Eerie

    Usually to parents, their babies are the most
    beautiful creatures on earth no matter what others
    might think. Perhaps, the parental love is so strong
    that it revents couples to make an objective
    judgement on their new-born baby's actual beauty. And
    thank God for that. Heaven forbid when the parents
    find their own child ugly because that goes beyond
    the understanding of our most natural motherly or
    fatherly love.
    
    Well, this is what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Oda. They
    found their new-born baby girl so unattractive that
    they were embarrassed to show her to friends and
    relatives. They would keep the baby locked inside
    the house, cursing that stork which brought the ugly
    kid into their household. Days and months went by,
    the infant grew up like any normal child would, but
 
    still the ugliness that fate so cruelly bestowed
    remained with it.
    
    On her fourth birthday, the Oda family decided to
    take the baby for a dingy boat ride at a nearby lake.
    It was one of those rare occasions that the baby
    would get to see the outside world, so with obvious
    delight, she was reaching over the side and stirring
    the water with her
    little fingers. What could happen to her? Mommy and
    Daddy were just inches away, with their usual glum
    faces, looking over her. She looked at them and
    smiled, feeling safe, continued playing with water
    leaning
    over the side of the dinghy.
    
    Miura-san was enjoying his third Kirin Beer and
    marvelling the sound of the new motor on his little
    boat. He was glad that there was no one else
    at the lake except for that couple with a little kid
    in a dinghy boat far away.. He took another swig of
    the bitter beer and thinking it's about time to head
    for the shore. Suddenly he heard a scream and cries
    for help. The couple on the far side of the lake were
    flailing their arms and shouting "Daskete" (help).
    The kid was not on the dinghy. Miura-san rushed over
    to
    their location and found out that the child had
    fallen overboard. The mother was crying and looking
    into the water from the dinghy while the father was
    in the water diving in and out. Miura-san also jumped
    in to help but their effort was of no avail. They
    could not find the girl in the lake.
    
    The rescue team was summoned and after couple of
    hours of exhaustive searches the body was found. The
    ugly Oda girl had drowned to her death.
    
    Few years passed and Mrs. Oda gave birth to another
    child. And this time the fate was kind to them, for
    the baby - again a girl - was overwhelmingly
    beautiful. There was a big celebration and Odas
    invited all
    their friends and relatives to come see the new baby.
    Indeed, she was their little bundle of joy. Whenever
    they had a chance, the Odas would take her out in the
    stroller and all the passers-by would exclaim how
    beautiful their baby was. Days and months passed, as
    the little girl grew up as any normal child would and
    also became more and more beautiful. Mr. and Mrs. Oda
    were very happy but the distant memory of the dead
    child remained in their mind.
    
    Perhaps to appease that painful memory, they decided
    to take a dinghy ride again, for the first time since
    that incident, at the same lake on their new child's
    fourth birthday. At first the child was afraid to be
    on
    the dinghy, but soon began to enjoy the ride. She
    reached over the side and began playfully stirring
    the water with her little fingers. After all what
    could happen to her? Both Daddy and Mommy were just
    inches away from her. She looked up at their cheerful
    faces and gave them a big smile.
 
    They smiled in return and told her to be careful. The
    child went back to her amusement, leaning on the side
    of the dinghy to play with the water.
    Then suddenly she turned around and almost
    nonchalantly said, "Mom, Dad, please do not push me
    into the lake, again."