"Say, Meiou… what do you say about leaving for Shimabara?"
Meiou looked up at her Aunt as they continued to clean the dishes after dinner. Maya was soaping the plates as she did the cups, and she looked down at her aunt, "What do you mean, leave for Shimabara?"
"I think it's time we've gone home." Maya said, continuing her work, "Shogo… said in the letter that it would be safe again, and that he had left one house there that I could turn into an inn and a restaurant. He said it was the only way he could make up to me after all the disappointments he had caused me."
"I don't know…" Meiou said, looking down at the pool of water where her hands were submerged, "Life wouldn't be the same without Sayo and Shogo."
At this, Maya smiled, "And it's the reason why we have to return." She said, raising her hands and holding on to Meiou upper arms despite of it being full wet with water. "We will not return to the Shimabara that we used to know. We will return to a new Shimabara… a better one. A Shimabara without conflicts or racism or violence, where we can live free and without persecution because of our religion. It's just the kind of adventure we need, Meiou. A new Shimabara, for a new adventure."
Maya looked positively happy, beaming at Meiou, and the younger girl couldn't help but smile at her. Maya chuckled, "So, what do you say?"
She nodded, "Yes. Let's return home, Auntie."
Her aunt smiled and held her close, and Meiou wrapped her arms around her in return. Underneath her kimono, Meiou felt Sayo's necklace bury into her flesh, as if it was hugging her as well. Her eyes glistened with tears as she felt it.
Sayo and Shogo may not be with her physically, but to her, their spirit was inside the necklace and when it pressed to her skin, she felt the arms of her cousins' around her, and she could hear Sayo's chiming laugh and Shogo's low chuckle in her ear. She smiled.
They were coming home.