Tsunan and I left town for my natal village in the early morning of the following day by train.
Konishi was found in a completely rural and secluded area where access of transport was completely limited.
When we got down from the train, we were still very far away from the village. We managed to get a ride in an animal-drawn cart from a peasant who was going into the same direction as us, though.
Night had fallen when it was time for us to part ways with the kind countryman who had accepted to take us mid-way to our destination.
'If you continue in this direction, you'll come up with a ryokan,' the kind man informed us, indicating us the way.
Thanking him for everything, Tsunan and I headed into the direction he had showed us, entering the forest.
We walked for a while until the woods seemed to come to an end.
As we came out of the trees, what greeted our sight wasn't the ryokan but a large field in the middle of the forest where Hōzuki had proliferated.
The beauty of the view took my breath away.
All the plants measured around forty to sixty centimeters tall.
Entering the field, I let my eyes traveled around the large open space before I crouched down and took hold of one of the red paper-lantern-like calyxes with my hands, utterly captivated.
Then, looking at Tsunan, I asked him, 'The dried fruit of Hōzuki is used in medicine, isn't it?'
'Yes,' he replied, with a smile and edging his way up to me, he picked the Hōzuki that I had been holding and he offered it to me. 'Culturally, the seeds are used as a part of the Obon festival to guide the souls of the dead.'
I locked gaze with the doctor.
The Hōzuki was linked to the deceased and it would be great to bring my parents one of the plants.
I gave him a small smile.
We carried on our way after that and arrived at the ryokan after a few minutes of walking from there.
The building was very small and quite old, having been built in the middle of a glade.
'I'm sorry, but we have only a single room left. We can arrange for two futons though,' the man at the reception informed us.
Tsunan turned to face me, asking, 'Is it okay with you, Shun?'
I nodded, shyly.
Having already dined, we went to bed directly, tired of our long journey.
A movable partition separated our futons. But I couldn't find sleep, that was, outside of the time when I had a sleep attack.
'Are you having difficulty to sleep, Shun?' the doctor asked me, unexpectedly, and I went still, realizing that he wasn't sleeping either.
Without any doubt, it was because of all my rolling and tossing; I was disturbing him.
'I'm sorry. I'm not allowing you to sleep either,' I murmured, filled with guilt and shame.
He lit the lantern sitting by our heads suddenly and getting up, he went out of the door, his footsteps disappearing in the corridor.
Where did he go? Is he angry with me?
He returned a few minutes later and I sat up immediately, wanting to apologize to him again.
'Here!' he said, as he sat down onto his legs in front of me, and I stared at the cup of hot tea he was holding out to me, in surprise.
'It's a herbal tea. Drink it. It'll help you to sleep.'
'Tsunan...' I whispered, gazing at him, touched by the gesture.
***
The herbal tea Tsunan had prepared for me last night had knocked me out into a deep slumber.
I didn't wake up until it was morning.
After having taken breakfast and packed our bags again, we set out for Konishi on foot.
We walked through deep forest for a few hours, before I started to recognize my surroundings.
'Do you think you're going to be alright?' Tsunan asked me, abruptly, from where he had paused down ahead of me, and I realized that I was bordering hyperventilation.
My heart was beating extremely fast and I was perspiring cold.
I nodded, uncertainly.
Unexpectedly, he closed the distance between us to take hold of my hand.
I looked up instantly and met his eyes; I couldn't help but blush a little.
We set back walking again, Tsunan never releasing my hand even once. I couldn't think of anything else other than his hand around mine for a whole moment until I caught sight of the ruins at the end of the trees on my right.
I jerked to a stop to stare at the burnt down village through the trees, utterly powerless of stopping the terrible memories of the massacre, I had been trying to repress during the whole way, from being dragged to the surface.
My stomach churned at that moment.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I flung around and ran to the nearby bushes to empty my uncontrollable stomach behind it; my nerves giving up on me.
'I'm sorry for making you assist to this,' I murmured, as I straightened up and turned half-around to face Tsunan.
I brushed the sweat off my forehead, my skin clammy.
'Don't worry about that,' he said and closing the distance between us, he held out the bottle he had in hand to me. 'Here's some water.'
'Thank you,' I said, taking the bottle from him.
I rinsed my mouth with the water.
'Shall we continue?' he asked, and I nodded.
