Hello is my message to the world tonight. It's great to be back. I will leave a longer message at the end when you're done.
"Chapter 13"
"Touya, are you okay?" I gasped, still trying to catch my breath. None of this was making sense. And the next scene was something new to Touya as well according to the stunned look he was wearing.
After crashing through the invisible wall that had been behind me and falling into oblivion I landed heavily in a new place. By now I was wishing that the journeying from place to place could sure be a little less abusive to the body. Touya was still beside me, but he hardly felt like talking to me or even reassuring me that he was fine by nodding his head or something. Any sign of life was better than looking at this statue of his soul.
"Where are we now?" I glanced about, making a three-sixty without moving a limb. We were at some sort of festival or carnival taking place in town. We were back outside in De Ding. "When are we?"
I knew Touya was not in the mood to answer, but I didn't know that even if he was in the mood to answer, he couldn't. This was a memory his parents never told him about.
"Touya," I pleaded. I wanted to grab him, but I had insubstantial hands that worked like nothing. I was in a pretty useless fix right then and there.
"Mother and Father are here," he finally said after that moment of lapse.
I swiveled around and spotted the two of them at a booth. I led the way to where they were. I was not surprised to see that the woman looked just like my mother, too. Speaking of recognizing the governor's parents, I also recognized the old woman they were conferring with. It was the same woman in the market who gave me the apple. "I know her!" I exclaimed.
Touya swung his arm at me to silence me, but his arm just sliced right through me. It worked to silence me, though. "She's a fortune teller of sorts," he explained to me.
We both leaned forward to listen in on the conversation.
"Tell us about ourselves, so I know you're not a fraud," Nadeshiko said, aplomb of the radiance in a majestic queen.
Fujitaka chuckled and softly stroked his wife's hand with his thumb.
The old crone smiled toothlessly. "Well, I know that you are a wizard of sorts, My Lady."
"Everyone knows that," she snorted. She flicked a lock of hair over her shoulders and added flippantly, "Any person in De Ding can tell you that."
She was acting like a stuck-up princess. Heck, the more perfect you looked the less perfect you were.
The old fortune teller went on, "You are a horrible wizard of sorts and before you say that everyone knows that, let me tell you why you are a horrible one. You are a clumsy young lady and you go about doing things brashly. Then, again, your character would be as it is as long as you suppress all that true potential you have. In order to protect yourself and your husband, you feel that the safe way of living would be to ignore what you are. Nonetheless, you have no interest in magic, so it comes off in your clumsy attempts at being an elegant woman. When you don't think too much about tripping over your feet in public you manage to be maladroit-free. Right, My Lady." She finished with that toothless, all-knowing smile.
I wanted to climb over the booth and box her in the ears for being that rude to my mother. Judging by the brooding look on Touya's face, he had the same thing in mind.
Nadeshiko clapped gleefully. "You are quite amazing!"
"Yes, you might need a lesson or two from the amazing one, My Dear," the elder answered.
I still wanted to box her in the ears, old woman or not.
"If only," Nadeshiko sighed. "Alas, it's really okay. I'm quite happy with who I am. As long as I have Fuji," with that said, she leaned against her husband.
"Yes, the governor is a good man. He always wants the best for everyone. He has always been trying to find his roots and thus he has traveled far and wide in his youth. He never found those roots, but know this, sir, the oldest roots run so deep they are near impossible to find. There's no way around that. What lives inside you would be one half of a soul that once existed as one whole in a distant time and place. You will pass on your gifts to your lovely offspring. Both of you," she said.
I couldn't tell what Dad was thinking. His face was a blank mask of thoughtfulness.
"Oh, Great Fortune Teller, tell us about our children!" Nadeshiko gushed.
The old woman reached for both their hands and my parents placed their hands in each one of hers.
"Ah, so it seems that your clock has started, Dear Governor and My Dear Lady. You will have a boy and a girl."
Nadeshiko began to chirp excitedly while Fujitaka joined in using lower tones.
"But, it will be hard for you both. Your love is powerful, but it's not enough to keep death from your doorstep," she said, closing her eyes gently. Her face crinkled in a frown that froze there.
"Impossible," They both snapped.
"Happiness will not be found in this life, but it will be found in the next," she assured them. "You must look forward and take it in stride."
"Who will die?" Nadeshiko belted the question. She was so close to tears at that precise moment.
The wise golden eyes looked at the young lady and the old voice croaked, "She will only live until the first magnolia blossom on the tree blooms. When the petals finish unfurling her little life ends."
"No," Fujitaka and Nadeshiko echoed.
The vision started spinning. Just when I thought I was going to be sick all over the scene, the spinning slowed until everything was completely at a standstill. I held my hand to my forehead and steadied myself. We were at the forest close to Heaven Pagoda! We were standing next to the boulder with Fujitaka and Nadeshiko's names engraved in it. The real Fujitaka and Nadeshiko in this spell were standing in front of the boulder with their hands linked. They were facing a monk, who was chanting in an old tongue. I didn't recognize the language, which meant that it was foreign.
At second glance I recognized old man Master Wei Fong. He didn't have his walking stick, but he was blind. He switched tongues and spoke so I understood him,
"Fulfill their wish and take their sacrifice.
Spill none of the blood you take from here and the next,
But treasure what will be given twice.
Give the next generation a chance at happiness with this price."
There was a thunderous boom and the ground shook for an instant. Fujiataka and his wife remained standing tall, their hands linked.
Everything settled to the order I recognized and had yearned for. Nadeshiko was the first to break the silence. "Did it work? Will my children be happy?"
