[JapanUrbanLegend] Letter
Letter
In 1945, not long after the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a middle school student was traveling through a small village in Japan. The traces of war were still fresh in the air, and a strange, uneasy silence hung over the place. It was a village that felt unfamiliar and unsettling to the young traveler.
Deciding to spend the night, the student checked into the only inn in the village, where the owner, an elderly man, welcomed him warmly. They shared dinner together, and the old man told stories of his long life in the village. Among the many stories, one in particular stuck with the student.
"I have a friend in Nagasaki," the old man said. "He asked me for one final favor."
That evening, the old man handed the student an envelope containing a letter. The letter was simple, just a few lines written on plain paper. "Take this to my friend in Nagasaki," the old man asked. "But whatever you do, do not open it. It is my final request."
The student hesitated for a moment, but could not refuse. There was a weight in the old man’s eyes and a seriousness in his voice that made it clear this was no ordinary request.
The next morning, the student set out to deliver the letter, though a sense of curiosity gnawed at him. The letter remained in his bag, and as the day wore on, the temptation to open it grew stronger. By evening, he could resist no longer.
In the quiet of his room at a small inn, he pulled the letter from his bag and carefully opened it. The old man’s words echoed in his mind, but his curiosity won out.
Inside, there was just one line:
“This is the last meat I give to you.”
