MAP

January 4, 1975

SAKURA:

I stared at the flickering candle light. Outside, it was bitter cold, and after dark. He had been gone for nearly three hours now, and I could not help but worry. More and more frequently, he'd been disappearing for long periods of time, not telling me where he was going. To satisfy my boredom, he had brought me books. But it was not the same as having his company. Especially at night, when it got cold, and the icy draft through the lair extinguished the candles' flames.

No matter how many hours I spent in these rooms, I still felt fear when the shadows creeped over the walls. It was only the rats, I knew. And the turtles. The turtles I did not mind. In fact, I had grown as fond of them as one could of an animal that seemed to possess no personality. The rats, while they were more social, were much less appealing to me. I did not want to think of what diseases they might carry. Of course, Yoshi maintained that the turtles were more likely to carry disease than the rats were. I wasn't sure how true that was, but at least I didn't have to worry about the turtles biting me.

Whoever had first said that turtles were slow did not own a turtle. Keeping all four of them in one room was about as easy as keeping a two year old child occupied with little more than his hands and feet. I found them all in separate rooms of the lair. How one of them had managed to get into the room I had formerly slept in was beyond me, as the door was closed. I found them all, gave them water, and placed them near the single space heater in the living area. And I waited.

I watched the old, broken apart Cuckoo clock on the wall. It told time correctly, but did little else. As of now, it was telling me that it was nearly ten o'clock at night. I sat down on the old couch Yoshi and I had managed to drag down here, and curled into a ball. It was cold, and I was nearly shivering. I watched the four turtles and wondered what they would do if it got much colder. They were cold blooded, and while I didn't think it got below freezing in the lair, it may have gotten close at times. They needed to stay close to the space heater, but they politely refused. Maybe I could tie them...

Minutes passed. The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. Finally, I stood, grabbed my jacket, and walked out the front door, closing it tightly behind me.

YOSHI:

A quiet crying attracted my attention, and I froze in place. Had Sakura wandered away from the lair? I knew I was a good distance from home. Perhaps it was someone else. My thoughts were flooded with ideas of who might be intruding down here. We lived in an older section of the sewers. Some of the dated bricks I found were as old as 1914. Repairs were needed often, and I had seen workers down here. But the lair had been carefully chosen. It was in a section of sewers no longer in operation. I theorized that there had been an earthquake, and the damage had been more extensive than they were willing to repair. It collapsed tunnels and dammed waterways. Likely, they decided that it would be easier to build new, and more easily maintained sewers instead of using the old ones. I doubted that any maintenence worker would be in these parts of the tunnels. I immediately switched to silent mode as I made my way toward the quiet sobs.

"Sakura?" I asked as I saw her, cowering in a corner of the tunnel.

She sprang to her feet and ran to me. "Yoshi!" she cried. "You have found me! I feared I was lost!"

I held her, slightly confused, as she buried her face in my neck, ridding herself of the tears. "What are you doing so far from the lair?" I asked.

She pulled away. "When you did not come back, I was frightened," she explained. "I came in search of you."

I smiled and brushed her tears away. "Oh, Sakura-chan," I sighed. "I was not gone that long!"

"You said you would only be away for a few minutes. It has been nearly four hours!"

I tucked her hair behind her ear. "I had some trouble finding food. I did not mean to worry you."

She sighed and hugged me again. "You are forgiven, now that I know you are safe."

I pulled away and circled my arm around her shoulders. "You are lucky I found you," I informed her as we began to walk. "It is very easy to get lost down here."

"Hai," she agreed. She was quiet for a few paces, then she pulled away from me. "I know!" she cried. "You will draw me a map!"

I considered that for a moment. "But why do you need a map, Sakura-chan?" I questioned. "It is not wise for you to wander around the sewers even with a map. You could get hurt."

She laughed. "Oh, do not be silly, Yoshi-san," she replied. "I have lived here for more than three months and I have seen nothing more threatening than your rats and turtles..."