For the songs I talk about, Ella Roberts has both songs Siuil a Ruin and Danny Boy, sung in a way that I would imagine Kyomi would sing. Helps that Ella Roberts voice is the same range as mine so that's super fun😊 She has a beautiful voice!
Chapter 16
Kyomi sat on the porch of Shigure's house in the afternoon sun working on her latest project for Ayame's shop. She was going home tomorrow and was taking advantage of the beautiful scenery before going back to her apartment. The sun was filtering beautifully through the trees onto the pond in front of her, the slight breeze making the pond sparkle like it was made of diamonds instead of water. She had been humming an old song from her memory that she was trying to remember all the words for.
"AH HA! That's what it was!" She exclaimed as she finally remembered. She had remembered the first verse easily, but the second had been giving her trouble. She knew Shigure had left awhile before, and school wasn't out yet, so she decided to let her voice explore into the forest next to her.
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying, If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying, And kneel and say an Ave there for me;
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me, And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
She was staring at the pond and wasn't paying attention to the group that had gathered at the top of the stairs up to the house. The first day of school had let out early and they had all decided to come back to the house to have dinner together. Kyo, Tohru, Haru, and Momiji stood at the top of the stairs staring at Kyomi.
"Hey Ane, what are you doing out here?" Kyo said leading the group walking up to the house. Momiji bounced past him and up to the porch.
"That song is so beautiful and sad, Mi-chan! I've heard it, but never in that language before. What was it?" Momiji said looking up at her.
"The song was Danny Boy, but the language was Irish. My father sang it to me every night before he passed and my gran sang it often as well." Kyomi said. Tohru had come up behind them, "What do the words mean, Oneechan?" she asked.
"Well, it's easier if I just sing it." Kyomi sang the verse again in English, Momiji clarifying any words for anyone who needed it as they went. The Irish lilt that was coming out in Kyomi's voice from her childhood was making it a little difficult to understand the English. By the end, Momiji and Tohru were in tears, he pulling his handkerchief from his pocket, her scrambling for hers before finding one on the top of her head from the orange haired boy standing behind her.
"Do you know any other songs in Irish?" Haru asked curious to hear the odd sounding language again.
Kyomi put a finger to her chin thinking, "Hmmm, well I think I remember one, but the Irish part is a little difficult so don't quote me on the pronunciation. Did you want to hear it?" She asked.
"Yes please!" Momiji said bouncing in his seat. "OH, Scheiße! I wish I had my violin!" he lamented dramatically with his hands on his head.
"This song is actually about woman whose love goes away to war." Kyomi chuckled softly, "I learned this way before Sean too ironically."
And she sang. She watched their faces as she sang, but also found her gaze straying beyond them to the hills beyond the city where they disappeared into the horizon. She got pulled back into her memories of her earliest days wandering the green Irish hills with her father as he worked the family estate, then onward to bidding her husband goodbye every time they parted. At least two years of their lives had been spent apart due to his service and her heart had nearly torn in two every time they had parted. She thought of the last time they had parted; her holding their newborn son and Sean holding them for so long, not saying a word. Each of them memorizing the feeling of the others hugs, their smell, and the sound of their heartbeats. Kyomi had managed to hold her tears until he was out of sight, but as he boarded the plane they began to fall, and she had buried her face in Luc's blanket and had let them flow.
Siúil, siúil, siúil a rún
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú mo mhúirnÃn slán
Go, go, go, my love
Go quietly and go peacefully
Go to the door and fly with me
And may you go safely, my darling
She finished the song by singing the chorus again in English so they understood the whole song and silence fell over them as she finished. She felt a handkerchief on her face and she startled, looking up at who was holding it. Shigure had finally returned and was wiping the tears that had been falling down her face unknown to her. She smiled gratefully to him and took the handkerchief from him to finish wiping her face. She looked at the teens surrounding her to see similar tears running down their faces, or in Kyo and Haru's case, rapid blinking and looking anywhere except at the other's crying. Kyomi blew her nose and apologized.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make us all cry. That was one of my favorite songs that my gran sang although it didn't mean as much to me then."
"What happened to your father's family?" Shigure asked, curious.
"They are still in Ireland working their family's estate as far as I know. When mom and I came back here, they tried to keep in touch, but mom wasn't great about keeping contact. Though my grandparents might have passed by now. I'm not sure. Their estate is small, so they don't have a website and I can't call their number from here. I'm not sure what else to try at this point." Kyomi said, saddened that she hadn't had any success in contacting them.
"Hmm…" was all Shigure said as he walked back into the house.
