Kassius and Kaizen go their separate ways. Kassius heads back to his room where he sees Bonnie fast asleep and Arnold exercising.
Kassius: "When did she-"
Arnold: "Not too long ago."
Kassius: "I see. It's late though. You're exercising right now?"
Arnold: "A short one before I sleep. Force of habit, I guess."
Kassius: "Alright, just don't take too long."
In a different part of the village, Kaizen finally reaches his home. He enters and goes to his room. He lies on his bed, trying to fall asleep, but thoughts ring into his mind,
"Dreams are like jewels."
"Did somebody steal yours?"
"We leave in the morning."
Kaizen: "Ahh! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why won't it just leave my head?"
He hears movement and turns to his window but just sees a monkey climbing in.
Kaizen: "Oh. It's just you, Palu."
The monkey runs up on his chest.
Kaizen: "How was the festival huh? Pretty fun right? I sure did have a lot of fun. Those outsiders are pretty interesting people themselves. They even said I could go with them."
He stands up on his feet and the monkey crawls up on his shoulder.
Kaizen: "Imagine that. We can go explore the world, see new sites, find new things. I could learn more than I already know. But... I can't. Or can I? Ugh. This is too stressful. Be honest Palu, am I making excuses?"
Palu: "..."
Kaizen: "I keep asking myself, 'what do I do that others can't?'. And it's the same answer. Over and over. Nothing. I'm just the adventure guy. I don't do much around here. Maybe I should leave. But mother... she's worked so hard to make sure not only the village, but my life is safe. What if I go on this grand adventure of mine, and die? After all, I'll be going around with criminals. It's bound to happen at some point right?"
Palu: "..."
Kaizen sits back down on the bed.
Kaizen: "I don't know anymore. Maybe it's all pointless."
Palu runs off his shoulder and goes to his desk.
Kaizen: "Palu. What are you doing?"
He climbs on a table and grabs a folded paper on it. He runs back to Kaizen and drops it on his lap. Kaizen opens it up, and lets off a faint smile.
Kaizen: "The map of the world... I used to spend a lot of time in here now that I think about it. Just thinking about these places. Always saying I'll see them myself one day. Especially the line city of Yargat."
Finally, as Kaizen sits in front of the map, he remembers Kassius' words,
"Steal it back!"
Kaizen, with a sharp stare, closes the map and stands up on his feet.
Kaizen: "You know what?! Why not now?"
Kaizen, with passion full in his eyes, stands back up.
Kaizen: "Why am I stalling? This is my life, right?! And I only have one of those. So you know what? I'm tired of the delay. Palu, we're leaving tomorrow. And I'm going to tell mother right now. Cmon. Let's go."
As Kaizen rushes out the room, Palu climbs on his back. He runs out of his home and down the village, up until he arrives at the elder's office.
Kaizen: "Mother is probably in a meeting. Should we wait?..."
Palu shakes his head.
Kaizen: "Yeah. You're right."
Elder 1: "There is clearly an issue with our resource providers. We need new travelers to ensure we get our necessary amount."
Elder 2: "We can't just randomly select new travelers. On top of the outside being dangerous, there are but a few who would even consider leaving."
Elder 1: "Then I'm afraid we will be facing struggles shortly. First, it may be construction resources, then it could be hunger.
Mistress: "That is enough. You do bring up a fair point about the resources, so who do you suggest we start sending?"
Elder 1: "Well, it may be of surprise to you, Mistress. However, your son seems to be a good choice."
Mistress: "Kaizen?"
Kaizen walks in the room, and all eyes turn to him. 3 elders seated on each side on cushions, with the Mistress at the far end in front of him.
Elder 1: "Speak of the devil."
Mistress: "Kaizen. What may be the reason for your intrusion of this meeting?"
Kaizen: "I came to tell you something."
Mistress: "Go ahead."
Kaizen: "Well... OK. I want to leave the village."
The room looks on in shock, the Mistress looking surprised.
Elder 1: "This is perfect."
Kaizen: "Perfect?"
Mistress: "What he means, is that we are experiencing difficulties with the village resources. And we are trying to solve it. So we have decided to choose someone to join in the travels for resource collection. And that is you."
Kaizen: "Me?!"
Mistress: "I mean, you have designated routes, and it's just back and forth trips, but you get to leave the village like you always wanted."
Kaizen: "No! No, no, no, no, no! This is not what I wanted."
Mistress: "What?! I thought you always wanted to leave."
Kaizen: "Yes! I did! I always have. But this, this isn't the way I wanted it."
Mistress: "Kaizen, think about it first."
Kaizen: "No, I won't. There are other people in the village who can do this. I came to tell you... I came to tell you that I'm leaving, leaving."