The old man laughed. "Yes, child. They should live healthy and happy lives as long as they don't stray from the course." Then his face became serious and he suddenly looked gravely tired. Fujitaka released Nadeshiko and reached out to Wei Fong. "Master…"
"Listen to me," Master Wei Fong interrupted Fujitaka sharply, "There's no turning back. For your children you have given up your lives. Your lives would be cut short just so they could live and find the happiness you share."
"We will protect them no matter what," Nadeshiko answered, grinning brilliantly. I did not think I would ever see a sight more beautiful than my mother's serene smile.
"I wish the both of you had considered what being orphaned should be like for young children," Master Wei Fong sighed.
"In the next life they will have each other. It's hard enough to know that in this life we can't be together for a more extended time." Fujitaka looked at his wife, his eyes shone with love, "We should make the best of it. Master Wei Fong, we all should live to the fullest whatever amount of time we're going to be given."
"Besides, not only will little Touya and his baby sister be together until they're old and wrinkly like you, Master, but they'll also get the chance to find love like we did." Nadeshiko smiled directly at Fujitaka and I knew that all was well.
"I had a baby sister," Touya murmured.
I looked at him and knew without seeing that he was broken and utterly lost. The background dropped from behind him. We were back in the Governor's House.
Fujitaka's voice reverberated as he spoke to his son, "Touya, you don't mean that. You shouldn't say something you will regret later on." His tone was solemn, but he looked at Touya with shining, proud eyes. "Now go see your mother and wish her the best."
Fujitaka remained outside, embracing the bundle in his arms. We followed little Touya into the room where our mother slept. She opened her eyes when we entered.
"There's my big boy," she chuckled. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders as she leaned forward. "Touya, can you promise me something?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Will you take care of Baba when I'm gone?"
"Where are you going?"
"To a bright place where everyone's happy. I will watch you from there and when it's time we will meet up again."
Little Touya burst into silent tears. "O-o-kay."
"Hey, my big boy, I love you forever. Remember."
"I love you more," he retorted.
She lightly tapped his nose. "Pour some of that love on your father, My Son. Be strong for him."
"I will love him and take care of him while you're away. I will do the same for the baby if that's what you wish of me, too."
Her eyes glowed with her unshed tears. "Oh, Touya. You'll love and protect your sister someday."
Nadeshiko was bent tired. She released the boy, settling into the cushions under her back. Then, she took one last breath and went like that. Touya dried his tears and darted out of the room. "No, Mama! I'll start right now. Right now!"
The little boy ran right through us and stopped short next to his father in the hall.
"I'll love her, too, the way Mama would!" He exclaimed, reaching out his arms to his father. He wanted to take the baby swaddled in her blanket. Fujitaka only stared at him for a minute.
He managed to speak softly, "Touya, I'll let you hold Sakura if you take her over to the window and watch the magnolia tree outside with her."
There was a vibrato in Governor Touya's voice when he spoke. "That's what he meant by that… The old hag said…"
I watched Fujitaka hand over the baby. Touya took her and ran over to the window that shone with the sunlight. One blossom, the one closest to the window, began to unfurl.
"She was there," Governor Touya murmured beside me.
Fujitaka was walking towards his children. He paused right behind them and wrapped his hand around Touya's small shoulder. They all watched the first magnolia blossom bloom. When that life was born from the tree, the baby's life waned and extinguished completely.
"She didn't see me yet, but I knew she felt me before she went," Touya struggled to steady his voice. He raised his forefinger in front of his face and was lost again. "She knew me for just that moment when she took my finger and held it. That stupid flower came and she went like a passing wind. She would have been your age if she had lived." He ducked his head to the point that his chin was touching his chest.
At that precise moment I grabbed his finger. I looked into his stunned expression because here again he felt me. Strange thing when souls weren't supposed to have any corporeal stuff and yet we were touching, my hand wrapped around his finger.
Suddenly, something punched me in the side of the head and I pitched to the opposite side from the force of it. I blinked. Then, I looked to my side where the force had come and found that I was back in the real world; the spell was finished. The bracelet was gone, but my hand was still wrapped around Touya's leather-like forefinger. "Just so you know, Touya," I said with a smirk, "You and I only get along sometimes in the next life. The better portion of our lives we threaten to murder each other."
"Only because I want to protect you always," he answered.
"Don't go corny, Brother." I released his hand. Then, I launched myself forward and hugged him fiercely.
"Strange, in this life I still want to kill you sometimes. It's an itch I can't scratch," he said, messing up my hair with his filthy hands.
"Okay, what just happened? Why are you two so friendly and rough at the same time? Did you just call him brother?" Tomoyo fired away with the questions.
"Meet your cousin, Tomoyo," Touya said, flourishing that arrogant smile on his face.
I smiled at Tomoyo's bewildered expression and prepared for the longest story-telling of all time. The longest stories were always the ones I could never finish. Let's just end this chapter with me reminding you that my life's one heck of a story to tell.
You have reached the end of the chapter as Sakura announced at the end of this segment. Was it as unexpected as I was intending it to be or did all of you expect all that to happen? I just somehow made this profound connection, so that the transition to the next chapter will be easy for my readers and for myself. Rawr.
This was the best way to bring these folks together. The past lives are no different from the present lives. Keep that in mind. My idea of a soul is pretty much the standard concept, but my idea of rebirth in the same embodiment is totally not quite the standard. It wouldn't really make sense to make Sakura reborn into a frog. I kept her physical being the same. She wouldn't be able to tell you her story and the grand adventures she has already embarked on otherwise.
This story is an emotionally roller coaster. I went through all the future chapters with my prophetic vision. Just kidding. All future chapters are nearly done. There is an ending like no other!
Now, please review with care.
Yours Truly,
MW
