The plane ride back to the States was a little less intimidating for Ed this time around. Instead of worrying about the open space between the plane and the ground, his thoughts kept returning to Japan.
After the events at the Saeki residence, the Warrens made it a point to visit the clergy at Father Sato's parish. "He finished the prayer the exact moment the spirit overwhelmed him," Taking Lorraine's hand in his, Ed added, "With his final breath Father Sato saved us all, particularly my wife,"
"We are in his debt," Lorraine said, "And yours. If there is anything we can do to help, perhaps with the funeral expenses-"
One of the other priests, Father Suzuki, help up his hand. "That is very kind of you," he said, "But there is no need. When Father Sato decided to help with the case, he knew this could very well be a one-way ticket,"
"But if there is anything at all we can do, please let us know and we will assist," Ed said.
Father Suzuki thought for a moment. "Well," he decided, "There is one thing you can do,"
"Anything,"
Father Suzuki smiled. "The one thing you can do is pray for all involved, both the departed and those of us who are among the living. We knew our remaining time with Father Sato would be limited, but we did not know it would be this short,"
"Remaining time?" Lorraine asked.
"Yes," Father Suzuki said. "Father Sato had an advanced form of cancer. We did not want him to take on this case due to his condition, but he insisted. 'If the priest presiding over this case should fall, then it should be me, for my time is already nearing,', he'd said,"
"Then he really did live as he preached," Ed said, "In the sense that he sacrificed himself for his friends,"
"John 15:13," Father Suzuki nodded. "I pray we can all live our lives according to this example,"

"Mommy, Daddy!" Judy sprinted to the front door and planted herself in her parents' arms. Ed and Lorraine returned the embrace, the one they'd been looking forward to since they'd left nearly a week ago.
"We missed you very much," Lorraine said, planting a kiss on her daughter's cheek.
"I missed you too," she said. "I even drew you a picture while you were away! Would you like to see?"
"Absolutely!" Ed said. Judy bounded off to her bedroom, allowing her father the chance to quickly pull the gift he and Lorraine had purchased from the front of his suitcase.
"Here it is!" Judy said proudly, presenting a drawing of the three of them in front of their house.
"It's wonderful!" Ed praised as he accepted the gift his daughter had made for them.
"We love it," Lorraine agreed. "We'll hang it up on the fridge,"
"And in exchange for the beautiful drawing," Ed said, "We have a gift for you as well,"
A smile played across Judy's face as she was given a rectangular box that was slightly longer than her hand. "Can I open it now?"
"Of course!"
Judy carefully unwrapped the gift, eager to see what was inside. Underneath the brown paper was a clear plastic container which held a wooden item that looked like a double-sided cupped hammer with a spike and a pink ball attached via string.
"It's a kendama," Lorraine explained, "A skill toy from Japan. You can use it for a variety of tricks, even ones you can come up with yourself!"
"You may want to start with trying to catch the ball in the side cups first," Ed suggested, "But with time, I'll bet you can master all sorts of maneuvers!"
Judy was grinning from ear to ear, enamored with this new toy she had never heard of. "I'd like to try it now," she said.
Lorraine smiled. "Go ahead,"
As Judy wandered into the living room to practice tricks with her new toy, Ed slid his arm around Lorraine's waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Glad to be back?" he said, thinking about their conversation that first night in Japan.
Placing both arms around her husband and pulling him in for a kiss, Lorraine replied "With two of my favorite people in the whole world? Always,"