"Well, I need to finish packing. Hatori said he was going to give me a ride back to my apartment this evening." Kyomi said getting up off the porch.
"I'll help you!" Tohru said walking with her and beginning to tell about their day back at school. They had gotten even closer over the past week, Kyomi slowly helping Tohru more with chores and cooking as she was feeling better. They talked about almost everything they could think of as they worked. Kyomi and Tohru also told the stories of how they discovered the Sohma's secret and they laughed at the similarities of them. Kyomi also learned just how much her brother had grown up in just the short time that he had been at Shigure's home. In turn, Tohru and Kyo learned about Kyomi growing up as she spoke with Tohru (Kyo eavesdropped a little), and also from Shigure as they told stories. Yuki seemed to enjoy stories of his brother much more when his brother wasn't actually present.
Kyo was left on the porch with Haru and Momiji.
"Who was her father anyway?" Haru asked, sensing there was something more to what she was talking about.
"He was something like the third son of an earl or baron in Ireland. She was born on their family's estate and they all got along well even though our mom was Japanese. They didn't seem to care. I guess her dad's family wasn't happy that mom decided to bring Kyomi back to Japan with her when their son passed. Mom avoided them once she came back here and Kyomi lost contact with them." Kyo recounted all he had heard her tell Tohru.
"She's part of a titled family?" Momiji said excitedly. "That's amazing! Although, earls or barons from Ireland wouldn't have much status across Europe, especially since her father was born only third. At least she has more family somewhere." Momiji finished with a smile.
Kyo nodded in agreement silently hoping she wouldn't leave to find them anytime soon.
Kyomi returned home; glad to be back in her own home, but sad to leave her family and friends. Luc was overjoyed to see her the next morning when Mine brought him home. They spent the day together playing and even napping together, accidentally falling asleep on the couch watching his favorite show. When they woke up, they decided to go for a walk to the park nearby. They walked slowly since Kyomi was still being cautious, and once they made it to the park, Luc was off like a flash squealing at the top of his lungs.
Kyomi just watched him go and went to sit on the bench to watch. She sat with her chin in her palm, elbow perched on the knee of her crossed legs, watching her son play on the lower playground equipment since she still had a week or so before she could lift him. Her mind was drifting, thinking about what they should have for dinner, planning the beginnings of a grocery list in her head, and thinking of all the housework she had to catch up on. Suddenly, Luc started running towards the playground gate.
"SHISHO!" He yelled as he went until he ran into Kazuma and was swung up in the air and settled on his shoulders. "Up Shisho up!" Luc said lifting his hands in the air and giggling. The two made their way over to Kyomi where Luc was set back down. Kazuma sat next to Kyomi who had sat up from her contemplative stance.
"How are you feeling? Hatori told me what had happened at the beach house, though I have a feeling he left some things out." Kazuma said looking closely at Kyomi to try to find anything wrong.
"Knowing him he probably did leave certain things out for my privacy, but I don't mind sharing with you." She answered not really wanting to meet his intense gaze. "Akito kicked me in the abdomen, hard enough and enough times that I needed to be hospitalized and needed a partial oophorectomy." Kazuma's face registered only confusion at Kyomi's rapid fire words. She blushed and sighed knowing she would have to explain more. "One of my ovaries twisted and had to be removed."
She saw first surprise then sadness come across his face. "Are you alright?" He asked seriously tapping her head. She let her gaze go to Luc playing.
"Getting there. I have Luc and since Sean passed, I figured Luc would be all I would have anyway. But since this happened…" She paused, contemplating the best way to phrase her next words before slowly continuing. "I'm realizing I wanted more. I had three younger adopted siblings and we were as close as can be. I miss the noise of a big house; always someone around, never alone… which got annoying more often than not. But once it was gone, it's all I've wanted. Sean and I wanted more kids after Luc. Around this age is when we were planning on trying for more." Kyomi said as she had to swallow the lump in her throat. She avoided looking at Kazuma as heat once again spread across her cheeks at how much she was telling him, but she also needed to talk about it and trusted him. So she settled on watching Luc.
Kazuma wasn't sure what to say to that so he settled for placing his hand on hers on the park bench seat and just sitting with her. He figured she just needed someone there for her more than she needed words and he was right. She turned her hand over to squeeze his and continued watching Luc play. They broke apart when Kazuma stood to help Luc play on one of the taller sets. Kyomi just sat and watched them play, a smile on her face. The two boys came back with a plan for dinner and Kyomi gladly accompanied them out of the park and to dinner.