Elder 2: "Elaborate, young man."
Kaizen: "I plan to leave the village and explore the world with the people we are currently guesting."
The whole room goes into shock. The elders murmur amongst each other.
Elder 3: "Did he say explore the world?"
Elder 4: "And with those criminals? Has he lost his mind?"
Mistress: "Silence!"
The room goes quiet and focuses on her.
Mistress: "Kaizen. I don't know what has gotten into you, but can we discuss this at our home in private?"
Kaizen: "Not today. There's nothing to hide. Anything I say next, I want everybody to hear it."
He pulls out his map from his pocket.
Kaizen: "This map, this piece of paper. It may seem insignificant to you all, but to me, it holds the one key to my life that I thought I didn't need. This dream of mine, will help me answer the true question I've had this whole time. A question even science couldn't answer. A question I can't answer simply by staying cooped up in this one place."
Mistress: "You wish to leave the village, for a question?"
Kaizen: "Yes, I do."
Elder 4: "Mistress. I advise you to control your son. I fear he may say something he might regret."
Kaizen: "Regret? Oh shut the-"
Mistress: "Kaizen, enough!"
Kaizen goes silent and looks towards his mother.
Mistress: "This has gone far enough. I understand you have aspirations, but you are no different from others who may want the same. The thing is, they understand the severity of leaving. The dangers of leaving. If you were to lose your life meaninglessly, I would never be able to forgive myself."
Kaizen: "Maybe that's the problem."
Mistress: "Excuse me?"
Kaizen: "You constantly worry about me like I'm some infant. Like I'm incapable. I'm not weak. And if I were to die, it wouldn't be meaningless. As long as I'm striving for my dream, dying for it does not intimidate me one bit, and it shouldn't either."
Mistress: "Do you hear yourself? You want to leave and throw your life away, just so you can get an answer to a simple question."
Kaizen: "If it's so simple, tell me what my purpose is."
Mistress: "Your purpose is to serve the village. Just like everybody else. We all have the same purpose, and it is all as a sign of respect to the man who sacrificed for us. Your father. And to deny that, is to deny the gift he gave to all of us. As though his sacrifice was in vain."
Kaizen stands quiet. With little to no words, his face starts dulling.
Elder 5: "This behaviour cannot go unchecked."
Mistress: "Forgive my son. I understand the commotion he has caused but we will find a solu-"
Kaizen: "My purpose... is to serve the village?"
Everyone looks at him.
Kaizen: "That's not my purpose. That's your purpose. One you put on me. See, what you don't realise, and I want all you elders here to listen very carefully. What you don't realise, is that you don't decide somebody's purpose in life. That's what someone does for themselves. This village constantly celebrates the gift we were given on that historic day, our freedom. Yet, I'm not allowed to do decide my own purpose. This freedom you make us celebrate, is just an illusion. What's funnier, is that to you all, me being free, disrespects the gift of freedom. But I don't need to harp on these figures of speech. You all understand what I'm saying, there isn't a point in hiding it. So I'll just say it as it is. I'm no longer going to be constricted. I will be leaving tomorrow and that is my final decision."
Kaizen turns around and walks out of the room.
Elder 4: "This is dire."
Elder 6: "More than dire. This is unprecedented. Nobody has left the village without it being on official business."
Elder 4: "We cannot let this just happen. We have to send a message tomorrow so as to not let his action inspire more foolishness."
Elder 1: "Perhaps we can stop him and attempt to reason. We still need a person to solve our issue at hand."
Elder 3: "That may prove difficult. We do not have the manpower to stop him and he knows it."
Elder 2: "Mistress, we understand that this is your son we are discussing. So if this is difficult to listen to, you ar-"
Mistress rushes out of the room and goes after Kaizen. As he's walking down the stairs outside, the Mistress exits the office.
Mistress: "Kaizen, stop!"
Kaizen turns to see his mother, holding back tears.
Mistress: "Why?... I thought you said you'd stop. I thought we were happy."
Kaizen: "Mother, we were happy. At least, you were, and that made me happy. But slowly, the smile faded. Sometimes, it was better to fake a smile than to show a real frown. But I can't live like this anymore. Life is precious. And I know you know that. It's why you worry about me. And I'm thankful for that. But to worry and to control, are two different things."
Kaizen walks up to her and hugs her.
Kaizen: "I am leaving tomorrow. No matter what you say or do this time, I'll still go. Whatever punishment I assume I'll get, I'll take. As long as I get to finally be free, I'll be OK with it. I know he would agree, so I hope you can too."
He lets go of her and walks down the stairs. She wipes away the tears and watches him walk away.