Memoirs of a Geisha Page #2

Once I've left, I can't go back.

I've waited as long as I can.

Now go!

What is she doing here?

She's seen us.

Stupid girl.

Why have you come back?

Your perfect chance to escape!

Get in!

- Koichi, please.

- Look at us.

Sneaking around like criminals.

- Koichi, don't...

- It's degrading.

What's going on?

Koichi.

Who's there?

Go! Now! Go!

Show your face.

Look, Okasan! I caught her stealing!

She was running away

with her sister, the whore!

You little thief!

No! She is lying!

- After all we have done for her!

- I saw her with a man! Right there!

His name is Koichi!

Shut up!

We should kick her out!

Take her arms.

You are never to see him again.

What do you think?

A geisha is free to love?

Never.

Bolt the gate!

No one is leaving this okiya.

Dr. Moro is very expensive.

You seem to be racking up

quite a debt.

Kimono destroyed...

...geisha school...

...rice and pickles, train ticket,

Mr. Bekku.

All this on top of the money

I paid Mr. Tanaka.

And for what?

And now I hear that your sister

has run away.

She didn't wait for you.

And now she can never come back.

You must forget

you ever had a sister.

We are your only family now.

"Dear Satsu and little Chiyo:

As one who was once

an orphan child myself...

...this humble person

is sorry to inform you...

...that six weeks after you left

for your new life in Miyako...

...the suffering of your

honored mother came to its end.

And only a few weeks afterward...

...your honored father

departed this world as well.

This humble person feels confident

both your honored parents...

...have found their places

in paradise. But happily... "

At the temple...

...there is a poem called "Loss"

carved into the stone.

It has three words.

But the poet

has scratched them out.

You cannot read "Loss. "

Only feel it.

My father and mother

had left this life.

My sister, I never heard of again.

I had dishonored the okiya,

so Mother had other plans for me.

I would pay back my debt...

...year after year after year.

Not as a geisha.

As her slave.

It is too pretty a day

to be so unhappy.

Did you fall down?

Why so shy?

Nothing to be ashamed of.

We all stumble from time to time.

You see that enchanting lady

in green?

Once, when she was just a maiko,

she fell clean off her wooden shoes.

It's true, I did.

And now look at her. So elegant.

Mr. Chairman, shouldn't we hurry?

We will miss the beginning.

We see the Spring Dances every year.

We can spare a moment.

What's your name?

Don't be afraid to look at me.

Do you like sweet plum or cherry?

You mean, to eat?

I like sweet plum myself.

Come.

None of us find as much kindness

in this life as we should.

Hi. Both kinds, please.

My children wait for these

every spring.

Now I'm a geisha too.

And so you are.

How did you come by

such surprising eyes?

My mother gave them to me.

Generous of her, wasn't it?

As you have been to me.

Smile for me, won't you?

There, now. That is your gift to me.

This will buy your supper.

Now, promise me one thing:

Next time you take a tumble,

no frowns.

That's better.

In that moment...

...I changed from a girl

facing nothing but emptiness...

...to someone with purpose.

I saw that to be a geisha...

...could be a stepping stone

to something else:

A place in his world.

The money the Chairman

had given me...

...could have bought fish and rice

for a month.

But I gave it back in prayer...

...keeping only his handkerchief.

I asked one day

to become a geisha.

And then, somehow,

to meet him again.

The Imperial War Ministry

announces news:

A great victory for our friend

Adolf Hitler.

Today, Hitler demanded

self-determination...

...for Germans living in Austria.

Hitler's quest for lebensraum,

"living space"...

Chiyo-chan, I can't find my comb!

Did you find it yet?

Pumpkin, it's time to go.

- I found it.

- Arigato, Chiyo.

Oh, I couldn't sleep last night,

I was so worried about my stupid hair.

Am I lopsided?

You look beautiful.

With your hair like that...

...you look more like a pumpkin

than ever.

Don't poke your neck forward

like a tortoise.

She's not ready? We will be late.

Poor Pumpkin. Her debut,

and everyone will be staring at you.

- Hurry up, huh?

- This time...

...tune your shamisen

before you play.

When you make a fool of yourself,

your big sister gets the blame.

Stop crying, your face will run.

Pumpkin!

Pumpkin!

The winter I turned 15,

I saw the Chairman again.

But that wasn't the only surprise

fate brought me that season.

Along with the snow

came a most unexpected visitor.

Why is she here?

Chiyo! Chiyo!

Open the gate!

Now that your beloved

Granny is gone...

...you'll have no need for a maid.

I would never question

the great Mameha...

...but you could choose anyone

in the hanamachi.

You flatter me, truly.

I'd give you my Pumpkin if she were

not already tied to Hatsumomo.

Please. I would never dream

of asking.

Besides, I could always sell Chiyo

to Mrs. Tatsuyo.

With your eye for beauty

and nose for talent...

...surely you can see

what a terrible waste that would be.

If you were not the kind-hearted

geisha I know you to be...

...then I might think you were

scheming against Hatsumomo.

Then I'm grateful, Mrs. Nitta, that

you don't have a suspicious mind.

Perhaps you can pique

my interest with...

Yes?

...your offer.

I will cover Chiyo's schooling,

all her expenses...

...till after her debut.

Now I am confident you are teasing.

I could not be more sincere.

If Chiyo hasn't repaid her debt

within six months after her debut...

Impossible! Too little time.

Then I will pay you twice over.

What?

No geisha could ever...

I am certain you will not object

to one trivial condition.

Yes?

If Chiyo erases her debt

in the time allowed...

...you will have no part

in her future earnings.

It's too good to be true.

Mameha is up to something.

She isn't in it for the money.

That much is for certain.

Rumor has it, ever since the prime

minister bought her mizuage...

...she's been rich.

That so? Absurd to think

she noticed Chiyo.

It's that kimono.

She remembers

how you destroyed it.

- Now she wants to get even.

- An odd picture, isn't it?

Hatsumomo sweeping into teahouse

after teahouse with our little Pumpkin.

And Mameha with our maid.

I'm so far behind.

I will never catch up to you.

Don't worry, Chiyo-chan.

I will help you.

Pumpkin!

You are never to speak to her again.

Now you are rivals.

Pumpkin.

Pumpkin.

This is how it was,

this tiny world of women.

Friend turned against friend.

And now the two greatest geisha

in Miyako at war over me.

Hatsumomo at my back.

Mameha calling,

offering me the chance...

...to become one of those elegant

women I'd seen on the bridge...

...floating in a silk kimono,

the Chairman at my side.

Chiyo is my new protge.

As lovely as her big sister.

And with eyes the color of rain.

The Baron is a very special man

to me. My danna.

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