Welcoming Spring
Before Spring Begins ⑥
If you missed the previous entry, you can read it here: After the Noise.
The beans scatter.
The voices rise.
The room fills with movement.
Then the sound fades.
The floor clears.
Hands gather what remains.
The house grows quiet again.
This small ritual repeats every year.
People say it drives demons away.
That is only part of the story.
The oni does not only stand outside the door.
It also lives inside people.
Anger.
Jealousy.
Carelessness.
Fear.
Every person carries something.
Throwing beans gives that feeling a shape.
For a moment, the invisible becomes visible.
The house opens. The voice rises. The hand throws.
Oni wa soto.
The act pushes darkness outward.
But the ritual does not end there.
After the shouting comes quiet.
Beans return to bowls.
The floor returns to order.
People sit.
They count the years they have lived.
One bean for each year.
This moment matters.
Not because it defeats evil.
Because it reminds people to face themselves.
The ritual points outward.
The reflection turns inward.
Winter does not end with a dramatic change.
It loosens.
Light grows longer.
Air softens.
Somewhere, the first buds prepare.
Before spring begins,
people clear a small space in their lives.
They open the door.
They throw away what they no longer need.
Then they welcome what comes next.