Unfinished business is one of the few things that makes a farewell bittersweet. If someone is going abroad for work and you know they will return, you can focus on the return. When someone leaves under a dark cloud we often feel both sad and relieved. But when someone leaves with unfinished business it’s like time for them just stops. We only remember them how they were. We wonder “what if?” And in that way, they become ghosts.
It’s odd that almost the entire human mythology around ghosts deals with unfinished business. In Japan there is a famous ghost story about a young girl named Okiku. Okiku was a servant to a powerful Samurai. The lord wanted to have her sexually and she refused all of his advances. So, the Samurai tricked her: he hid one of ten family heirlooms (plates) and blamed her for stealing. Normally, he said, she would have to pay for this crime with her life but he, being a gentle and kind lord, would wave the death sentence if she would requite his love.
Okiku refused and instead sought to prove her innocence, counting the plates over and over, reaching only 9 each time. Okiku became frenzied searching for the 10th plate and her lord once more offered to forgive her, for sex. She refused again and in a fit of rage, the Samurai threw her to her death down the castle well.
Okiku returned to haunt the Samurai. She would come to the castle every night, searching for the 10th plate. Counting slowly to nine and letting out a blood curdling shriek when she reached 10. It is said that the Samurai went mad and was killed in a rash attack on his enemies but Okiku still haunts his castle. It is also said that if you see Okiku, you can dismiss her by saying the number ten (Juu*) after she says the number nine. Thus, completing her count.
Wojciech Szczesny signed for Juventus today. Whether that was because Wenger threw him down the well or because Szczesny refused to play for Wenger we won’t know until Wenger or Szczesny write their explosive tell all book, “Smoking in the Boys Room”.
But what I do know is that Szczesny’s departure from Arsenal is one of the most bittersweet in recent years. He’s a 27 year old goalkeeper with massive potential going to a club with an impressive pedigree where he will no doubt compete for football’s highest honors. And every time Szczesny makes a great save in a Champions League match, or wins the Serie A with Juventus, his ghost will haunt our blogs and Twitter feeds.
And to make things worse, Szczesny has given us all a heartfelt fond farewell. RIP Szczesny.
*The number 9 in this story is important because the pronunciation of 9 in Japanese (ku) is a homophone for suffering. 10 in Japanese has an added connotation of completeness because it’s a homophone for “enough” (Juuppon).
