A small cup of the worry of leaving
As loneliness stands beside the window
I am behind the door
Pretending that you still haven't left
His house was awkwardly silent and empty. Yao sat in a chair by the door, watching the clock. He was still waiting, listening to each tick of the second hand on the wall. For how many years has he been doing this? Ever since Kiku left, he'd still wait by the door to see his little brother to bed. The quiet ticking lulled him to sleep as it did every night.
Old days like being revisited
The moon's become round again and I am even more lonely
At midnight the awakened candlelight
Can't bear to criticize me severely
Japan lit another candle as the one he was using died out. He sat down on the side of his bed and flipped open an old handmade book. His fingers traced over the old oriental patterns on the edges of the cover and each of the pages, painted on by China long ago. The first several pages were filled with his drawings of back then. Every little memory with Yao, recorded in a little scribbly sketch. Farther into the book, the drawings got more detailed and then got to black and white pictures, nearly faded all the way by now. He regretted leaving every now and then and always brought out this book when he did. Trembling fingers let go of the edge of the page and wiped the tears away from his eyes. It could have been him crying or his eyes straining in the dark. The candlelight's flickering didn't cease at the sound of sniffling.
A kettle of wandering
To roam around the world is hard to enter the throat
After you left
The wine warms the memories and nostalgia becomes thin
His attempt at getting drunk and forgetting these memories, even if for only a short while, failed. Even as wise an old nation his is, he should have known not to be drinking shortly before dawn. China then remembered there was supposed to be a meeting later that morning.
'Aiya, now I'm going to smell of Choujiu around the other nations, aru…'
You shrugged it off and lifted up his cup to his lips and took a sip. He lifted up the small bottle to see the label, hoping it wasn't as strong as he thought so he wouldn't smell of alcohol. The calligraphy wasn't recognized right away, but it was clearly wasn't any form of Chinese. The label said Doburoku (濁酒), the Japanese equivalent of Choujiu. Yao choked…
The water flows towards the east
How do I steal time?
Flowers bloom and mature once
Yet I missed it
Kiku stepped out of the airport and rushed himself to the nearest from the rain. He stood under the bus stop, trying to brush the water of his suit. Streams of water carrying wilted cherry blossoms downhill passed around his feet.
'Ah, I missed it again… Time passes by too fast these days. Just like it always has…' he though, thinking of how short his time as a child with China was. How simple the times were back then.
'If it is possible to change the past so it can be like before again…'
Who's using the lute to play
The song called "East Wind Breaks"?
The years are peeling off the walls
And I see my childhood
Remember the year when we were still very young
And nowadays the sound of the zither is haunting
Knocking on the door, Japan waited for some kind of response from inside China's house. Nothing… He tried again. The house was still silent except for the sound of an old koto. Or was it called a yangqin? Well, Kiku recognized the sound of it. He had received it long ago from Persia. Its old sound gave him chills as the wind quietly began to howl. Japan used to love hearing old music being played but, now it seems, modernization has changed that about him too. He eyed the old Tang Dynasty pipa left outside on the rocking chair. Kiku picked it up, tracing his fingers over the familiar design.
'It's just like the one Yao-san gave me back then…'
He seated himself on the rocking chair and played the old lute along with the song coming from inside.
Who's using the lute?
Yao ceased his playing and listened to the sound of his old pipa.
"Aiyah, I forgot I left that outside! You kids better not break that by the time I get down there, aru!" China shouted, hoping it was loud enough for whoever may be out there.
He rushed down the stairs and to the front door with much difficulty for his back has been aching these days. He grabbed the handle and yanked the door open whilst not taking the time to even catch his breath.
Kiku snapped out of his little trance he was in as he played and looked at Yao, who was panting and clutching his chest. China looked at him in surprise, not expecting to see his younger sibling to be the one touching his beloved lute.
My waiting, you haven't heard of it
Having been invited in, Japan sat uncomfortably as China made some Huángshān Gòngjú tea for the both of them. On his way in, out of the many things he saw, old and undusted, one of the few objects that actually were dusted and seemed still in use was the chair by the door Yao used to always sit in when he would come home late. An herbal aroma cleared his thoughts and brought him back to what was going on. Yao placed a cup in from of him and silently sat down on the other side of the table.
"So… What brings you here today, aru?"
Kiku sat there pondering for a while.
"You're being very quiet. You should drink your tea, aru! This type is good for your liver and eyes and will fix your yin right up!"
A little smile perched itself on his face. His big brother was still worrying about his health.
"Thank you, Yao-san. To be honest, I have no reason for stopping by today. I came by on a whim to see how you are doing, seeing as I rarely visit anymore."
He took a glance at the surroundings. The house wasn't in as good condition as it was the last time he have visited. The wall paper was faded and peeling off and he spotted the area on the wall where he had once tried to stop his brother Yong Soo from drawing on, but instead only received the blame for it.
"You haven't been cleaning much have you?"
"Ah… No, aru… Any spare time I have, I use to rest and my back has been hurting these days. I should probably do so now, though." Yao stood up with a little difficulty.
"I'll help you clean then. I have nothing else to do today, so I might as well do something productive."
"Xie xie ni…"
The maple leaf dyes the story
I can see through to the ending
I once held your hand, walking that road outside the bamboo fence
Each trinket that was dusted, every little thing put back in its place brought back memories of the big family Japan once had. After China had more children to look after, his life became like the story of the forgotten child that no one wanted to take care of. He remember when he first met China. When he took the taller nation's hand and followed him outside of the isolated forest of bamboo stalks.
In this time of desolation
Even separation is…
But then the Westerners had to come and bring destruction and corruption to their lands and separate the close siblings. The gap between them was pulled even further apart with the burdens brought by modernization.
"Xie xie! The house looks much better now!"
"It was not a problem at all, Yao-san. I'll be going now"
And again, they are being separated.
Even separation is soundless