in the yard, and hooted in reply.
He should have given up at that point, but my drunk uncle hooted once again.
Hoot hoot. Hoot hoot.
Each time my uncle and the owl hooted, another would come and land in the yard, creating a bizarre sight.
When my father arrived to see what all the noise was about, he screamed when he saw the flock of owls.
“It’s a vocal battle. If I lose, they’ll kill me.”
The entire family united and hooted at the owls until daybreak. And thanks to that, my uncle survived.
Yet after that night, the neighbours looked upon our family coldly for how noisy we’d been right at the start of the year.