Taking hold of my hand again, he led me through the forest, around of the village, up to where two gravestones stood erect in the middle of a tiny clearing.
I recalled that Master Kagami and Tsunan had been here before, sometimes before our encounter. It was in Konishi that they had found the picture that was today carefully hidden in my bedroom back home in Toda.
But I hadn't known that they had been on my parents' graves.
I stood there for a moment, immobile, fixating the two tombstones standing side by side; tears coming to my eyes.
Okā-san! Otō-san!
'Do you want me to leave you alone for a while?'
Shedding my tears, I shook my head, whispering, 'No.'
Tsunan helped me clean the tombstones with water, and after having offered food and burnt incense sticks, I set the Hōzuki down in-between the two graves and addressed my parents a small prayer in my thoughts.
As we were preparing to leave, the doctor told me, suddenly, 'And what if we don't get back to Toda right away? We could take advantage of this voyage to see around the country a bit?'
I stared at him in the eyes.
The idea sounded very pleasant to me.
'Yes. Okay,' I nodded, giving him an enchanted smile. 'It's an excellent idea.'
I knew why he was doing this- he wanted to help me take my mind off things- and I felt extremely grateful towards him, not only for that, but also, for having accompanied me.
If he hadn't been there, if he hadn't come with me, I would never have had found the courage to be here on this day.
The nearest town- Ishiguro- was miles away from the village and we headed for it, arriving there in the evening.
Since it was quite late, we decided to visit the town only on the following day.
***
Next day...
Ishiguro was a resplendent place, with a charged history.
It took us nearly the whole day to visit all the interesting places of the town.
'Excuse me, Tsunan,' I said to the doctor, timidly, as we arrived at the open square in the middle of the town. 'Do you think that I could leave you for a while? I've got something to do.'
He gave me a surprised look.
'Do you need help?'
I shook my head in answer.
'Alright, then. We'll see each other later. You call me up when you're done.'
I nodded and we parted with each other there.
A present. I wanted to buy him a present to thank him for having accompanied me.
I entered several shops, trying to find him something that he might appreciate and my choice fell for a tie. I was especially attracted by one of the color gray which was on display in a suit shop. It was plain but the fabric was refined.
'This one, please,' I said to the shopkeeper, cheerily.
Coming out of the shop, I was about to phone Tsunan when, my eyes fell onto the library next door and I remembered that Gakkuri liked to read a lot.
I decided to buy the latter a book as a souvenir from my voyage with Tsunan.
Opting for the first volume of a manga, I began to make for the payment desk when, suddenly, my attention was caught by a novel with the picture of a blooming sakura on the cover.
Pausing down, I picked the book up from its shelve and read the synopsis. I liked the plot instantly and decided to also buy the novel for Gakkuri.
'I'll take these two books,' I said to the old woman at the payment desk.
'Good choice!' she commented, as she picked up the novel. 'It's a very beautiful story. You'll see, you won't be disappointed.'
I smiled at her, shyly.
'You know, I have known the author very well,' she told me after I had paid her, and I was filled with surprise.
The author of the novel was named Nana Yasuri.
'She's a local. We were in high school together.'
'Really? It's the first time that I'm meeting someone who knows an author in person. Does she still live in the area?'
'No. Unfortunately, she's dead,' she replied, with sadness. 'She died only sometimes after the publication of her novel, you know? She was around your age at that time.'
'I'm sorry,' I said, appalled to hear this.
'Nana has written many stories before this one, but she never got them published. She would say that this novel is the best one that she has ever written in her life and that she doubted that one day she'd ever be able to write anything better than this; it's her chef d'oeuvre.'
'I see. And may I ask you how she died?'
'In an accident at the royal palace at the northern periphery of town.' Her expression becoming grimmer as she added, 'But personally, I doubt that it was an accident. I believe that it was a suicide.'
My eyes widened at her in shock.
'She lived a very solitary life, you know?! She has penned down parts of her own story and feelings here and there in this final work of hers, and had you known her, you would have recognized those passages. I think that if she chose the royal palace for last place, it's because she had been moved by the beautiful and touching story of the princess Haruse and her loyal comrades, attached to the palace...'
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Hōzuki - Physalis alkekengi; Japanese lantern plants
Okā-san - Mother
Otō-san - Father