(Man Lady Plain- Both of them or the narrator)
The powdery snow, slowly sways down,
Sheathing the mountains in soft, pure white.
The two inside a run-down house in a barren village,
Huddle together in the cold winter night.
"It has also been snowing on the day we met,"
You murmured with a smile,
And I'd hidden my face, flushed from each cheek,
Within the shadow of your large sleeve.
With a breath of joy,
I sang a spring's arrival along with the chirping birds.
"Your voice is beautiful," you told me,
Just those words, and those alone, made me so happy!
"If someday, I no longer had this beautiful voice,
Would you still, even then, love me?"
"Of course," you said, softly smiling,
As your large hand, gently stroked my cheek.
"A crane... snared in this weather?
Wait I will set you free"
And it flew ever so elegantly.
One hot summer afternoon,
You coughed blood and collapsed...
Our poor married life,
Couldn't afford it's cure...
The next day came by, along with the following,
I did nothing else, but purposely weave...
I wouldn't let your life,
Fall like the fleeting autumn leaves!
The seasons flow by,
And the bell crickets shriek.
The end of summer is marked by their cries.
"Your fingers are beautiful," you told me,
Delicately clutching my wound-covered hands...
But yours were much too cold!
"If someday, I no longer had these beautiful fingers,
Would you still, even then, love me?"
"Of course," you said, coughing,
As your large hands caressed my aching fingers.
Day and night, don't stop weaving...
~~Ah, the sunset's cool breeze~~
Hurry,hurry, I need to buy medicine...
~~Sways the sluggishly decaying fruit's scent~~
Just a bit more, only a bit more; before the autumn leaves fall...
~~Until it goes out~~
Until these fingers can't move... Until these feathers are all used up!!!
"If someday, I were no longer a human,
Would you still love me?"
The truth I feared left untold,
I softly pluck the final feather alone...
"Of course," I say, warmly smiling,
I promised I'd embrace you, even if you've lost your wings!
And that crane which had beautifully taken flight that day...
I've always remembered, and never forgotten, even now!
And just like always, I love you
Thanks to Shikiori no Hane Tsuru no Ongaeshi and the people behind them! Peace!